Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Vast and Brutal Sea by Zoraida Cordova

Series: The Vicious Deep (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Fantasy Adventure

Subjects: adventure, magic, magical creatures, merfolk, mermaids, mermen, mythology, supernatural,

Setting: Coney Island, New York and in the Atlantic ocean

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Tristan Hart

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 317 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary/ product description: “This epic clash of sand and sea will pit brother against brother-and there can only be one winner

In two days, the race for the Sea Court throne will be over-but all the rules have changed. The sea witch, Nieve, has kidnapped Layla and is raising an army of mutant sea creatures to overthrow the crown. Kurt, the one person Tristan could depend on in the battle for the Sea King's throne, has betrayed him. Now Kurt wants the throne for himself. Tristan has the Scepter of the Earth, but it's not enough. He'll have to travel to the mysterious, lost Isle of Tears and unleash the magic that first created the king's powerful scepter. It's a brutal race to the finish, and there can only be one winner.”





My Review:  What and interesting and adventurous ending! Tristan and his friends must bring the pieces of Triton’s trident/scepter together and defeat the silver mermaid Nieve. He, Nieve and Kurt are after the throne. Kurt is also being manipulated somewhat and now wants to kill Tristan. Nieve of course want to rule the seas. I had a hard time remembering what happened in the previous books so I was lost for a while.

The first part of the book was really interesting and pretty different from the rest of the series. Tristan arrives at an island where the river tribe lives. He also finds Dylan, Brendan and Kai there. Time move differently there, it’s many days on the island before a day in the real world passes. The river tribes were not merpeople, but could turn into water. The leader was a woman and she was nice to Tristan, but secretive. One girl named Yara helped Tristan. He is given a task to defeat a creature called the Naga and he is given some training. Something happens and when he leaves the island, he has another addition to his group.

Tristan meets with more oracles and searches for answers in unexpected places. His circle of friends and followers grows and he gather’s a sorta-army to fight Nieve and her merrows. He gathers land locked merpeople, vampires, demon and other creatures living in New York City. His shape shifter friend Marty helps too. There’s fun along the way, including underground speed dating (hilarious) and a giant turtle.

This series has been fun and crazy. It may not be my favorite mermaid/merman series, but I really enjoyed the narrator and the humor. I love the mix of paranormal creatures too. There’s a touch of romance between Layla and Tristan. The action, adventure, magic and mythology. I’d definitely recommend the Vicious Deeps series to fans of Percy Jackson and The Olympians and Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown.


Cover Art Review: I love the big crystal scepter. It does look like quartz, but not the usually crystal structure. Way too pointy. The cover work well with the previous books’ covers. 




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