(Lies Beneath, #1)
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books; 303 pages
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake.
Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.
I'm confused as to why there's a female mermaid on the cover of this book and not a merman. I thought, as I was reading, I might have known but no. Though, I guess people might find it weird to see a merman instead of a mermaid. You think mermaid and you think female. So I guess I get that but still, this book is told from a male's point of view.
So, regardless of the cover I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this book. (I do believe my rating is wavering in between a 3 and 4 star) It was an easy, quick read, that's for sure. I finished it in a day but it seemed awfully repetitive to me. I can't even count the amount of times that Calder says the same thing about Jason Hancock. I get that they want revenge for their mother's death and the best way to do that is through him (thanks to a promise his father had made). But the amount of times it came up was a bit excessive, I thought. One positive thing I enjoyed about this book is that the mermaids were presented as killers. You think mermaid and don't tell me you automatically don't think of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. You know you did.
Mermaids are supposed to be the new 'fad' in YA and this is my second mere people book I've read, they're enjoyable. I never thought I'd like a story about mermaids; I was never a big fan of them ever but I like to give things a chance. Sure, I'd take a werewolf, fairy or probably even a vampire book over these but both mermaid books have surprised me.
The characters were very appealing, especially Calder. He's different from his sisters because he wasn't born in to this life. He was born a human but was 'turned' into a merman. Maybe this makes him less cold than his sisters or maybe it's because he probably is different. He is very strong and I'm not just talking about physically, I'm talking about internally. To resist killing like he does, it takes a lot of will power and he has it. It's admirable. When he loves, he loves with his whole heart, holding nothing back.
We have Jason Hancock's eldest daughter, Lily, who is a perfect pair for Calder. She's very strong willed, as well, in fact, they're very similar. She's got a fire in her that makes her stand out from the rest of, not just her family, but every character in this book. I like that about her. Then we have Jack and what an asshole he can be. But is he really an asshole or is there a reason for his behavior?
The entire book, Calder is torn between his family and really, Lily's family. It's very back and forth. Him wanting nothing but getting revenge for his mother's death to wanting to do nothing but protect him because it would kill Lily (and any shot he'd have at a relationship with her). What wins out, though, his devotion to his family (and mother's memory) or his love for this fiery human?
I enjoyed this book. I can't say I loved this book but I'd definitely recommending checking it out, especially if you're in to sea monsters. I'm glad I've read this book and I will be reading the second book next year but there's nothing that really grabbed my attention and made me go 'wow' like a lot of books do. It is definitely a great summer read, so check it out when it comes out!
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