Official summary:
"Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.
The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?"
Review:
Honestly, what a load of garbage.
The prose was subpar, lacking desperately in syntactical variation and any creative use of construction. Not only was is boring and for the most part unimaginative, but when it did attempt some variety it was sometimes nonsensical:
“I bear my nails to claws.”
What is “bear” supposed to mean here...
“I squeeze my fists and feel the blood cloy under my nails.”
Cloy - verb (used with object): to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleasure, etc.; surfeit; satiate
Uh...wut
“Coal travels through the wind in a song.”
How...how does it do that.
“He takes a swig of rum and then slams the goblet back onto the table, hard.”
Yes, that’s what “slamming” means. If an adverb doesn;t clarify or change the meaning of the verb it is totally unnecessary.
And then there’s this, a sentence that will haunt me of the rest of my life, wondering what the fuck the author was going for and how an editor left it in:
“I’m wearing...a dark gold jacket that feels like silk against my skin. Probably because it is silk.”
??????????
The dialogue was absolutely unbearable. Here’s a prime example if it:
“You’re always looking for something,” he says.
“There’s always something to find.”
“If you’re not careful, the only thing you’ll find is danger.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
I noted this exchange down towards the beginning of the book, thinking that since the action hadn’t really kicked off yet it was okay that every single conversation that had happened so far had gone like this. I was wrong, because every single dialogue exchange for the ENTIRE rest of the book went like this. HAVE AN HONEST FUCKING CONVERSATION, FOR FUCK’S SAKE. Not only was it annoying because it was desperately trying to be edgy and humorous, but it severely stalled characterization and relationships between characters. Because the POV was dual first-person between Lira and Elian, dialogue was one of our only sources of characterisation for any of the other characters, a source entirely squandered on snarky one-liners lacking in any substance whatsoever. It made the characters feel like caricatures and not the least bit real or relatable. We had to rely on Elian’s inner monologue to TELL us how he felt about his friends and the girl he was apparently in love with because not a single conversation actually SHOWS us. I’ve seen Lira and Elian’s romance called “slow-burn” just because they aren’t in love the first time they see each other and it happens late in the book.I wouldn’t call it “slow-burn”, because there’s hardly any burning going on at all. There’s just extremely vague positive feelings that don’t necessitate romance instead of friendship and then Lira asks him “Are you ever going to kiss me?” like it should have already happened. They haven’t had a single honest conversation; Lira can’t communicate with him without threatening to kill him. What a relationship!
Lira was almost the classic snarky-constant-eyeroll-YA-heroine, but was saved by her “humanisation” process - pretty much the only well-done aspect of the entire novel. While her enjoyment of killing was laid on a bit thick in the prologue for her to change in the amount of time she did, her humanisation occurred in a well-paced, gradual process via critical thought and meaningful experiences.
The Sea Queen was an entirely one-dimensional villain despite being the sole reason any of the story even happens.
I didn’t feel anything about Elian except for when he was being an asshole, which was thankfully only a few times, like this:
“Then again, the fact that her family has been searching for generations without any luck doesn’t mean much. After all, none of them are me.”
*eyeroll* What a hero. And this amazing quip:
“I don’t speak bitch.”
Lame AND misogynistic!
The character of Sakura/Yukiko was treated like a villain for no good reason whatsoever. Elian even says that Lira’s shit-talking is sweet while Yukiko’s is grating, when they’re exactly the same and he’s just being hypocritical. And offering to make her Queen in exchange for her help was all Elian’s idea so he hasn’t been “manipulated” at all. She’s just there to be the other woman~ to advance Lira and Elian’s relationship. So she’s a plot device, which is lazy at best and considering she’s prominently a WOC, also pretty dodgy.
Some of Elian’s crew had interesting characterization and backstories delivered via his internal narration, but since all they were allowed to do was talk in quips and try to undermine and one-up each other every time they spoke, they were little more than filler.
In terms of plot, they lay out what their journey is supposed to be and then do exactly that with only the most minor of upsets, and nothing that changes the overall plan. Exciting. The climactic final battle read like bad fanfiction. The world-building left a lot to be desired. Here’s a list of gaps:
1. If sirens are so common and are bringing down kingdoms why aren’t people taking precautions? Put some wax in your ears, it aint hard. Ya’ll never read the Odyssey?
2. What is the point of the sirens’ existence when they’re not supposed to have romantic relationships or friendships and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of society? Their purpose seems to be ripping out human hearts but they’re only allowed to do it ONCE A YEAR - what do they do the rest of the time?
3. Lira’s bedroom is the sole mention of anything to do with buildings. I imagined every scene with the sirens with them just floating above the sea floor with nothing for miles except some rocks and a bit of seaweed. Where is this so-called Kingdom at, huh?
4. The Kingdom of Pagos was based on Japan and the characters had these names: Sakura/Yukiko, Kazue, Koji, Hiroki, and Tetsu, all names that range from fairly to extremely common in Japan. Meanwhile everyone else had either uncommon or bizarre fantasy~ names like Lira, Elian, Kye, Madrid, Galinda, Maeve, and Khalia.
Overall, the more I thought about this book the more I went from unimpressed to violently annoyed, and I can’t wait to never think about it again once this review is posted (unlikely, I’m very petty).
Weaker points:
Prose
Plot
World building
Relationships
Secondary characters
Romance
Stronger points:
Character development
Atmosphere
Content/age appropriateness warnings: character death, violence, gore/blood, some swearing but less than in this review
"Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.
The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?"
Review:
Honestly, what a load of garbage.
The prose was subpar, lacking desperately in syntactical variation and any creative use of construction. Not only was is boring and for the most part unimaginative, but when it did attempt some variety it was sometimes nonsensical:
“I bear my nails to claws.”
What is “bear” supposed to mean here...
“I squeeze my fists and feel the blood cloy under my nails.”
Cloy - verb (used with object): to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleasure, etc.; surfeit; satiate
Uh...wut
“Coal travels through the wind in a song.”
How...how does it do that.
“He takes a swig of rum and then slams the goblet back onto the table, hard.”
Yes, that’s what “slamming” means. If an adverb doesn;t clarify or change the meaning of the verb it is totally unnecessary.
And then there’s this, a sentence that will haunt me of the rest of my life, wondering what the fuck the author was going for and how an editor left it in:
“I’m wearing...a dark gold jacket that feels like silk against my skin. Probably because it is silk.”
??????????
The dialogue was absolutely unbearable. Here’s a prime example if it:
“You’re always looking for something,” he says.
“There’s always something to find.”
“If you’re not careful, the only thing you’ll find is danger.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
I noted this exchange down towards the beginning of the book, thinking that since the action hadn’t really kicked off yet it was okay that every single conversation that had happened so far had gone like this. I was wrong, because every single dialogue exchange for the ENTIRE rest of the book went like this. HAVE AN HONEST FUCKING CONVERSATION, FOR FUCK’S SAKE. Not only was it annoying because it was desperately trying to be edgy and humorous, but it severely stalled characterization and relationships between characters. Because the POV was dual first-person between Lira and Elian, dialogue was one of our only sources of characterisation for any of the other characters, a source entirely squandered on snarky one-liners lacking in any substance whatsoever. It made the characters feel like caricatures and not the least bit real or relatable. We had to rely on Elian’s inner monologue to TELL us how he felt about his friends and the girl he was apparently in love with because not a single conversation actually SHOWS us. I’ve seen Lira and Elian’s romance called “slow-burn” just because they aren’t in love the first time they see each other and it happens late in the book.I wouldn’t call it “slow-burn”, because there’s hardly any burning going on at all. There’s just extremely vague positive feelings that don’t necessitate romance instead of friendship and then Lira asks him “Are you ever going to kiss me?” like it should have already happened. They haven’t had a single honest conversation; Lira can’t communicate with him without threatening to kill him. What a relationship!
Lira was almost the classic snarky-constant-eyeroll-YA-heroine, but was saved by her “humanisation” process - pretty much the only well-done aspect of the entire novel. While her enjoyment of killing was laid on a bit thick in the prologue for her to change in the amount of time she did, her humanisation occurred in a well-paced, gradual process via critical thought and meaningful experiences.
The Sea Queen was an entirely one-dimensional villain despite being the sole reason any of the story even happens.
I didn’t feel anything about Elian except for when he was being an asshole, which was thankfully only a few times, like this:
“Then again, the fact that her family has been searching for generations without any luck doesn’t mean much. After all, none of them are me.”
*eyeroll* What a hero. And this amazing quip:
“I don’t speak bitch.”
Lame AND misogynistic!
The character of Sakura/Yukiko was treated like a villain for no good reason whatsoever. Elian even says that Lira’s shit-talking is sweet while Yukiko’s is grating, when they’re exactly the same and he’s just being hypocritical. And offering to make her Queen in exchange for her help was all Elian’s idea so he hasn’t been “manipulated” at all. She’s just there to be the other woman~ to advance Lira and Elian’s relationship. So she’s a plot device, which is lazy at best and considering she’s prominently a WOC, also pretty dodgy.
Some of Elian’s crew had interesting characterization and backstories delivered via his internal narration, but since all they were allowed to do was talk in quips and try to undermine and one-up each other every time they spoke, they were little more than filler.
In terms of plot, they lay out what their journey is supposed to be and then do exactly that with only the most minor of upsets, and nothing that changes the overall plan. Exciting. The climactic final battle read like bad fanfiction. The world-building left a lot to be desired. Here’s a list of gaps:
1. If sirens are so common and are bringing down kingdoms why aren’t people taking precautions? Put some wax in your ears, it aint hard. Ya’ll never read the Odyssey?
2. What is the point of the sirens’ existence when they’re not supposed to have romantic relationships or friendships and there doesn’t seem to be any kind of society? Their purpose seems to be ripping out human hearts but they’re only allowed to do it ONCE A YEAR - what do they do the rest of the time?
3. Lira’s bedroom is the sole mention of anything to do with buildings. I imagined every scene with the sirens with them just floating above the sea floor with nothing for miles except some rocks and a bit of seaweed. Where is this so-called Kingdom at, huh?
4. The Kingdom of Pagos was based on Japan and the characters had these names: Sakura/Yukiko, Kazue, Koji, Hiroki, and Tetsu, all names that range from fairly to extremely common in Japan. Meanwhile everyone else had either uncommon or bizarre fantasy~ names like Lira, Elian, Kye, Madrid, Galinda, Maeve, and Khalia.
Overall, the more I thought about this book the more I went from unimpressed to violently annoyed, and I can’t wait to never think about it again once this review is posted (unlikely, I’m very petty).
Weaker points:
Prose
Plot
World building
Relationships
Secondary characters
Romance
Stronger points:
Character development
Atmosphere
Content/age appropriateness warnings: character death, violence, gore/blood, some swearing but less than in this review
