When Jade Eby Isn't Writing...

Originally posted at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements

So I started this book like a day before November and then all the craziness of November happened and even though it called my name several times, I had to ignore it otherwise I knew I'd get nothing done! So the minute I felt relieved of my November chores, I opened this bad boy up and delved into Karen's AMAZING world of mermaids, sirens, selkies and gorgons. I know, you're a little confused by that sentence but it's okay...read the book and you won't be!

The Good: Oh my word, what an amazing world Karen has built in this novel. I love the setting descriptions and the introductions to all of the water species. I thought Karen did such an incredible job setting up this fantastical (but honestly, kind of believable) world that involve mermaid's smoking C-weed and half man/half seal's who drink blood. It's a crazy, trippy ride under the water in Tangled Tides, but what a fun ride it is. Yara, the main character is feisty and sarcastic and I really love her. She's that type of character you root for from the very beginning. She demands loyalty, and loyalty she gets. Don't get me started on the men in this novel. I wasn't hip on Rownan until I learned a little bit more about his past and then I understood his actions and demeanor but Treygan on the other hand. Yum. He's probably the sexiest merman I've ever envisioned. I love all the other crazy cast of characters too. Pango and Merrick, the gay merman couple, Delmar, the beefy but sentimental best friend of Treygan, Koraline (who I really hope to see more of in the next set of books!) and even Nixie tugged at my heartstrings a little bit! I thought the romance in the story was great and I loved that it wasn't insta-love and I absolutely love that Yara's ability to believe so strongly in love ends up saving everyone. It's such a beautiful notion...even for a cynic like myself. This was an incredible debut from Karen!

The Bad: There was only one thing that bothered me a little bit about the novel and that was the use of some of the slang words that happen in "real" life that seemed very out of place and jilted the story for me. Like the word "hella" that I saw a couple times. To me, it just made that piece of dialogue so much weaker than it could have been if those slang words weren't in there. But that's being nit picky.

Overall, I thought this book was FANTASTIC and highly recommended. I give it an A!!!