The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea (Embraced by Magic, #2)

by Kerrelyn Sparks

[EBookObsessed]

Just when you think we knew it all, there are more secrets to be revealed.

The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea is a story about secrets.   You would think after four books we would have a hold on all the secrets that are to be revealed but The Siren and The Deep Blue Sea could have simply shortened the title to The Book of Secrets.

Obviously, Brody hides secrets. We didn't know too much about Brody except that he showed up one day in Leo's tent and shifts from a dog into a human shocking Leo and Nevis and from there he becomes an ally and a spy for Eberoni. We know that Brody suffers under a curse but we finally learn how Brody became cursed, where he ended up and how he lived after he was cursed and where he originally came from.

Maeve has secrets but actually Maeve isn't hiding her secrets. Maeve simply didn't know her own secrets but here we will learn why Maeve was left on the Isle of Mist to be raised by the Sisters. We will also learn who her parents are and why Maeve shifts into a seal on the full moon. Actually, there is one secret that Maeve holds dear. She knows that Brody joins her every month when she changes to a seal during the full moon. He thinks that she is unaware and she knows that if he was ever aware that she recognized him, he would stop coming to play with her. As Maeve's story unfolds, it will also bring big changes to her life.

The secret Circle of Five have been plotting to overthrow the kingdoms of the mainland and take their power for themselves.  Oh wait, we killed a couple already...so, that makes it a secret Circle of Three.  More a secret triangle now, but who make up that remaining triangle plotting against the mainland kingdoms still remains to be seen.

While Maeve doesn't know anything about her family, it is not her family she is searching for in this story. Maeve is searching for someplace called the Isle of Secrets. As you might imagine, this island is full of...you guessed it: it is full of Secrets. Maeve is looking the Isle of Secrets because Brody has been missing for the past two months and she believes the Isle of Secrets is where he has gone to look for the secret Embraced Army. Is this secret army hiding and preparing for their attack on the Isle of Secrets? Oooo...maybe.

This Embrace Army is being lead by a person only referred to as the Chameleon because he can shapeshift into any animal and more importantly into any person. The Chameleon has tried to take over the mainland kingdoms by killing and impersonating the former kings only to confronted and chased away by Brody who can recognize his scent. And while Brody can scent him, no one has seen his true face. The Chameleon can be anyone but even if he is wearing his own face, no one will know except for Brody so the Chameleon is determined to get rid of the only one who can track him down.

The only thing that isn't a secret in this story is how much Maeve and Brody love each other...oh, wait.  Actually, that's not a secret to us, but it is a secret to the characters since they keep from each other, or more to the point, Brody is keeping Maeve at arm's length to protect her from danger and to protect her from his cursed self. You can imagine just how well that goes over with Maeve who is tired of Brody as well as her older sister's always needing to protect poor little Maeve from herself.

Since this is the final story, we will have an answer to all these secrets. We will finally have the epic battle with the witch that cursed Brody as well as the Chameleon.

There is one thing I found disappointing, but I should have realized it before if I really thought about it, we have been afraid of the Embraced Army and their combined powers and what that would do to our new peaceful Kingdoms, except I forgot one key element, Lord Morris has been "collecting" Embraced children from their parents for the last 20 years or so...That makes the Embraced Army a bunch of kids. Kids! And not all of them have awesome powers. The kids who have crappy Embraced powers are treated as slave labor. All I could think was that these kids will all run away once they know they aren't the only Embraced and that they can return home or whatever other lies they have been told all their lives.

After all the fear of an Embraced Army being lead by the Circle of Five and it turned out to be a rather small bunch of kids? It reminds me of a Sesame Street book my little sister had called The Monster at the End of this Book where Grover is terrified of you getting to the end of the story and it turns out the monster at the end was only him. This big Embraced Army that we feared could destroy the mainland turns out to be only a small bunch of kids with only a handful being teenagers. Even the characters in the book didn't put together that since this Circle of Five has only been plotting for the last two decades and the kids being stolen couldn't have been grown up. It was a bit disappointing.

I love the wit and humor that Kerrelyn Sparks brings to her stories. The Embraced series allowed her to let her imagination run wild creating impossible Embranced magics. I am sorry to see the series complete but look forward to what she will create for us next.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.