D.N. BrynCritiques

I mean it's alright, I guess.
Clem was adorable at times, it felt like I was being told a lot of the plot instead of shown.
The fallen angel motif around Justin felt very in my face as if the reader wasn't trusted to extrapolate the metaphor on their own.
It took a bit too long to get the ball rolling for me to want to rate this higher.
Enjoyed the ace rep, disability rep and the fanfic rep lol

I mean it's alright, I guess.
Clem was adorable at times, it felt like I was being told a lot of the plot instead of shown.
The fallen angel motif around Justin felt very in my face as if the reader wasn't trusted to extrapolate the metaphor on their own.
It took a bit too long to get the ball rolling for me to want to rate this higher.
Enjoyed the ace rep, disability rep and the fanfic rep lol

I mean it's alright, I guess.
Clem was adorable at times, it felt like I was being told a lot of the plot instead of shown.
The fallen angel motif around Justin felt very in my face as if the reader wasn't trusted to extrapolate the metaphor on their own.
It took a bit too long to get the ball rolling for me to want to rate this higher.
Enjoyed the ace rep, disability rep and the fanfic rep lol

I mean it's alright, I guess.
Clem was adorable at times, it felt like I was being told a lot of the plot instead of shown.
The fallen angel motif around Justin felt very in my face as if the reader wasn't trusted to extrapolate the metaphor on their own.
It took a bit too long to get the ball rolling for me to want to rate this higher.
Enjoyed the ace rep, disability rep and the fanfic rep lol

2.75

I love this book. I love Dejean. I love, love, love Perle. And I especially love that they don't understand each other right away. The pacing and worldbuilding were fantastic, sublime even. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment of this series.

One thing that struck me a tad odd was that guns and cars existed alongside marauding pirates, ships, and swords. the way this information was introduced felt more than a tad weird and pulled me right out of the story. All's fair in fantasy, and exposition is certainly a learning curve.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sirens and mermaids. But, don't expect any romance, there is none to be found. This is a love story of the highest platonic caliber.

I wanted to like this book especially as I had heard a lot of good things about it, however, the more I read it, the more I couldn't shake a feeling of unease as a disabled reader.

While it was pointed out several times that sirens were not animals, I couldn't stop thinking about what it meant that the disabled character was a siren not a human. Pearle can't communicate like a human, her voice is different, and she has to learn to communicate with the humans in a type of sign language. Perhaps the author meant this as a comment on how the voices of disabled people are silenced, and if so it is poorly done. Instead, it felt more like disabled were being compared to an exotic creature/animal rather than people that exist in the real world.

Unlike humans, sirens need their tail to survive as they can't live out of water. Whereas when a human becomes paralysed their life is not at risk in the same way. Whether it was meant or not, by making the disabled character a siren rather than a human there is the suggestion that becoming disabled ruins someone's life. It left a sour taste in my mouth.

The final nail in the coffin for me was reading the reviews and finding that the saviour storyline becomes a love story.

Having been held captive by a pirate captain for several months, Perle doesn't have the best opinion of humans. But when another ship invades, the new captain isn't what Perle expects.

A mug of hot chocolate on a grey day – this queer pirate steampunk story will bring a smile to even chilliest of hearts.

I thought I'd found the aro-ace agender QPR story I'd been seeking – until the very last couple of pages when it turned out I was (slightly) off base. Still absolutely no hesitations in recommending this book.

4.5

Book source ~ Tour

Perle is a siren who has been captured by the evil pirate Kian. Kian has invented a device that blocks a siren’s song and now she’s on a mission to kill or capture all of the sirens in the ocean. The hate between human and siren runs deep, and Perle’s captivity and torture for months on end has them losing hope of ever escaping. But then another ship arrives, attacking The Oyster and driving Kian away. Dejean Gayle and his crew take the ship home and he gives Perle the option of coming with him or facing the ocean with some serious injuries. Dejean’s offer and Perle’s decision sets off a chain reaction that will change their world.

Holy shit. This book hooked me from the very start. Told from Perle’s POV it’s interesting to be inside a siren’s head. I’ve never read much about sirens, so I went into this story a blank slate. Now, I might be ruined for all that come after. I love Perle’s thoughts, toughness, vulnerability, and snark. Dejean is a perfect foil for them. The world is awesome, the plot steady, the characters interesting, and the villain is fucking loathesome. If you want a book full of heart then you better grab this before Perle eats it.

dnf @10%

this book is good but it's not for me

writing is beautiful and story is very fresh, but I just don't read fantasy anymore like I used to and I need to accept that

MERMURDER.

Well, to be more precise, a bloody, action-filled romance including the mermaid legend as Sirens, and lots of conflict between humans and factions of the sirens.

More than anything, it's a character study and a gradual shifting of priorities and emotions and it's quite LGBT friendly.

What's great about it is the body horror and the sign language, the slow building of trust, and eventually the heroism on both sides. Perle really comes into her own and this is NOT exactly a light rendition of the Little Mermaid... more like it's the gritty dystopian version.

Well worth the read. And it goes nicely with the growing trend of the mermaid genre! :)

I love this book. I love Dejean. I love, love, love Perle. And I especially love that they don't understand each other right away. The pacing and worldbuilding were fantastic, sublime even. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment of this series.

One thing that struck me a tad odd was that guns and cars existed alongside marauding pirates, ships, and swords. the way this information was introduced felt more than a tad weird and pulled me right out of the story. All's fair in fantasy, and exposition is certainly a learning curve.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sirens and mermaids. But, don't expect any romance, there is none to be found. This is a love story of the highest platonic caliber.