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celsius273 's review for:
Triton Vârisi
by Anna Banks
Holding a grudge is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person dies
Of Triton deserves a different kind of 3 stars than Of Poseidon. On the one hand, the misogyny is toned down as is Galen’s temper, both of these which were the main problem I had with book one. On the other hand though, all the laughs I got from Of Poseidon were gone. I suppose this is typical though of a second book where the tone sombers down (I made that phrase up on the spot) and the characters are out of the “honeymoon period” doing some serious soul searching about the future. My biggest complaint though is that the main conflict in this book is basically useless. To explain it would take a ton of spoilers, but suffice, this book seems kind of like a detour and that the real problem is only rehashed at the end of the novel.
That being said, I didn’t not enjoy (sorry double negative) the story and it definitely flew by for me. Really, I went through this book in what felt like no time; that is I can’t recall ever reading for a long time. But of course this is absurd because it was also eight audiobook sections in length, the same as Of Poseidon. What’s more, I can tell that a ton happened in the book which I suppose is a testament to how fast the pacing of this book went. There’s no down time for any of the characters.
As for the development of characters, it was nice to see Galen trust Emma more but I really would have liked to see more tension as a result of Nalia suddenly being in the picture. Nalia injects a ton of doubt into Emma about the Syrena world (Galen included) but I felt that Emma conviction in what Nalia comes across as half-assed because all of her worries are cleared up as soon as her mother mentions them. I would have liked it more if her doubt was drawn out a bit so that I would be screaming for things to work out when they finally did. The way the resolution of Emma’s doubt was carried out made it seem like a minor inconvenience when there was so much potential for it to be dragged out and at the end make everyone bond more strongly with each other.
Moving on to the fact that the bulk of the book, well the not Emma part, was focused on a tribunal in the Syrena world that was started to figure out the identity of Emma’s mother but ended up as basically this clash between monarchy (poseidon and triton royals alike *gasp* they’re working together!) and faux democracy (spearheaded Jagen and Paca) and I’m sure you can guess who “wins” in the end. Again, while I felt like the conflict was unnecessary, I did like how I was simultaneously excited and frustrated by the tribunal. I felt really into the tribue as if I had a personal stake and when the tide started to turn in a way I didn’t like it, I actually felt anxious and restless; seriously that’s how much I was drawn into the story.
The storyline following Emma though is about how she gets from land to the tribunal. One question, when did she learn how to hold her breath like forever? I feel like she only got to an hour or so in of Poseidon and now suddenly she can spend hours underwater? Someone tell me if I missed a development somewhere but I’m pretty sure she couldn’t hold her breath that long before.
The tribunal also was a stage for a bunch of very interesting revelations; the biggest arguably the revelation of the power of Poseidon.
and I didn’t remember till the book was nearly over that mermaids have fins in place of feet… not on their back. I didn’t guess that Rayna was part of it though and honestly when she does that first scream, it was my most favorite moment of her.. Still the awesome entrance that Emma makes where she’s in full sass mode all like “Oh don’t mind the shark behind me because I’m sure Paca would never let anyone get hurt” had me internally jumping up and down and screaming suck it to Jagen and Company.
After the tribunal is concluded though, the rest of the book then really felt pointless which is kind of ironic because it’s actually the part that pertains to the real issue: how the Syrena have to adapt to a changing world and how to deal with humans. The book ends in the way a second book should, like it could end here but you know there’s more. I’m interested, maybe not jumping out of my seat excited, in seeing how the series will conclude and if everyone will find resolution.
Of Triton deserves a different kind of 3 stars than Of Poseidon. On the one hand, the misogyny is toned down as is Galen’s temper, both of these which were the main problem I had with book one. On the other hand though, all the laughs I got from Of Poseidon were gone. I suppose this is typical though of a second book where the tone sombers down (I made that phrase up on the spot) and the characters are out of the “honeymoon period” doing some serious soul searching about the future. My biggest complaint though is that the main conflict in this book is basically useless. To explain it would take a ton of spoilers, but suffice, this book seems kind of like a detour and that the real problem is only rehashed at the end of the novel.
That being said, I didn’t not enjoy (sorry double negative) the story and it definitely flew by for me. Really, I went through this book in what felt like no time; that is I can’t recall ever reading for a long time. But of course this is absurd because it was also eight audiobook sections in length, the same as Of Poseidon. What’s more, I can tell that a ton happened in the book which I suppose is a testament to how fast the pacing of this book went. There’s no down time for any of the characters.
As for the development of characters, it was nice to see Galen trust Emma more but I really would have liked to see more tension as a result of Nalia suddenly being in the picture. Nalia injects a ton of doubt into Emma about the Syrena world (Galen included) but I felt that Emma conviction in what Nalia comes across as half-assed because all of her worries are cleared up as soon as her mother mentions them. I would have liked it more if her doubt was drawn out a bit so that I would be screaming for things to work out when they finally did. The way the resolution of Emma’s doubt was carried out made it seem like a minor inconvenience when there was so much potential for it to be dragged out and at the end make everyone bond more strongly with each other.
Moving on to the fact that the bulk of the book, well the not Emma part, was focused on a tribunal in the Syrena world that was started to figure out the identity of Emma’s mother but ended up as basically this clash between monarchy (poseidon and triton royals alike *gasp* they’re working together!) and faux democracy (spearheaded Jagen and Paca) and I’m sure you can guess who “wins” in the end. Again, while I felt like the conflict was unnecessary, I did like how I was simultaneously excited and frustrated by the tribunal. I felt really into the tribue as if I had a personal stake and when the tide started to turn in a way I didn’t like it, I actually felt anxious and restless; seriously that’s how much I was drawn into the story.
The storyline following Emma though is about how she gets from land to the tribunal. One question, when did she learn how to hold her breath like forever? I feel like she only got to an hour or so in of Poseidon and now suddenly she can spend hours underwater? Someone tell me if I missed a development somewhere but I’m pretty sure she couldn’t hold her breath that long before.
The tribunal also was a stage for a bunch of very interesting revelations; the biggest arguably the revelation of the power of Poseidon.
Spoiler
I guessed that Galen had something to do with it especially with the whole ginormous fin thing, which, sidenote, I couldn’t visualise for the longest time… The way he and Toraf were describing his fin made it sound like it was on his back? and I kept visualizing a mahi mahi esque fin but in red for some reason and I didn’t remember till the book was nearly over that mermaids have fins in place of feet… not on their back. I didn’t guess that Rayna was part of it though and honestly when she does that first scream, it was my most favorite moment of her.
After the tribunal is concluded though, the rest of the book then really felt pointless which is kind of ironic because it’s actually the part that pertains to the real issue: how the Syrena have to adapt to a changing world and how to deal with humans.