Reviewed by Silvara on
I loved how the sisters learned sign language, so they could talk to each other when out around humans. Since they were unable to actually speak without fear of a human hearing their voices and trying to drown themselves.
I also liked how close they all were to each other. Even though they weren't actually related, once a girl becomes a siren, she has instant sisters in the older sirens. Some form closer bonds than others, but all of them loved each other like actual sisters.
The siren lore was really interesting as well. They don't need to eat or sleep, but can do so if they choose. They can't speak within hearing distance of any human, or the human turns into a zombie and drowns themselves. Once their 100 years is up, and the Ocean releases them, they have no memories of their time as a siren, no memories of their past before being a siren.
Besides Kahlen and Akinli, my favorite character was Miaka. I liked Elizabeth as well, but not quite as much as the other three. All of their personalities were different, and made them easy to connect with. The Ocean has a personality too, but it was too inhuman to really click with well. Which totally works for the book and the character.
This is technically insta-love, but it actually works for once. Kahlen is very sheltered as a siren. She isn't allowed to form attachments to humans, just to her sisters. And from the glimpse we see of her life before she was a siren, I imagine she hasn't had a boyfriend before. And if she did have one, it has faded from her memory like most of the memories of her former life. So for all intents and purposes, she's never had a relationship or a crush. And then Akinli appears and really sees her. He tries to find ways to interact with her and make her laugh, even though she can't speak.
So it makes perfect sense that she would fall for him, and being the only boy in her life, and being such a funny and sweet guy, it also makes sense that it would turn into love. On his end? It does seem fairly fast, since they don't actually spend a lot of time together. Which is sort of explained towards the end of the book, but I can't really explain how because of spoilers for the ending.
I didn't like the Selection series, so was a little iffy on reading this book. But I'm so glad I did! It's so much better, and one that I wouldn't mind owning. If you like books with mythology and lots of family interaction, you need to read this book.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 May, 2016: Finished reading
- 1 May, 2016: Reviewed