Shearwater
by D.S. Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description
In Shearwater
Grieving the loss of her parents and adjusting to life in Portballintrae, Ireland, Clara and her new group of friends keep running into two mysterious young men. One seems to have the answers to the growing list of questions about her mother and herself, the other may be just as steeped in the mystery.
One thing’s for sure – there’s magic in Portballintrae, and if she doesn’t figure out what’s going on in time, she might just lose her life.
Review
This is not your typical mermaid story – there is much about the mermaids anatomy that is unique, as well as the background stories, which makes it very interesting. The beginning has a very Twilight-ish vibe to it, with its love triangle and irresistible romantic draw, but the second half takes a major deviation.
The second half was perhaps better than the first, bringing together some new information, shuffling characters around, and deepening the plot. Not sure how the author is going to dig his way out of this mermaid apocalypse thing, but it certainly caught my attention. And I love the development of Clara’s position in the story. It’s kind of incredible.
My biggest complaint was that, although set in Ireland, there’s very little indication of that. None of the Irish accent comes through the dialog. The setting is beautiful and seems authentic, but without the dialog, it failed to transport me. I also found the characters to be very much like Americans (although I don’t have any experience to compare what Irish kids would act like). Regardless, I found the story interesting and I would say it’s worth a read if you’re into mermaid stories.
And if you like mermaid stories like Shearwater
**This book contains some mild language and sexual situations, as well as some somewhat graphic violence. Trigger Warning: There is a scene where one character is threatened with rape.
