Review - Tempest Revealed (Tempest #3) by Tracy Deebs

Title: Tempest Revealed

Author: Tracy Deebs

Series: 3rd (Tempest Rising, Tempest Unleashed)

Pages: 352

Published: June 4th 2013 by Walker Childrens

ISBN: 9780802734839

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: Half-mermaid Tempest Maguire is trying to have it all: fulfilling her duties as second-in-line to the merQueen Hailana while periodically returning home to the California coastline to be with her family and longtime boyfriend, Mark. Living under the sea and rebuilding Coral Straits is grueling work, while being back home reminds her of everyone she loves and misses. But when her old flame Kona arrives bearing news that Hailana has died and Tempest is now officially merQueen, she returns permanently to Coral Straits--even though it devastates her family and rips her apart from Mark. Once there, she discovers that an old enemy has resurfaced, hell-bent on taking over her throne...with or without her. As Tempest prepares for her final showdown against Tiamat and anyone who stands with her, she must decide what--and who--is really important to her. Because there will be few survivors in the ultimate sea battle that is brewing--and Tempest isn't sure she will be one of them.
I Give This ...

I was a little hesitant for this one.  I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but the second left me a little unhappy with events.  I was hoping that Tempest would be able to redeem herself a little bit.  Plus, I knew this was the final book in the series, and I wasn't about to give up.

The beginning proved that Tempest was still thinking of herself.  Hailana is on her death bed, but Tempest goes off to shore believing everything will be fine.   I don't think she really thought that, it was just what she kept telling herself to justify her actions.  I understood she wanted to keep her humanity.   But, she truly needed to recognize when visiting the mainland was appropriate.

When we learn that Hailana has died.  It doesn't take Tempest long to realize that havoc her absence has created.  Her kingdom has been taken over and the mermaids have never fully trusted Temptest, so they allow the take over almost willingly.  And her kingdom isn't the only one.  Every ocean creatures kingdom has been taken over by one of Tiamat's minions.  Those who haven't been killed and wish to fight have to taken refugee on a hidden island that belongs to Kona's clan.  And most of these people don't trust Tempest either, despite the prophecy that she might be the only one who can take down Tiamat.

This book is definitely darker that the previous stories.  Tempest is tortured almost to the point of death.  The events are exactly highlighted, but you know what happening and the effects it has on Tempest.  There is also a lot of other ocean creatures killed throughout the story.  When this time of book comes to its climax, you can almost guarantee I was that someone you love in the story is going to die.  Unfortunately, I was correct in this assumption. Thankfully it wasn't one of my beloved characters.  

I was satisfied with the ending for the most part.  I admit I'm still disappointed in her choice in the love triangle.  First time I've ever routed for the other guy.  The actual events were fine though.  An interesting take on the supernatural ocean world!

Review - Tempest Unleashed (Tempest #2) by Tracy Deebs

Title: Tempest Unleashed

Author: Tracy Deebs

Series: 2nd (Tempest Rising)

Pages: 352

Published: June 5th 2012 by Walker Childrens 

ISBN:  9780802728302
Souce: Publisher via Netgalley









Description: Tempest Maguire is happy with her decision to embrace her mermaid nature and live among her mother’s clan within the ocean’s depths. Even though training to one day ascend the throne for the aging mermaid queen is rigorous, she finds refuge in the arms of Kona, the selkie who first opened her up to her mermaid side. But when word comes that one of her brothers has been gravely injured on land, Tempest immediately rushes to his side—which also brings her back to her old flame, Mark. And in her absence, a deadly battle begins raging at the hands of Tempest’s old nemesis, the sea witch Tiamat. As the dangerous war erupts, Tempest’s two loves—Kona and Mark, sea and land—will collide for the first time, both to protect her and to force her to choose.


I Give This ...

I enjoyed the first in the series, so I was hoping that life as a mermaid would be a good choice for Tempest.  I was also curious to see were this story might go.   It's an interesting world the author has created.  

I was curious how this story would work when we know that at the end of book one, Tempest chose the life in the sea.  I wanted to see how this underwater world that was created could function.  Oddly, a lot of the time I wasn't sure if the story was under water or not. It didn't help that sometimes Tempest would prefer her legs, but it seemed like they were far below the water's surface.  The Selkie kingdom seemed to work in the same peculiar way.  

Tempest seemed kind of indecisive at time.   She wants to finish this battle with Tiamat, but seems content to have Hailana order her around.  I figured her to be more of a take charge kind of mermaid.  I did find it interesting that she seemed so connected to her human past.  Everyone expects her to just be able to let go of it.  But, I think the vision of her human family prove that they will always be a part of her no matter how long she's a mermaid.

I think the intensity of the end of this book are what make it.  Tiamat seems desperate in her attacks, but she's trying to draw Tempest to her.  A sunken ship in a great place for a battle!  I liked how many pieces there were to this battle.  It's not just Tiamat that Tempest has to face, and she has a few of her own friends to think about as well.  It was interesting to see how it all played out, and how the story might continue.

I also put the book down when the love triangle was brought in.  The first story hinted at one, but I was so sure that Tempest has made a choice.   I didn't like how her human and mermaid sides each seemed to chose someone different.  In my mind there was a more obvious choice.  I'm glad I stuck it out...even if I disagree with the one choosen.

I'm sure I will continue with the story.  It's not over yet, and there are still some missing pieces.

Interview with Tracy Deebs author of Tempest Unleashed plus Giveaway!!

 I would like to welcome Tracy Deebs to One Book At A Time.  We did a fun little interview were I gave her one word and then she said the first thing that came to her mind! 

1. Ocean—Tempest (of course ;)  Oh, and sharks run a close second—I am deathly afraid of sharks

2. Blue—Berries (I love blueberries)

3. Surf—Freedom (but I love surfing more)

5. Love—My husband (I fell in love with him in less than a week)

6. Breathe—Ocean (I never feel as open and relaxed as I do when I’m at the beach)

7. Magic—Xandra (character from my upcoming urban fantasy, Soulbound)

8. Loss—Afraid 

9. Destiny—Exciting, Dangerous

10. Past—Fortune-telling

11. Selflessness—Theo (character from my upcoming dystopian YA, Doomed)

Now, it’s my turn.  What’s the first word that comes to your mind when I say mermaid?


Now for the giveway!!

Tracy is providing a SIGNED copy of Tempest Unleashed.  Giveaway open to US and Canada only and ends June 8, 2012!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

And for all of those who want the unedited version:
Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

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.