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The Vicious Deep #1
The Vicious Deep
For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.
He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.
His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he's heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he's suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.
Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back.
He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.
His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he's heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he's suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.
Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back.
372 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2012
About the author
Zoraida Córdova
38 books4,629 followersZoraida Córdova is the author of many fantasy novels for kids and teens, including the award-winning Brooklyn Brujas series, Incendiary, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: A Crash of Fate. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark, Come on In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home, and Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft. She is the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old. Her debut middle grade novel is The Way to Rio Luna. She is the co-host of the podcast Deadline City with Dhonielle Clayton. Zoraida was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. When she isn’t working on her next novel, she’s planning a new adventure.
NOTE: Direct messages on this account may not be seen. Send her an email at [email protected]
NOTE: Direct messages on this account may not be seen. Send her an email at [email protected]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 498 reviews
November 18, 2012
Cute book...just not what I was expecting.
From the title and the blurb, I thought this was going to be a much darker/grittier story.
The Vicious Deep.
Sucked out to sea...terrifying mermaid with razor sharp teeth...haunted dreams...pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods...
Darkish, right?
Except, it's not.
Raise your hand if you've ever seen Disney's Little Mermaid.
Ok, good.
So, this is more like what would happen if Ariel and Eric had a son, and he didn't find out he was half merman until he was about 16 or so. It's pretty light and fluffy, but not necessarily a bad read. In fact, I actually liked it quite a bit.
Just don't go into it thinking you're going to get something Vicious or Deep.
From the title and the blurb, I thought this was going to be a much darker/grittier story.
The Vicious Deep.
Sucked out to sea...terrifying mermaid with razor sharp teeth...haunted dreams...pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods...
Darkish, right?
Except, it's not.
Raise your hand if you've ever seen Disney's Little Mermaid.
Ok, good.
So, this is more like what would happen if Ariel and Eric had a son, and he didn't find out he was half merman until he was about 16 or so. It's pretty light and fluffy, but not necessarily a bad read. In fact, I actually liked it quite a bit.
Just don't go into it thinking you're going to get something Vicious or Deep.
May 20, 2013
I love mermaids, I really do. Fishy folks just capture my attention, but so far I have been so let down by their depiction in fiction and film. From The Little Mermaid to the Vicious Deep series to the Lullaby series...it seems that the main similarities between fictional merfolk and sirens and other water-dwelling creatures in fiction is not their fins nor their affinity to water, but rather, their absolute stupidity and inability to think like a rational person (not person person, but you get the point).
The good news is that the mermaids in this book are for the most part, intelligent and tolerable in their lack of annoying TSTL tendencies. The bad part is that the main character's love interest is not, but I will overlook her for the time being, because I am so surprised and pleasantly shocked at the existence of intelligent, functional merfolk in literature. The entire book was enjoyable, hilarious, and fun to read. I found myself laughing out loud more than once. The main characters and supporting cast, with the exception of two, were immensely likeable.
The plot focuses on Tristan, he suffers a near-death experience while attempting a rescue during a tsunami-type of situation while working as a lifeguard. In the aftermath, he gets strange dreams of a white-haired, sharp-teethed mermaid, and eventually discovers his true nature as the offspring of a mermaid and a human. Meanwhile, if that's not complicated enough, he is trying to resolve his feelings towards his childhood best friend, Layla...all this while trying to solve a riddle, possibly try to become lord of the sea, and survive death threats by the mysterious mermaid of whom he dreams.
I found Tristan to be a likeable character and a good narrator, although his voice does suffer from what I call The Ethan Wates Syndrome. Meaning, he's not entirely convincing as a male character. Tell me, what kind of a male makes these observations?
"[The girls] hold paddling boards with Hawaiian flower patterns on them, even though their hair is ironed perfectly straight and their fake eyelashes haven’t been touched by the water."
...and...
"She comes up close, and I can see she doesn’t have any makeup on, except for the pink on her cheeks. No one’s cheeks can be that pink."
Yeah, things like that are observed by NO REAL STRAIGHT BOY EVER.
But those are minor complaints. Besides the odd observation of nail polish or makeup, and the sighing and swooning over his best friend Layla, Tristan is absolutely hilarious as a narrator. More than once, I found myself laughing at the observations he makes and he keeps up a side-splitting commentary, and for the most part, his thoughts are pretty in-line with what a teenaged boy probably thinks upon discovering that he's a merman.
"What if he does it wrong and I get stuck like this forever? Can I still have sex with girls or only other mermaids? Where the hell does my dick go?"
His ragtag groups of friends are your typical group of teenaged male, but they've grown up around each other their entire lives, and are genuinely nice guys at heart; there's nothing to hate about them. His parents are loving, adorable, and absolutely hilarious. You can really see where Tristan become well-adjusted and where he inherited his sense of humor.
"'Yeah, yeah. You kids spoiled the wonderful evening your mom and I were having.'
'Ugh, disgusting.' I put my fingers in my ears, but I can still hear him laughing. I grab a glass and some OJ.
'Oh, come on, son, your merbaby zygote didn’t make itself.'”
Another character whom I like is Kurt (short for something absolutely unpronounceable), a merman who is acting as Tristan's guide to his new self. He has an unwittingly deadpan sense of humor, and is funny most of the time without meaning to be.
“'We do look different. We are glamoured,' Kurt says indignantly. 'It’s a light spell to tone down our natural colors. We are no longer achingly beautiful. Now we’re just exceptionally beautiful.'"
He knows little about the human world, and as much of a guide he is to Tristan, Tristan is his guide to the human world.
Apart from the main cast, even those we originally judge as evil has some redeeming quality, so there aren't many characters I found objectionable.
Now, let's get on with the bad. Layla, the most annoying and insipid characters in the book. I cannot imagine the funny, intelligent Tristan would be so stupid to overlook this fact. Tristan has grown up with her his entire childhood, and he is his best friend, even while he dates around (and he is a serial dater). Too late, he realizes that Layla has grown up into a stunning young woman, and while he continues to fall in love with her, from what we see of Layla in the book (and she is a major character), I see nothing about her that is remotely attractive besides her exterior. She is prickly, bitchy (I hate to use this word, but it's accurate), standoffish, and TSTL. Her actions can and did put Tristan and herself in a huge mess, from which they barely escape.
Layla is violent (she repeatedly punches Tristan). I don't like violence towards women, and I believe the same standards should exist for guys. It shouldn't be ok for a girl to hit a guy any more than it is for a guy to hit a girl. Tristan tries so hard with her, and most of the time, she just pushes him away.
"I keep my eyes on the back of Layla’s head. She doesn’t even turn around to look at me. There is nothing like the silent treatment from the only girl you want to talk to."
I could itemize the stupid things Layla does in this book to make me dislike her, but there's not enough room in the review. Nevertheless, this is an excellent and funny book, bogged down by very few annoying characters. The cliffhanger is not a terrible one, and I will be continuing with the series.
The good news is that the mermaids in this book are for the most part, intelligent and tolerable in their lack of annoying TSTL tendencies. The bad part is that the main character's love interest is not, but I will overlook her for the time being, because I am so surprised and pleasantly shocked at the existence of intelligent, functional merfolk in literature. The entire book was enjoyable, hilarious, and fun to read. I found myself laughing out loud more than once. The main characters and supporting cast, with the exception of two, were immensely likeable.
The plot focuses on Tristan, he suffers a near-death experience while attempting a rescue during a tsunami-type of situation while working as a lifeguard. In the aftermath, he gets strange dreams of a white-haired, sharp-teethed mermaid, and eventually discovers his true nature as the offspring of a mermaid and a human. Meanwhile, if that's not complicated enough, he is trying to resolve his feelings towards his childhood best friend, Layla...all this while trying to solve a riddle, possibly try to become lord of the sea, and survive death threats by the mysterious mermaid of whom he dreams.
I found Tristan to be a likeable character and a good narrator, although his voice does suffer from what I call The Ethan Wates Syndrome. Meaning, he's not entirely convincing as a male character. Tell me, what kind of a male makes these observations?
"[The girls] hold paddling boards with Hawaiian flower patterns on them, even though their hair is ironed perfectly straight and their fake eyelashes haven’t been touched by the water."
...and...
"She comes up close, and I can see she doesn’t have any makeup on, except for the pink on her cheeks. No one’s cheeks can be that pink."
Yeah, things like that are observed by NO REAL STRAIGHT BOY EVER.
But those are minor complaints. Besides the odd observation of nail polish or makeup, and the sighing and swooning over his best friend Layla, Tristan is absolutely hilarious as a narrator. More than once, I found myself laughing at the observations he makes and he keeps up a side-splitting commentary, and for the most part, his thoughts are pretty in-line with what a teenaged boy probably thinks upon discovering that he's a merman.
"What if he does it wrong and I get stuck like this forever? Can I still have sex with girls or only other mermaids? Where the hell does my dick go?"
His ragtag groups of friends are your typical group of teenaged male, but they've grown up around each other their entire lives, and are genuinely nice guys at heart; there's nothing to hate about them. His parents are loving, adorable, and absolutely hilarious. You can really see where Tristan become well-adjusted and where he inherited his sense of humor.
"'Yeah, yeah. You kids spoiled the wonderful evening your mom and I were having.'
'Ugh, disgusting.' I put my fingers in my ears, but I can still hear him laughing. I grab a glass and some OJ.
'Oh, come on, son, your merbaby zygote didn’t make itself.'”
Another character whom I like is Kurt (short for something absolutely unpronounceable), a merman who is acting as Tristan's guide to his new self. He has an unwittingly deadpan sense of humor, and is funny most of the time without meaning to be.
“'We do look different. We are glamoured,' Kurt says indignantly. 'It’s a light spell to tone down our natural colors. We are no longer achingly beautiful. Now we’re just exceptionally beautiful.'"
He knows little about the human world, and as much of a guide he is to Tristan, Tristan is his guide to the human world.
Apart from the main cast, even those we originally judge as evil has some redeeming quality, so there aren't many characters I found objectionable.
Now, let's get on with the bad. Layla, the most annoying and insipid characters in the book. I cannot imagine the funny, intelligent Tristan would be so stupid to overlook this fact. Tristan has grown up with her his entire childhood, and he is his best friend, even while he dates around (and he is a serial dater). Too late, he realizes that Layla has grown up into a stunning young woman, and while he continues to fall in love with her, from what we see of Layla in the book (and she is a major character), I see nothing about her that is remotely attractive besides her exterior. She is prickly, bitchy (I hate to use this word, but it's accurate), standoffish, and TSTL. Her actions can and did put Tristan and herself in a huge mess, from which they barely escape.
Layla is violent (she repeatedly punches Tristan). I don't like violence towards women, and I believe the same standards should exist for guys. It shouldn't be ok for a girl to hit a guy any more than it is for a guy to hit a girl. Tristan tries so hard with her, and most of the time, she just pushes him away.
"I keep my eyes on the back of Layla’s head. She doesn’t even turn around to look at me. There is nothing like the silent treatment from the only girl you want to talk to."
I could itemize the stupid things Layla does in this book to make me dislike her, but there's not enough room in the review. Nevertheless, this is an excellent and funny book, bogged down by very few annoying characters. The cliffhanger is not a terrible one, and I will be continuing with the series.
May 8, 2012
CAUTION: Long Review.
The Vicious Deep begins with Tristan on lifeguard duty at the beach when suddenly a freak wave hits. While everyone runs for their lives, Tristan races to rescue a drowning victim thinking he could make it. Alas, he didn't. Soon, Tristan washes up on shore and taken to the hospital.
People say a near-death experience can be life changing, but with Tristan it reached to a whole new level.
Tristan learned he was lost for three days at sea and was the only survivor of the freak wave. Yet he was mostly tired and ready for things to get back to normal. His parents agreed and quickly took him home from the hospital. Barring a few odd occurrences, things seem fine.
Till chapter 10.
After getting a fishtail for the bottom half of his body, Tristan learned he's a merman, his mother's an ex-mermaid, they're merfolks royalty which made him a Prince.
TVD had less than 87000 words and was written in present tense, making the action forefront. Imagery was driven by characters' action; character development was driven by dialogue. On occasions, the prose was slightly flowery.
Speaking of flowery, the characters cursed using the "mother-flower" euphemism. Fuck, shit, and damn were part of the vernacular but I didn't understand why a variation of fuck would be euphemized. I thought it was silly and stupid.
The Characters
+++ Tristan
TVD was told in 1st Pov from Tristan's side. Right from the start, Tristan was not your usual YA protagonist...because he's popular.
The YA genre love its loner, its outcast, its "woe is me because I'm a freak and no one understand me" protagonist. Tristan had social skills and enjoyed being around people. In any other YA, he would be the jock love interest our ostracized heroine like because he's nice to her and dislike because his attention to her brings the the mean girls' attention.
Tristan is a swimming athlete and a lifeguard, always wearing a Speedo and being flirtatious. His one big flaw was that despite being a girl magnet Tristan treated girls in his relationship quite horribly. Yet it wasn't because he was naturally a jerk. I disliked how Tristan treated Mandy but I pitied him because for all his charm with girls, he couldn't get the one girl that mattered.
Tristan was in love with Layla — apparently since childhood — but he didn't how to properly deal with it.
+++ Layla
Layla is Tristan's love interest and his best friend since childhood. I liked how she refused to be relegated as Tristan's sidekick. She followed Tristan to find out why he has been so secretive and intended to protect him in case he needed help. She stuck with Tristan after learning his secret and sensibly forgave him for not telling her.
Far too often in YA the best friend would be mad at our protagonist in beginning, disappear in the middle of the story, and reappear at the end — sometime as a hostage or an antagonist. Layla was not like that; Layla was a strong character in her own rights.
+++ Tristan's Parents
TVD didn't suffer the Missing Parents Syndrome. Plus, the parents loved each other and their son Tristan. In short, they were genuinely a happy family. It was...unusual because in YA the protagonist's family are always unhappy or dead. Seriously.
Mr. Hart was like a geek while Mrs. Hart was like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid because she had red hair and a hobby of collecting junks.
+++ Other Characters
Tristan's "cousins" Thalia and Kurt were funny. Thalia was carefree and mischievous while Kurt was haughty and magisterial; the two siblings were total opposite in personality. They made great sidekicks to Tristan (technically, they're his royal courtiers).
I even liked Gwen the mean mermaid princess. Turned out she was more than I initially thought because I found her meanness warranted. Hell, I would be mean too if I was stuck in her situation. Her family forced her to marry a spoiled merman prince and be happy with the asshole.
The other supporting characters such as Marty did not stand out and seem unimportant and unremarkable. The characters from the ship had a muddled introduction.
The World Building
TVD's world was filled with all sorts of supernatural, from vampires to fairies, but the book focused on merfolks. The book used Poseidon from Greek mythology as the basis for its merfolk world. The world building was one of the few unoriginal things about TVD because pretty much every mermaid YA use Poseidon.
The Plot
Tristan's grandfather was nearing his end so he wanted Tristan to replace him as king. However, his grandfather could not directly crown Tristan because the mer-people would revolt. A quest was put forth and Tristan — among other champions — must collect all three dispersed pieces of Poseidon's Trident from three of the five oracles to win the quest and ultimately become the Sea King.
The champions must locate the nomadic oracles, figure which one has the Trident piece, and win it from the oracle. Like any other quest to become king, anything goes and survival is part of the goal.
I expected the plot to be predictable and largely it was. Yet there were few twists and turns, such as Gwen, that caught me off guard. The book had some slow moments, but for the most part it was quick paced.
Things I Didn't Like
+++ Lack of Parental Involvement
I liked the presence of Tristan's parents in the story but I disliked how uninvolved they were in Tristan's quest. They should've fussed about Tristan trying to become the Sea King because 1) he's not an adult 2) he's ignorant of the supernatural world and its danger 3) he wasn't a trained Prince let alone a merman and 4) everyone will try to kill him so they could become king.
The only thing I recall the Harts fussing about was Nieve, the distant great-aunt who is crazy and evil and essentially the merfolk's version of the bogeyman. She showed up in Tristan's nightmares and she may be the series' Big Bad.
+++ The Awkward Romance
Another thing I dislike about TVD was the romance between Tristan and Layla. Their relationship could be summed up in one short sentence: it's complicated. I didn't think it needed to be that way.
I thought Tristan spent too much time thinking about Layla and not enough about his quest and his survival.
+++ The Ho-hum Hero
What mainly stopped me from rating TVD higher was how ho-hum Tristan was as a hero. There was a plot-hole of Tristan knowing how to fight bad mer-guys when he didn't know any martial art or have any fighting experience. All he had was a magical dagger, but it didn't make him a warrior.
Beside his magical dagger, his half-merman half-human special status, his look and charm with girl, Tristan didn't exhibit anything special that made him stand out as a hero. He didn't fully grasp the urgency of his quest, the weight of being a king, the secrecy of being a merman, and the danger of it all. Many times I wanted Tristan to stop and think about the depth of the situation.
In Conclusion
I rate TVD for 3 stars for I liked it. TVD may not have been original but it did lack much of the cliché that are prevalent in YA. The plot had some action and comedy, and the protagonist was believable as a teenage male.
I recommend TVD for readers looking for something different than your usual YA, readers wanting to jump on the mermaid YA bandwagon, and readers hoping for a light and decent YA read.
Memorable Quote
The Vicious Deep begins with Tristan on lifeguard duty at the beach when suddenly a freak wave hits. While everyone runs for their lives, Tristan races to rescue a drowning victim thinking he could make it. Alas, he didn't. Soon, Tristan washes up on shore and taken to the hospital.
People say a near-death experience can be life changing, but with Tristan it reached to a whole new level.
Tristan learned he was lost for three days at sea and was the only survivor of the freak wave. Yet he was mostly tired and ready for things to get back to normal. His parents agreed and quickly took him home from the hospital. Barring a few odd occurrences, things seem fine.
Till chapter 10.
After getting a fishtail for the bottom half of his body, Tristan learned he's a merman, his mother's an ex-mermaid, they're merfolks royalty which made him a Prince.
I can forget all that. But of all the creatures in my mom’s fairy-tale books, she had to go and be the girliest? Come on!The Writing
TVD had less than 87000 words and was written in present tense, making the action forefront. Imagery was driven by characters' action; character development was driven by dialogue. On occasions, the prose was slightly flowery.
Speaking of flowery, the characters cursed using the "mother-flower" euphemism. Fuck, shit, and damn were part of the vernacular but I didn't understand why a variation of fuck would be euphemized. I thought it was silly and stupid.
The Characters
+++ Tristan
TVD was told in 1st Pov from Tristan's side. Right from the start, Tristan was not your usual YA protagonist...because he's popular.
The YA genre love its loner, its outcast, its "woe is me because I'm a freak and no one understand me" protagonist. Tristan had social skills and enjoyed being around people. In any other YA, he would be the jock love interest our ostracized heroine like because he's nice to her and dislike because his attention to her brings the the mean girls' attention.
Tristan is a swimming athlete and a lifeguard, always wearing a Speedo and being flirtatious. His one big flaw was that despite being a girl magnet Tristan treated girls in his relationship quite horribly. Yet it wasn't because he was naturally a jerk. I disliked how Tristan treated Mandy but I pitied him because for all his charm with girls, he couldn't get the one girl that mattered.
Tristan was in love with Layla — apparently since childhood — but he didn't how to properly deal with it.
+++ Layla
Layla is Tristan's love interest and his best friend since childhood. I liked how she refused to be relegated as Tristan's sidekick. She followed Tristan to find out why he has been so secretive and intended to protect him in case he needed help. She stuck with Tristan after learning his secret and sensibly forgave him for not telling her.
Far too often in YA the best friend would be mad at our protagonist in beginning, disappear in the middle of the story, and reappear at the end — sometime as a hostage or an antagonist. Layla was not like that; Layla was a strong character in her own rights.
+++ Tristan's Parents
TVD didn't suffer the Missing Parents Syndrome. Plus, the parents loved each other and their son Tristan. In short, they were genuinely a happy family. It was...unusual because in YA the protagonist's family are always unhappy or dead. Seriously.
Mr. Hart was like a geek while Mrs. Hart was like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid because she had red hair and a hobby of collecting junks.
+++ Other Characters
Tristan's "cousins" Thalia and Kurt were funny. Thalia was carefree and mischievous while Kurt was haughty and magisterial; the two siblings were total opposite in personality. They made great sidekicks to Tristan (technically, they're his royal courtiers).
I even liked Gwen the mean mermaid princess. Turned out she was more than I initially thought because I found her meanness warranted. Hell, I would be mean too if I was stuck in her situation. Her family forced her to marry a spoiled merman prince and be happy with the asshole.
The other supporting characters such as Marty did not stand out and seem unimportant and unremarkable. The characters from the ship had a muddled introduction.
The World Building
TVD's world was filled with all sorts of supernatural, from vampires to fairies, but the book focused on merfolks. The book used Poseidon from Greek mythology as the basis for its merfolk world. The world building was one of the few unoriginal things about TVD because pretty much every mermaid YA use Poseidon.
The Plot
Tristan's grandfather was nearing his end so he wanted Tristan to replace him as king. However, his grandfather could not directly crown Tristan because the mer-people would revolt. A quest was put forth and Tristan — among other champions — must collect all three dispersed pieces of Poseidon's Trident from three of the five oracles to win the quest and ultimately become the Sea King.
The champions must locate the nomadic oracles, figure which one has the Trident piece, and win it from the oracle. Like any other quest to become king, anything goes and survival is part of the goal.
I expected the plot to be predictable and largely it was. Yet there were few twists and turns, such as Gwen, that caught me off guard. The book had some slow moments, but for the most part it was quick paced.
Things I Didn't Like
+++ Lack of Parental Involvement
I liked the presence of Tristan's parents in the story but I disliked how uninvolved they were in Tristan's quest. They should've fussed about Tristan trying to become the Sea King because 1) he's not an adult 2) he's ignorant of the supernatural world and its danger 3) he wasn't a trained Prince let alone a merman and 4) everyone will try to kill him so they could become king.
The only thing I recall the Harts fussing about was Nieve, the distant great-aunt who is crazy and evil and essentially the merfolk's version of the bogeyman. She showed up in Tristan's nightmares and she may be the series' Big Bad.
+++ The Awkward Romance
Another thing I dislike about TVD was the romance between Tristan and Layla. Their relationship could be summed up in one short sentence: it's complicated. I didn't think it needed to be that way.
I thought Tristan spent too much time thinking about Layla and not enough about his quest and his survival.
+++ The Ho-hum Hero
What mainly stopped me from rating TVD higher was how ho-hum Tristan was as a hero. There was a plot-hole of Tristan knowing how to fight bad mer-guys when he didn't know any martial art or have any fighting experience. All he had was a magical dagger, but it didn't make him a warrior.
Beside his magical dagger, his half-merman half-human special status, his look and charm with girl, Tristan didn't exhibit anything special that made him stand out as a hero. He didn't fully grasp the urgency of his quest, the weight of being a king, the secrecy of being a merman, and the danger of it all. Many times I wanted Tristan to stop and think about the depth of the situation.
In Conclusion
I rate TVD for 3 stars for I liked it. TVD may not have been original but it did lack much of the cliché that are prevalent in YA. The plot had some action and comedy, and the protagonist was believable as a teenage male.
I recommend TVD for readers looking for something different than your usual YA, readers wanting to jump on the mermaid YA bandwagon, and readers hoping for a light and decent YA read.
Memorable Quote
“Is there a way you can fix that? Make yourselves look different so that you don’t attract so much attention?”
“We do look different. We are glamoured,” Kurt says indignantly. “It’s a light spell to tone down our natural colors. We are no longer achingly beautiful. Now we’re just exceptionally beautiful.”
Read
January 24, 2016You know those books that have a slow start, but then continue to build up and you can hardly believe the potential and epicness of the story, until you pass the middle and everything is back to the "pretty-good-but-not-the-awesomeness-I-began-to-expect" stage?
Nevertheless, The Vicious Deep is NOTHING like the majority of the YA mermaid books flooding the market - we have a mermen as a protagonist, who is not an angsty, quiet and misunderstood by the world teen, but an outgoing, popular and cocky kind of guy. The love interest is no damsel in distress, the side characters are just as compelling as the protagonist, if not more, and the villain is...rather boring.
So the story begins with a natural disaster, literally. A tsunami that kills many and destroys the beach area! Miraculously, our main hero Tristan - the life guard, who despite the warnings went ahead to try to save the doomed swimmers, survives.
I was rather bored at that point and the writing style was not to MY taste.
Around Chapter 10 things get interesting though. Tristan turns into a merman in his bathtub and his parents are totally fine and reasonable about it, while their son is having a mental breakdown. Life gets even weirder and funnier when two small fish get into the bathroom through the pipes and transform into humans. They announce that Tristan is requested to attend the Sea King's court and this is where the story picks up.
I absolutely loved it when the two mermen guards (Kurt and Thalia) had to go to a human high school and go shopping with Tristan's family. It was hilarious, the dialogue was priceless and the world-building and politics were gradually introduced. Even the side characters and the main love interest were pretty engaging and 3-dimensional.
We even get to see the Kingdom of the Sea people and it was stunning, creative and colorful! Like the Mermaid lagoon in Peter Pan only 10 times better, with all kinds of creatures and beautiful landscape! Now, in addition to humor and characters, I was even more impressed with the author's ability to describe imaginary worlds in such vivid detail.
Very minor plot spoilers below, but I'll cover them just in case.
And then, IT happened -
Conclusion
Slow start, great humor, creative world, enjoyable characters, amazing middle, disappointing second half with one major exception (a new character that is just too awesome and my favorite, despite his short time in the book), and an alright ending.
Am I going to read the sequel - I can't say I'm super excited for it, but there was so much that I loved in this book that it would be a pity not to see what happens next.
Nevertheless, The Vicious Deep is NOTHING like the majority of the YA mermaid books flooding the market - we have a mermen as a protagonist, who is not an angsty, quiet and misunderstood by the world teen, but an outgoing, popular and cocky kind of guy. The love interest is no damsel in distress, the side characters are just as compelling as the protagonist, if not more, and the villain is...rather boring.
So the story begins with a natural disaster, literally. A tsunami that kills many and destroys the beach area! Miraculously, our main hero Tristan - the life guard, who despite the warnings went ahead to try to save the doomed swimmers, survives.
I was rather bored at that point and the writing style was not to MY taste.
Around Chapter 10 things get interesting though. Tristan turns into a merman in his bathtub and his parents are totally fine and reasonable about it, while their son is having a mental breakdown. Life gets even weirder and funnier when two small fish get into the bathroom through the pipes and transform into humans. They announce that Tristan is requested to attend the Sea King's court and this is where the story picks up.
I absolutely loved it when the two mermen guards (Kurt and Thalia) had to go to a human high school and go shopping with Tristan's family. It was hilarious, the dialogue was priceless and the world-building and politics were gradually introduced. Even the side characters and the main love interest were pretty engaging and 3-dimensional.
We even get to see the Kingdom of the Sea people and it was stunning, creative and colorful! Like the Mermaid lagoon in Peter Pan only 10 times better, with all kinds of creatures and beautiful landscape! Now, in addition to humor and characters, I was even more impressed with the author's ability to describe imaginary worlds in such vivid detail.
Very minor plot spoilers below, but I'll cover them just in case.
And then, IT happened -
Conclusion
Slow start, great humor, creative world, enjoyable characters, amazing middle, disappointing second half with one major exception (a new character that is just too awesome and my favorite, despite his short time in the book), and an alright ending.
Am I going to read the sequel - I can't say I'm super excited for it, but there was so much that I loved in this book that it would be a pity not to see what happens next.
April 30, 2012
The cover of The Vicious Deep tells you not to let it pull you under. Well, you'll want to do the opposite. Because I'm warning you: this book's just like the whirlpool Tristan encounters in the beginning; it sucks you right in and refuses to let go.
The Vicious Deep is something I never expected to find: a guys' mermaid book. Well, maybe not exactly, more unisex, if anything. There's plenty of kisses and romance for the ladies, but there's also plenty of thrills, action, and fighting for the guys.
TVD can be summed up in one word: FUN. From beginning to end, I laughed and gasped and kept flipping pages. Zoraida's writing style is quick and to-the-point, but also witty and hilarious. There were also many in-jokes that every Little Mermaid fan should pick up on. And if all that hasn't peaked your interest, pick up the book. There are several memorable scenes in the novel that will make you laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seat. One of my all-time favorite scenes that had me grinning from ear to ear was the bubble-gum scene. You'll understand.
The world of TVD was fully developed too. We not only have traditional mermaids, but all kinds of paranormal creatures, from vampires to werewolves, to fey and shifters. There's a little something from everyone in the book.
Probably my favorite thing of the novel was the voice: Tristan. Most mermaid books are from a female perspective, but getting the point of view of a teenage boy as he undergoes his transformation into a merman was funny as it was highly readable. The bathtub scene of Tristan's first transformation was incredibly hilarious.
And the other characters! There are so many of them, and each of them so diverse that you won't want to leave their world. From Layla to Gwen, Thalia and Marty, each character felt so real and I didn't want to say goodbye.
So if you want good ol' sea monster action, a classic summer love story, a magical trip under the sea, or a seriously creepy villain, dive into The Vicious Deep!
The Vicious Deep is something I never expected to find: a guys' mermaid book. Well, maybe not exactly, more unisex, if anything. There's plenty of kisses and romance for the ladies, but there's also plenty of thrills, action, and fighting for the guys.
TVD can be summed up in one word: FUN. From beginning to end, I laughed and gasped and kept flipping pages. Zoraida's writing style is quick and to-the-point, but also witty and hilarious. There were also many in-jokes that every Little Mermaid fan should pick up on. And if all that hasn't peaked your interest, pick up the book. There are several memorable scenes in the novel that will make you laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seat. One of my all-time favorite scenes that had me grinning from ear to ear was the bubble-gum scene. You'll understand.
The world of TVD was fully developed too. We not only have traditional mermaids, but all kinds of paranormal creatures, from vampires to werewolves, to fey and shifters. There's a little something from everyone in the book.
Probably my favorite thing of the novel was the voice: Tristan. Most mermaid books are from a female perspective, but getting the point of view of a teenage boy as he undergoes his transformation into a merman was funny as it was highly readable. The bathtub scene of Tristan's first transformation was incredibly hilarious.
And the other characters! There are so many of them, and each of them so diverse that you won't want to leave their world. From Layla to Gwen, Thalia and Marty, each character felt so real and I didn't want to say goodbye.
So if you want good ol' sea monster action, a classic summer love story, a magical trip under the sea, or a seriously creepy villain, dive into The Vicious Deep!
September 3, 2012
This turned out to be very different from what I was expecting.
The Vicious Deep started out strong, dark, mysterious and enjoyable but then it went from alluring to ridiculously comical and strange, completely changing my experience and entertainment.
The Vicious Deep started out strong, dark, mysterious and enjoyable but then it went from alluring to ridiculously comical and strange, completely changing my experience and entertainment.
February 25, 2012
You’ll see me mention voice in a lot of reviews. Some might understand what I mean by it, others might not, but if you want to read something that is a perfect example of “voice”, and how it can transform a character into a three-dimensional, real live person on the page, and suck you so far into a story you feel you’re there, too, then you must read The Vicious Deep. Told from super smokin’ hottie Tristan Hart, TVD grabs you from the first page. With non-stop action, hilarious dialogue, and sincere emotions that tug at your heart strings, this story has it all.
I cannot stress enough how well Zoraida told this story from a REAL guy’s POV. It was like being inside a guy’s head, no holding back, embarrassing moments and all, and the feelings that guys usually cover with humor or sarcasm are stripped down to their raw truth. It’s just awesome on a whole new level. If that was the only reason to read this book, it would be more than enough, but the story has many layers and an amazing plot, too. Original sea creatures, fun side characters that heighten the adventure, and a deep, memorable romance that made me ache—I’m squirming to get my hands on the next book to find out the next part of Tristan’s story. He is my new book boyfriend and I will fight for him! Oh. Yeah. Powerful and unique, The Vicious Deep gripped me with its edgy voice and authentic, compelling characters. Zoraida Córdova mastered the written word, and created a fearless new world. This is a must read for every YA lover out there.
I cannot stress enough how well Zoraida told this story from a REAL guy’s POV. It was like being inside a guy’s head, no holding back, embarrassing moments and all, and the feelings that guys usually cover with humor or sarcasm are stripped down to their raw truth. It’s just awesome on a whole new level. If that was the only reason to read this book, it would be more than enough, but the story has many layers and an amazing plot, too. Original sea creatures, fun side characters that heighten the adventure, and a deep, memorable romance that made me ache—I’m squirming to get my hands on the next book to find out the next part of Tristan’s story. He is my new book boyfriend and I will fight for him! Oh. Yeah. Powerful and unique, The Vicious Deep gripped me with its edgy voice and authentic, compelling characters. Zoraida Córdova mastered the written word, and created a fearless new world. This is a must read for every YA lover out there.
August 17, 2015
Naaaah.
This book is okay, I think. It has some funny part but most of the time I'm rolling my eyes to the lead character.I find the MC somewhat inconsistent and whiny and the plot doesn't hold much interest to me.
This book is okay, I think. It has some funny part but most of the time I'm rolling my eyes to the lead character.I find the MC somewhat inconsistent and whiny and the plot doesn't hold much interest to me.
Read
April 9, 2021It begans strong, and it attracted me with all the mistery of what is going on. And then you discover he is a merman, and from there the book went downhill. I never cared for any of the characters, the secundary ones are just secundary, the friends from high school could be easily swapped as they are all identical, even kurt and thalia are quite plain. Tbh, not even the main characters seemed real.
The story had lots of "wtf", but not because it surprised me, more because it made no sense (like Layla stowing away on a ship with no one noticing when previously tristan could easily smell her... or her parents not being mentioned when she disappears due to being with tristan after being stowed away...)
At page 280 I just stopped reading. I know i was almost at the end, but it wasn't a lecture i was enjoying.
Pity, because I really like the Brooklyn Brujas series...
The story had lots of "wtf", but not because it surprised me, more because it made no sense (like Layla stowing away on a ship with no one noticing when previously tristan could easily smell her... or her parents not being mentioned when she disappears due to being with tristan after being stowed away...)
At page 280 I just stopped reading. I know i was almost at the end, but it wasn't a lecture i was enjoying.
Pity, because I really like the Brooklyn Brujas series...
April 20, 2012
The Vicious Depp dammit every time Deep popped up on my radar when this happened, and from that point, I knew I had to read it. And by the time that un-happened and a new cover was born, it was so firmly planted in my to-read wishlist that I found myself becoming a member of the Bloggers of the Deep street team.
And for that, I am glad.
The Vicious Deep is a very engaging, somewhat unusual take on mermaids. Riding the crest of the wave of what looks to be a pretty good mermaid craze, TVD forgoes the expected female heroine and her mysteries of the deep, and follows instead an unsuspecting male lead who finds himself in over his head. [You see what I did there? Okay, I'll stop.] Tristan is likeable: charmingly flawed, self-deprecating yet cocky, typical teenage fuck-up and stunner all in one. He's one of those guys that, even while you know they're playing you, you can't help but sigh and bat your lashes. That guy. And because of that, when he finds himself tossed into this completely unexpected situation where he has to actually put himself out there and try at something that had never even entered his head, it comes together with the way he'd begun to think about his life and trying there, too. And it just works.
His narration is nearly pitch-perfect. It had a very friend-like feel, like chatting with your besties and the jackasses you hung out with as a teen. It's a little colloquial and just - authentic feeling, for the most part. (I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a teenage boy who has just found out he's a mermaidman, so I can't speak to how completely authentic it is...) It's just very funny and cheeky and teenagery in a not-so-angsty way (and AMEN for that). The voice is just great. It played well off of the other characters, too, which I think was one of the strong points of the novel. I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions, and the fact that there is some gray area within them. Tristan is not always a shining hero, (for all that he is shiny), and some of the more dubious, possibly villainous characters turn out to be pretty okay (I love Gwen! #GwenFTW!)
The characters draw you in, but I think the story is enjoyable in other respects, too. At its heart, it's a good, rollicking adventure story with a bit of heart and charm at the core; a thread of romancifulness and a dash of badassery. It's something that will appeal to both genders, I think, and could easily transition to the big screen. It's a bit of a more grown-up Percy Jackson - a little less wholesome and cutesy, and a little more...vicious, with a mythology all its own and solid, enjoyable world-building.
For awhile, I was held back a little bit by the necessity of the story. There were questions, the foremost being, Why does Tristan need to become Sea King? Why should he even care, and how is he in ANY way qualified? (I come from a Kingless place, you'll remember. We stopped believing in de jure divine some time ago...) But where so many YA books wouldn't have addressed it, Córdova DID, and that won me over big time. Someone flat-out asks Tristan why he gives a flying fuck (? swimming shi-..nevermind), and he actually does stop to consider the choice he could make (to ignore it, to let someone else deal with it, to wonder what his place is in all of it), and then makes a decision based on heart and instinct. I respected that; not only that he is choosing to go down this path, but that he (and Córdova) recognizes that there would be questions and other paths, and that thought does need to go into the decision. This got points, friends. Points* in the meaningless scoreboard that is my head.
I have to say, there will be those that are put off by the fact that there's a lot of build up for not all that much accomplished in the end. I don't want this to sound like nothing happens; I just mean there's a lot still in the air at the end, and the story has really just begun. But it's a trilogy, so that's something any regular reader should see coming a mile (fathom?) away. Also, I think it made for good world-building, and things would have been much less believable and weighty if everything had been solved in this book and tied up with a pretty little bow. Things can happen a little quicker now in the rest of the series, and still have a good foundation as a result of the time spent building the story in this first book. So I didn't have an issue with where things stand at the end, but it just bears mentioning, I think.
So yeah. The Vicious Deep. Fun for a girl and a boy. (Though I still wish it had this cover. Though I know it would pretty much mean =/= fun for boys, cause they'd never pick it up...)
*1000 points redeemable for a slinky or sticky slap-hand. Winners choice!
Don't forget to check out my guest vlog on merbits from Zoraida, and enter to win a copy of The Vicious Deep! (ends May 5th)
[Oh, and I guess I should note, I read an ARC of this, so things may be different in the final version!]
And for that, I am glad.
The Vicious Deep is a very engaging, somewhat unusual take on mermaids. Riding the crest of the wave of what looks to be a pretty good mermaid craze, TVD forgoes the expected female heroine and her mysteries of the deep, and follows instead an unsuspecting male lead who finds himself in over his head. [You see what I did there? Okay, I'll stop.] Tristan is likeable: charmingly flawed, self-deprecating yet cocky, typical teenage fuck-up and stunner all in one. He's one of those guys that, even while you know they're playing you, you can't help but sigh and bat your lashes. That guy. And because of that, when he finds himself tossed into this completely unexpected situation where he has to actually put himself out there and try at something that had never even entered his head, it comes together with the way he'd begun to think about his life and trying there, too. And it just works.
His narration is nearly pitch-perfect. It had a very friend-like feel, like chatting with your besties and the jackasses you hung out with as a teen. It's a little colloquial and just - authentic feeling, for the most part. (I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a teenage boy who has just found out he's a mermaidman, so I can't speak to how completely authentic it is...) It's just very funny and cheeky and teenagery in a not-so-angsty way (and AMEN for that). The voice is just great. It played well off of the other characters, too, which I think was one of the strong points of the novel. I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions, and the fact that there is some gray area within them. Tristan is not always a shining hero, (for all that he is shiny), and some of the more dubious, possibly villainous characters turn out to be pretty okay (I love Gwen! #GwenFTW!)
The characters draw you in, but I think the story is enjoyable in other respects, too. At its heart, it's a good, rollicking adventure story with a bit of heart and charm at the core; a thread of romancifulness and a dash of badassery. It's something that will appeal to both genders, I think, and could easily transition to the big screen. It's a bit of a more grown-up Percy Jackson - a little less wholesome and cutesy, and a little more...vicious, with a mythology all its own and solid, enjoyable world-building.
For awhile, I was held back a little bit by the necessity of the story. There were questions, the foremost being, Why does Tristan need to become Sea King? Why should he even care, and how is he in ANY way qualified? (I come from a Kingless place, you'll remember. We stopped believing in de jure divine some time ago...) But where so many YA books wouldn't have addressed it, Córdova DID, and that won me over big time. Someone flat-out asks Tristan why he gives a flying fuck (? swimming shi-..nevermind), and he actually does stop to consider the choice he could make (to ignore it, to let someone else deal with it, to wonder what his place is in all of it), and then makes a decision based on heart and instinct. I respected that; not only that he is choosing to go down this path, but that he (and Córdova) recognizes that there would be questions and other paths, and that thought does need to go into the decision. This got points, friends. Points* in the meaningless scoreboard that is my head.
I have to say, there will be those that are put off by the fact that there's a lot of build up for not all that much accomplished in the end. I don't want this to sound like nothing happens; I just mean there's a lot still in the air at the end, and the story has really just begun. But it's a trilogy, so that's something any regular reader should see coming a mile (fathom?) away. Also, I think it made for good world-building, and things would have been much less believable and weighty if everything had been solved in this book and tied up with a pretty little bow. Things can happen a little quicker now in the rest of the series, and still have a good foundation as a result of the time spent building the story in this first book. So I didn't have an issue with where things stand at the end, but it just bears mentioning, I think.
So yeah. The Vicious Deep. Fun for a girl and a boy. (Though I still wish it had this cover. Though I know it would pretty much mean =/= fun for boys, cause they'd never pick it up...)
*1000 points redeemable for a slinky or sticky slap-hand. Winners choice!
Don't forget to check out my guest vlog on merbits from Zoraida, and enter to win a copy of The Vicious Deep! (ends May 5th)
[Oh, and I guess I should note, I read an ARC of this, so things may be different in the final version!]
May 7, 2018
I've wanted to read this since forever and it let me down so bad.
April 22, 2012
More reviews at http://readerpants.blogspot.com
REVIEW: On the surface, Vicious Deep has all the ingredients that I love to see in a YA novel: a male protagonist, a seemingly unattainable romance, mermaids and an assortment of mythological sea creatures, snarky humor, a quest to find an oracle... but I can't say I loved this book. For one thing, it took me THREE WEEKS to finish reading it. I kept putting it down, falling asleep after three pages, reading other books "in between." Why did that happen? Why was I so disconnected with the characters and the story? I absolutely adore mermaid literature, and male protagonist/ unwitting merman Tristan is likeable and funny. While Layla kind of irritates me with her never-ending spunk, the characters are mostly pretty likeable and clearly-drawn.
So why didn't I like the book? One word: pacing. Very little actually happens in the novel's 380 pages. There is a lot of talk about what's going to happen, what's happening to Tristan's body, what's going down in the mermaid community. I would have loved to see more connection between Tristan and Layla. On one hand, Tristan loves Layla more than just about anything, but he also checks out the female mermaids quite frequently. He's an insatiable flirt who knows girls find him attractive, and he sometimes uses that to get girls to do what he wants them to do. That may be realistic, but it doesn't make me really root for Tristan to end up with Layla.
I wish there were fewer instances of gratuitous language and references to Tristan's "junk." Profanity does not bother me (my husband likes to call me "Captain" because I "cuss like a sailor"), but I think the profanity usage in Vicious Deep is unnecessary. Even though I didn't love the pacing, I would have put Vicious Deep in my middle school library if it weren't for the frequency of the F-word and references to Tristan's "junk." I do have many books in my library that include profanity and sexual references, but I hate it when mature content seems thrown in just for the heck of it.
All that said, I have no doubt Vicious Deep will be a successful book. The cover is gorgeous, there's a male protagonist, and mermaids are hot right now. All the reviews I've seen praise it highly, and the Goodreads rating is well over 4-stars. It's not bad or terrible; it just didn't do much for me.
THE BOTTOM LINE: While for me, Vicious Deep has serious pacing issues and too much unnecessary profanity, I believe it will be a successful novel that will appeal to many teens. For middle school librarians concerned about mature content, check out Lies Beneath.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: I can't get this one for middle school; see content advisory below. Highly recommended for high school libraries.
READALIKES: Lies Beneath (Anne Greenwood Brown)
RATING BREAKDOWN:
Overall: 3/5
Creativity: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Engrossing: 1/5
Writing: 2/5
Appeal to teens: 5/5
Appropriate length to tell the story: 2/5
CONTENT:
Language: medium-high; includes multiple instances of sh** and fu**
Sexuality: medium; multiple references to Tristan's manhood (Such as where does "it" go when he transforms, feeling "heat" in his pants); a few mild kissing scenes
Violence: mild-medium; some sea creature deaths (somewhat bloody/gory but also kind of funny); two human deaths (gory but not too descriptive)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild; a couple of scenes where teens drink (one unknowingly gets drunk). Neither scene is a big deal unless you are completely opposed to teen drinking in YA books.
July 25, 2012
Three Stars: A fun book with mermen and more!
Tristan is enjoying another lifeguard shift at the Coney Island Beach. He watches the sun kissed girls in skimpy bikinis and sunglasses parading up and down the beach, a catwalk for the lifeguards. His eyes dart over them, but in reality he only has eyes for one girl, Layla, who just happens to be his best friend and has no idea of his feelings. The lazy afternoon is interrupted without warning when screams pierce the air. A giant wave is headed toward shore and in its wake are hundreds of screaming beach goers. Tristan looks out at the dark water and sees a pair of arms struggling in the water. Without thinking, he runs toward the water despite Layla's frantic screams. He plunges in, only to find the current is too strong and the victim yards away. The behemoth wave crashes over him, and he fades into blackness. Three days later, he awakens on the beach to the joyful squeals of Layla. His return is miraculous! Yet, where was he for those three days? Why does he remember nothing except a woman with white hair and vicious teeth, and a shark? It seems that Tristan's mother has been keeping some secrets from him. Secrets that will change everything, including his future and those secrets lie in the Vicious Deep....
What I Liked:
*I appreciated reading this one from a male's perspective. There are not enough male point of view books in the YA genre, so I am always pleased to find a male narrator. Tristan is funny and courageous as well as a typical male, in that he doesn't always make the best decisions when it comes to dating and he is overly concerned with his male parts. I also enjoyed that he is a merman, which again is not something you find in the sea of books.
*I liked that this book presents a complex story line. It has numerous storylines: Tristan discovering his true identity and battling for his chance as a ruler, Tristan's unrequited feelings for his best friend Layla, the challenging quest in order to become the sea king, avoiding the dangerous sea witch and Merrows....these storylines blend into an action filled story line.
*I enjoyed the romance in this one. It consists of two lifelong best friends who obviously have feelings for each other, but neither party has expressed or acknowledged their feelings toward the other. Thus, you get a romance with smoldering tension that leaves the reader anxiously waiting for that pivotal moment that changes everything and for the sparks to start flying. No insta love or love triangles in this one!
*This book has may memorable characters that are just as fun and entertaining as the protagonists. I especially enjoyed Marty, the mysterious boy who is not completely human. This book is full of great memorable characters. The Sea King is also fascinating.
*I loved how the incorporated the sense of smell into the book. She cleverly uses it to describe feelings, I liked the additional sensory experience in her writing. It was certainly unique and refreshing.
And The Not So Much:
*My biggest complaint for this book might seem petty to some of you, but to me it was like nails across the chalkboard every time I encountered this flaw. What was the offender? This book on countless occasions uses the phrases "I go" or "he goes" or "she goes" instead of saying I said or he/she said. It is not grammatically correct to use this slang and I was absolutely shocked to find it in this book. I cannot believe a professional editor let that slide. I also found the phrase "and he/she was all" annoying along with the constant use of "bro".
*I was a bit disappointed that Tristan's mother and her history did not play a bigger role. This seemed like such an important piece of the story. How does a mermaid fall for a land dweller and what are all the repercussions? Too much of this was left out and glossed over. I truly wanted to know all these details.
*This book has a complex story line with many conflicts and plots playing out, the problem is that almost none of them are resolved by the end of the book and the reader is left with another big fat, dreadful cliffhanger. A big let down!
The Vicious Deep is an entertaining and action packed read that follows a young man as he discovers the shocking truth of his heritage and the subsequent consequences of being a Merman who is in love with his best friend. If you are looking for a mermaid book that is a bit different give this a try. Tristan is a likeable hero who will make you laugh with his antics. Look for the follow up: The Savage Blue, January 2013.
Favorite Quotations:
"Her lips are warm, like leaning your face up at the sky and wishing the sun would kiss you, and it does. It really does."
"Sometimes I'd tell her she and Dad should've tried for a daughter, and then realized I was telling my parents to keep having sex."
"The smell of disappointment that's coming from her---crushed flowers and dew and the fog before it rains."
"I don't need a sixth sense to describe the way she smells today, like sunshine in this terribly cloudy day."
"My heart feels like a Hacky Sack in use when she says Layla's name."
"I can sense her near me---lavender and salt and crushed flowers, sticky between her fingertips. She loves me not."
"The ground beneath us glitters. The river ends in a waterfall that falls like silk against the boulders."
"I can smell Layla's wonder, her own blend of blooming flowers."
"When you grow up without grandparents, it's like you're missing a link to a past you didn't even care you had until you have to sort through it to understand who you are."
"I'm half human. Not half stupid." Most of the time."
"I don't like my girls with a side of crazy, thank you."
This review and quotes are from an ARC copy I received in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation and all opinions expressed are my own.
April 15, 2019
I really loved this book it was really good the best book about mermaids and under the sea life type books that I have read in a while. I really liked the characters especially Tristan,Layla,Kurt and Thalia they were really well written characters and a really well written MC. I really liked how Tristan was a really realistically written male character I really liked how the under the sea characters were depicted and his reactions to being half one of them and all of the interesting things that he learned. I like the slowly developing relationship between him and Layla hopefully that will develop more by the next book. I really liked the plot of the story it was really interesting I liked it from the beginning the story I really liked the concept there was never a dull moment. So overall I really liked this book and I will be continuing the series soon.
July 22, 2012
3.5 Stars Rounding down.
This book started out great, lots of humor, dirty jokes, and it was written in a guy's POV which just made it that much more funny. I am still not sure what to make of Tristan, sometimes I liked him others not so much, but by the end of the book I still feel undecided...There is just something about him that is missing. It almost feels like when you are in shock, you can see everything that's going on but you don't truly feel anything, and that's what it felt like at some points.
Part 2 and 3 is when you really get into the 'plot' which for now is really just a quest to get the trident so he can become the next Sea King. There was plenty of action and I really enjoyed those scenes, but by part 3 I was skimming every few paragraphs. It just wasn't grabbing my attention as much like in the first part except when you got to the fight scenes.
Since this is the first book in a series, it was left with quite a bit of things left hanging loose. The romance was left up in the air, don't really know what is going on there, and with the plot, I mean I get what they are trying to do and the threat with the sea witch but I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I still really enjoyed this book since one it was written in a boy's POV and they put a new conflict to the merman story line beside the whole picking where they are going to live. He will eventually have to decide but the politics of their world takes a much more important role. Will be reading the next in the series to follow Tristan's quest.
This book started out great, lots of humor, dirty jokes, and it was written in a guy's POV which just made it that much more funny. I am still not sure what to make of Tristan, sometimes I liked him others not so much, but by the end of the book I still feel undecided...There is just something about him that is missing. It almost feels like when you are in shock, you can see everything that's going on but you don't truly feel anything, and that's what it felt like at some points.
Part 2 and 3 is when you really get into the 'plot' which for now is really just a quest to get the trident so he can become the next Sea King. There was plenty of action and I really enjoyed those scenes, but by part 3 I was skimming every few paragraphs. It just wasn't grabbing my attention as much like in the first part except when you got to the fight scenes.
Since this is the first book in a series, it was left with quite a bit of things left hanging loose. The romance was left up in the air, don't really know what is going on there, and with the plot, I mean I get what they are trying to do and the threat with the sea witch but I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I still really enjoyed this book since one it was written in a boy's POV and they put a new conflict to the merman story line beside the whole picking where they are going to live. He will eventually have to decide but the politics of their world takes a much more important role. Will be reading the next in the series to follow Tristan's quest.
May 18, 2012
Loved this book! So action-packed- had me sitting on the edge of my seat for the whole 3 hours I read it!!
Praise to the author for writing a new amazing series! Hope you don't take too long writing the sequel I don't think I can wait!
Praise to the author for writing a new amazing series! Hope you don't take too long writing the sequel I don't think I can wait!
October 29, 2012
Find this review at Scott Reads It
Check out my interview with Zoraida Córdova!
“He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back.”
Thank you to Goodreads which helped me find the Vicious Deep! I found it on a listopia for YA Mermaid books and I was so excited to find a book from the point of view of a merman. I also met Zoraida Cordóva at an annual book festival and she was very kind and friendly! Also my Goodreads friend Dr. Bob recommended it to me which made me want to read it even more!
I really loved the Vicious Deep! It was told from the point of view of Tristan Hart who at first seemed like a bit of a jerk but he really proved himself to be a true hero and just an awesome character. Tristan was a realistic teenage boy that I felt like I could really relate to! Tristan was out at sea missing for 3 days and he keeps having visions of a mermaid with sharp teeth. Tristan can tell no one not even his best friend Layla about what he is going through. Tristan must travel to the Sea Court to meet the merfolk and he is truly in for the adventure of his life!
The Vicious Deep was such a fast and fun read! I loved how funny Tristan was and I couldn't stop laughing while I was reading. Seriously my family members probably thought I had something wrong with me because I was laughing so much! The action scenes were so exciting to read and I couldn't stop reading! This was my reaction to my family members while reading!
Nothing else mattered while I read The Vicious Deep because I was too busy in the world of merfolk.
Seriously next time I go swimming I really hope I grow a merman tail. A guy can hope right? Okay now I'm just getting way off topic. The Vicious Deep was seriously the epitome of awesomeness. I am not exaggerating at all. The Vicious Deep had awesome sea monster battles, mermen, and lots of humor.What else could you ask for?? I really loved how it was told from a male pov and how fast paced it was. It was amazing how realistic the POV was in this book and I seriously wish it was longer :) I was not bored at all while reading Córdova's debut and I really really really x1000 want an ARC of the Savage Blue! Pretty Please Sourcebooks, how could you resist Agnes?
If you haven't read the Vicious Deep yet and you are still questioning whether you should read it. You must read it because I know you'll just love it. Why are you still reading this? Go read the Vicious Deep already and you won't be disappointed!
October 4, 2015
Final rating: 3.75/5 stars
I have never read anything related to mermaids, and it was quite refreshing to find a book with male (first person)pov instead of female. In young adult world 99% of the books are from female pov and in first person.
I think i kinda felt like this:
Except you must imagine a male "Merman" doing it. No wait, imagine Prince Eric doing it and having fins. And wait, he is not Ariel in personality, because he was born and raised as human.
Tristan was interesting character, i loved him. And i loved his reactions when he became the mermaid.
Other characters were as much as fun as him. Especially Kurtomathetis which name you cannot write except if you copy/paste it from the book or actually misspell it like the other guy (Marty) Kurtomawhatsis?”
Now like the synopis said, Tristan is one sexySOB, i mean lifeguard, i mean one of the heirs to the Sea god throne, and since it is time for his grandfather *Sea god who is btw, descendant of King Triton-insets king triton from little mermaid* to descend it, Tristan must compete with other Merman for the throne, but he is the only one from Sea king's family to inherit the throne. Meanwhile, an evil silver haired mermaid........
except she is not ugly (but she is a mermaid with razor sharp teeth) and not as much fun as Ursula, is a stalker. Yeah you heard me. She is gonna stalk Tristan to his death *insert threat scenes here*.
And no, i am not saying that this is rip off of little mermaid, i just thought it would be fun putting characters from LM into this book. Afterall, Tristan is nothing like Ariel or Eric xD
Well i had fun reading this book. Like i said, it was not something i got used to (too much vampire and werewolves, demons and angels) and i needed something refreshing. Read it, you won't regret :)
I have never read anything related to mermaids, and it was quite refreshing to find a book with male (first person)pov instead of female. In young adult world 99% of the books are from female pov and in first person.
I think i kinda felt like this:
Except you must imagine a male "Merman" doing it. No wait, imagine Prince Eric doing it and having fins. And wait, he is not Ariel in personality, because he was born and raised as human.
Tristan was interesting character, i loved him. And i loved his reactions when he became the mermaid.
Other characters were as much as fun as him. Especially Kurtomathetis which name you cannot write except if you copy/paste it from the book or actually misspell it like the other guy (Marty) Kurtomawhatsis?”
“My name is Kurtomathetis,” he says with his head held high, “and I am not a mermaid, as I am clearly not a woman. I am a merman, as are you,but of course you’ve already figured that out.”
Now like the synopis said, Tristan is one sexy
except she is not ugly (but she is a mermaid with razor sharp teeth) and not as much fun as Ursula, is a stalker. Yeah you heard me. She is gonna stalk Tristan to his death *insert threat scenes here*.
And no, i am not saying that this is rip off of little mermaid, i just thought it would be fun putting characters from LM into this book. Afterall, Tristan is nothing like Ariel or Eric xD
Well i had fun reading this book. Like i said, it was not something i got used to (too much vampire and werewolves, demons and angels) and i needed something refreshing. Read it, you won't regret :)
August 31, 2012
Meet Tristan - man-slut, popular, life-guard, ultra-pretty-boy, average intelligence.
Tristan's life, up until the beginning of the book, is pretty straightforward. In fact his life is easy.
But all that's about to change because...HE'S A MERMAID! Wait, they prefer the term Merman. Cause that's 10,000 times more manly.
So, Merman Tristan discovers that he is, in fact, related to the Sea King, the ruler of all merpeople, his mother being a princess. Turns out, his grandfather is nearing the end of his reign, and needs a heir, and soon. Naturally, Tristan is a viable candidate.
I liked this, for the most part. The main issue I had is that I never connected with anyone in the story. Tristan in particular. He, as we're constantly reminded, is a popular guy/man-slut (since he constantly reminds us that he is the Panty Charmer), but we never see that side of him. Technically, he's in love with one girl in particular during the story, which might be why we never see his previous-to-book-beginning version (it's suppressed?). Basically, Tristan doesn't match the image his background description paints, or his stereotype. He also has no defining characteristics that set him apart. I didn't really root for him, either.
Also, Tristan adapts far too quickly to being a Mermaid, the entire supernatural world, actually. He gets angry for like a second (with his parents) then it's ♫ Mermaids ain't shit and they ain't sayin' nothin', a hundred vampires can't tell me nothin' ♫.
The plot pacing is also off a wee bit. I didn't notice it enough to go into it, so I won't. The plot itself could use some better direction, it didn't develop very naturally, or interestingly to maintain reader interest. At least mine, until the 2/3 of the way in when it picked up.
That's really it. Mostly worth a read, if there's nothing more pressing on your plate. Nothing really new, no genre-busting stuff. Probably reading the sequel.
P.S.: All Mermaids are super-beautiful, scantily clad vixens. Just tossing that out there. Ariel was one of the uglier ones, she's generally frowned upon by the mermaid community.
Tristan's life, up until the beginning of the book, is pretty straightforward. In fact his life is easy.
But all that's about to change because...HE'S A MERMAID! Wait, they prefer the term Merman. Cause that's 10,000 times more manly.
So, Merman Tristan discovers that he is, in fact, related to the Sea King, the ruler of all merpeople, his mother being a princess. Turns out, his grandfather is nearing the end of his reign, and needs a heir, and soon. Naturally, Tristan is a viable candidate.
I liked this, for the most part. The main issue I had is that I never connected with anyone in the story. Tristan in particular. He, as we're constantly reminded, is a popular guy/man-slut (since he constantly reminds us that he is the Panty Charmer), but we never see that side of him. Technically, he's in love with one girl in particular during the story, which might be why we never see his previous-to-book-beginning version (it's suppressed?). Basically, Tristan doesn't match the image his background description paints, or his stereotype. He also has no defining characteristics that set him apart. I didn't really root for him, either.
Also, Tristan adapts far too quickly to being a Mermaid, the entire supernatural world, actually. He gets angry for like a second (with his parents) then it's ♫ Mermaids ain't shit and they ain't sayin' nothin', a hundred vampires can't tell me nothin' ♫.
The plot pacing is also off a wee bit. I didn't notice it enough to go into it, so I won't. The plot itself could use some better direction, it didn't develop very naturally, or interestingly to maintain reader interest. At least mine, until the 2/3 of the way in when it picked up.
That's really it. Mostly worth a read, if there's nothing more pressing on your plate. Nothing really new, no genre-busting stuff. Probably reading the sequel.
P.S.: All Mermaids are super-beautiful, scantily clad vixens. Just tossing that out there. Ariel was one of the uglier ones, she's generally frowned upon by the mermaid community.
February 18, 2019
I really wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get into it. Between the plot, the horrible MC and the strange choppiness of the writing I was very underwhelmed. I did not like Tristan one bit, he mainly felt like a Percy Jackson ripoff but he could grow a merman tail. And some of the things he said made me so angry, especially the way he would talk about Layla at times.
I know this is urban fantasy, but it didn't feel like a realistic one. Things seemed weirdly joined together and half of the story didn't really seem to follow a logical plotline. The school parts just didn't seem to make any sense besides being filler scenes. The other thing that bothered me was that Tristan never had a real conversation with anyone. Anytime he tried to talk about his feelings or explain his actions, he never did. He just flailed around like a fish out of water. It made a lot of the conversations painful to watch.
I don't know if I'll read the others in this series. I might give them a chance, but I don't particularly want to be in Tristan's headspace any time soon.
I know this is urban fantasy, but it didn't feel like a realistic one. Things seemed weirdly joined together and half of the story didn't really seem to follow a logical plotline. The school parts just didn't seem to make any sense besides being filler scenes. The other thing that bothered me was that Tristan never had a real conversation with anyone. Anytime he tried to talk about his feelings or explain his actions, he never did. He just flailed around like a fish out of water. It made a lot of the conversations painful to watch.
I don't know if I'll read the others in this series. I might give them a chance, but I don't particularly want to be in Tristan's headspace any time soon.
July 26, 2020
Finished this books at 5:18 am!! Yay! This book I read cuz @ThaliaGrace reccomanded it to me. I also read this for @The.midnight.readers readathon, and for #thereadingrush2020 s challenge, Book that starts with the. Also: this book was told by a very dirty minded boy and many times I felt kinda uncomfortable reading this book. Further into the book, it was more about all the mermaid-ey stuff, and I thought I got better, but still. I did like the action and stuff but the romance was all fake and I did not like it. (Except—— SPOILER——- Thalia and Ryan. I did like them.) I loved Thalia and Layla’s characters. However, I hated Tristens.
May 5, 2012
Really liked how this book started, but also felt it kind of runs out of steam and collapses towards the end. The beginning though, is absolutely hilarious. Normally books by female authors from male points of view are hit or miss for me, because, no offense, but a lot of female authors write guys like how girls expect guys to behave, not how we actually behave, but I had a stupid grin on my face through most of Part One because Tristan just spouts guy humor. Really, while I was reading this at first, I kept thinking The Vicious Deep was a complete misnomer because everything was just so ridiculously funny.
I'd probably quote every other line of Part One if I could, but it'd take too long cause I'd be busy laughing, so I'm just going to have to settle for a couple of choice quotes *still laughing while typing, and I assure you all of these are even funnier in context*. The number of Disney references and mildly dirty jokes Cordova has managed to cram into this thing is astounding, and even though it's an hour of my life I'll never get back, I don't regret it one bit. Good times, Part One.
Part Two, not so much. Cordova does humor really well, but serious is sadly not her forte. Maybe it's because Tristan's narration is really dry, and his dry humor is excellent, but just plain dry narration doesn't work that well - it gets kind of boring. As long as the jokes kept coming, I kept laughing along, but once it was time to get serious, get into the quest portion of the book, basically latter half of Part Two and Part Three, I wasn't really feeling it. Didn't really feel Layla's or Marty's role either, she felt more like a friend who happens to be a girl and he felt like comic relief that just didn't work. Add in alot of the explanations for the mythology that Part One glossed over also falling into here, like a catch all, and basically, while nothing in this part's boring, it wasn't the same or as good either.
And then Part Three was a complete let down. Part One excelled at being simple, Part Three was just too convoluted for its own good. The plot itself was fine, searching for pieces of a trident that'll help Tristan lead the merfolk while fending off an evil greataunt, and everything connected together logically, but it just felt that too much was happening, that they'd spend five pages in this scene doing this and then run off into that scene to fight those for five more pages. I really wished this part was simplified, with fewer scenes overall and more time spent on each, because there were some great action scenes that I just felt could've used at least a few more paragraphs and a couple of filler scenes I felt could've been left out. Also think hard breaks were overused here, a couple more smooth transitions could've evened things out. Oh, and there are a few character deaths towards the end too, and none of them, no matter how much they're supposed to affect Tristan, had much of an effect in reality because we stay on each scene so briefly. Add in the jokes here being hit or miss, and the entire effect is that as I feel like I'm meandering along, following a trail of breadcrumbs in all these random directions, and I end up getting only the murkiest sense of how all these scenes are contributing to Tristan's overall quest.
I still like the book, I think it's rather unique, even among mermaid books which seem to be popular right now and one of the few I've felt was written with guys at least in mind, great humor, lots of action. But the plotting could've been tighter, especially in Part Three, and the humor a little more consistent, so it's 3.5 stars rounded down from me.
I'd probably quote every other line of Part One if I could, but it'd take too long cause I'd be busy laughing, so I'm just going to have to settle for a couple of choice quotes *still laughing while typing, and I assure you all of these are even funnier in context*. The number of Disney references and mildly dirty jokes Cordova has managed to cram into this thing is astounding, and even though it's an hour of my life I'll never get back, I don't regret it one bit. Good times, Part One.
Part Two, not so much. Cordova does humor really well, but serious is sadly not her forte. Maybe it's because Tristan's narration is really dry, and his dry humor is excellent, but just plain dry narration doesn't work that well - it gets kind of boring. As long as the jokes kept coming, I kept laughing along, but once it was time to get serious, get into the quest portion of the book, basically latter half of Part Two and Part Three, I wasn't really feeling it. Didn't really feel Layla's or Marty's role either, she felt more like a friend who happens to be a girl and he felt like comic relief that just didn't work. Add in alot of the explanations for the mythology that Part One glossed over also falling into here, like a catch all, and basically, while nothing in this part's boring, it wasn't the same or as good either.
And then Part Three was a complete let down. Part One excelled at being simple, Part Three was just too convoluted for its own good. The plot itself was fine, searching for pieces of a trident that'll help Tristan lead the merfolk while fending off an evil greataunt, and everything connected together logically, but it just felt that too much was happening, that they'd spend five pages in this scene doing this and then run off into that scene to fight those for five more pages. I really wished this part was simplified, with fewer scenes overall and more time spent on each, because there were some great action scenes that I just felt could've used at least a few more paragraphs and a couple of filler scenes I felt could've been left out. Also think hard breaks were overused here, a couple more smooth transitions could've evened things out. Oh, and there are a few character deaths towards the end too, and none of them, no matter how much they're supposed to affect Tristan, had much of an effect in reality because we stay on each scene so briefly. Add in the jokes here being hit or miss, and the entire effect is that as I feel like I'm meandering along, following a trail of breadcrumbs in all these random directions, and I end up getting only the murkiest sense of how all these scenes are contributing to Tristan's overall quest.
I still like the book, I think it's rather unique, even among mermaid books which seem to be popular right now and one of the few I've felt was written with guys at least in mind, great humor, lots of action. But the plotting could've been tighter, especially in Part Three, and the humor a little more consistent, so it's 3.5 stars rounded down from me.
September 10, 2013
This book made me so angry. I was pulled in by the premise, because usually books about merpeople are about women, and I wanted to see what a book about a merman would be like.
The answer is a mess.
Firstly, this book suffers from a serious case of 'Not Like the Other Girls.' Most women in this book are described as incredibly shallow and stupid. Only his mother, his best friend/love interest, and the little-sister character are ok, because they're Not Like the Other Girls! Female characters who attempt to not be a stereotype are treated with suspicion.
Secondly, Tristan, the main character himself, is kind of a dick. He gets to be a merperson, and spends a bunch of time complaining that merpeople are too 'girly.' When a girl tells him she's in love with him, he kisses someone else (yeah, he feels bad and is held accountable, but he never really repents. He's just kind of like 'Why is she so mad at me? I said I was sorry!'). Also, he's chosen by his grandfather to be potential heir to the throne after his mother abdicates because all his many aunts are shallow and stupid! Obviously Tristan is the best choice! Despite showing no leadership skills, not understanding anything about merpeople, not actually enjoying being a merperson, or, in fact, showing any indication that he could rule better than any of the other potential candidates for king (also, there's a contest to be king in this book. Which had potential to be interesting, but the other candidates aren't given much personality except for the dude who dies). Wow, this dude sure sounds like he'd be a great king! Not.
I saw in a blurb for the book that Tristan's voice was very realistic for a teenage boy. I hope not, or teenage boys are even worse than I previously suspected. Tristan is the bro-iest of dudebros, and not a character whose headspace I ever want to be in again.
As for the rest of it, the characters were inconsistent, see-sawing back and forth between emotions and opinions. Which, if done right, can come across as very realistic and human, but in this case, was just aggravating. Plot-wise, there seemed to be too much and too little happening.
All in all, this book had an interesting premise, which it then failed to deliver on in every conceivable way. I wish I could give it negative stars, but one will have to do.
The answer is a mess.
Firstly, this book suffers from a serious case of 'Not Like the Other Girls.' Most women in this book are described as incredibly shallow and stupid. Only his mother, his best friend/love interest, and the little-sister character are ok, because they're Not Like the Other Girls! Female characters who attempt to not be a stereotype are treated with suspicion.
Secondly, Tristan, the main character himself, is kind of a dick. He gets to be a merperson, and spends a bunch of time complaining that merpeople are too 'girly.' When a girl tells him she's in love with him, he kisses someone else (yeah, he feels bad and is held accountable, but he never really repents. He's just kind of like 'Why is she so mad at me? I said I was sorry!'). Also, he's chosen by his grandfather to be potential heir to the throne after his mother abdicates because all his many aunts are shallow and stupid! Obviously Tristan is the best choice! Despite showing no leadership skills, not understanding anything about merpeople, not actually enjoying being a merperson, or, in fact, showing any indication that he could rule better than any of the other potential candidates for king (also, there's a contest to be king in this book. Which had potential to be interesting, but the other candidates aren't given much personality except for the dude who dies). Wow, this dude sure sounds like he'd be a great king! Not.
I saw in a blurb for the book that Tristan's voice was very realistic for a teenage boy. I hope not, or teenage boys are even worse than I previously suspected. Tristan is the bro-iest of dudebros, and not a character whose headspace I ever want to be in again.
As for the rest of it, the characters were inconsistent, see-sawing back and forth between emotions and opinions. Which, if done right, can come across as very realistic and human, but in this case, was just aggravating. Plot-wise, there seemed to be too much and too little happening.
All in all, this book had an interesting premise, which it then failed to deliver on in every conceivable way. I wish I could give it negative stars, but one will have to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2018
Made it halfway through and I just can't take it anymore. The main character's a douchecanoe, which is bad enough, but what might still be a fluffy, inconsequential read is ruined by some of the worst pacing I've encountered in a book.
The author needs her douchecanoe to be at odds with his best friend? Suddenly they are! No build-up, no real explanation, just one morning he announces that his best friend is mad at him. (Later he says that he hasn't spoken to her in a week, but still doesn't explain why that, in particular, would leave his BFF mad at him.)
The author needs an excuse not to disclose the ramifications of her douchecanoe's merman transformation? She just doesn't! Her douchecanoe merman espouses a bare minimum of curiosity about what this means, gets a bare minimum of explanation, and then proceeds to have conversations about the further details as the author believes they're relevant. (I think this is meant to build suspense, but instead just left me irritated that the author clearly believed her readers must be as stupid as her hero.)
It's as if Córdova slapped scenes together as she needed them and decided no characterization (motivations, development, likes/dislikes) was required to glue the story together. ...And, hey, with a hook like mermen, enough sparkly sea critters, and some chemistry between the douchecanoe and his BFF (Layla, you deserve so much better than this womanizing dick), who even needs thoughtful characterization, amirite? Ugh.
The author needs her douchecanoe to be at odds with his best friend? Suddenly they are! No build-up, no real explanation, just one morning he announces that his best friend is mad at him. (Later he says that he hasn't spoken to her in a week, but still doesn't explain why that, in particular, would leave his BFF mad at him.)
The author needs an excuse not to disclose the ramifications of her douchecanoe's merman transformation? She just doesn't! Her douchecanoe merman espouses a bare minimum of curiosity about what this means, gets a bare minimum of explanation, and then proceeds to have conversations about the further details as the author believes they're relevant. (I think this is meant to build suspense, but instead just left me irritated that the author clearly believed her readers must be as stupid as her hero.)
It's as if Córdova slapped scenes together as she needed them and decided no characterization (motivations, development, likes/dislikes) was required to glue the story together. ...And, hey, with a hook like mermen, enough sparkly sea critters, and some chemistry between the douchecanoe and his BFF (Layla, you deserve so much better than this womanizing dick), who even needs thoughtful characterization, amirite? Ugh.
August 31, 2012
I think THE VICIOUS DEEP might be my favorite of this year's mermaid books that I've read. Tristan Hart is a lifeguard who gets sucked into an epic wave when trying to save someone. When he's found alive and well three days later, he can't remember anything except a silver mermaid and he's a little . . . different.
Zoraida Córdova may be a debut author, but she already knows how to write an absorbing story. I cannot wait to read THE SAVAGE BLUE and find out what happens next to Tristan, his best friend Layla, and the rest. And let me say that this book has some awesome female characters. The girls know what they want and they're willing to work to get their desires. They certainly aren't going to put up with Tristan at his dumbest moments. But even though Tristan can be dumb at points, he's a good guy who wants to keep people safe. That's a very good quality in a prospective king. THE VICIOUS DEEP is a great choice for those who want a mermaid story with a lot of action.
Zoraida Córdova may be a debut author, but she already knows how to write an absorbing story. I cannot wait to read THE SAVAGE BLUE and find out what happens next to Tristan, his best friend Layla, and the rest. And let me say that this book has some awesome female characters. The girls know what they want and they're willing to work to get their desires. They certainly aren't going to put up with Tristan at his dumbest moments. But even though Tristan can be dumb at points, he's a good guy who wants to keep people safe. That's a very good quality in a prospective king. THE VICIOUS DEEP is a great choice for those who want a mermaid story with a lot of action.
September 25, 2015
Fun story line, would have liked more merpeople action! A few humdrum parts, but over all, good. Will probably finish trilogy...
August 20, 2024
DNF @ 43%
This was the first book I’ve dnf’d in almost 10 years. I wanted so badly to enjoy this book. If you know me in person or you’ve read my bio, you’ll know that I love absolutely anything mermaid. So as you can imagine, when I saw not only a book, but a trilogy about merpeople, I was so excited to start reading. But unfortunately, there were problems for me right off the bat.
First of all, the way that women/girls are described makes me super uncomfortable. For example: „I don't like the way Angelo's eyes linger on her. It's not like she's got giant boobs. I mean, they're a nice size for her height, but she's also not wearing a bra, just a bikini top under her dress.“ And then, of course, there’s a completely unironic ‚she’s one of the guys‘ thing after. „Of course, none of the guys would try to get with her. She's still one of us.“ And every single female character is written in the same way. It was very difficult to read these kind of scenes.
Not only that, but it is weirdly sexual (or at least talks about sexual things) for no reason at all. And the worst part about this fact is that this book is advertised for middle school-aged kids. Pretty much the first thing Tristan, the MC, thinks about as soon as he transforms is where his dick went. I feel like this had the potential to be funny if it had been used later on, but it was probably one of the first things he thought about. And maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if it then wasn’t an incredibly repetitive thought. But over and over and over, he just thinks about his dick. There’s more sexual stuff too, though. „She's wearing a purple dress that ties around her neck and reaches all the way down to cover her toes. I am suddenly aware of my morning erection.“ Just please stop.
I feel like some of the stuff the author wrote was not at all appropriate for children. And that brings me to another point; this book normalises paedophilia. Not in a super direct way, though. Let me explain. Our two side/main-ish characters, Thalia and Kurt, are both merpeople. And because of this, I guess they’re super hot. The author made sure to tell us that again and again and again and guess what? AGAIN. And one of the ways this is done is when Kurt is getting lunch. The ADULT lunch lady starts winking at him and giving him extra desserts and stuff, which is kind of a small thing. But let’s go back to the fact that this book is written for a younger audience. Imagine you’re a young boy who reads that scene. You’ll be thinking, „okay, hot boys attract everyone, including adults!“ So let’s say you’re put in the same scenario as Kurt. Instead of recognising that predatory behaviour as a literal crime and an absolutely vile and disgusting thing to do, you’d think of it as something cool. It would make you think that because an adult is attracted to you, you must be as hot as Kurt. It’s not a huge thing in the book, but looking at it from that angle just makes it so fucking gross.
I personally think that I’m very good at pushing through books that I don’t necessarily enjoy. I had the worst time trying to finish Lapvona because it just grossed me out. But this book was on another level. It wasn’t upfront disgusting like any of the other horrible books I’ve read, but the constant sexualisation and stereotyping really added up for me. The characters weren’t believable at all, and the writing was kind of boring for me. I wouldn’t recommend this book at all. I wish that I had more positive things to say, but I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. This book just sucked.
This was the first book I’ve dnf’d in almost 10 years. I wanted so badly to enjoy this book. If you know me in person or you’ve read my bio, you’ll know that I love absolutely anything mermaid. So as you can imagine, when I saw not only a book, but a trilogy about merpeople, I was so excited to start reading. But unfortunately, there were problems for me right off the bat.
First of all, the way that women/girls are described makes me super uncomfortable. For example: „I don't like the way Angelo's eyes linger on her. It's not like she's got giant boobs. I mean, they're a nice size for her height, but she's also not wearing a bra, just a bikini top under her dress.“ And then, of course, there’s a completely unironic ‚she’s one of the guys‘ thing after. „Of course, none of the guys would try to get with her. She's still one of us.“ And every single female character is written in the same way. It was very difficult to read these kind of scenes.
Not only that, but it is weirdly sexual (or at least talks about sexual things) for no reason at all. And the worst part about this fact is that this book is advertised for middle school-aged kids. Pretty much the first thing Tristan, the MC, thinks about as soon as he transforms is where his dick went. I feel like this had the potential to be funny if it had been used later on, but it was probably one of the first things he thought about. And maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if it then wasn’t an incredibly repetitive thought. But over and over and over, he just thinks about his dick. There’s more sexual stuff too, though. „She's wearing a purple dress that ties around her neck and reaches all the way down to cover her toes. I am suddenly aware of my morning erection.“ Just please stop.
I feel like some of the stuff the author wrote was not at all appropriate for children. And that brings me to another point; this book normalises paedophilia. Not in a super direct way, though. Let me explain. Our two side/main-ish characters, Thalia and Kurt, are both merpeople. And because of this, I guess they’re super hot. The author made sure to tell us that again and again and again and guess what? AGAIN. And one of the ways this is done is when Kurt is getting lunch. The ADULT lunch lady starts winking at him and giving him extra desserts and stuff, which is kind of a small thing. But let’s go back to the fact that this book is written for a younger audience. Imagine you’re a young boy who reads that scene. You’ll be thinking, „okay, hot boys attract everyone, including adults!“ So let’s say you’re put in the same scenario as Kurt. Instead of recognising that predatory behaviour as a literal crime and an absolutely vile and disgusting thing to do, you’d think of it as something cool. It would make you think that because an adult is attracted to you, you must be as hot as Kurt. It’s not a huge thing in the book, but looking at it from that angle just makes it so fucking gross.
I personally think that I’m very good at pushing through books that I don’t necessarily enjoy. I had the worst time trying to finish Lapvona because it just grossed me out. But this book was on another level. It wasn’t upfront disgusting like any of the other horrible books I’ve read, but the constant sexualisation and stereotyping really added up for me. The characters weren’t believable at all, and the writing was kind of boring for me. I wouldn’t recommend this book at all. I wish that I had more positive things to say, but I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. This book just sucked.
May 25, 2017
Well, What Can I say this was my second go round and I still love this book and I'm so glad that I decided to reread it sooner than later.
This book follows Tristian who learns that he's a Merman and while internally freaking out also thinks why couldn't he be something less girly like a werewolf. I like his sense of humor in face of learning that he's something not human.
I feel like he came out on the chill side of things while learning what he was but he still had the right amount of WTF is happening here panicky feelings. Overall I feel like he was just excited to learn about his other side of the family and connecting with them.
Then there's Kurt and Thalia who are a brother and sister duo who kind of helped him with his journey into this new world. Kurt is stiff but likable and I feel like he has a dry sense of humor. While his sister Thalia is just so interested in everything in this new environment and is slightly adorable in her innocence where this new environment is concerned at least.
There there's Layla who is Tristian's best friend from childhood and she's stubborn and loyal and won't quit until she finds out what's going on with her best friend.
Now she and Tristian have a "will they or won't they" type of vibe going on, BUT this leads to some irritating and oh please STOP conversations and actions which I felt was the worse this book had to offer and the only thing that really irritated me about this book.
There are some other characters I liked, but I'll let you met them yourselves but they were all very interesting their own right.
Overall I felt like this was an excellent start to the journey Tristian is on. We get to spend time with him, his family and his friends and see what drives him forward and many seeds were planted that I'm excited to see grow. I loved the author's writing style. Her turn of phrase and descriptions were poetry like in this book and I just wanted to highlight everything and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.
I didn't ask for this
You think I did?
This book follows Tristian who learns that he's a Merman and while internally freaking out also thinks why couldn't he be something less girly like a werewolf. I like his sense of humor in face of learning that he's something not human.
I feel like he came out on the chill side of things while learning what he was but he still had the right amount of WTF is happening here panicky feelings. Overall I feel like he was just excited to learn about his other side of the family and connecting with them.
Then there's Kurt and Thalia who are a brother and sister duo who kind of helped him with his journey into this new world. Kurt is stiff but likable and I feel like he has a dry sense of humor. While his sister Thalia is just so interested in everything in this new environment and is slightly adorable in her innocence where this new environment is concerned at least.
There there's Layla who is Tristian's best friend from childhood and she's stubborn and loyal and won't quit until she finds out what's going on with her best friend.
Now she and Tristian have a "will they or won't they" type of vibe going on, BUT this leads to some irritating and oh please STOP conversations and actions which I felt was the worse this book had to offer and the only thing that really irritated me about this book.
There are some other characters I liked, but I'll let you met them yourselves but they were all very interesting their own right.
Overall I felt like this was an excellent start to the journey Tristian is on. We get to spend time with him, his family and his friends and see what drives him forward and many seeds were planted that I'm excited to see grow. I loved the author's writing style. Her turn of phrase and descriptions were poetry like in this book and I just wanted to highlight everything and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.
I didn't ask for this
You think I did?
July 25, 2018
The Vicious Deep was not quite the merfolk fantasy I was hoping for. This book was definitely aimed at YA readers, so I am not quite the audience. Nevertheless, I felt that the teen drama eclipsed the fantasy elements at times, which left me more annoyed than engaged. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, most of them were shallow and uninteresting (and there were so many people that it became distracting). I liked the attempt at building a world that was large and magical, but it felt cliched at times. It was neat to have a story that involved merfolk, but I feel as though I got too much land and other magical creatures to really immerse myself with the merpeople and the main plot. Not an awful book, but not something I am personally interested in continuing. I think someone in the intended age range would enjoy this more than I did.
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July 3, 20187/3/18 Currently FREE via Amazon US: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007INSDS...
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