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jaldep91's review against another edition
2.0
At first it was a really fun read, but then it started to drag on. It shouldn't have been this long. I dreaded reading it, but I own the second one so I felt obligated to finish it so that I could read the second. Even though I didn't like it, I'll go into the second one with an open mind so that I can actually try to enjoy it.
ctep's review
2.0
I was extremely intrigued by the synopsis on Goodreads and was quite excited to begin this underwater journey. But please let it be known that while this book is labeled Young Adult it is more for a 10 year old than the typical teen. The story of a young mermaid trying to find her rightful place in the ocean is great, and I can also appreciate the diversity and feminist characters that join her. Unfortunately the story is thick with sea-lingo that Donnelly has created in an effort to immerse the reader in this world making it a chore to try and read the story. While I am interested in seeing the journey these young mermaids go on I'm not completely sure I wish to put in the time to learn more.
seemadyal50's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
reaganshoe's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just "meh" for me. It was kinda interesting at times but just ok overall.
The pros:
- It's actually written well enough that it's readable and above a Wattpad standard. That's a rarity for mermaid books.
- It was a short read.
The Cons:
- The mermaid lingo and random word changes that was EVERYWHERE is cute at first but became increasingly annoying as the book goes on. ie "currensea" rather than "currency" midway through broke me.
- All of the characters felt 2D and rarely had their own voices.
- I felt like we never got out of Serafina's head and into the world. I want to be in the ocean!
1 star for being kinda interesting and blessedly short and 1 star for being readable = 2 stars
Note: the narrator for the audio book is almost impossible to understand. I had to switch to ebook by chapter 3. Listener beware. Just read this one.
The pros:
- It's actually written well enough that it's readable and above a Wattpad standard. That's a rarity for mermaid books.
- It was a short read.
The Cons:
- The mermaid lingo and random word changes that was EVERYWHERE is cute at first but became increasingly annoying as the book goes on. ie "currensea" rather than "currency" midway through broke me.
- All of the characters felt 2D and rarely had their own voices.
- I felt like we never got out of Serafina's head and into the world. I want to be in the ocean!
1 star for being kinda interesting and blessedly short and 1 star for being readable = 2 stars
Note: the narrator for the audio book is almost impossible to understand. I had to switch to ebook by chapter 3. Listener beware. Just read this one.
papalbina's review against another edition
2.0
it was a struggle to read this book.
first, because of the format and quality of the ARC (not comfortable to read in any of my devices);
second, because there were a lot of new terms threw at you as you were familiar with the food the mermaids eat or the ways they live under the water;
third, because of the many ways the life of the mermaids didn't make sense for me (knowing too much about humans and animals, for example, or drinking tea or sweating under the water, huh?);
and fourth, because even if the author made a great effort to build this world, she got lost sometimes in descriptions and it took more than half of the book to get to the point. the main character spends a lot of time undecided and hesitating about everything (and she's supposed to be the leader of the clique), her cousin whines all the time and the only one that seems like the beginning of an interesting character is ling. toward the end we are introduced to the other three mermaids of the prophecy, but everything is rushed as if the author had a limit for the page count and was using it up without getting to the point.
i didn't have great expectations about this book, but the story develops in a too juvenile way for my taste...
since this arc was in a very early stage i hope the book got a good makeover. it has potential, but right now i'm not interested in reading this saga.
thank you to netgalley and disney for providing me with a copy of this book.
first, because of the format and quality of the ARC (not comfortable to read in any of my devices);
second, because there were a lot of new terms threw at you as you were familiar with the food the mermaids eat or the ways they live under the water;
third, because of the many ways the life of the mermaids didn't make sense for me (knowing too much about humans and animals, for example, or drinking tea or sweating under the water, huh?);
and fourth, because even if the author made a great effort to build this world, she got lost sometimes in descriptions and it took more than half of the book to get to the point. the main character spends a lot of time undecided and hesitating about everything (and she's supposed to be the leader of the clique), her cousin whines all the time and the only one that seems like the beginning of an interesting character is ling. toward the end we are introduced to the other three mermaids of the prophecy, but everything is rushed as if the author had a limit for the page count and was using it up without getting to the point.
i didn't have great expectations about this book, but the story develops in a too juvenile way for my taste...
since this arc was in a very early stage i hope the book got a good makeover. it has potential, but right now i'm not interested in reading this saga.
thank you to netgalley and disney for providing me with a copy of this book.
rocksrntpeople's review against another edition
1.0
This is a DNF for me. It's just really poorly written, filled with dumb wordplay that barely works to begin with and somehow doesn't do much to create watery visuals or world building, and the characters are flat even though they are ostensibly strong feminists. My biggest complaint is that it's often irrelevant that they're mermaids underwater. They have fire for god's sake. The characters move and act as though they're on land, with few exceptions that last about a sentence and a half. Everything that makes this book special is given absolutely no attention, so it's just a boring, trope-y, royal magic quest ya story.
a_lf05's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I picked up this book again mostly for nostalgia (I never finished the series the first time I read this and it made me sooo mad) so I wasn't expecting anything amazing, but omg I LOVE this book !!!!! I think the plot is really well paced and the world building for me is pretty good (there's a lot going on but it's not hard to understand) I also just love the characters so much :(
the only issue I have with this book is that some of the language feels like it's just built on puns (words like wrasses instead of asses and merls instead of girls). It can feel a bit cringe to read but doesn't happen too often so I can get past it :)
the only issue I have with this book is that some of the language feels like it's just built on puns (words like wrasses instead of asses and merls instead of girls). It can feel a bit cringe to read but doesn't happen too often so I can get past it :)
abby_gail_noel's review against another edition
3.0
Middle school me would’ve given it a 4, adult me gives it a 3
I read this book a long time ago and really loved it. Reading it again as an adult, I realized it wasn’t as good as I remembered. For a YA mermaid book it’s about as good as it’s going to get, but it’s still not my favorite thing I’ve ever read.
A huge pet peeve of mine is when adults read YA and complain that it’s too formulaic or not mature enough. I understand that I am not the audience for this book so I’m not going to rip it to shreds. It was alright, but it suffered from more than a few issues. I thought the pacing was entirely too fast and everything was just a little too convenient for the characters. There’s also nothing more I hate than spoiled rich princesses full of self pity.
All that being said, if was a pretty generic YA book, just set underwater. From what I gleaned, the main messages were about love and friendship and believing in yourself so that’s pretty standard. I’m the end, it’s a pretty good book, it’s just not exceptional.
I read this book a long time ago and really loved it. Reading it again as an adult, I realized it wasn’t as good as I remembered. For a YA mermaid book it’s about as good as it’s going to get, but it’s still not my favorite thing I’ve ever read.
A huge pet peeve of mine is when adults read YA and complain that it’s too formulaic or not mature enough. I understand that I am not the audience for this book so I’m not going to rip it to shreds. It was alright, but it suffered from more than a few issues. I thought the pacing was entirely too fast and everything was just a little too convenient for the characters. There’s also nothing more I hate than spoiled rich princesses full of self pity.
All that being said, if was a pretty generic YA book, just set underwater. From what I gleaned, the main messages were about love and friendship and believing in yourself so that’s pretty standard. I’m the end, it’s a pretty good book, it’s just not exceptional.