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Tempest #2
Tempest Unleashed
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.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
June 29, 2012
Not nearly as good as the first:(!!
Really disappointing!
I LOVE Kona! I want her to be with KONA, I want her to stay with Kona and I want her to leave and stay away from Mark!
Oh gosh! This book really pissed me off! Tempest is really really annoying! She changes her mind like she changes the weather! It's so not faire, and definitely not faire to Kona!
In book 1 it was understandable but enough is enough! She needs to make her mind up and it better be Kona she picks or these books can burn!
Really disappointing!
I LOVE Kona! I want her to be with KONA, I want her to stay with Kona and I want her to leave and stay away from Mark!
Oh gosh! This book really pissed me off! Tempest is really really annoying! She changes her mind like she changes the weather! It's so not faire, and definitely not faire to Kona!
In book 1 it was understandable but enough is enough! She needs to make her mind up and it better be Kona she picks or these books can burn!
August 23, 2012
WOW. This review is long overdue; like, three months overdue. But without further ado, here's my review for Tempest Unleashed, the second installment of Tracy Deebs's Tempest trilogy.
Unleashed continues the story of Tempest Maguire, a teenage girl who is growing into her destiny of becoming a great and powerful mermaid. Of course, the first book was supposed to be about that as well, but we didn't see an actual mermaid scene in the first book until the last twenty pages or so. I think that's why so many people had problems liking Tempest Rising: it was a mermaid book with barely any mermaids.
Unleashed makes up for that and then some.
Nearly all the book takes place under the sea with lots of mermaid and sea creature action. In fact, it's not until after the first hundred pages that there's even a scene that takes place on dry land. The mermaid world is beautiful and vividly described, from the cave Tempest discovers containing her mother's memories, to the final battle in the sunken ship. And the sea creatures: mermaids, selkies, sea witches, shark-men, and more. I mean, how many people even knew what a bunyip was (and who subsequently researched it) when reading this book? (I'd heard of it, but I still researched it.)
And now I reach the topic of romance. The first book was typical of a YA paranormal romance. Stranger comes to town, and despite being creepy more often than not, the girl falls for him and no one else in her life matters anymore. Not so with Unleashed. Tempest begins have feelings for Mark again, and at first I internally groaned, as I knew that meant a love triangle was evident. And usually the protagonist of a YA PNR strings the second guy around for a couple books, but always ends up with the creepy stranger. Oh, sure, she'd act like she loved Mark, but in the end, she'd end up with Kona, despite that being the most unrealistic outcome. Now, I'm not so sure. Mark is there for her, and they have history together, and he knows her better than anyone else. Kona? He's just the typical YA male love interest, and I don't think he's worthy of Tempest. Does Mark get overprotective and act like a jerk sometimes? Yeah. But then again, that's what makes him human. He's flawed, unlike perfect Kona, the douchebag who turns into a seal. And besides, Tempest needs someone human, as she even mentions that she doesn't want to succumb to her mermaid half. Normal, simple Mark can be the anchor that Tempest needs to keep her humanity buoyant. I can only hope she ends up with Mark (or better yet, no one: she's an all-powerful mermaid; who says she needs two guys bickering over her?), but with how most YA paranormals go, I'm not holding my breath.
Another interesting dynamic that I enjoyed about the first book is family. Rio grates on my nerves something fierce, but I can't blame him completely, although sometimes he acted more like a brat than what I felt was called for. Tempest's family means so much to her, and I hope she's able to accept her destiny without having to completely abandon them. I have an idea how the issues with her family and Mark will play out in the final book, but I'm just going to have to wait and see.
All in all, I loved the sequel so much more than the first. Tiamat's still a creepy but intriguing antagonist (plus, I liked how the myth of Scylla was thrown in) the twist with Sabyn was slighly predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless, and the feeling that war is coming to the undersea world rings through to the book's final pages. I'm ready to see Tempest kick Tiamat's tail...literally.
So in conclusion, Tempest Unleashed was a thrill ride of epic proportions, and it was everything the first book should have been and more. I can't wait to see how the final book plays out, and I know that if it's anything like Unleashed, it's going to be worth the wait.
Unleashed continues the story of Tempest Maguire, a teenage girl who is growing into her destiny of becoming a great and powerful mermaid. Of course, the first book was supposed to be about that as well, but we didn't see an actual mermaid scene in the first book until the last twenty pages or so. I think that's why so many people had problems liking Tempest Rising: it was a mermaid book with barely any mermaids.
Unleashed makes up for that and then some.
Nearly all the book takes place under the sea with lots of mermaid and sea creature action. In fact, it's not until after the first hundred pages that there's even a scene that takes place on dry land. The mermaid world is beautiful and vividly described, from the cave Tempest discovers containing her mother's memories, to the final battle in the sunken ship. And the sea creatures: mermaids, selkies, sea witches, shark-men, and more. I mean, how many people even knew what a bunyip was (and who subsequently researched it) when reading this book? (I'd heard of it, but I still researched it.)
And now I reach the topic of romance. The first book was typical of a YA paranormal romance. Stranger comes to town, and despite being creepy more often than not, the girl falls for him and no one else in her life matters anymore. Not so with Unleashed. Tempest begins have feelings for Mark again, and at first I internally groaned, as I knew that meant a love triangle was evident. And usually the protagonist of a YA PNR strings the second guy around for a couple books, but always ends up with the creepy stranger. Oh, sure, she'd act like she loved Mark, but in the end, she'd end up with Kona, despite that being the most unrealistic outcome. Now, I'm not so sure. Mark is there for her, and they have history together, and he knows her better than anyone else. Kona? He's just the typical YA male love interest, and I don't think he's worthy of Tempest. Does Mark get overprotective and act like a jerk sometimes? Yeah. But then again, that's what makes him human. He's flawed, unlike perfect Kona, the douchebag who turns into a seal. And besides, Tempest needs someone human, as she even mentions that she doesn't want to succumb to her mermaid half. Normal, simple Mark can be the anchor that Tempest needs to keep her humanity buoyant. I can only hope she ends up with Mark (or better yet, no one: she's an all-powerful mermaid; who says she needs two guys bickering over her?), but with how most YA paranormals go, I'm not holding my breath.
Another interesting dynamic that I enjoyed about the first book is family. Rio grates on my nerves something fierce, but I can't blame him completely, although sometimes he acted more like a brat than what I felt was called for. Tempest's family means so much to her, and I hope she's able to accept her destiny without having to completely abandon them. I have an idea how the issues with her family and Mark will play out in the final book, but I'm just going to have to wait and see.
All in all, I loved the sequel so much more than the first. Tiamat's still a creepy but intriguing antagonist (plus, I liked how the myth of Scylla was thrown in) the twist with Sabyn was slighly predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless, and the feeling that war is coming to the undersea world rings through to the book's final pages. I'm ready to see Tempest kick Tiamat's tail...literally.
So in conclusion, Tempest Unleashed was a thrill ride of epic proportions, and it was everything the first book should have been and more. I can't wait to see how the final book plays out, and I know that if it's anything like Unleashed, it's going to be worth the wait.
July 17, 2012
Unfortunately, I did not love it, or even like it. It had a good plot, but the characters! Tempest seemed incredibly annoying, naïve and thought she knew everything. It just annoyed the hell out of me when she made everyone feel guilty when she was the one who was wrong. Really…she also kept switching from Kona to Mark. From Mark to Kona. From Kona to Mark. From Mark to…you get the point. It really did annoy me, even more when she said that she loved them both. And (SPOILER NEXT) I can’t believe she abandoned Kona when he needed her most. Instead she picked Mark of ALL PEOPLE. Obviously, I’m Team Kona here. (SPOILER END) But even so…I just couldn’t fathom how Tempest could be so oblivious, naïve, unforgiving, and smart-mouthed (when she really shouldn’t be).
The plot was great and fun and Tempest learned more about her mom, and though she didn’t completely forgive her mom, she started understanding just a bit more. She practices her powers more, learning both how to use them and trying to discover how to defeat Tiamat once and for all. I loved how Tracy Deebs described how Tempest channeled her power and I absolutely adore the underwater world she created! It was enchanting how all the pieces came together in their world and I found it just a tad amusing how all the “land-lubbers� didn’t have a clue! Except Mark, but he’s another story
All in all, it would’ve been a pretty good book (4 stars?), but I highly disliked Tempest in this book, so it dropped by 2 stars. I feel as if, even though Tracy Deebs did do a good job writing the story, Tempest was too…irritating. And characters are a MAJOR part of my reviews so…it’s just how it happened.
The plot was great and fun and Tempest learned more about her mom, and though she didn’t completely forgive her mom, she started understanding just a bit more. She practices her powers more, learning both how to use them and trying to discover how to defeat Tiamat once and for all. I loved how Tracy Deebs described how Tempest channeled her power and I absolutely adore the underwater world she created! It was enchanting how all the pieces came together in their world and I found it just a tad amusing how all the “land-lubbers� didn’t have a clue! Except Mark, but he’s another story
All in all, it would’ve been a pretty good book (4 stars?), but I highly disliked Tempest in this book, so it dropped by 2 stars. I feel as if, even though Tracy Deebs did do a good job writing the story, Tempest was too…irritating. And characters are a MAJOR part of my reviews so…it’s just how it happened.
September 5, 2014
Ugh this was so frustrating... The first half of the book was boring and the other half just plain annoying. I hate when the main character doesn't grow throughout the series. I mean Tempest is suppose to be this baddest of them all mermaid but instead she just turns into a bigger brat than she already was. The whole love triangle- so predictable. First book she was all over Kona because he finally made her feel normal and she just knew they were connected somehow and Mark was just a human boy she dated on the land that didn't understand what she's going through (and who she tells to date a fellow classmate at the end of book one because they are better friends than lovers). Now, Kona is the annoying and overprotective boyfriend Tempest can't stand and Mark magically happens to be the boy that makes her heart burst into million colors or whatever she says. Really??? WTF. How can an author do this?! This is stupid. Mark didn't even do anything special besides showing up on the beach every time Tempest came back and "oohhhh Mark I love you so much let's makeout so I can cheat on my boyfriend with you on land and then go back to the water and makeout with my selkie lover again"...Yeah such a fun read...NOT. And the Tiamat conflict? Don't even bother.
March 24, 2012
A Mini-Review in Thirty Words (starting now):
*Freaking love triangles! Me no likey!
*Very cool under-the-sea action and descriptions!
*Tempest is a bad*ss, so she gets brownie points!
*Freaking book snuck up on me!
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur in the June issue. .
*Freaking love triangles! Me no likey!
*Very cool under-the-sea action and descriptions!
*Tempest is a bad*ss, so she gets brownie points!
*Freaking book snuck up on me!
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur in the June issue. .
May 22, 2015
I loved the book, really I did, but the wishy washy crap between Mark and Kona. I thought it had been bad in book. Times it by like nearly every other page. And then who she ends up with...
Personally, I loved Kona more than Mark from the get-go. I can't really say way, I just think he appealed to me more with the way his character was portrayed, how he acted, the way he carried himself, etc, more than Mark, who told her how much he loved her usually when she was at her weakest points (minus the ending, which I have to admit was pretty kick-ass). Yes, I know her and Mark were together for a long time while she was human, but really, other than that, he's just going to end up like her father.
Ugh, I just can't explain it into words anymore how mad I am as I write this. I was furious with it. Why did she have to go and ruin it all? WHY?
Personally, I loved Kona more than Mark from the get-go. I can't really say way, I just think he appealed to me more with the way his character was portrayed, how he acted, the way he carried himself, etc, more than Mark, who told her how much he loved her usually when she was at her weakest points (minus the ending, which I have to admit was pretty kick-ass). Yes, I know her and Mark were together for a long time while she was human, but really, other than that, he's just going to end up like her father.
Ugh, I just can't explain it into words anymore how mad I am as I write this. I was furious with it. Why did she have to go and ruin it all? WHY?
April 11, 2012
4.5 stars
Tempest Unleashed is one of those really great reads that is perfect for basking in the sun on a warm summers day.
This was even better then the first! The under-water world is vividly gorgeous, loved the action and kick-ass powers and best of all, I didn't actually expect that ending. It's very rare where I actually see the girl pick the guy I've always secretly wanted for her. Brilliant!
We're getting another book, right?
Tempest Unleashed is one of those really great reads that is perfect for basking in the sun on a warm summers day.
This was even better then the first! The under-water world is vividly gorgeous, loved the action and kick-ass powers and best of all, I didn't actually expect that ending. It's very rare where I actually see the girl pick the guy I've always secretly wanted for her. Brilliant!
We're getting another book, right?
April 22, 2015
I wanted so desperately to like this book. I just want a good YA romance series with mermaids, and I found the first entry to be enjoyable enough. I especially loved the addition of selkies to the mix and the ensuing selkie-mermaid-human love triangle. And the fact that Tempest was full of girl power.
I really struggled to get through this one though, almost from the beginning. I hate to call it boring, but it must have been because I rarely struggle like this. Part of my frustration was that Deebs uses italics when they're having mental conversations with each other but doesn't specify "he said" or "she thought." I often found it difficult to keep up with conversations because of that. (There often weren't any line breaks in the e-galley I read either during these mental conversations, so I seriously hope that at least that will be fixed in the street edition.)
Another frustration I had was with the world-building. It wasn't as big an issue in the first book because a majority of the plot happened on land (even in selkie-ville they go up to an island castle), whereas a majority of this one was in the water. Deebs talks about breathing with gills. Great, fine, makes sense. But then Tempest is getting tea at an underwater tea shop, and it just wrenched me right out of the story because I was thinking, "Wait, how does that work? How do they keep the tea out of the ocean? How does she get it into her mouth?" Then my mind wandered off on tangents about mermaid restroom habits. (I mean, they take showers and use the restroom in human form, so...) I had the same problem when she went to bed. "Wait, how do you sleep in your bed without floating up to the ceiling? And while we're at it, how exactly do you make out with your boyfriend without both of you floating off the bed? And when someone walks in on you, does the water stop the door?" (And off I went on another tangent. Would they have some sort of special water-lock doors so they can have air-filled rooms and use legs?) I grew most irritated (and the previous tangent was reinforced) when Tempest went to a meeting and she floats down the hall but then "steps" into the room. "How do you step with a tail?!" Okay, all of this is making me wonder if it wasn't that I was bored but just frustrated beyond belief instead.
Plot wise, once the story did get going it seemed to spiral out of control. Suddenly Tempest and Kona were acting outside of their characters as I had understood them from previous book. Tempest's motivations were unclear. I wasn't sure why she cared so much about mer politics or about her human ex-boyfriend. (That was particularly annoying. The only motivation I could see was to add in a senseless love triangle and have Tempest treat two decent guys like crap.)
I don't know if I could face a third installment. Like I said, I enjoyed the first one, but this... Ugh.
The fine print: received ARC from NetGalley.
I really struggled to get through this one though, almost from the beginning. I hate to call it boring, but it must have been because I rarely struggle like this. Part of my frustration was that Deebs uses italics when they're having mental conversations with each other but doesn't specify "he said" or "she thought." I often found it difficult to keep up with conversations because of that. (There often weren't any line breaks in the e-galley I read either during these mental conversations, so I seriously hope that at least that will be fixed in the street edition.)
Another frustration I had was with the world-building. It wasn't as big an issue in the first book because a majority of the plot happened on land (even in selkie-ville they go up to an island castle), whereas a majority of this one was in the water. Deebs talks about breathing with gills. Great, fine, makes sense. But then Tempest is getting tea at an underwater tea shop, and it just wrenched me right out of the story because I was thinking, "Wait, how does that work? How do they keep the tea out of the ocean? How does she get it into her mouth?" Then my mind wandered off on tangents about mermaid restroom habits. (I mean, they take showers and use the restroom in human form, so...) I had the same problem when she went to bed. "Wait, how do you sleep in your bed without floating up to the ceiling? And while we're at it, how exactly do you make out with your boyfriend without both of you floating off the bed? And when someone walks in on you, does the water stop the door?" (And off I went on another tangent. Would they have some sort of special water-lock doors so they can have air-filled rooms and use legs?) I grew most irritated (and the previous tangent was reinforced) when Tempest went to a meeting and she floats down the hall but then "steps" into the room. "How do you step with a tail?!" Okay, all of this is making me wonder if it wasn't that I was bored but just frustrated beyond belief instead.
Plot wise, once the story did get going it seemed to spiral out of control. Suddenly Tempest and Kona were acting outside of their characters as I had understood them from previous book. Tempest's motivations were unclear. I wasn't sure why she cared so much about mer politics or about her human ex-boyfriend. (That was particularly annoying. The only motivation I could see was to add in a senseless love triangle and have Tempest treat two decent guys like crap.)
I don't know if I could face a third installment. Like I said, I enjoyed the first one, but this... Ugh.
The fine print: received ARC from NetGalley.
October 24, 2015
That was dreadfully boring.
There was a lot of action but I didn't get an action feel out of it. While reading, my main though was:
Am I done yet??
The first book was fairly mediocre. But this one was worse.
I still have a budding distaste for Kona. I must say I am glad she chose Mark, but I would like to know why.....
WHY....in Mark's right mind would he choose Tempest?
Also when she did choose Mark in the end, her finished relationship with Kona was so LAME!
Like COME ON, MAN!
Tempest and Kona throughout the book:
"I love you sooooooo much!" *make out* *shiver at touch*
At the end:
"Don't worry about it Tempest. We both have a lot on our minds right now."
That was TOO EASY! It was a lazy way for their relationship to end. Granted they DID have a lot on their minds since Tiamat (bad girl) held a mass slaughter for both their clans but still.
Too many times she has a "niggle" at the back of her brain. Too many times the word "niggle" is used. Like....if I hear that word one more time I will kick something :P
Honestly I seriously don't care enough to write a really long review. I didn't hate hate it.....I was just rather turned off by it.
Seriously though I'm pretty sure this could have been the end of the trilogy....but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
There is another book in which our protagonist will probably defeat our antagonists.
Tempest has these kick-ass powers, but there is zero explanation as to where they come from! Like most mermaids in this world have some sort of powers, but Tempest is SO powerful, like "I can create thunderstorms and summon lightning" powerful.
I read this because I was in the mood for mermaids. I shouldn't have jumped on that impulse.....or at least read another book. Oh well.
There was a lot of action but I didn't get an action feel out of it. While reading, my main though was:
Am I done yet??
The first book was fairly mediocre. But this one was worse.
I still have a budding distaste for Kona. I must say I am glad she chose Mark, but I would like to know why.....
WHY....in Mark's right mind would he choose Tempest?
Also when she did choose Mark in the end, her finished relationship with Kona was so LAME!
Like COME ON, MAN!
Tempest and Kona throughout the book:
"I love you sooooooo much!" *make out* *shiver at touch*
At the end:
"Don't worry about it Tempest. We both have a lot on our minds right now."
That was TOO EASY! It was a lazy way for their relationship to end. Granted they DID have a lot on their minds since Tiamat (bad girl) held a mass slaughter for both their clans but still.
Too many times she has a "niggle" at the back of her brain. Too many times the word "niggle" is used. Like....if I hear that word one more time I will kick something :P
Honestly I seriously don't care enough to write a really long review. I didn't hate hate it.....I was just rather turned off by it.
Seriously though I'm pretty sure this could have been the end of the trilogy....but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
There is another book in which our protagonist will probably defeat our antagonists.
Tempest has these kick-ass powers, but there is zero explanation as to where they come from! Like most mermaids in this world have some sort of powers, but Tempest is SO powerful, like "I can create thunderstorms and summon lightning" powerful.
I read this because I was in the mood for mermaids. I shouldn't have jumped on that impulse.....or at least read another book. Oh well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
August 24, 2011So excited for this
December 24, 2013
Initial reaction: Better than the first book and a fine sequel considering the scheme of events, but the biggest drawback for this book? The love triangle. It's always the kicker. =/
Full review:
Color me very surprised by "Tempest Unleashed." While the first book is easy to swallow down as a quick but cliched read in the scheme of paranormal romance with coming of age elements, this book upped the stakes by a good margin. I'll admit it had me more than the first book did for the level of conflict alone. But this is one of those stories where you honestly have to ask "Why did the love triangle have to be such a big part of the story? It's painful, and not in a good way." I think the LT undermined what was otherwise a strong story with its respective worldbuilding and conflict clashes as Tempest has to face up to her responsibilities.
This book begins where the first book ended. Tempest is adjusting to life under the sea away from her family at the surface. She pines for her family, but at the same time undertakes training for a potential clash with the evil Tiamat, and has her hands full with the jealous streaks of selkie prince Rona. I'll admit I had my concerns when one of the first scenes of the book show Tempest making her way back to the surface to check on her family, end up running across her old boyfriend/flame Mark, spontaneously kissing him and returning to the sea for no apparent reason. =/ I was already sketchy about the love interests in this series because I honestly think that was one of the weakest parts of the first book, and despite all things, they weren't as well developed as characters for me to care who she ended up with.
Thankfully, the story picks up the ball and starts running past that point with the primary conflict. Tiamat's forces start moving, and an attack on Tempest leaves quite a bit of the sea kingdom in an unsettled state about what the sea witch plans next. Tempest undertakes training with a rival, and there's some awkward anger/power struggles with Kona about "keeping Tempest safe." Thankfully, Tempest has none of that, and I'm glad to see her assert her own power and responsibilities with the grief Kona gives her in some details. I've always liked how Tempest stands up for herself and her attitude is one of the things that drew me to the first book. She stands more of her ground in this installment, though there are some clashes that I'll admit I rolled my eyes over for the nature of them.
The novel really picks up when a tragedy Tempest's family leaves her in a tailspin and returning home. Awkward times ensue with her family members, as does Tempest's relationship with Mark. In a sense, I'm a little glad that Tempest does return home for this event, because it allows for more charcter expansion from Mark than I saw in the first book, and I'll admit it endeared me to him a little more than Kona, who annoyed me for a good part of the book. I always thought that Kona was somewhat of a forced love interest, though the book attempts to develop him as well in "Tempest Unleashed", at least more than the first book did.
The story reveals that the tragedy within Tempest's family was more than just an isolated incident, and Tempest has to step up to the plate and decide what roles to take on both with her life on land and in the sea. There are a lot of heavy revelations made within the last half of the book, and I'll admit it kept me on my toes for the most part. I liked the tensions established and I liked the sense of loss and desparation that Tempest acts within - she really steps up in a big way for her respective role.
But again, I still think the love triangle is the part of the work that's still working against it. While I appreciated the fact that Mark and Kona seemed to have some role in the final conflict in the work, the note that the book ended on made me realize that the triangle really is the primary focus, and not so much the underwater politics or Tempest's fated role - of which the latter conflicts held my interest far more. They colored the best parts of the book and I was at least glad to the attention to detail on those and how those impacted Tempest, fo rsure.
I'm interested in seeing where the book goes in the last installment, especially given what's happened to the underwater tribes and the losses from that. For the love story, I could take or leave it, but I'm probably in the minority for saying I hope Mark/Tempest work things out, because I wanted to smack my harisen against Kona one too many times in this book.
Overall score: 3.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Walker Children's.
Full review:
Color me very surprised by "Tempest Unleashed." While the first book is easy to swallow down as a quick but cliched read in the scheme of paranormal romance with coming of age elements, this book upped the stakes by a good margin. I'll admit it had me more than the first book did for the level of conflict alone. But this is one of those stories where you honestly have to ask "Why did the love triangle have to be such a big part of the story? It's painful, and not in a good way." I think the LT undermined what was otherwise a strong story with its respective worldbuilding and conflict clashes as Tempest has to face up to her responsibilities.
This book begins where the first book ended. Tempest is adjusting to life under the sea away from her family at the surface. She pines for her family, but at the same time undertakes training for a potential clash with the evil Tiamat, and has her hands full with the jealous streaks of selkie prince Rona. I'll admit I had my concerns when one of the first scenes of the book show Tempest making her way back to the surface to check on her family, end up running across her old boyfriend/flame Mark, spontaneously kissing him and returning to the sea for no apparent reason. =/ I was already sketchy about the love interests in this series because I honestly think that was one of the weakest parts of the first book, and despite all things, they weren't as well developed as characters for me to care who she ended up with.
Thankfully, the story picks up the ball and starts running past that point with the primary conflict. Tiamat's forces start moving, and an attack on Tempest leaves quite a bit of the sea kingdom in an unsettled state about what the sea witch plans next. Tempest undertakes training with a rival, and there's some awkward anger/power struggles with Kona about "keeping Tempest safe." Thankfully, Tempest has none of that, and I'm glad to see her assert her own power and responsibilities with the grief Kona gives her in some details. I've always liked how Tempest stands up for herself and her attitude is one of the things that drew me to the first book. She stands more of her ground in this installment, though there are some clashes that I'll admit I rolled my eyes over for the nature of them.
The novel really picks up when a tragedy Tempest's family leaves her in a tailspin and returning home. Awkward times ensue with her family members, as does Tempest's relationship with Mark. In a sense, I'm a little glad that Tempest does return home for this event, because it allows for more charcter expansion from Mark than I saw in the first book, and I'll admit it endeared me to him a little more than Kona, who annoyed me for a good part of the book. I always thought that Kona was somewhat of a forced love interest, though the book attempts to develop him as well in "Tempest Unleashed", at least more than the first book did.
The story reveals that the tragedy within Tempest's family was more than just an isolated incident, and Tempest has to step up to the plate and decide what roles to take on both with her life on land and in the sea. There are a lot of heavy revelations made within the last half of the book, and I'll admit it kept me on my toes for the most part. I liked the tensions established and I liked the sense of loss and desparation that Tempest acts within - she really steps up in a big way for her respective role.
But again, I still think the love triangle is the part of the work that's still working against it. While I appreciated the fact that Mark and Kona seemed to have some role in the final conflict in the work, the note that the book ended on made me realize that the triangle really is the primary focus, and not so much the underwater politics or Tempest's fated role - of which the latter conflicts held my interest far more. They colored the best parts of the book and I was at least glad to the attention to detail on those and how those impacted Tempest, fo rsure.
I'm interested in seeing where the book goes in the last installment, especially given what's happened to the underwater tribes and the losses from that. For the love story, I could take or leave it, but I'm probably in the minority for saying I hope Mark/Tempest work things out, because I wanted to smack my harisen against Kona one too many times in this book.
Overall score: 3.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Walker Children's.
May 4, 2013
Amazing plot. Kona is perfect. But I HATE when a girl can't make up her damn mind about a guy. Like stop being a hoe. Ugh. Probably would have given it 5 stars but like I said. The whole idiotic Mark situation had me slamming the book down. Just, no.
May 27, 2016
I couldn't put this book down.
And by that I mean I couldn't put it down because it was so terrible I just wanted to get the book over with as soon as possible.
Before I go off on explaining why this book isn't worth anyone's time let me just start off by saying that this book could have been good. The first two chapters annoyed me, but after them I was pretty invested in the book up until I got halfway through. In this book the main character, Tempest, is dealing with her decision that she made in the last book, which was to become a mermaid full time basically. In this book months have passed since she had made that decision and she discovered that being a mermaid isn't turning out as great as she thought it would be. She has the responsibility of defeating this evil sea witch named Tiamat and she doesn't believe that she will be able to. She also has to deal with missing her family, a Queen who is cruel to her, and what her feelings should be for her now dead absentee mother.
Reading about her dealing with all of that was interesting. The whole underwater world building thing was interesting in general, but then the author just had to ruin it by bringing in a love triangle and focusing on that for the majority of the book. The author had so much going for this story, but then she just had to devolve it into another cliche story about a "special" girl who has trouble choosing between two guys (even though she already made a choice in the last book).
I hate love triangles. They are so incredibly overdone, and this author definitely did not bring anything new to the table with this unoriginal romantic plot line. Tempest is already in a relationship with this selkie prince named Kona when in the first two chapters she cheats on him with the person she broke up with in the last book, Mark. The author barely focuses on Mark's character, and he is barely in the book. He was barely in the last book too if memory serves me correctly. Mark rarely shares any meaningful moments with Tempest, and when he does the author does a terrible time of showing why Mark and Tempest are attracted to each other. Instead the author tells us that they are so irresistibly drawn to each other. Okay, but why? Just because you feel "electricity" run through your veins every time you see him is not a valid reason as to why he is all of the sudden the one for you Tempest when in the last book you chose Kona because he made you "feel" things too.
The author does a better job showing why Tempest and Kona are attracted to each other. Kona is there for Tempest during many important moments in the book. By doing that the author shows how they are connected. They also have more in common than Mark and Tempest do. The reader also gets to read more about Kona because he is in both the books more. Because of this the reader starts to connect to Kona a lot more than Mark. If you want to create a successful love triangle make it obvious about why she likes both guys, and have both guys be in the book equally.
So you might be wondering how the author even made this love triangle work when Kona was already such a great boyfriend. Well, she did it by doing a 180 with his personality that had no explanation. He wasn't a terrible boyfriend in this book, in fact I think most of the time Tempest got irritated with him she was overreacting, but the author started to turn him into a nag. It didn't fit into his personality from the last book, but I guess the author needed some reason to make Tempest start doubting her love for him. Unexplained changes in character's personalities is the way to go for love triangles I hear!
The love triangle never gets better further in the story.
Instead of focusing on her relationship with Mark the author could have focused on her relationship with her family. Romantic relationships are not the only type of relationships out there. I was actually hoping that this book would focus more on familial relationships when the first chapter had Tempest heading back home to see her family, but lo and behold! As soon as she gets there she sees Mark and decides that she was just lying to herself about wanting to see her family, she actually really wanted to see her ex-boyfriend Mark. After that everything family wise with Tempest was connected to Mark somehow. The author just used them so Tempest could interact with Mark more.
Tempest as a person was annoying too. She couldn't make up her mind about anything! So many pages were wasted with her just arguing with herself about what she should do in any situation she was in. I'm pretty sure she probably had lengthy debates with herself about what cereal she should eat for breakfast.
The author also included so many unneeded stereotypes. I guess a guy can't be straight if he knows the song Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar. I also guess that if anyone dyes their hair black and wears black they are a goth who smokes pot. Hey, you learn new things everyday!
With the unneeded love triangle, the main character being irritating, and the unnecessary stereotypes this book paraded I stopped caring about this book halfway through. This book made me feel absolutely nothing in the end. The only thing I cared about what was the diminishing number of pages I had left to read before I could finally put this book down. I have no idea how I'm going to get through one more book of this series.
And by that I mean I couldn't put it down because it was so terrible I just wanted to get the book over with as soon as possible.
Before I go off on explaining why this book isn't worth anyone's time let me just start off by saying that this book could have been good. The first two chapters annoyed me, but after them I was pretty invested in the book up until I got halfway through. In this book the main character, Tempest, is dealing with her decision that she made in the last book, which was to become a mermaid full time basically. In this book months have passed since she had made that decision and she discovered that being a mermaid isn't turning out as great as she thought it would be. She has the responsibility of defeating this evil sea witch named Tiamat and she doesn't believe that she will be able to. She also has to deal with missing her family, a Queen who is cruel to her, and what her feelings should be for her now dead absentee mother.
Reading about her dealing with all of that was interesting. The whole underwater world building thing was interesting in general, but then the author just had to ruin it by bringing in a love triangle and focusing on that for the majority of the book. The author had so much going for this story, but then she just had to devolve it into another cliche story about a "special" girl who has trouble choosing between two guys (even though she already made a choice in the last book).
I hate love triangles. They are so incredibly overdone, and this author definitely did not bring anything new to the table with this unoriginal romantic plot line. Tempest is already in a relationship with this selkie prince named Kona when in the first two chapters she cheats on him with the person she broke up with in the last book, Mark. The author barely focuses on Mark's character, and he is barely in the book. He was barely in the last book too if memory serves me correctly. Mark rarely shares any meaningful moments with Tempest, and when he does the author does a terrible time of showing why Mark and Tempest are attracted to each other. Instead the author tells us that they are so irresistibly drawn to each other. Okay, but why? Just because you feel "electricity" run through your veins every time you see him is not a valid reason as to why he is all of the sudden the one for you Tempest when in the last book you chose Kona because he made you "feel" things too.
The author does a better job showing why Tempest and Kona are attracted to each other. Kona is there for Tempest during many important moments in the book. By doing that the author shows how they are connected. They also have more in common than Mark and Tempest do. The reader also gets to read more about Kona because he is in both the books more. Because of this the reader starts to connect to Kona a lot more than Mark. If you want to create a successful love triangle make it obvious about why she likes both guys, and have both guys be in the book equally.
So you might be wondering how the author even made this love triangle work when Kona was already such a great boyfriend. Well, she did it by doing a 180 with his personality that had no explanation. He wasn't a terrible boyfriend in this book, in fact I think most of the time Tempest got irritated with him she was overreacting, but the author started to turn him into a nag. It didn't fit into his personality from the last book, but I guess the author needed some reason to make Tempest start doubting her love for him. Unexplained changes in character's personalities is the way to go for love triangles I hear!
The love triangle never gets better further in the story.
Instead of focusing on her relationship with Mark the author could have focused on her relationship with her family. Romantic relationships are not the only type of relationships out there. I was actually hoping that this book would focus more on familial relationships when the first chapter had Tempest heading back home to see her family, but lo and behold! As soon as she gets there she sees Mark and decides that she was just lying to herself about wanting to see her family, she actually really wanted to see her ex-boyfriend Mark. After that everything family wise with Tempest was connected to Mark somehow. The author just used them so Tempest could interact with Mark more.
Tempest as a person was annoying too. She couldn't make up her mind about anything! So many pages were wasted with her just arguing with herself about what she should do in any situation she was in. I'm pretty sure she probably had lengthy debates with herself about what cereal she should eat for breakfast.
The author also included so many unneeded stereotypes. I guess a guy can't be straight if he knows the song Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar. I also guess that if anyone dyes their hair black and wears black they are a goth who smokes pot. Hey, you learn new things everyday!
With the unneeded love triangle, the main character being irritating, and the unnecessary stereotypes this book paraded I stopped caring about this book halfway through. This book made me feel absolutely nothing in the end. The only thing I cared about what was the diminishing number of pages I had left to read before I could finally put this book down. I have no idea how I'm going to get through one more book of this series.
May 7, 2018
I loved everything about this book except the ending... I don't ship it, it better change in book 3 or I'll cry
November 13, 2017
I dont care if its a teen book
I'm in love with the characters. And the story line! Love all the action and suspense and the love and angst!
I'm in love with the characters. And the story line! Love all the action and suspense and the love and angst!
June 2, 2012
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but the sequel is even better by far! I had a hard time with Tempest's final decision in the first book (I suppose it's not a spoiler since it's in the blurb for this book), but now that the decision (seemingly) was made, I really enjoyed the story told from the ocean world better than the story on land in the first book.
The author has a built an amazing world under the sea, and I'd much rather read about that than Tempest's everyday life on land while she struggles with her new status as a mermaid. I feel like that maybe has been done a lot, but the great mer-world hasn't really been done in this way before.
Remember how I thought Tempest had made her final decision to live as a mermaid, it turns out the decision is not so final yet. Wow, is she confused. She's not only confused about whether she wants to live on land with her family or live at sea and save the mermaid world from disaster, but she also can't decide between her selkie boyfriend, Kona, and her human boyfriend, Mark. I really couldn't believe how much she goes back and forth between the boys. It's a true love triangle because I had no idea who she would choose. She really wasn't being fair to either of them though. If one boy made any kind of a mistake, she jumped ship and ran to the other.
I also thought that both boys weren't really the same characters they were in the first book. I wasn't sure I really agreed with this aspect. Kona seemed so great in the first book and he did some weird, possessive things in this one. Mark seemed shady the first time around, but now he's perfect. Hmm...no wonder Tempest is confused.
There is so much action in this book, it's a real page-turner. I read the first half in one sitting, which is a rarity for me. Tempest is such a strong female character. She doesn't take anything from anyone without a fight. There is also a ton of romance in this book. Probably more than I've seen in most other YA books. The author has a great style of writing her romantic scenes that I really liked.
I enjoyed this installment even more than the first book. Non-stop action and romance.
ARC sent by publisher in exchange for an honest review
reviewed for
The author has a built an amazing world under the sea, and I'd much rather read about that than Tempest's everyday life on land while she struggles with her new status as a mermaid. I feel like that maybe has been done a lot, but the great mer-world hasn't really been done in this way before.
Remember how I thought Tempest had made her final decision to live as a mermaid, it turns out the decision is not so final yet. Wow, is she confused. She's not only confused about whether she wants to live on land with her family or live at sea and save the mermaid world from disaster, but she also can't decide between her selkie boyfriend, Kona, and her human boyfriend, Mark. I really couldn't believe how much she goes back and forth between the boys. It's a true love triangle because I had no idea who she would choose. She really wasn't being fair to either of them though. If one boy made any kind of a mistake, she jumped ship and ran to the other.
I also thought that both boys weren't really the same characters they were in the first book. I wasn't sure I really agreed with this aspect. Kona seemed so great in the first book and he did some weird, possessive things in this one. Mark seemed shady the first time around, but now he's perfect. Hmm...no wonder Tempest is confused.
There is so much action in this book, it's a real page-turner. I read the first half in one sitting, which is a rarity for me. Tempest is such a strong female character. She doesn't take anything from anyone without a fight. There is also a ton of romance in this book. Probably more than I've seen in most other YA books. The author has a great style of writing her romantic scenes that I really liked.
I enjoyed this installment even more than the first book. Non-stop action and romance.
ARC sent by publisher in exchange for an honest review
reviewed for
February 4, 2012
!!!!SPOILERS -- BEWARE, TURN AWAY NOW.!!!!!
So I just received my ARC copy of this today. I screamed the most girlish scream you can imagine and jumped right into it. I have been desperately waiting for this book since I read the first book in the series.
I was NOT disappointed. Tracy Deebs/Wolf is an amazing writer/author. Her books have such emotion and are so well put together. She has to be one of my favorite authors, right up there with Anne Mather & Penny Jordan.
When I started Tempest Unleashed I had mixed emotions about the said love triangle between Mark and Kona. I desperately wished she could have both of them but at the end of this book, that is pretty much sorted out. It leaves me a bit sad but content to know that she is with whom she truly belongs with despite their vast differences.
I love that throughout the series Tempest is still struggling and desperately trying to find herself. She knew what would happen when she turned seventeen, yet it was SUCH a huge change for her. Character struggles are what makes books great. You grow with the character and fall in love with them and that in turn each book. She's been struggling with her identity, her mother whom left her and eventually died in the first book. Also her love triangle with the boy who has been with her and known her all her life and with a boy who is more like her, who could possibly understand her and the position she is in as a mermaid.
The evil sea witch makes me angry in the book, but you always have to have a good vs evil or some opposites going at each other. All together the book is amazingly put together. I laughed, cried and enjoyed it thoroughly. In fact I sincerely think it's going to be one of the top books of 2012 if it's given the right amount of credit by the right amount of people. It totally deserved it. It was a pleasure to read. I cannot wait for book three but I guess I'll have to.
Tracy, keep at it girl, you are amazing!
So I just received my ARC copy of this today. I screamed the most girlish scream you can imagine and jumped right into it. I have been desperately waiting for this book since I read the first book in the series.
I was NOT disappointed. Tracy Deebs/Wolf is an amazing writer/author. Her books have such emotion and are so well put together. She has to be one of my favorite authors, right up there with Anne Mather & Penny Jordan.
When I started Tempest Unleashed I had mixed emotions about the said love triangle between Mark and Kona. I desperately wished she could have both of them but at the end of this book, that is pretty much sorted out. It leaves me a bit sad but content to know that she is with whom she truly belongs with despite their vast differences.
I love that throughout the series Tempest is still struggling and desperately trying to find herself. She knew what would happen when she turned seventeen, yet it was SUCH a huge change for her. Character struggles are what makes books great. You grow with the character and fall in love with them and that in turn each book. She's been struggling with her identity, her mother whom left her and eventually died in the first book. Also her love triangle with the boy who has been with her and known her all her life and with a boy who is more like her, who could possibly understand her and the position she is in as a mermaid.
The evil sea witch makes me angry in the book, but you always have to have a good vs evil or some opposites going at each other. All together the book is amazingly put together. I laughed, cried and enjoyed it thoroughly. In fact I sincerely think it's going to be one of the top books of 2012 if it's given the right amount of credit by the right amount of people. It totally deserved it. It was a pleasure to read. I cannot wait for book three but I guess I'll have to.
Tracy, keep at it girl, you are amazing!
June 23, 2012
Tempest Maguire is finding out that the grass is not always greener on the other side. After making the painful but solid decision to leave her life on land and embrace her mermaid heritage in the sea, Tempest is now having doubts that she did the right thing. Life in the mermaid kingdom is not going the way she thought it would: Tempest is constantly at odds with Hailana, the scheming mermaid queen she serves, mer politics are treacherous and she has started having arguments with Kona, her selkie boyfriend.
Tempest Unleashed, the sequel to Tempest Rising, takes place about eight months after the first book and is set mostly underwater which is awesome! Deebs� world building is really cool and I enjoyed reading about the places and creatures she created. Like Tempest Rising, this second book is no fairytale. It is dark with war, death, nightmarish creatures and of course, Tiamat, the sea witch who has gotten even stronger since Tempest last battled her.
Tempest is a girl torn in two. When she is on land, she can’t resist the ocean’s pull on her and when she is in the sea, she misses her family and craves to be with Mark, her ex-boyfriend. It does not help that she and Kona are having problems stemming primarily from his wanting to protect her. Tempest, insisting that she can take care of herself, chafes at Kona’s warnings about her hot new trainer: a merman that Kona knows and justifiably hates. There is a huge love triangle involving Tempest, Mark and Kona. Thankfully, Tempest does choose by the end of the book so we are not left hanging!
Tempest Unleashed has lots of action and for the romance lovers, lots of kissing! Its fun to see Tempest come into her powers and use them in such a kick butt way. There is definitely more to explore in a third book in the series which will probably come out next year.
Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.
Tempest Unleashed, the sequel to Tempest Rising, takes place about eight months after the first book and is set mostly underwater which is awesome! Deebs� world building is really cool and I enjoyed reading about the places and creatures she created. Like Tempest Rising, this second book is no fairytale. It is dark with war, death, nightmarish creatures and of course, Tiamat, the sea witch who has gotten even stronger since Tempest last battled her.
Tempest is a girl torn in two. When she is on land, she can’t resist the ocean’s pull on her and when she is in the sea, she misses her family and craves to be with Mark, her ex-boyfriend. It does not help that she and Kona are having problems stemming primarily from his wanting to protect her. Tempest, insisting that she can take care of herself, chafes at Kona’s warnings about her hot new trainer: a merman that Kona knows and justifiably hates. There is a huge love triangle involving Tempest, Mark and Kona. Thankfully, Tempest does choose by the end of the book so we are not left hanging!
Tempest Unleashed has lots of action and for the romance lovers, lots of kissing! Its fun to see Tempest come into her powers and use them in such a kick butt way. There is definitely more to explore in a third book in the series which will probably come out next year.
Content: Kissing, profanity and violence.
September 30, 2013
I just ... I can't. I can't finish it, I'm sorry.
I seriously really liked the first book in this series, but I can't finish this one. The need to know how the story ends does not overrule the anger I'm feeling. I know this book has gotten a lot of glowing reviews, but I cannot finish. I'm about three fourths of the way through, and maybe someday I'll have the courage to finish, but I just can't.
An uneasy feeling in my stomach had me on edge for a while, but while I was cooling down after a particularly angering chapter, I was scrolling through the reviews and spoiled the ending on accident. Yep, I know, bravo. But really, I couldn't stand it anymore. Let's just say she did not end up with the guy I liked, and this made me really mad because it was an OBVIOUS choice. No, it wasn't even a choice!
Maybe the third book she changes back again, but I don't think I can survive reading getting hurt like that. I just can't.
So I bid adu to this series, whether forever or just for now I do not know. It has officially landed a spotting on my couldn't read shelf. Pity too; the first series I actually liked ending up in there.
Yours Truly,
Cami <3
I seriously really liked the first book in this series, but I can't finish this one. The need to know how the story ends does not overrule the anger I'm feeling. I know this book has gotten a lot of glowing reviews, but I cannot finish. I'm about three fourths of the way through, and maybe someday I'll have the courage to finish, but I just can't.
An uneasy feeling in my stomach had me on edge for a while, but while I was cooling down after a particularly angering chapter, I was scrolling through the reviews and spoiled the ending on accident. Yep, I know, bravo. But really, I couldn't stand it anymore. Let's just say she did not end up with the guy I liked, and this made me really mad because it was an OBVIOUS choice. No, it wasn't even a choice!
Maybe the third book she changes back again, but I don't think I can survive reading getting hurt like that. I just can't.
So I bid adu to this series, whether forever or just for now I do not know. It has officially landed a spotting on my couldn't read shelf. Pity too; the first series I actually liked ending up in there.
Yours Truly,
Cami <3
July 9, 2015
Oh god.. Oh my god I don't know what to feel. Actually I would give this book 5 stars because the plot was amazing, it was so well-paced and absolutely brutal. It was almost like reading a GRRM book because everyone died?!
BUT I can only give 4 stars because of the stupidest love triangle I have ever had to read about. It's absolute bullshit and Tempest is a cheating idiot who it seems isn't powerful enough to control her freakin hormones for one second. Mark and Kona - oh especially Kona - deserve so much better than that hypocrite.
One second she is happy in Kona's arms kissing him but as soon as she see's Mark she just throws herself at him with no self-control whatsoever. But when she's with Mark she keeps thinking of Kona. It was disgusting and I really had to keep telling myself that I was just reading a book to stop myself from seething with rage.
BUT I can only give 4 stars because of the stupidest love triangle I have ever had to read about. It's absolute bullshit and Tempest is a cheating idiot who it seems isn't powerful enough to control her freakin hormones for one second. Mark and Kona - oh especially Kona - deserve so much better than that hypocrite.
One second she is happy in Kona's arms kissing him but as soon as she see's Mark she just throws herself at him with no self-control whatsoever. But when she's with Mark she keeps thinking of Kona. It was disgusting and I really had to keep telling myself that I was just reading a book to stop myself from seething with rage.
August 21, 2012
Wow, the voice and narration in this book was particularly awful. If I had to read "I know, baby" one more time I was going to hurl. Tempest is unlikeable. She flip flops between the two guys and she also has an annoying internal monologue full of all the obvious cliches she can think of and annoying rambling thoughts - all telling no action. For all the war and destruction in this book, there is very little action that goes on - it's all talked about after the fact. Is it just me but if Moku being hurt sends a wave of pain through Tempest shouldn't the death of her people do something? anything? I mean really. It's disappointing and I won't be continuing with the next book since of course this one was left open ended.
August 1, 2012
I liked the first book, so I was sad that this book didn't live up to that one. After 140 pages I am giving up. I found my mind wandering while reading and kept putting it down. Tempest seemed so wishy washy this time around. I can see why she wanted to go home, but when she did her actions seemed out of character and then she didn't even do what she set out to do. It seemed like Tempest did whatever told from the Mer-Queen, which I didn't like. In the end this one wasn't for me.
March 22, 2017
Enough of this triangle love.....even though...I on Mark side.
June 11, 2024
Okay, so here's the thing. I didn't exactly finished it, or read it. I just turned pages, scanning the words so I could figure out the story after the first four chapters because they were so freaking disappointing.
I think that I get more inspired to write a review when I am so mad at a book, so let's get started.
First of all, I truly believe that if you are going to write a sequel for your book (or more like the second part because of the loose ends of the first one), you can't just trash the story in doing so. It becomes pointless. Then I feel like I should not have liked the first book, or even read it for starters.
So, after Tempest stupidly cheated on her boyfriend Mark in 'Tempest Rising', but then both decided to break up and she chose Kona finally (teenagers, what can we do with them), you would think that we will get more of their romance and more battles with Tiamat and that stuff. Well, that didn't happen. It just starts by her going to the beach in front of her house after been living at the ocean for 8 months, training and learning and helping her new clan (we should have get THAT story instead). She said she wanted to see her family but then admited she was lying to herself and she missed Mark so so so much and he actually missed her the same and they kiss but then she leaves and showd him her tail...?????WHAT???
We NEVER EVER once got that sight of her love for him in the first book. I could barely remember him when all she could think about was Kona and how miserable her life was because she was a mermaid and didn't want to be. She talked about Mark so shallowly that I new for sure he wasn't that important (and what a b*tch she was because they were a couple for years). But I decided to forgive it because is a freaking book and she is a momless teenager who didn't know better (if you are a teenager, don't do what she did to your partner), and because I LOVE KONA SO MUCH.
Then, as I skimmed through the pages in this book, it turns out Moku (Tempest's littlest brother if you may know) drown I think? and was saved by MARK!? Now we as readers have a reason to like him better, but NO!
I could also see that she was always 'confused' as she claimed to love both of them Mark and Kona and TOLD THEM BOTH she did. Girl WTH.
At last, I got that Moku recovered (thanks to Kona I guess based what I shallowly read) and Tempest went back to the ocean to Kona and to fight Tiamat, who, of course, kidnapped Mark to infurate and blackmail Tempest.
I don't really know how, but she saved them.
I don't even know if she finally destroyed Tiamat, but knowing there's a third book, I guess she didn't. And I won't stick around because the last line of the second book said something about Mark being hers and Tempest being his. WTH x2
I liked the first book, in spite of Tempest's demeanor. It was entertaining and left me expecting more from this series. I know it is good to have a completely different story from what you were expecting, it surprises you when you thought it would be some way and turns out another. But even when that happens, you know the story is good and well thought when it feels consistent, and even though you don't know where the story is leading, it feels right. I didn't felt that with the first chapters I read, and with what I skimmed about this book, so I really disliked it so much.
***
And I also skimmed the next one and was even more terrible. What a bummer.
I think that I get more inspired to write a review when I am so mad at a book, so let's get started.
First of all, I truly believe that if you are going to write a sequel for your book (or more like the second part because of the loose ends of the first one), you can't just trash the story in doing so. It becomes pointless. Then I feel like I should not have liked the first book, or even read it for starters.
So, after Tempest stupidly cheated on her boyfriend Mark in 'Tempest Rising', but then both decided to break up and she chose Kona finally (teenagers, what can we do with them), you would think that we will get more of their romance and more battles with Tiamat and that stuff. Well, that didn't happen. It just starts by her going to the beach in front of her house after been living at the ocean for 8 months, training and learning and helping her new clan (we should have get THAT story instead). She said she wanted to see her family but then admited she was lying to herself and she missed Mark so so so much and he actually missed her the same and they kiss but then she leaves and showd him her tail...?????WHAT???
We NEVER EVER once got that sight of her love for him in the first book. I could barely remember him when all she could think about was Kona and how miserable her life was because she was a mermaid and didn't want to be. She talked about Mark so shallowly that I new for sure he wasn't that important (and what a b*tch she was because they were a couple for years). But I decided to forgive it because is a freaking book and she is a momless teenager who didn't know better (if you are a teenager, don't do what she did to your partner), and because I LOVE KONA SO MUCH.
Then, as I skimmed through the pages in this book, it turns out Moku (Tempest's littlest brother if you may know) drown I think? and was saved by MARK!? Now we as readers have a reason to like him better, but NO!
I could also see that she was always 'confused' as she claimed to love both of them Mark and Kona and TOLD THEM BOTH she did. Girl WTH.
At last, I got that Moku recovered (thanks to Kona I guess based what I shallowly read) and Tempest went back to the ocean to Kona and to fight Tiamat, who, of course, kidnapped Mark to infurate and blackmail Tempest.
I don't really know how, but she saved them.
I don't even know if she finally destroyed Tiamat, but knowing there's a third book, I guess she didn't. And I won't stick around because the last line of the second book said something about Mark being hers and Tempest being his. WTH x2
I liked the first book, in spite of Tempest's demeanor. It was entertaining and left me expecting more from this series. I know it is good to have a completely different story from what you were expecting, it surprises you when you thought it would be some way and turns out another. But even when that happens, you know the story is good and well thought when it feels consistent, and even though you don't know where the story is leading, it feels right. I didn't felt that with the first chapters I read, and with what I skimmed about this book, so I really disliked it so much.
***
And I also skimmed the next one and was even more terrible. What a bummer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2018
One of my favorite sub-genres of fantasy literature are mermaid novels. I am always looking for captivating reads that are about my favorite genres. This particular mermaid book was satisfying but there were some aspects of it that I did not like. For one thing, I felt that Tempest was a completely unfaithful character because she couldn't make her mind up about either Kona or Mark even though she thought she was in "love" with both of them throughout the story. This novel portrayed love as a flippant feeling that was only true if someone still felt it. Tempest couldn't remain faithful to any of her boyfriends because she let her feelings get the better of her. This was very disappointing to me because she let her feelings rule her life and manipulate and use Kona and Mark. Mark also was unfaithful at the end of the first book because he felt he needed a "fling" to keep him interested. The story line of the novel was also not very in-depth and could've included more development of the long term plot and characters such as Tempest's mother. Overall it was somewhat entertaining but I would make some major changes to the novel. It has great potential and it's disappointing to see how much further the author could've taken the series and didn't.
March 27, 2020
For months now Tempest has been living with her Mer family, enjoying her relationship with Kona. She still misses her human family, but after a quiet trip there she realizes that is in the past. Now she must face the future and save her people from Tiamat.
Take out a lot of the teenage angst and more of the Tiamat thing and it’d been a better story.
Footnote: 1) The series plot is the same as Twilight’s. Book 1: Girl falls in love with mysterious boy.
Book 2: the old boyfriend shows up complicating things. Book 3: Girl goes back to 1st boy and they live happily ever after. Mix a dangerous background problem and there you are: instant trilogy
Fave scenes: an injured Tempest trying to get home, Tempest’s ocean support army, the paper airplane race and Tempest going nuclear.
Take out a lot of the teenage angst and more of the Tiamat thing and it’d been a better story.
Footnote: 1) The series plot is the same as Twilight’s. Book 1: Girl falls in love with mysterious boy.
Book 2: the old boyfriend shows up complicating things. Book 3: Girl goes back to 1st boy and they live happily ever after. Mix a dangerous background problem and there you are: instant trilogy
Fave scenes: an injured Tempest trying to get home, Tempest’s ocean support army, the paper airplane race and Tempest going nuclear.
June 20, 2012
**WARNING**
I wish I could talk about Tempest Unleashed without having spoilers in it for Tempest Rising, but I can't. So if you haven't read it and don't want to know about the plot, turn your eyes away.
**
So, I really enjoyed Tempest Rising and while I wasn't completely happy with the end where Tempest just up and leaves her family and basically her whole life for a boy she's known about a month, I could live with her choice. There was a love triangle with Kona winning in Tempest Rising from Mark, the land-bound boyfriend. And I thought in that aspect all was resolved. Until I read the summary for Tempest Unleashed and went NOOOOOO! But more on that later.
I liked Tempest, she's a well-rounded main character and I liked that she's developed a back bone over the course of the series and isn't in need of rescue all the time anymore. She loves her family very much and wants to take care of them, and I respect her for that. Which is why it threw me off a bit that she hadn't been to see them in 8 months at the start of Tempest Unleashed. I mean, she'd been back to the coast apparantly, but she hadn't gone up on the land to see them? I didn't really understand this.
I love the underwater world that Tracy Deebs has created and all the different creatures, it sounds mindblowingly beautiful. Most of the characters were pretty well fleshed out, more so in Tempest Rising than in this one. We're introduced to a new set of characters that I'm not exactly sure what to think of, even after 400 pages. I'm guessing there's a lot more to some of them then we've seen so far, but as I can't find anywhere if there'll be a sequel (but I'm assuming there will be based on the events towards the end) I hope this will get resolved then.
Can I just say that I adored Tempest's father and little brother Moku? That little guy just stole my heart and Tempest's father is such an amazing guy with an enormous heart and I grieved for him and his loss of the love of his life: Tempest's mother.
It bothered me that while everyone is saying Tempest will be the next Queen, they're keeping a lot of information from her and the current Queen treats her pretty badly, I just didn't get it. I also was somewhat baffled by the fact that when she chose to live underwater, she automatically began training to be the next Queen. It seems to me like you don't go around handing your kingdom to every girl that has a prophecy attached to her that comes by, right? I'm glad we don't have that kind of government system... It didn't make much sense to me, I get that she's supposed to be really powerful and all, but that doesn't mean you just make her queen.
Also, until I read the summary for Tempest Unleashed, I hadn't thought the love triangle would continue into this sequel. I mean, it was pretty wrapped up in Tempest Rising, she'd made her choice. And then she was back at it, kissing both Mark and Kona and not telling either of them about the other guy. It made me lose some respect for her, because she just couldn't seem to make up her mind and it annoyed me. And I can't for the life of me understand why these guys weren't getting mad at her or breaking it off themselves. She's sort of playing them both as the mood strikes her and they just let her! Gah guys! Show some self-respect and tell her to make a decision or get the hell out!
While I wasn't really feeling the insta-love with Kona, I thought she and Mark had WAY more issues. Despite my being kind of creeped out with the whole Kona being over 200 years older than she is. Was anyone disturbed by this as well?
Also, towards the end I was kind of thinking she might be spared a decision by the death of one of the boys, I'm really glad that wasn't how she came to a decision! Mostly, I just feel that the girl needed to be by herself for a while and just figure out who she is without constantly needing to be reassured by a guy.
Ok, so rant over.
I know that I sound really negative and I'm actually not. I blew through Tempest Unleashed in what seemed like no time at all and didn't notice how much time had passed until I 'came up for air', so to speak. The writing is very engaging and the battle scenes had me on the edge of my seat. I was absolutely invested in the story and this is probably also why I wasn't rolling my eyes at the things that annoyed me that were mentioned above, but going GAH! *$&@!
I really felt for Tempest, even when I sometimes wanted to slap sense into her and mostly stop her from kissing those two boys all the time without thinking it through. I experienced her emotions alongside her and could completely understand her being torn between life as a human versus life as a mermaid. It's a heartbreaking decision.
To sum my thoughts up: I think this is a really good addition to the mermaid genre and I'll definitely pick up the sequel if there is one. Does anyone know? If so, PLEASE TELL ME! The love triangle got me all ranty as you can see above, but the storytelling is pretty solid, though I wished sometimes there'd be a bit more information about it all and character development of the secondary characters.
My rating: 3,5 stars
I wish I could talk about Tempest Unleashed without having spoilers in it for Tempest Rising, but I can't. So if you haven't read it and don't want to know about the plot, turn your eyes away.
**
So, I really enjoyed Tempest Rising and while I wasn't completely happy with the end where Tempest just up and leaves her family and basically her whole life for a boy she's known about a month, I could live with her choice. There was a love triangle with Kona winning in Tempest Rising from Mark, the land-bound boyfriend. And I thought in that aspect all was resolved. Until I read the summary for Tempest Unleashed and went NOOOOOO! But more on that later.
I liked Tempest, she's a well-rounded main character and I liked that she's developed a back bone over the course of the series and isn't in need of rescue all the time anymore. She loves her family very much and wants to take care of them, and I respect her for that. Which is why it threw me off a bit that she hadn't been to see them in 8 months at the start of Tempest Unleashed. I mean, she'd been back to the coast apparantly, but she hadn't gone up on the land to see them? I didn't really understand this.
I love the underwater world that Tracy Deebs has created and all the different creatures, it sounds mindblowingly beautiful. Most of the characters were pretty well fleshed out, more so in Tempest Rising than in this one. We're introduced to a new set of characters that I'm not exactly sure what to think of, even after 400 pages. I'm guessing there's a lot more to some of them then we've seen so far, but as I can't find anywhere if there'll be a sequel (but I'm assuming there will be based on the events towards the end) I hope this will get resolved then.
Can I just say that I adored Tempest's father and little brother Moku? That little guy just stole my heart and Tempest's father is such an amazing guy with an enormous heart and I grieved for him and his loss of the love of his life: Tempest's mother.
It bothered me that while everyone is saying Tempest will be the next Queen, they're keeping a lot of information from her and the current Queen treats her pretty badly, I just didn't get it. I also was somewhat baffled by the fact that when she chose to live underwater, she automatically began training to be the next Queen. It seems to me like you don't go around handing your kingdom to every girl that has a prophecy attached to her that comes by, right? I'm glad we don't have that kind of government system... It didn't make much sense to me, I get that she's supposed to be really powerful and all, but that doesn't mean you just make her queen.
Also, until I read the summary for Tempest Unleashed, I hadn't thought the love triangle would continue into this sequel. I mean, it was pretty wrapped up in Tempest Rising, she'd made her choice. And then she was back at it, kissing both Mark and Kona and not telling either of them about the other guy. It made me lose some respect for her, because she just couldn't seem to make up her mind and it annoyed me. And I can't for the life of me understand why these guys weren't getting mad at her or breaking it off themselves. She's sort of playing them both as the mood strikes her and they just let her! Gah guys! Show some self-respect and tell her to make a decision or get the hell out!
While I wasn't really feeling the insta-love with Kona, I thought she and Mark had WAY more issues. Despite my being kind of creeped out with the whole Kona being over 200 years older than she is. Was anyone disturbed by this as well?
Also, towards the end I was kind of thinking she might be spared a decision by the death of one of the boys, I'm really glad that wasn't how she came to a decision! Mostly, I just feel that the girl needed to be by herself for a while and just figure out who she is without constantly needing to be reassured by a guy.
Ok, so rant over.
I know that I sound really negative and I'm actually not. I blew through Tempest Unleashed in what seemed like no time at all and didn't notice how much time had passed until I 'came up for air', so to speak. The writing is very engaging and the battle scenes had me on the edge of my seat. I was absolutely invested in the story and this is probably also why I wasn't rolling my eyes at the things that annoyed me that were mentioned above, but going GAH! *$&@!
I really felt for Tempest, even when I sometimes wanted to slap sense into her and mostly stop her from kissing those two boys all the time without thinking it through. I experienced her emotions alongside her and could completely understand her being torn between life as a human versus life as a mermaid. It's a heartbreaking decision.
To sum my thoughts up: I think this is a really good addition to the mermaid genre and I'll definitely pick up the sequel if there is one. Does anyone know? If so, PLEASE TELL ME! The love triangle got me all ranty as you can see above, but the storytelling is pretty solid, though I wished sometimes there'd be a bit more information about it all and character development of the secondary characters.
My rating: 3,5 stars
December 20, 2017
I'd liked book 1, and had put this second book on hold at the library. When it came in ... eh, I wasn't sure I was in the mood. I started it and had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but then I snapped back and continued on ... it did take me a little bit longer to get through. Not necessarily because I wasn't interested, just busy. Although if a book has me completely captivated I tend to FIND the time.
This was an unpredictable story. I really wasn't sure where it was going. It was nice to be surprised and it did keep my interest. I plan on continuing on to the next book, although I'm not in a huge rush.
This was an unpredictable story. I really wasn't sure where it was going. It was nice to be surprised and it did keep my interest. I plan on continuing on to the next book, although I'm not in a huge rush.
June 5, 2017
I didn’t know this is a series till the point I wanted to write a review. Now I feel need to buy #1 and #3.
I like this mermaid concept story, very interesting and I get glimpse of their ‘imaginary� word is like. Must say the writer is creative.
The only thing that I’m annoyed is Tempest. She keeps changing her option between Kona and Mark. When she’s with Kona, she says he’s the one and when she’s with Mark, he’s the one. Seriously lady! You need to get a grip.
I like this mermaid concept story, very interesting and I get glimpse of their ‘imaginary� word is like. Must say the writer is creative.
The only thing that I’m annoyed is Tempest. She keeps changing her option between Kona and Mark. When she’s with Kona, she says he’s the one and when she’s with Mark, he’s the one. Seriously lady! You need to get a grip.
November 21, 2019
A decent read but the author kept going back her feelings, and basically + personally, I felt a lot was redundant. I skipped so many pages because I knew how she was feeling already and I didn't need to go through it again. Yes, although she's a teenager and she's in a dilemma but yeah, just a whole lot of unnecessary moping.
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