A review for Tempest Rising by Tracey Deebs

Posted by: Jess
Published Date: July 4th, 2011
Finished Date: August 2nd, 2011
Source: From Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Pages: 350
<The Blurb from Goodreads: A contemporary paranormal romance out just in time to ride the wave of the newest creature craze: mermaids!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.

The Review: I'm not really sure how great this review will be; as I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it yet. I'll try anyway.

Was Tempest Rising a good read? Yeah in a way it was. Did I enjoy it? I'm not sure. The story itself was good, it was pretty well thought out, and I liked the twist on the mermaid theme. I've only ever read one other mermaid tale and that was Forgive my Fins which I loved. I really wanted to love Tempest Rising, but I only....liked it. 

I struggled a little in reading this, but I wanted to finish it anyway; mostly because I hate not finishing a book. As I said, the story and the plot was well thought out, but it just fell a little flat for me, and I think that was partly due to the romance in this book. I felt the romance pretty much overshadowed everything else that was going on with our heroine Tempest herself. About the inner torment she was going through about being half human and half mermaid, and ultimately having to make the choice at 17 of either becoming a mermaid or remaining human and living her normal human life on land. Tempest's hatred of her mother was very much prominent in the book and very much influenced a lot of Tempest's choices to a certain point. Fair enough. 

I won't ramble on too much about this book, as I don't want it to put anyone off. There were elements I loved about this book, such as new mermaids not having tails to begin with as this is something that must be 'earned' by doing something extraordinary and selfless. I loved that, I loved the idea of mermaids not being full mermaids until they made a choice. As I said before the romance pretty much overshadowed the rest of the story, but it was a lovely romance none the same. Typically the girl has a boyfriend, new guy comes along, girl feels connection to new guy and is unsure why. That's the case with Tempest and Kona, Kona is the new guy, the guy she somehow finds an instant connection with and she doesn't understand why. Tempest, is a likeable character but sometimes the way she treated boyfriend Mark, didn't really win with me. Mark is great and so is Kona, and I loved how Tracey Deebs managed to capture both boys in their own way and at exactly how 'different' they really are. I think the character I loved the most in this book (other than Kona who's hot btw), was probably Tempest's father, he's an incredible character, having lost his wife to the sea (Tempest's mother who's mermaid) he understands the struggle that Tempest is having, and he's incredibly supportive of her. Constantly there with her, reassuring her that whatever she decides will be the best for her. He's just overall a wonderful character and one you aren't likely to forget very soon.

Other than being slightly slow paced in places when we were taken to the scenes of  the beneath the ocean it was wonderful to read, so many expressive descriptions about the creatures, about the corals, the caves etc...that it was hard not to fall in love with it, and feel like you were there with Tempest. 

Anyway, don't let my less than enthused review put you off reading. Just because I didn't love it, doesn't mean you won't. Give it a go and make your own mind up about it, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised about it.

That's it from me. I'd just like to thank Bloomsbury for allowing me to review this book, it may not be a favourite of mine, but its a pleasant read none the less.