Review: Kind of mediocre
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
I was excited to start The Rising because duh, mermaids! I was eager to find out what new spin the author would put on it. Also, the werewolf angle was something I never came across in a mermaid-centered story so I was intrigued. But, it underwhelmed me with its mediocrity. I mean, it neither made me scream – yay nor do I feel like I disliked it enough to leave the series – it just lies neutrally on my rating scale. Yes, I have given 3 stars – which means I will pick up the next book and then make a proper judgement over the series.First of all, I’ll say what is good about the book – it had a good story – even better a unique paranormal elements of werewolves being the mermaids’ (sorry, Undine – otherwise Serena will snap at me!) protectors. Speaking of, Serena is like Ariel, who loves to collect Ungainly (human) things, but only for her research purposes. She is a warrior nerd – I like that. The action was good and exciting. Plot pacing was slow in the start till around one third of the book, which is when things really picked up and took a good turn.As for things I didn’t like, the writing would be top on this list. It seriously was lost in the details – especially in tense scenes where it literally expelled the excitement of the moment. I was gritting my teeth to find out what happens – as I said before, there is a lot of excitement, but the writing just puts a damper on it. Moreover, I came across spelling mistakes and man, I hate those – even in an ARC. Secondly, I was not so convinced of the antagonist’s angle – first they protect and then suddenly they want revenge. What the heck? Also, these Undine people follow their king so blindly – until Serena, no one even bothers questioning things! The confusion over whether or not it would be a love triangle also, um, throws a curve ball at the big reveal. I was like – what! Seriously? Also, where are the humans in this story? I get it takes place mostly in the ocean, but besides one couple, they are nowhere! The Earth is overpopulated, guys – even at a supposedly dangerous beach people might get curious over the sounds of war. And finally, can someone explain to me why the Undine have so many human things like books and chairs when they don’t even interact with them?So, basically I wasn’t much impressed by the book. The writing could be made a lit less descriptive and maybe a little more to the plot than just a species’ mating rights. The base was good but the climax was unsatisfying and I hope for a more interesting sequel.