Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
Waterfire Saga #1
RATING: 4 stars
GENRE: YA Fantasy
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.
MY THOUGHTS:
At first, I was unsure about reading this book as I have read little fiction based upon mermaids. I expected the story line to be very immature because of this and I was very shocked when I read it.
I must applaud the author for creating a fantastically unique world which is described in great detail. Despite the fantasy and myths around the issues, the world created becomes alive and realistic with every aspect being described perfectly to create a stunning scene. However, during the first few chapters, you do become very overwhelmed with the language used. Most of the place, people, events and objects name are in an unknown language which is close to latin. Throughout the novel the language is used A LOT and it almost seems as if it is not written in English. There is a glossary at the back but throughout, especially at the beginning, I struggled to understand the story as I was bombarded with these unknown words.
I really liked the plot to the novel as it was very engaging and never dipped. The action begins from the start and never drops or stops until the end. After every chapter, it left me thinking; "Another plot twist?" but this just kept me interested. The structure to the novel and how it keeps feeding you information bit by bit keeps you hooked and reading until 2am in the morning! I love the idea of the mermaids and mermaid war which is really unique. Elements in this book were really clever such as the use of the different oceans as villages and the way the author incorporated marine life in a clever and subtle way.
Overall, a fantastic start to a should be epic series and I can't wait to read the next books! If you are not sure about fantasy books, read this anyway as it will get you into it!
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