Review: Waking Storms (Lost Voices #2) by Sarah Porter
Waking Storms
by Sarah Porter
The second book in the Lost Voices trilogy.
A review of the first book can be found here.
This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series.
At the end of Lost Voices, Luce had proven herself to be the most powerful singer in her mermaid tribe, so by rights she should be their queen. However, disgusted by the actions of the other mermaids, Luce has chosen instead to live in solitude, far from her former friends. Her isolation isn’t total. Dorian, the boy that Luce allowed to live instead of drowning with the rest of his family, is fascinated and obsessed by the mermaids he saw. He and Luce begin meeting in secret, and a forbidden romance blossoms. But Dorian isn’t the only human who knows that mermaids exist, and if Luce doesn’t end the relationship she risks putting her sisters of the sea in mortal danger.
One of the problems I had with the previous book in this series was that only abused girls become mermaids. Why, I wondered, did this only happen to abused girls - and, since there obviously young women murdered all the time, why don’t all of these victims become mermaids? I was pleased that Waking Storms fully addressed how and why the mermaid “curse” works, thanks to the appearance of Nausicaa, an ancient mermaid who was among the first to be created by the god Proteus. So that was fantastic. The story has always shown the heavy influence of Greek mythology, but it takes place of the coast of Alaska, so I was really hoping we’d get some Native legends, too. I was delighted when Sedna herself shows up near the end of the novel.
I’m a bit on the fence about the romance between Luce and Dorian. On the one hand, they fall in love really fast. On one page, Dorian’s ranting about how he wants to kill all the mermaids and get revenge for his family…a few pages later, he’s making out with Luce. But, I remind myself, they are teenagers. Luce may be a mermaid now, but she’s still only about fourteen or fifteen years old! If their hormones attack as suddenly as Romeo and Juliet’s, is that really such a surprise? Toss in the factor of the siren’s influence, and it’s little wonder that Dorian should become infatuated with Luce. It’s a little more mystifying as to what she sees in Dorian - the boy lacks personality and frankly comes across as selfish and petty. But I suppose he is the only guy Luce has seen in months, and if he’s good-looking it’s probably easy to overlook those personality flaws. Clearly, it’s not a good relationship for anyone involved, but as a portrayal of a teenage relationship, it’s surprisingly believable.
Waking Storms is one of those rare “middle” books that is strong enough to equal or surpass the other books in the trilogy instead of acting as a mere bridge between Act I and Act III. It’s a dark story, with graphic descriptions and some very ugly moments, but it’s told very well. I can’t wait to finish the trilogy when The Twice Lost comes out in July.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about Waking Storms, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2012: The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan
2011: Fashionista Piranha will be on hiatus for a while…
2010: News: Out With the Old, In With the New
2009: An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
2008: Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
by Sarah Porter
The second book in the Lost Voices trilogy.
A review of the first book can be found here.
This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series.
At the end of Lost Voices, Luce had proven herself to be the most powerful singer in her mermaid tribe, so by rights she should be their queen. However, disgusted by the actions of the other mermaids, Luce has chosen instead to live in solitude, far from her former friends. Her isolation isn’t total. Dorian, the boy that Luce allowed to live instead of drowning with the rest of his family, is fascinated and obsessed by the mermaids he saw. He and Luce begin meeting in secret, and a forbidden romance blossoms. But Dorian isn’t the only human who knows that mermaids exist, and if Luce doesn’t end the relationship she risks putting her sisters of the sea in mortal danger.
One of the problems I had with the previous book in this series was that only abused girls become mermaids. Why, I wondered, did this only happen to abused girls - and, since there obviously young women murdered all the time, why don’t all of these victims become mermaids? I was pleased that Waking Storms fully addressed how and why the mermaid “curse” works, thanks to the appearance of Nausicaa, an ancient mermaid who was among the first to be created by the god Proteus. So that was fantastic. The story has always shown the heavy influence of Greek mythology, but it takes place of the coast of Alaska, so I was really hoping we’d get some Native legends, too. I was delighted when Sedna herself shows up near the end of the novel.
I’m a bit on the fence about the romance between Luce and Dorian. On the one hand, they fall in love really fast. On one page, Dorian’s ranting about how he wants to kill all the mermaids and get revenge for his family…a few pages later, he’s making out with Luce. But, I remind myself, they are teenagers. Luce may be a mermaid now, but she’s still only about fourteen or fifteen years old! If their hormones attack as suddenly as Romeo and Juliet’s, is that really such a surprise? Toss in the factor of the siren’s influence, and it’s little wonder that Dorian should become infatuated with Luce. It’s a little more mystifying as to what she sees in Dorian - the boy lacks personality and frankly comes across as selfish and petty. But I suppose he is the only guy Luce has seen in months, and if he’s good-looking it’s probably easy to overlook those personality flaws. Clearly, it’s not a good relationship for anyone involved, but as a portrayal of a teenage relationship, it’s surprisingly believable.
Waking Storms is one of those rare “middle” books that is strong enough to equal or surpass the other books in the trilogy instead of acting as a mere bridge between Act I and Act III. It’s a dark story, with graphic descriptions and some very ugly moments, but it’s told very well. I can’t wait to finish the trilogy when The Twice Lost comes out in July.
4.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about Waking Storms, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2012: The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan
2011: Fashionista Piranha will be on hiatus for a while…
2010: News: Out With the Old, In With the New
2009: An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
2008: Nefertiti by Michelle Moran