Tobie Easton

I'm a big Ariel's follower. Like, if Ariel the Little Mermaid has a cult of some sort, I would be (one of those weird security dudes) the leader. So of course, I jumped at the chance when I was offered this delicious looking mermaid book.

Back to the main point here.

Long story short, this book didn't live up to my expectation, and in conclude, I did not enjoy it as much. You know those kind of stories you are dying to read, but it turns out to be a nope? Unfortunately, Emerge is one of them. show more And no matter how tempting the idea of The Little Mermaid's descendant fighting her way through the force of magic and curses (and let's not forget high school), I still have to let this one go.

CHEESY WRITING — Not the I-might-laugh-because-it's-too-adorable kind of cheesy, no. It's the I-might-laugh-because-it's-too-childish-and-silly kind. The book was written in an extremely simple voice that a youngster like me thought it was too babyish. Because it's YA? Pffft... I wouldn't even put this in pre-teen, pur-lease.

IRRITATED PROTAGONIST — Yes, I know our protagonist Lia here is suppose to be this small, innocent mermaid and all, but remember, ignorant and innocent are two distinct words, and Lia is definitely what I define as an ignorant, immature person. She made rash decisions, faced the consequences, realized it was not a so good idea anymore, blamed herself and semi-whining in a very annoying way, then, of course, she started that rash decisions all over again.

...AND NO LESS IRRITATED INTERACTIONS — Then, there come times when Lia interacts with other people. Her "infatuate" toward Clay was so childish and somewhat insincere, I genuinely thought that Clay will soon become a side character until nearly half way through the book. And did I mention Clay's earlier "lady friend"? I mean, twists and turns and all, but you don't just hate and think badly about a person on the first day you met just because she looks nice and is going out with the guy you are crushing on. CRUSHING ON, people! Not like Clay is dating Lia and he has to commit to her or something. It was such a frustration for me.

So yes, I wish wish wish I could be able to love Emerge, but it turned out to be a big nope for me. I hope others may find what I have missed to enjoy, because I would't deny the fact that this book has an extremely great storyline, but I wish it's more polished on other aspects that are crucial to the book.

**I received this book from the publisher via Library Thing. This in no way can affect my opinion on the book and its content. show less

I don't know how many mermaid books I have read this year. Honestly, I have read quite a few and each one is different from the other. It's actually interesting being able to read different takes and versions of mermaid stories. I've always loved Disney's The Little Mermaid. So, I was just so happy to find out that this book is a retelling of the same fairy tale though it's more on Hans Christian Andersen's version.

This is a totally different version of Disney or Anderson's version. I think show more it's actually a refreshing adaptation which puts the famous Little Mermaid star on a darker shade. Yes, in this retelling, The Little Mermaid's story did not have a happy ending which provides a background story of how this Lia's story came to be. So, following the events after The Little Mermaid's last action to claim her one true love, a war broke out in the mermaid kingdom. As an aftermath of that war, some Mer people decided to leave on land and hide their identities.

I think the thing that strikes me most about the story is the author's version of The Little Mermaid's story. I was impressed. I like it. I like because it's such a very unexpected turn of events. It somehow puts The Little Mermaid in such a bad light that had caused a series of unfortunate events for her descendants and the rest of the Seven Seas. I think it's such a radical way of setting the stage for this retelling but I think it really works. It's totally an out-of-the-box way to put it and I just love it because it's so unforeseen. I would never have thought to actually think of the story going that way, especially, on my favorite fairy tale character and story. I don't know how many times I've watched The Little Mermaid or sang the OST and imagining I was Ariel. I'm just totally impressed by the background story. I just can't stress that enough.

Lia's character is very relatable because she's going through the same things teenagers are dealing with. Though, I'm sure, no one can relate to being a Mermaid on land. Anyways, she's been a really good teenager until she's forced to break the rules when the new girl seems to have a bigger chance of ending up with the boy she wants. It's a normal teenage love triangle until the secrets and the darker element were added in. The competition now comes with much more devastating consequences. And the game changes because it's not just about natural charms and wit anymore, it's more than that. It's a much more threatening display of powers and abilities that is beyond the reaches of dry land. So, Lia is forced to tap into her family's ancient abilities and secrets to even up the playing field. The one that she was sworn to never ever do.

I love that this story has a mix of intrigue and mystery. I enjoyed Caspian and Lia playing detective. I also love that most of the characters in the story are named after precious stones. The last name Nautilus is also very perfect. It reminds me of Captain Nemo's submarine in Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I enjoyed that story and the series adaptation SeaQuest very much. May Jonathan Brandis and Roy Scheider rest in peace.

Ah, this is very exhilarating. It's refreshing. I give this book 5/5 swimsuits. I just love how this was adapted to the original Andersen story. Yes, sometimes happy ending are overrated and finding another story with a totally unique twist is just so entertaining. I can't wait for the next book. Good thing I already have it with me courtesy of Month9Books. I will soon dive into the world of Lia and her friends again.

How can you narrow down to a few paltry words something that means everything?
- Tobie Easton, Emerge -

Thank you Month9Books and Tobie Easton for the copy. show less

I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Emerge by Tobie Easton is one of those books I could easily dismiss as a 5 star read because it’s a YA book and call it a day. “It’s meant for kids” seems to be a popular mantra when it comes to explaining away plot holes and inconsistencies. I’m not going to do that, though, because as good as this book was—and don’t get me wrong, it was good—there were certainly some world show more building problems that dragged this down to a 4 star read for me.

First, though, let’s get the technical bits out of the way. The book was exceedingly well written/edited. I didn’t run into any obvious typos grammatical mistakes or inconsistencies. The narrative flowed well and at a steady pace throughout. I was engaged by the narrative voice from the very beginning all the way to the end of the book.

The cast of characters was colorful and for the most part, likable (except for Mel and her father) and overall, well characterized.

In fact, except for the way the mermaid’s anatomy and their homes were handled, I don’t have much to complain about. I know it’s easy to dismiss the mermaid aspects of the story because it’s a YA Fantasy novel… but I wasn’t buying it. The mishmash of fantasy and uncomfortably awkward way the mermaid’s transformation was handled made for a strange chunk of world building. I found it hard to follow along with how the mermaid architecture and the how the intricacies of underwater life worked. Maybe I’m being a nitpicker, but it didn’t work for me.

That aside, I loved the book. I loved almost everything about it, and I’m glad I read it in the end. I think it’d make a great addition to any mermaid lover's bookshelf, and let’s be honest here… who doesn’t love mermaids? show less

***3.5 stars***

There were a lot of things to like about this book. Yet, somehow, it just never felt that amazing.

THE GOOD

1.) The main character was spectacular. She acknowledged when she was unnecessarily hating on the new girl, she genuinely cared about the people around her, and she just seemed like a normal, only slightly angsty teenager.

2.) Mermaids. It's odd that this is the first mermaid book I've read; I like to think of myself as fairly well-read within the young adult community, it show more has just never happened for me before. It truly seemed like Easton cared about any questions we may have, and answered them accordingly. You could definitely tell that she put genuine thought into this book.

3.) Caspian. If there's one thing about this book that is to be lauded, it's how layered many of the supporting characters are. Caspian isn't a best friend in love with Lia (at least, I don't think so). He's just a boy who desperately wants to help his closest friend. He even calls her out when she makes stupid mistakes, and draws a line. It was one of the most sensitive and beautiful male-female platonic friendships that I've seen in a while.

4.) A mild spoiler that I don't want to discuss. There's something truly wonderful that comes up very late in the book. It's an out-of-left-field, not a twist exactly, but something new revealed about a character in a beautiful and well-thought-out way that I adored.

THE BAD

1.) The villains. I just wanted....more. The moment Melusine showed up, I desperately wanted her to prove every stereotype wrong, and to help save the day. I don't think that it's much of a spoiler to say that it didn't exactly work out that way. She never seemed to grow past the stereotypes which Lia even acknowledged in her narrative. The other villain just came so far out of left field that it seemed wildly unnecessary.

2.) The love story. Eh. Clay was all right. I could never tell if he was a bad boy who was just badly characterized, or if he was a sensitive nerd, or if he was just a nice jock. The world building on the surface was severely lacking. While the relationship between Clay and Lia was hella hot at sometimes, in the end, the chemistry just seemed forced.

3.) The ending. The prior two things seem to lead into my problems with the ending. The entire thing just felt forced. It felt like a massive loophole with an unclear climax, and I wanted more. Things just turned out a little too nicely.

I don't feel like I've emphasized enough how sensitive and wonderful most of the characterization in this book is, especially that of the female characters. They may have been mermaids, but they felt real.

I thought I'd finish the review with some truly spectacular ocean-related puns found in the book. Enjoy!

"Phew! Maybe this day won't be a total shipwreck after all."

"I draw in a shaky breath. Am I really off the fishhook?"

"I wasn't raised by wolf eels."

"I don't trust that oil spill of a man." show less