The Vicious Deep

First, a little intro to our protagonist. Tristan is just your normal sixteen year old guy. He works as a lifeguard because as everyone knows, chicks love lifeguards, because "lifeguards are the more naked version of firemen - the girls just love the uniforms. In my case, the orange Speedo." His favourite things are the water, and, obviously, girls.

So anyway, one normal morning, while his best friend Layla and his ex Maddy gossip mean things about him, a freak storm appears out of nowhere. Everyone panics, and while trying to save a lady, Tristan is dragged out to sea and missing for three days. When he finally washes up on shore, Tristan can't remember a thing, except for weird dreams about a shark mermaid that he dismisses as a crazy dream (seriously, wouldn't you?) He feels different, but definitely not as different as when his legs fuse together and he becomes a merman and he discovers his mum used to be a mermaid and a naked guy appears in the bathtub (you'll understand that one when you read the book :P) And then of course, in case that wasn't enough, he discovers he is the grandson of the sea king.

I love Tristan because he could sometimes be pretty insensitive and lack tack, but he was really funny and he learned from his mistakes. He is arrogant and witty and thinking a lot about girls, which is exactly what I expect to be going through a teenage guy's mind. It's really hard to find a female author who can write such a convincing male part, so congratulations, Cordova. You have earned my respect.

Now, the love interest. In this case, his bestie Layla. You know how there are all those books out there where the female protagonist has a guy best friend and the best friend's in love with her but she doesn't notice? Of course you have. Well, this is kinda like that in that Tristan and Layla are best friends and Layla doesn't notice Tristan's in love with her. I liked this love thing (even though I usually hate it) because we finally get to see the best friend side of this annoying unrequited love thing that many YA books use. I loved the twist at the end () where Layla has feelings for Tristan as well but thinks he's doing some "mer-thing" to her and so now officially hates him for doing something he didn't actually do. Yep, annoying, right? ()

The ending was a little bit abrupt. It was like, yay, we found the first piece of the trident and then - THE END. I was like, okay, where are we going next guys, ooo great Flo- Oh. Okay then. Slam the door in my face, why don't you? Anyway.

In the Vicious Deep, Cordova creates an amazing sea world that I can picture perfectly, and great, funny characters to go with it. I can't wait for the next book where she will hopefully expand on this world and its characters.

I really have to start taking notes as I read. I read this book in one sitting then jumped right into a new book. Eight books later, I can hardly remember what I liked and didn't like about The Vicious Deep.

I do remember that I liked that this story is told from a merman's point of view. I'm glad that the menfolk are getting some representation in a female dominated genre. No need to be sexist, afterall. Tristan was pretty darn funny. He was arrogant and witty, just like you would expect most teenage boys to be. He was a 100% believable narrator.

Then there is Layla. I liked her a lot. She was strong-willed and independent. She was also not a mermaid. She found out about Tristan's secret, by pure chance. Of course, since it's been like 3 months since I read this book, I forgot why exactly I liked her other than those reasons.

I also want to point out that I enjoyed the world building. The descriptions of the merworld were great. It is so important to have a believable setting-- even in a fantasy type book. The old school rules of fighting for the tritan were pretty extreme, and added to the plot. There were a few characters that I didn't care for that kept hanging around, but whatever. I'm sure they will find their place somewhere in book 2.

But what really irked me about this story was the ending. Did anyone else think it ended too abruptly? I was crusing along enjoying the quest, when BAM. End of book one. Just like that too. I had to actually flip back a few pages to make sure I didn't skip something. I really thought I had missed a chapter or two. That was a huge disappointment. I love a good cliffhanger, but not when the story seems to hit a brick wall at 65 MPH. Of course, though, I'll have to read The Savage Blue because I need to know how and if Tristan can find the rest of the trident pieces.

loved it