Brad About Books: The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

THE VICIOUS DEEP
Published: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: ARC
Page Count: 384 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: The Vicious Deep, #1

THESE ARE NOT THE MERMAIDS YOU KNOW


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.


DON'T LET IT PULL YOU UNDER

THE VICIOUS DEEP is one of the best mermaid books I have ever read! It has action, a sea kingdom setting, and a great male protagonist. Bonus points for the male protagonist. 

This entire mermaid realm that Zoraida created was beyond incredible. The way that she describes the Sea Kingdom and all of the people living inside it made me want to dive into the story so I can experience the story myself. Yeah. It was that good.

Tristan was such a great character. When you figure out what secrets his family is keeping, it’s pretty unbelievable. But in a good way. And Layla, his snarky sidekick and possible love interest, was just as epic as well. I loved the way that Zoraida made these characters come to life in my mind. 

The Silver Mermaid in the book freaks me out, though. On the back of the ARC, there is a little excerpt from a scene in the book. That scene gave me a nightmare. This mermaid is creepy and dark and utterly fascinating. I hope we get to learn more about her in book two!

Zoraida’s writing style in the book was clever and amusing. Her way with words sucked me into the story from the very first page. I could easily see this book being turned into a movie.

The action in this novel was brilliant. It was perfectly paced; we got to see some scenes of the castle and character development, but we also have a perfect balance of fighting and action scenes. 

And can we just talk about the tagline of the book? “Don’t let it pull you under.” Props to whoever came up with that! I love that tagline.

Overall, Zoraida Cordova’s THE VICIOUS DEEP is a mermaid tale like no other and has left me gasping for the sequel.