Friday 2 November 2012

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Pages - 341
Published by Bloomsbury in July 2011
I was ten the first time I saw her. I remember this clearly because my mother left exactly two weeks later-on my eleventh birthday.
Goodreads Summary
As her seventeenth birthday approaches, half-mermaid Tempest Maguire will have to make a decision. Stay on land? Or give herself to the ocean? The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kona, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her--and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.
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With the emergence of  a mermaid book invasion, I thought it was about time I saw what all the fuss was about. So I chose Tempest Rising as a my first mermaid book. I didn't realise it wouldn't just be mermaids and I was surprised to  discover water witches too, not too mention the rather hot selkie I just made my acquaintance with. 
To me, this book felt like it was in two parts. In the first half you meet Tempest as she struggles to come to terms with the imminent changes brought on by her impending seventeenth birthday. Every thing appears semi normal, as long as you ignore the fact Tempest has grown a tail and now has a lovely set of gills behind her ears.  The second half of the book occurs completely under water  and it felt a little as though the book had moved into a fantasy world. A bit like Bedknobs and Broomsticks when the children end up in the cartoon. It felt a little surreal. Now I know that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy it, but I really did and I wasn't at all perturbed by this drastic changes of style; I just felt it gave a clearer representation of the two sides of  Tempest's gene pool. 
I really liked Tempest. She was a normal average hormonal teen who now had to deal with the oncoming changes turning her into a mermaid. What girl would really want that? And Tempest fights it all the way until Kona arrives... 
Kona is the hot selkie and let me tell you he is a welcome addition to the story. For the first few chapters I thought Mark, Tempest's boyfriend was gorgeous until Kona put firecrackers under him, knocking him right out of the limelight.  Seriously Kona was stunning. His relationship with Tempest was innocent and sensuous at the same time. I loved that he could see into her mind and always knew just what she was thinking. OK, I admit, I wouldn't want that in real life as it would appear just a little stalkerish, but in this book it really works. 
There are lots of references to the ocean within this book and the language used to describe was breath taking. I honestly didn't realise there were so many ways to describe the beach, yet this author almost personified it. 
The ending surprised me and left me wanting closure. So I can't wait to get my hands on the next book to find out what happens next. 

1 comment:

  1. This sounds really good, I've had it on my pile to read for ages now - I think it's time for a reshuffle :)

    ReplyDelete

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