For me this was essentially if you took Disney's adaptation of The Little Mermaid and put it in a milder version of the Upside-Down. It was quite dark and even eerie at times - I never thought a mermaid could creep me out so much.
Lira is fierce and ruthless and I loved that about her, so when I hit the halfway point of the novel and I knew this was going to follow the typical YA fantasy formula I was bummed out. I didn't want it to go in that direction and my enjoyment was lost for a little while - at this point I really wanted a different ending. However, I still enjoyed how it ended (although, I do feel it was pretty rushed and there were some things that just happened suddenly that I'd have liked some additional plot for) and how Lira grew as a person. Her and Elias' back-and-forth was fun, but I was hoping there wasn't going to be a romance for a change.
It's refreshing that this is a standalone, but I do think it could have done with a little extra fleshing out. All in all though it was a fun read and I liked the darker take on The Little Mermaid.
Lira is fierce and ruthless and I loved that about her, so when I hit the halfway point of the novel and I knew this was going to follow the typical YA fantasy formula I was bummed out. I didn't want it to go in that direction and my enjoyment was lost for a little while - at this point I really wanted a different ending. However, I still enjoyed how it ended (although, I do feel it was pretty rushed and there were some things that just happened suddenly that I'd have liked some additional plot for) and how Lira grew as a person. Her and Elias' back-and-forth was fun, but I was hoping there wasn't going to be a romance for a change.
It's refreshing that this is a standalone, but I do think it could have done with a little extra fleshing out. All in all though it was a fun read and I liked the darker take on The Little Mermaid.