I absolutely fell in love with this full color comic about Coral, a teenage sea-sprite who lives in this cool fantasy town with all sorts of really inI absolutely fell in love with this full color comic about Coral, a teenage sea-sprite who lives in this cool fantasy town with all sorts of really interesting friends. This is a fun slice-of-life style story, and I especially love the love triangle moments between Coral, Nick, and ... um, I forgot his name, but he's basically Reggie from the Archie comics, lol. 110% recommend if you're into fantasy slice-of-life with fantastic art and fun storylines!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Holy shit, I was not prepared for how much this book would wreck me. Definitely read the Trigger Warnings if you have any triggers, because there a coHoly shit, I was not prepared for how much this book would wreck me. Definitely read the Trigger Warnings if you have any triggers, because there a couple you wouldn't want to be surprised by if they're a thing for you.
Kyler is a merman who is bound to service for a pirate captain - who is REALLY horrible, tbh. Prince Gavin is a dragon shifter who wants to become a Grand Mage, and is also basically obsessed with the study of merfolk, whom folks haven't seen in a long time and sort of think are extinct maybe. Add in an unwanted arranged marriage, a quest that Gavin needs Kyler for, and some fake dating and whew - you're in for a wild ride!
This book shattered my heart over and over. Oh Kyler... I want to just wrap him up in bubble wrap and give him all the shiny, pretty things and keep him safe from everything. Even in his most hopeful moment, Kyler still doesn't really believe he'll ever be free. The relationship that grows between Kyler and Gavin is bittersweet, as they find comfort and strength in each other and they both struggle to reach for their own freedom, and meanwhile Kyler is torn between his heart and his desire for freedom. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place!
I thought I knew how this was going to end, and while I was half-right I was also surprised by certain twists the plot took. Highly recommend if you love dark fantasy romance, merfolk and the sea, and having your heart ripped out of your chest and put back in maybe a little wonky and cracked.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
I read the first book in this series (Muscles & Monsters) because the cover looked cute, and then I saw this second installment is anRating: 4.5 stars
I read the first book in this series (Muscles & Monsters) because the cover looked cute, and then I saw this second installment is an M/M romance where one of the MCs is a KRAKEN. HECK YES! I am so in for romance with a kraken!!
Cyrus is so sweet, I wanted to just hug him and tell him everything will be okay. And while Reece starts out as kind of an asshole (especially if you've read book one and met him then), he goes through a lot of growth really quickly.
The entire vibe of this book is just so sweet and cozy (while still being INCREDIBLY hot!) and I loved every moment of it.
This is the second book in the Leviathan Fitness series. While it can be read as a standalone, the couple from the first book (Muscles & Monsters, Tegan and Atlas) feature heavily in this one as side characters. I CANNOT WAIT for the third book!!...more
This was really hard for me to read, and I'm not sure if it's because it's a novella in the middle of a series I've read none of, or if the writing juThis was really hard for me to read, and I'm not sure if it's because it's a novella in the middle of a series I've read none of, or if the writing just... isn't great. And I'm kind of thinking the later. Some of the emotions and motivations of the main characters gave me total whiplash, and some other stuff with Lilja just didn't seem fully fleshed out or explained. And then the most confusing part, there are several chapters stuck in there that seem to randomly be flashes forward in the story, and then it returns to the sort of "current" storyline again for a chapter or two, then forward to the alternate timeline, then back. Expect the timeline is only, like, two weeks into the future, so it's not really clear if it's an intentional jump or if the chapters just somehow got printed out of order. Like, it's bad enough that I found myself checking which chapter I was on and flipping forward and back to make sure the chapter was, in fact, in the right order. It was just WEIRD and not well done and unnecessary. Setting that odd editing choice aside, the story is OK. There's not a whole lot THERE plotwise, and Lilja has some MAJOR stuff in her background that makes me wonder if she's featured heavily in other books in the series. ...more
I fell in love with Sea Witch, and I fell hard. I'd kind of like my heart back please, and maybe some tape or glue so I can try to piece it back togetI fell in love with Sea Witch, and I fell hard. I'd kind of like my heart back please, and maybe some tape or glue so I can try to piece it back together? Thanks.
I kept thinking I knew what to expect next from this book, and then no. No I did not. It's written in the first person present tense, which I don't really love but Henning makes it work for her with a few minorly awkward seeming areas. Interspersed through the main story being told in Evie's (present tense) voice, there are flashback chapters told from an omniscient view that alternates focus on various major players. Just when I'd start to get comfortable and smug, thinking I knew what was in play and what was coming next, there'd be one of these expository chapters that would reveal the inner mind and motivations (and machinations) of various characters. Then suddenly it was like my whole world was tipped on its axis and I was like "Wait, what? WHAT?!?!" I just... I can't... This book... *sigh*
Just amazing. Words can't express the level of amazing this book is. Are we sure this is Sarah Henning's debut novel? And, um, can she please have a whole dragon hoard of almost-finished novels that will be ready to publish very soon that are just as mind-blowingly amazing as Sea Witch? Because I have definitely added Sarah Henning to the top of my auto-buy list.
Evie is a great character and, having heard that this is sort of an Ursula (from Disney's The Little Mermaid) origin story, I kept trying to figure out where she'd go to the bad. I have a soft spot for villains, especially believable villains who are the hero of their own story, or who fall while trying to do the right thing. I love the complexity of the relationships between them all, and I had some major second-lead syndrome going on too. ...more
I love this book. Let me repeat, because I feel it so hard: I love this book. Can I just start by saying: OMG, this cover. Alosa is so bad ass. Her reI love this book. Let me repeat, because I feel it so hard: I love this book. Can I just start by saying: OMG, this cover. Alosa is so bad ass. Her reminders of "Pirate" any time Riden questioned her unladylike behavior cracked me up. She's basically Captain Jack Sparrow only a tiny redheaded fury, and not drunk all the time. She's a brazen, smart-mouthed spitfire who is almost too good at her job. She has to keep pretending to be trying to escape so her captors don't get suspicious of her. I love how many steps ahead she thinks, and how many false trails she lays. Without revealing spoilers, about all I can say is I loved Alosa fighting with herself, with her dual natures, her instincts.
I fell in love with Riden more than a little as well. He's just so honorable and un-piratelike. I like how confused he is about his feelings for Alosa, and is torn about his past, her past, his relationship with his family, her relationship with her family… He overthinks everything, and is way too much of a neat freak. He's so self-sacrificing and good, I want to shake him and go "How are you a pirate?!" OK, Will Turner. Go back to your room and clean it. I love you. *smooch*
Some of the side characters were pretty great as well, especially Alosa's superstitious guard (Enwyn? I listened on audiobook, so forgive if I'm getting it wrong!) There are a couple of plot twists in there that are very intriguing (though I did see the "big reveal" coming wayyyyyy in advance, but… well, that can you do?)
I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator is amazing! Marisa Calin does an excellent job narrating Alosa, daughter of the Pirate King. She conveys Alosa's sassy, witty, fierce personality with excellence, and does a great job of voicing the other (male) characters as well, giving each their own voice. I especially loved this part:
“I’m going to show you something more magical than the stars.” Oh yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I can’t do this. I can’t stand to hear him talk anymore.
You know the narration was good when you pop onto Audible to see what other books they've narrated and immediately buy any of them that look emotionally interesting.
You also know the book was good when you immediately go buy the sequel. (Or attempt to, at least. Audible doesn't have Daughter of the Siren Queen available for pre-order yet, and if it's not narrated by Maria Calin again I'm going to start a riot.)
“It was beautiful, in its own terrible way. So many monsters are.”
Yeah sure, mermaids are all well and good until they come and EAT YOUR DING-DAN
“It was beautiful, in its own terrible way. So many monsters are.”
Yeah sure, mermaids are all well and good until they come and EAT YOUR DING-DANG FACE OFF.
OK, I completely loved this book. I love all things mermaids (or sirens, as the case may be) and so many mermaid-ish things I read are teenage girls discovering they're a mermaid princess, or teenage mermaids just wanting to be part of your world, and blah-dee-freakin'-blah.
These are not those type of mermaids. These mermaids want to EAT your world.
The Atargatis hadn’t found the mermaids through a free and open exchange of ideas. The Atargatis had found the mermaids because the people on the ship were made of meat, and the mermaids had empty stomachs that they wanted to fill. That was how you found things, in the sea. Be delicious. That was all you ever had to do.
I did not read the prequel novella, Rolling in the Deep, before reading Into the Drowning Deep, and I can assure you that you can read this for full effect without reading the prequel.
There are a lot of characters in what is essentially an ensemble piece, and they all had their own unique little quirks and foibles for there being so many of them. A lot of times upon finishing a book I couldn't tell you the names of the hero and heroine, let alone all the supporting cast. But let me give you the run down.
Dr. Jillian Toth is a total badass and by far and away my favorite character. Actually she reminds me of someone…
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Do I think they found mermaids? Yes. Of course I do. And I think the mermaids ate them all. -Dr. Jillian Toth
Her (estranged) husband, Theo, is a suit for Imagine who is also badass in his own, quieter and more bespectacled way. He reminds me of Kyoya Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club in some ways.
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Michi and Jacques are (badass) big game hunters, Michi being a hot Aussie of Japanese descent and Jacques being a somewhat deranged French-Canadian. Olivia is a hot blonde reporter for Imagine that's a cosplay queen that always dresses in Emma Frost closet cosplay, and is followed around by her burly cameraman/bodyguard Ray. Tory is a hot lesbian scientist who lost her sister on the first mermaid mission (the Atargatis) and is accompanied by her too much money friend Luis who is essentially a cryptozoologist that plays with sonar. Hallie is the hot hearing older sister scientist to hot twin redheads Holly (another scientist, biology maybe?) and Heather (who drives something called a Minnow that's like a super fancy diving bell submersible thing) - all three of whom are hot, did I mention that? Daniel the hot tattooed cetologist (I may have misspelled that, but it's some sort of scientist that involves dolphins. I dunno, don't ask me). Daryl and Gregory are two quasi-bumbling engineers who remind me a little bit of some cartoon character duo or other that I can't quite place.
So essentially, you have a whole bunch of hot scientist ladies, and some guys who may or may not be hot. That's about the only thing that bugged me about the entire book, that all these nerds in one place and either somehow we just happen to randomly focus on the ones that are hot, or they're ALL hot science nerds (at least the ladies, anyway). I don't know about you, but my experience science nerds tend to not be so hot. I'm not saying they're NOT hot, but there shouldn't be a 100% hit rate on attractive ladies in a pool of, like, half a dozen women. Oh, but there's lots of diversity because Michi is Japanese/Australian, and Heather and Holly are deaf, and Tory and Olivia are lesbians (Tolivia 4eva, btw), and Jillian is older. …Anyway, I digress.
There is mighty gore, and coming together and a coming apart of peoples, crazy stuff and plot twists about mermaids and their biology and their motives. If you can survive long enough (translation: if I mermaid doesn’t split its face in half to chomp you with the billions of needle teeth jutting out of its gaping maw…) you might just get to stick around for Book #2 (which I assume is coming, since this one is titled as being Rolling in the Deep #1)....more
I got maybe halfway through this book and then just couldn't take it anymore.
I listed to this as part of the Audible Romance Package, narrated by StepI got maybe halfway through this book and then just couldn't take it anymore.
I listed to this as part of the Audible Romance Package, narrated by Stephanie Bentley. The narration was ok, despite some strange stylistic decisions on what I thought were odd words to place emphasis on. Except - EXCEPT! - the narrator takes these gasping breaths between sentences and it just grated. on. my. nerves. This was at least 50% of my decision to DNF this book, as if I listened to her take one more gaspy breath I was going to rip my hair out. It brought the performance rating from a solid 3 stars down to 1 right quick.
As for the book itself... meh. Shelly is a half-blood mermaid who is an aquatics therapist, and Tillman is the sexy detective older brother of one of her clients. (What the heck kind of name is "Tillman"?) I thought Shelly's occupation was a cool one for a mermaid - using water to help people with physical and mental disabilities to improve both their physical and mental health - and who doesn't love a hot, brooding detective? Only they're both super hot for each other and have been for a while, and once they start trying to hook up it's like playing old school Donkey Kong. You know, where you have to climb that level of ladders and platforms while Donkey Kong throws barrels at you and knocks you down? Just like that. Every time Tillman and Shelly get close to connecting (or have just connected and things might be going smoothly for five minutes), Donkey Kong throws another barrel and they're forced apart again by some misunderstanding, issue between Tillman and one of Shelly's cousins, anonymous note sent to the sheriff's station accusing Shelly's cousin of being the murderer... It was either the 3rd or 4th time this happened (a letter Tillman received just 30 minutes before he's supposed to meet Shelley for their make-up lunch) that I finally threw my hands in the there and pressed the one-star-DNF button on this thing....more
So her fairy godmother takes her voice so she can't tell anyone she's from the future, which leaves her unable to scream or cry out iRating: 2.5 stars
So her fairy godmother takes her voice so she can't tell anyone she's from the future, which leaves her unable to scream or cry out in pain when she's wounded but still able to giggle, moan, and whimper in pleasure? It bothered me how MANY sounds she was able to make caused by pleasure, when it's made such a big deal of that people maybe believe she's actually mute because she doesn't even make a sound when she's seriously wounded. If you can moan in pleasure, I'm betting cash money you can moan in pain. it's just the type of inconsistency that bugs me. There are several more like this throughout the book, like her deal with her fairy godmother seems to be one thing but then suddenly if she succeeds at her goal it's a totally different thing? Um, did I miss something? I couldn't bring myself to care enough to go back and reread the deal-making scene to verify. Also things like what she stitches into her embroidery and picks out isn't what is later seen (it has the same meaning but is different, which as detailed as I can get without spoilers). They just piled up and left me with this sort of niggling annoyance that knocked a solid star or two off my rating.
Time travel romances aren't really my thing (but little mermaid retellings totally are) and I may have never read this if not for the #rippedbodicebingo challenge that requires a time travel romance. That being said, the book seemed to use time travel as an excuse to go back to the 14th century and have it be OK that the "hero" basically threatens to rape her into speaking/telling him who she is. The narrative mostly follows Leah, and the few sections where we get peeks into Royce's head just aren't enough to redeem him as a character I want anything to do with.
Still, the writing was interesting and it has some interesting plot points. It didn't make me want to throw it across the room, and really if I wasn't so nit-picky about inconsistencies this would have been a 3.5 or possibly 4 star read for me. ...more
I've actually owned this book since shortly after it came out, but made the mistake of reading reviews on it before actually reading it, and so I was I've actually owned this book since shortly after it came out, but made the mistake of reading reviews on it before actually reading it, and so I was put off and unsure if I even wanted to read it.
Pfft.
Many of the reviews on Goodreads complain that "half" of this book is just excerpts from The Wizard of London, or that it relies too heavily on The Wizard of London. There are 6 pages of text taken straight from The Wizard of London (yes, I went and counted), and all of them are bits describing how Nan and Sarah met Puck and their relationship with him. So if you HAVEN'T read The Wizard of London already, there is quite a bit of backstory of Nan, Sarah, Lord Alderscroft, and other characters from that book that play roles in this. Like many of Misty's novels, she likes to interweave characters into other books set in the same world.
I read Wizard of London so long ago, and wasn't much of a fan so I didn't bother to remember much of it, so I was grateful for the refresher on who the heck these "Sarah and Nan" people were, and what their whole deal was. And while I think the book would have perhaps been better if it was it's "own" story without such a heavy reliance on these girls from another book, they had a purpose to be there and even a plausible backstory/reason for their involvement. So OK, I'll buy it.
This was a nice addition to the Elemental Masters series. I liked the Welsh setting and the people, loved Mari and the Selch, and felt there was a wealth of old, druidic/gaelic tales touched on. I may reread this one a time or two in the coming years, and it falls somewhere in the middle if I were to rank all the Elemental Masters books (with Phoenix and Ashes at the top of the list and The Wizard of London at the bottom). Worth a read (but maybe not worth buying the moment it came out in hardcover and then not reading it for nearly a year...)...more
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