YA Book Review: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Release Date: 4 September 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! B&N | Amazon

Goodreads description:

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

My Thoughts...
So much more than a "mermaid book," Monstrous Beauty captured my heart with all of the wonderful elements that Ms. Fama threw in. This was honestly a beautifully dark, wonderfully crafted ghost story with terrifying magical sea creatures woven in. To top it off the story offers history, genealogy, and cemeteries--all things that captured my heart in a personal way.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints from Syrenka, the mermaid living in 1872-3, and Hester, a modern young woman determined to avoid love and all that it entails for her family. Reading from the point of views of both women gives the reader a unique advantage over the modern main character as the mystery increases on both sides. Watching the stories converge in the ways that they eventually do is engaging and really drew me in as a reader.

Both Syrenka and Hester are interesting characters, but I connected a lot with Hester.  Her emotional reactions to the things going on around (and within) her as well as the way she delved into the mysteries she was exploring really resonated with me as a person.  We are a lot alike in ways and I found that she was simply a fun character for me to get to know.  Combined with fantastic writing and richly atmospheric storytelling, this is a story that I can see myself reading and enjoying again in the future.

You don't have to like mermaid books to enjoy Monstrous Beauty.  It's dark tale combines new romance, local history, intriguing mystery...ghosts, sea monsters (mermaids), and cemeteries.  it may sound like a lot of elements to throw into a single story (which is wonderfully a standalone) but it definitely works.  Fans of darker fairy tale-esque stories will thoroughly enjoy this story.

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YA Book Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Release Date: 12 June 2012

Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually, they select their victims at random, but this time around, the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother's death.

It's going to take a concerted effort to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder's job is to gain Hancock's trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love--just as Lily starts to suspect there's more to the monster-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between them and the girl he loves.

One thing's for sure: whatever Calder decides, the outcome won't be pretty.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Release Date: 22 May 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & friends
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

Release Date: 1 May 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

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.

My Thoughts...

Saturday Shorts (1)

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
© 25 October 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children 

 Perry's not exactly excited when his parents decide that he has to take the foreign exchange student to the prom.  She's more than a little strange and hasn't made many attempts to really fit in.  However, prom is the least of Perry's concerns as the night progresses.  What starts as a short trip into the city becomes a wild adventure of epic proportions as Gobi jets around the city taking out her intended targets.  Oh, yeah, she's some kind of assassin.

Au Revoir is a fun, quick-paced read.  Perry and Gobi become quite the dynamic-duo in the course of the evening, and if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself enjoying them quite a bit.  The writing is fantastic and Schreiber has crafted this short novel perfectly.  The chapter titles are college admission questions and they're quite appropriate.

Between Sea & Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

© 25 October 2011 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books 

Esmerine and her sister, Dosinia, have always had a bit of curiously about the world above the sea, but Esmerine would never dream of abandoning her family and her calling as a siren.  When Dosinia disappears after talking about human acquaintances, Esmerine takes it upon herself to find out what's become of her.  Enlisting the help of her long-ago friend Alander, who belongs to a winged race of people, Esermine journeys on to the land in search of her sister and finds more than she bargained for.

Between the Sea and Sky was a fun, short read that really entrances the imagination.  The characters are easy to love (who doesn't love a pair as in love with books as many of us are?) and their journey is rocky.  There's no insta-love or love triangles to be found here but a rocky new beginning for long ago friends. The plotline and its message are lovely and will easily entice many a reader. 

YA Book Review: The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan
© 4 October 2010 by Houghton Mifflin

Goodreads Description:

Lena has lived her whole life near the beach — walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves — the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching. As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf. But her father — a former surfer himself — refuses to allow her to take lessons. After his near drowning years ago, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport. Yet something keeps drawing Lena to the water . . . an ancient, powerful magic. And one morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman — with a silvery tail. Now nothing can stop Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove. And soon . . . what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life forever.

My Thoughts...

Maybe it's just because I've been in a "mermaid book" kind of mood as of late, but I really enjoyed this novel.  It was compelling enough to keep me turning the pages until I finished the whole thing (such that I was reading between tasks at work...scanning and such).

Lena, at the beginning of the novel, was a bit of a difficult character to really love.  I found her a tad self-absorbed.  There were so many times I wanted to give her a little slap and say "Hey, your friends and family love and are concerned about you.  Notice them! Get out of your bubble!"  However, I didn't NOT like her...just not the kind of strong connection I can sometimes feel with a character.  Her sleepwalking "problem" pulled me in from the beginning and I have to admit that I was totally curious where the author was going with that.

As Lena discovers her heritage and more about her mom (who she believes to have died when she was little), the story really picks up.  There was a definite division between the first and second parts of the book and I really would have liked more of the second!  The ending was a bit unsatisfying for me and left me feeling a bit sad...but I don't want to give anything away so I'll leave it at that.

If you enjoy mermaid stories like Tera Lynn Childs' "Forgive My Fins,"  then you'll probably enjoy this one.

YA Book Review: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
© 19 May 2010 by Katherine Tegen Books

Goodreads description:

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs.

Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned

Thoughts, Musings, Ramblings...

I'm not going to lie--I've got kind of a "thing" for mermaid stories right now.  So...I really enjoyed this.  Keep that in mind, lol.

This one started off a little slow, but once it started going it didn't stop.  I loved the author's descriptions of the undersea world.  She really made it seem breathtaking. I wanted to be there and I wanted my eyes to sparkle when I cried! (which, by the way, I thought was a really unique idea and such a beautiful image to create)

Lily annoyed me a little bit throughout with her one-track-mind obsession with pretty-boy Brody.  I just wanted to smack her at times!  I understand the obsession--it's a teenage girl stereotype and it drove the story.  You wouldn't have had the story without it.  I know that, but that knowledge didn't stop me from wanting to reach into the story and smack some sense into the girl! (And I'm not saying that I didn't LIKE Lily as a character...just that was a typical boy-crazy 17 year old!) In the end, however annoying I found her before, I felt bad for her and I thought she made the right/hard choice.  I felt heartbroken right alongside her.  She became more and more real to me throughout the book (and less annoying, lol). 

The epilogue that leads into the next book felt a little forced.  It won't stop me from reading the next book because I am so interested in seeing what else happens!  Lily really did a lot of maturing throughout this book, so I hope the next book expounds on that and takes the story to a new level.  Overall, this was an enjoyable read.