The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova
pages: 384
released: May 2012
publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
cover love: ♥♥♥♥♥
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. (from Goodreads)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 5/24/2012 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
Truthfully, mermaid books are ones I usually skeet right passed in bookstores and on Amazon. But when I heard about The Vicious Deep, I thought I’d give a try. Maybe it had to do with the beautiful cover and that it takes place in Coney Island but I couldn’t wait to finally have this book in my hands so I could dive into the pages immediately. And surprisingly, I loved it!
Tristan Hart is a lifeguard on Coney Island the day a tidal wave slams the beach. While racing into the water to save someone from drowning, he’s pulled under the waves and disappears. Three days later, he washes ashore, beaten up but alive. But he senses something is different about him. He can’t remember anything that happened to him but he has nightmares about a silver mermaid attacking him. One night, during a dinner party, Tristan becomes ill and runs off to the bathroom where–poof–he becomes half fish. A merman. He discovers he’s an important descendant of under-the-sea royalty and he’s being called to his grandfather’s kingdom. He must become a champion to compete for the throne (aka become the next sea king). With help from his bff, Layla and his two appointed guardians, Kurt and Thalia, he must find the missing pieces of his grandfather’s trident. But with no king minding the ocean, evil from its depths lurk beyond the shores of Brooklyn, trying to get their hands (fins, whatever) on Tristan and his friends.
When you think of mermaid stories, you automatically think it’s going to be told by a female protagonist and it was awesome that this one had a male point of view. And not just any regular merman, I’m talking about a tall, tan, gorgeous one. And don’t think he doesn’t know it. Yes, Tristan is arrogant and totally full of himself but can you blame him? It’s all those mer-genes! They’ve got that instant appeal that others are attracted to so he can’t really help it. The Vicious Deep is really fast paced, I wasn’t bored once and I couldn’t stop reading once I started. There was always something happening and there’s a mixture of sea people, vampires, shape shifters, fairies, and lots more. Though this book takes place mostly on dry land, the sea kingdom, Tollis and the mer-people who inhabit it was one of my favorite parts. It’s so vividly described it feels like you’re in an underwater paradise. The author did an excellent job with settings. Coney Island isn’t just used as a prop behind the characters, you had details of the boardwalk, famous rides and neighborhoods surrounding the amusement part and Tristan had many memories there with his family and friends.
My only two complaints were the romance and the sea monsters. I couldn’t hold my interest towards any of the romances going on between the characters. The whole I-think-I’m-in-love-with-my-best-friend thing didn’t have me rooting for Tristan and Layla to get together. And the Merrows, which are the sea monsters that invade Brooklyn just felt like overkill. Other than that, this book was FANTASTIC! I couldn’t put it down. Zoraida Cordova has made a huge splash (hehehe) as a debut author with The Vicious Deep and I’m anxious to continue my adventures with Tristan and his friends in The Savage Blue.
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