Deep Blue (Waterfire Saga, #1) by Jennifer Donnelly
The first in a series of four epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.
Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.
When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world's very existence.
Publishes in US: May 6th 2014 by Disney Press
Genre: YA fantasy
Source: Disney hyperion (didn't request)
Series? Waterfire Saga #1
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I wrote a post about negative reviews, and how I don't review if I don't finish, and a very wise blogger pointed out that knowing what a blogger doesn't like can be valuable to publishers and authors too. I think that it also helps my readers build trust that I am not just slapping good ratings on everything I read. I have a knack for picking what I will lack based on synopsis and reviews, but that even fails. Then another blogger mentioned she did a did not finish post and I thought it was a great idea. So, here we go:
skimmed to page 36
I had honestly never heard of Deep Blue when I received it in the mail, but the cover was so nice, and I like the premise. I am hit or miss with mermaids but I was intrigued by the sisterhood bond, and their journey.
The beginning did not grab me right away. There was all sorts of fantasy merl talk as well as a prologue that I got nothing out of except she was reciting things, presumingly to call the main character to her in the future. It starts with Serafina waking from a dream--the prologue-- and her mother pressuring her to get ready for the big day (also didn't quite understand, except it was about music) but I, like most others can relate to a nagging mom. She also feels inadequate, that her mom's expectations are too high and though she has set a high bar for herself, it never seemed to be enough for her mom. This is what kept me read/skimming until I figured out the language and the world or Seraphina completely convinced me that I needed to know her story regardless of all of the strange terminology and setting thrown at me.
Unfortunately, that did not happen for me. I skimmed, but couldn't get past the royalty talk and the plot didn't pick up for me. I think that this will be great for the right reader because of the detailed world building and the fantasy element, but unfortunately it didn't for me. I saw glimpses of things that would make me connect with her, but they weren't enough.
That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.
Positive Reviews:
Do you think you would want to be a mermaid or a fantasy beast of the earth or air?
