Review: Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Title: Tempest Rising

Author: Tracy Deebs

Series: Probably 1st in series

Pages: 352

Published: Available May 10 by Walker Books

ISBN: 9780802722317

Source: Book It Forward Tours

Description: Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

I Give This ...

 

It seems like I've read a lot of books lately that take me awhile to get into the story.  It's almost like I'm anticipating getting to the good part.

I like Tempest from the start.  I like how she's so in tune with the ocean.  She feels like she belongs out there on the waves.  She's also doesn't feel like your typical teenage female.  She would rather be out on her surfboard that worrying about her hair, makeup, and the latest gossip.  I also really liked that her friend are those girls, so it makes her feel normal.  An interesting take on the story is that she already knows what she is.  She's very bitter towards her mom for leaving them and for what she has to endure alone because of it.  I think that's what makes the first part of the story drag a little because the reader is anticipating the change as much as Tempest is.

I was wary of Kai when he first entered the story.  That dreaded love triangle was trying to raise it's head.  But, I found that I liked that Tempest fought it every step of the way.  She wants to be happy the way she is.  But, her mermaid self recognizes him for what he is, even if her human half doesn't.  I'm not sure if it's his presence or just the timing, but all of a sudden Tempest seems to have more mermaid characteristics than human.  And, something out in the ocean is calling to her.  When something drags Kai off into the ocean after some bizarre events, Tempest goes to the deepest depths of the ocean to "save" him. 

And that was were I really started to love the story.  Kai isn't exactly what he appeared on land, which I was expecting.  But, I enjoyed learning who and what he really is.  I also loved reading about the different people who dwell in the ocean.  Plus, there's a serious war brewing beneath the surface and turns out Tempest is the key to a lot of it.  After all that happens it's not wonder that she chooses to head back to land.  But that's not were out story ends, and Tempest has a destiny whether she likes it or not.  It's not a huge cliff-hanger at the end, but we know the story can't be done yet.   I'm curious what she will choose to do next.