Review - The Vicious Deep

by Zoraida Cordova
publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
date of publication: May 1, 2012
format: hardcover
pages: 384
source: Southern Book Blogger ARC Tours
read it in: 2 days

From Goodreads :

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

Tristan Hart has managed to make a name for himself amongst the girls at his school as a womanizer and, to some, a jerk.  Things are about to change, however, when he is washed out to sea by a freak tidal wave.  When he is found laying upon the beach by his best friend, it is with the realization that he can't quite remember what happened to him and that his feelings for his friend are growing stronger.  There's another problem, however: he was missing for 3 days and no other survivors have been found.  As if that weren't enough, he's beginning to change.  Can Tristan hold the remaining shreds of his life as he knows it together, all the while trying to stop a force that could bring the world to its knees?

I know that Tristan is supposed to be something of a jerk in the process of reforming.  I get that.  However, while I did have problems becoming interested in him as a main character, he isn't the only character that I found myself supremely annoyed by.  I'm just going to say it plainly: Layla drove me absolutely batty!  Sure, her attitude toward Tristan is often warranted, but there are other moments that left me wondering just what was supposed to be so appealing about this girl.  It was all so over-the-top that it became more of a distraction than anything.  I found myself more drawn to Tristan's parents and "cousins" than either Tristan, himself, or Layla.  Neither were exactly my cup of tea.

The settings were much more appealing, as they were written with great attention to detail and no small amount of imagination.  Even if I didn't enjoy the primary character and his best friend, I did enjoy the adventure he set out on.  The villains were threatening and ensured that the story had the level of urgency needed to warrant the troubles Tristan encounters and the tasks he is set are intriguing.  The plot did hit a few snags that left me confused, but it did manage to bounce back and catch me up to speed.  Over all, the story's progression was a good one and I enjoyed the quest aspect more than I would have expected initially.

The Vicious Deep may not have resonated with me as much as I had hoped it would, but I did see the potential in the story by the end of the book.  Having been the first mermaid (merman?) story I had read in quite a while, it did rekindle my interest in the subject, which is always a nice touch.  I will keep an open mind about the next book in the series, but I know that I have some hopes for things I would like to see in it.  It is my hope that I can become more attuned to the characters in the future and that the plot keeps intensifying.  I'll be waiting to see where the story goes from here.

Buy The Vicious Deep at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository 

Obligatory legal statement: This ARC was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Southern Book Blogger ARC Tours. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.