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appurusakura's review against another edition
The writing is so terrible it's making my brain hurt
mcfoster's review against another edition
3.0
Quite an enjoyable read, although be warned that it's got a cliffhanger ending that will leave you with a few questions unanswered.
We see the events unfold from the perspective of Maria, who begins the novel cast adrift on a raft in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Perhaps I should have looked at the cover more often (a disadvantage with an e-book) to realise that she was actually a siren, as Maria comes across as a human woman, albeit as one with secrets and lethal potential. Looking at the cover would also have let me know that Maria was blonde. This isn't made clear in the text until much later on in the book, and I got a bit of a shock, as I'd been picturing her with black hair.
What I enjoyed most about this book were the characters. The teenaged Charlie is particularly memorable. I'd have liked to see more of William's personality - what makes him unique rather than a typical (though likeable) hero who's kind and brave, etc.
I also enjoyed Maria's perspectives of Marmite and tea - gave me a laugh!
We see the events unfold from the perspective of Maria, who begins the novel cast adrift on a raft in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Perhaps I should have looked at the cover more often (a disadvantage with an e-book) to realise that she was actually a siren, as Maria comes across as a human woman, albeit as one with secrets and lethal potential. Looking at the cover would also have let me know that Maria was blonde. This isn't made clear in the text until much later on in the book, and I got a bit of a shock, as I'd been picturing her with black hair.
What I enjoyed most about this book were the characters. The teenaged Charlie is particularly memorable. I'd have liked to see more of William's personality - what makes him unique rather than a typical (though likeable) hero who's kind and brave, etc.
I also enjoyed Maria's perspectives of Marmite and tea - gave me a laugh!
caramelmachete's review
5.0
So first a warning. This is book one of a series. Can you read it on it’s own? Sure, but you will find yourself with tons of questions unanswered so keep that in mind.
Maria is a girl floating on a raft at the open ocean, what we know from her introduction is that she has been exiled from her people, she is very young and a man she loved named Giuseppe is now dead and it weighs heavily on her.
Eventually she is seen by men on a passing ship and brought into it. Opinions seem divided on her rescue, as some people obviously think you should rescue whatever persons you find adrift and some men think she could be a bad omen, and some think she could be mermaid planning to sink their ship.
Well, they right in one count, she is indeed a mermaid. Not a mystery to be surprised from as the cover and title will tell you.
They do are wrong in her planning to sink them… well only if they don’t piss her off.
So a thing to note about Maria. She comes in peace but it’s not a woman to be crossed, and her patience is limited.
Maria is literal fish out of the water among the (all) men on the ship, early on the book we realize the society she comes from exists in complete separation from the one the European sailors of the decade of 1920s come from. (The time is important as it colors how these men act and the technology they have at hand) Her people know of the humans… know where they live and have the barest contact with them, the humans know even less of them and most don’t even know they are real.
Maria doesn’t know English which is the main language of the ship, and doesn’t know any of the other languages spoken on the ship except for a teeny tiny bit of Dutch. One of the men, William McGregor a well off passenger decides to take her under her wing given he has the time to be responsible for another person, and he was one of the main proponents of rescuing her. So he offers her a bunk bed on her room, and between him and one young men Charles “Charlie” Seaborn they lend her some clothes, show her around, introduce her with the other men as much as they can, bring her up for meals and try to teach her under the assumption she is a foreigner and might as well try to teach everything from the ground up. They do have a tendency to talk a lot about themselves even if they know she has no idea of what they are saying but I guess is a thing people with a captive audience might find themselves doing.
The story is tell in first person but yet we read all that is told to Maria even if she doesn’t understand it. Maria at one points speaks that “she doesn’t forget and she doesn’t forgive” and in a subsequent book we learn it might be quite literal. So a very memory is mostly a skill to be able to narrate the events in retrospective in detail, also a reason she is able to get a quick hang if not of the specificities of language of the intention when some words are combined with certain actions. Still circumstances are going to surpass the speed she is able to learn things at times.
Even if Maria is the point of view character, she is kind of a mystery too. Slowly we are going to get tidbits of what happened to her that she ended on the situation at the beginning of the story, how Giuseppe died and what are some of the things she can do that humans can’t besides the ability to live underwater.
On the way there is a story of attraction between Maria and McGregor. McGregor is smitten with Maria since the beginning but there is the barrier of the language and additional hurdle that a man of the old 20s who considers himself a gentleman will act in certain ways with a lady he is serious about marrying. Maria is still on a one of the phases of mourning Giuseppe but she is attracted to McGregor and finds herself navigating the guesswork of he likes her back, her people don’t seem to have much hang ups about sex and him trying to guard her decency is going to be completely alien and confusing to her.
In this book there are threats though, remember I mentioned some sailors were wary about taking her in? Well, some are just superstitious and fear the unknown and a couple are REALLY bad men. The type that thinks women that are strange are whores, and the type that think whores exist to be mistreated by them. So things will start from mild hostility in their part and will escalate until overt aggression. But as mentioned, Maria is not a being powerless against physical attacks and not the forgiving type.
The book is going to end leading the next one. If you care to know this books are continuity heavy, and things that happen here will go on the next one. Demelza Carlton has a style where she builds some things early and returns to them later maybe on other books so you might take it in account.
I like the book, I like Maria. I like that in this case our protagonist is an apex predator trying to play nice with the other beings instead of a victim of circumstance. She is hanging out with the humans on the ship because she is curious about them and as she is very lonely, she wishes to socialize and make new bonds; not because she doesn’t have any choice but to depend on their goodwill. I may not like her always, and some of her choices leave me “girl no” but I find it refreshing to see a character that could just kill everybody and move on with he life, and that sometimes really thinks about it but yet doesn’t because she is trying to make an effort. Maybe this is a type of protagonist you are interested to read maybe you desire for a nicer one.
I recommend you this book if you are interested mermaids that are little bit more mean towards humanity yet not automatic threats. Consider this and other books of the series will be bittersweet at times, Maria will not always get what she wants, will not always do the nicer choice and in this one she might sacrifice potential happiness in order to make sure she gets revenge. Not all her choices will be informed and not all will be smart. If you are not liking this book early you will not like it later and it’s okay, if you are waiting for answers you will have them eventually if you keep reading the series but it will take a while.
Maria is a girl floating on a raft at the open ocean, what we know from her introduction is that she has been exiled from her people, she is very young and a man she loved named Giuseppe is now dead and it weighs heavily on her.
Eventually she is seen by men on a passing ship and brought into it. Opinions seem divided on her rescue, as some people obviously think you should rescue whatever persons you find adrift and some men think she could be a bad omen, and some think she could be mermaid planning to sink their ship.
Well, they right in one count, she is indeed a mermaid. Not a mystery to be surprised from as the cover and title will tell you.
They do are wrong in her planning to sink them… well only if they don’t piss her off.
So a thing to note about Maria. She comes in peace but it’s not a woman to be crossed, and her patience is limited.
Maria is literal fish out of the water among the (all) men on the ship, early on the book we realize the society she comes from exists in complete separation from the one the European sailors of the decade of 1920s come from. (The time is important as it colors how these men act and the technology they have at hand) Her people know of the humans… know where they live and have the barest contact with them, the humans know even less of them and most don’t even know they are real.
Maria doesn’t know English which is the main language of the ship, and doesn’t know any of the other languages spoken on the ship except for a teeny tiny bit of Dutch. One of the men, William McGregor a well off passenger decides to take her under her wing given he has the time to be responsible for another person, and he was one of the main proponents of rescuing her. So he offers her a bunk bed on her room, and between him and one young men Charles “Charlie” Seaborn they lend her some clothes, show her around, introduce her with the other men as much as they can, bring her up for meals and try to teach her under the assumption she is a foreigner and might as well try to teach everything from the ground up. They do have a tendency to talk a lot about themselves even if they know she has no idea of what they are saying but I guess is a thing people with a captive audience might find themselves doing.
The story is tell in first person but yet we read all that is told to Maria even if she doesn’t understand it. Maria at one points speaks that “she doesn’t forget and she doesn’t forgive” and in a subsequent book we learn it might be quite literal. So a very memory is mostly a skill to be able to narrate the events in retrospective in detail, also a reason she is able to get a quick hang if not of the specificities of language of the intention when some words are combined with certain actions. Still circumstances are going to surpass the speed she is able to learn things at times.
Even if Maria is the point of view character, she is kind of a mystery too. Slowly we are going to get tidbits of what happened to her that she ended on the situation at the beginning of the story, how Giuseppe died and what are some of the things she can do that humans can’t besides the ability to live underwater.
On the way there is a story of attraction between Maria and McGregor. McGregor is smitten with Maria since the beginning but there is the barrier of the language and additional hurdle that a man of the old 20s who considers himself a gentleman will act in certain ways with a lady he is serious about marrying. Maria is still on a one of the phases of mourning Giuseppe but she is attracted to McGregor and finds herself navigating the guesswork of he likes her back, her people don’t seem to have much hang ups about sex and him trying to guard her decency is going to be completely alien and confusing to her.
In this book there are threats though, remember I mentioned some sailors were wary about taking her in? Well, some are just superstitious and fear the unknown and a couple are REALLY bad men. The type that thinks women that are strange are whores, and the type that think whores exist to be mistreated by them. So things will start from mild hostility in their part and will escalate until overt aggression. But as mentioned, Maria is not a being powerless against physical attacks and not the forgiving type.
The book is going to end leading the next one. If you care to know this books are continuity heavy, and things that happen here will go on the next one. Demelza Carlton has a style where she builds some things early and returns to them later maybe on other books so you might take it in account.
I like the book, I like Maria. I like that in this case our protagonist is an apex predator trying to play nice with the other beings instead of a victim of circumstance. She is hanging out with the humans on the ship because she is curious about them and as she is very lonely, she wishes to socialize and make new bonds; not because she doesn’t have any choice but to depend on their goodwill. I may not like her always, and some of her choices leave me “girl no” but I find it refreshing to see a character that could just kill everybody and move on with he life, and that sometimes really thinks about it but yet doesn’t because she is trying to make an effort. Maybe this is a type of protagonist you are interested to read maybe you desire for a nicer one.
I recommend you this book if you are interested mermaids that are little bit more mean towards humanity yet not automatic threats. Consider this and other books of the series will be bittersweet at times, Maria will not always get what she wants, will not always do the nicer choice and in this one she might sacrifice potential happiness in order to make sure she gets revenge. Not all her choices will be informed and not all will be smart. If you are not liking this book early you will not like it later and it’s okay, if you are waiting for answers you will have them eventually if you keep reading the series but it will take a while.
bottledchaos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
nakitz's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
zagecko's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
4/5 spice
stella_starstruck's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this novel and wanted to read more when it was over. It seemed a little short if I'm honest.
It was well written which is always a bonus.
A woman was floating on a raft in the high seas. She was rescued by a passing ship and doesn't speak English. She learns to speak as the story progresses. I thought that was an interesting plot point as a former teacher of English Language. She begins to have feelings for one of the passengers on the ship and he for her. Unfortunately, there are some sailors with evil intentions on the ship too.
I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'll seek out the next book in the series or not. It depends on how I feel in a little while.
It was well written which is always a bonus.
A woman was floating on a raft in the high seas. She was rescued by a passing ship and doesn't speak English. She learns to speak as the story progresses. I thought that was an interesting plot point as a former teacher of English Language. She begins to have feelings for one of the passengers on the ship and he for her. Unfortunately, there are some sailors with evil intentions on the ship too.
I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'll seek out the next book in the series or not. It depends on how I feel in a little while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
jazzlibrariansbookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
I didn't hate it, but I didn't really enjoy it either. Probably wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Death