Read of the Week: Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly

Deep Blue (Waterfire Saga, #1)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.

The research put into this novel was absolutely astounding. Depending on who you are, it might not seem like it in the book, but it’s there. It is so definitely there. That, along with the creativity that Disney always seems to signature with really made this novel shine through.

Disney also happened to send me one of the coolest ARC packages I’ve ever received, and I wish I’d gotten a few pictures in before tearing it apart, but truth be told, I just couldn’t help myself. Either way, there was a video included and it was great and it really helped show just how much thought was put into this.

The adventure in this book is so heart pounding; it was truly exhilarating. While the romance was light, it was also enjoyable and didn’t disturb the story in any way otherwise. Mermaids who make bad decisions on account of bad boyfriends aren’t cool and I’m so glad we were spared from that. The focus on friendship really had me going, and even better?

The diversity was so original, and really covered all those grounds we, as readers, always want it to. This helped set the novel aside among other things scattered throughout the plot.

One of my favorite things about Deep Blue? The wording. There’s a lot of differentiated language, like money being referred to as currensea and other cute change-ups that were very quirky. Some of them got a few laughs frm me, and while they were a bit over the top at times, it strongly shaped the world and helped push the differences on readers.

Feministas, friendship, and courage make up the contours of Deep Blue and I can’t wait to see what’s in store next for these ladies!

Rating: 7/10

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