Book Description:
Seventeen-year-old Emma Harris is drowning on dry land.
No one knows what’s happening to her, and she’d like to keep her evolution from human to mermaid a secret, but the truth is getting harder and harder to hide. From her adoptive family, from her friends, and especially from the irresistible James Phelps. Her time in the ocean is spent dodging a possessive merman, while her time on land is split between caring for her special-needs brother and squeezing in every last possible moment of human life. She soon realizes falling for James is unavoidable when he constantly comes to Emma’s rescue and somehow manages to see through her carefully constructed icy facade to the vulnerability she lives with every day. Everything about James makes Emma yearn for a life on land she just can't have. When Emma’s brother disappears on her watch, James is the only person she trusts to help her save him. But even if they can save her brother, nothing can prevent her return to the sea. Whether she likes it or not, Emma is changing—unable to breathe without yielding to the tide—and it's only a matter of time before she's forced to surrender forever.
Water So Deep
Excerpt
BY
THE TIME SHE HIKED down the steep embankment and around the tide pools to
her cove, the pressure in her chest squeezed so tight, black spots floated in
her vision. Not a good sign. It had only been five days since her last swim—
usually she was good for seven.
Emma hung her bag on a rock that jutted out of the cave
wall and stripped off her clothes, breathing deep, squeezing her hands into
fists to avoid the panic creeping up on her. Panicking stole precious air from
her half-converted lungs, and she was already on the verge of passing out.
If she did pass out, she couldn’t get to the water, and if
she couldn’t get to the water, this terrible pressure wouldn’t ease, and if the
pressure didn’t ease, she would soon stop breathing altogether. It would be
hours before anyone missed her and came looking, and by that time, she’d be
shriveled like a washed-up fish, and probably just as dead.
By the time she’d put on her suit, her vision blurred and
she had to step carefully, trailing her hand along the wall of the shallow cave
so she wouldn’t trip and hurt herself before she got to the water. Finally at
the edge, she sucked in a last breath of air and dove, relieved as slits opened
up to gills in the side of her neck and water filtered through them, finally
allowing her lungs to expand.
My Review:
This YA Urban Fantasy mermaid tale begins differently than many out there, the main character is not a full mermaid yet. She is what is called a Changeling who was in human form and is slowing turning into a mermaid. She has to take a swim in the ocean, often, or she will stop breathing. To make matters worse, her "intended" a confident, possessive and abrasive merman is constantly there when Emma needs to swim to stay alive. He's pressuring her about how many days she has left before she will fully turn and have to come live in Atlantis with her real family, leaving her adopted family back on land.
The very beginning of the book something happens with Emma's first boyfriend, Tom, that is rather disturbing. We only get details later, but it sets a plot line for the rest of the book. Poor Emma can't trust another man. Then James comes along that she wants to love and trust, but is having a hard time. Then she has the surly Merrick that has been possessive where he has been violent to Emma. One of the best characters is the book is Emma's younger brother, Keith. He is learning disable and Emma loves and protects him fiercely. Nichole does an excellent portrayal of a high functioning Asperger's teen. I loved the parts of the book that showed Emma and Keith's relationship.
The books moves quickly and you really want to see Emma and James come together, the only problem is that you know that Emma's time is drawing near when she'll have to return to Atlantis.
There are some major things that happen in the last part of the book that are total shockers. These will leave you shaking your head a little and they are total spoilers. It also ends with a major cliffhanger, which to me sets this up perfectly for another book in the series.
This book will be enjoyed by older teens and adults. There is mild swearing and like I said, a violent act, that is not detailed. I would have liked to have seen more of Atlantis, but I'm sure there will be more of that in the next book. I liked this reverse mermaid tale and I would recommend you giving this one a read.
Meet
Author Nichole GilesNichole Giles, the author of the Descendant trilogy, has lived in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. She loves to spend time with her husband and four children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.
Thanks so much Sheila! Hugs hugs hugs!
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