The Vicious Deep [Book Review]

Stats:
#1 in Vicious Deep series

Paperback, 384 pages

Published November 12th 2012 by Sourcebooks Fire (first published May 1st 2012)

ISBN: 1402274416

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Synopsis:
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 emotions like never before? How can he explain he's the 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. 


My Thoughts:
The Vicious Deep is told from the perspective of teenage manwhore, Tristan Hart. Sorry to go there, but it's pretty much the easiest way to sum it up. Tristan is a lifeguard alongside his swim team pals, his ex-girlfriend, and the girl he's been pining for, Layla. One day a huge wave comes in and he sees a girl in the water. He recklessly races out to the little girl to save her and never reaches her, as he is swept up in the wave.

3 days later, he wakes up on the beach not realizing 3 days had passed or anything that happened in those days and certainly no one can grasp how he managed to survive 3 days. After being treated at a hospital, Tristan goes home to a welcome home get-together with his family and swim team friends. In the middle of dinner, he starts to feel sick and rushes to the bathroom. There he starts to transform...into a merman.

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I won an ARC of this a long while ago in a blog giveaway and it sat on my shelf and sat on my shelf...and you guessed it...sat on my shelf. This year I made plans to read books that were getting dusty and I finally read this one in May. I am bummed, to say the least, that I didn't read this one sooner.

I loved Tristan's perspective. Sometimes I just get sick of lovesick, weaker females. The male perspective is one of my absolute favorites. I think it's safe to say, most girls my age (24) grew up pretending to be a mermaid in the bathtub or pool thanks to Ariel, so I was stoked to read a mermaid/merman book. I believe this was a first for me in that particular genre. The writing is incredibly easy to read, incredibly easy to get sucked into the story. The characters are all so interesting and well-thought out. Even though it was told from Tristan's POV, the main girl, Layla, was not a lovesick, weak female character. She was actually the opposite. She was a take charge, confident, strong-willed girl who fights for what she believes in and doesn't just flop over for Tristan (who she clearly does like/love). 

Previous Review:
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi [here]

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