Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
Obtained: Debut Author Challenge ARC Tour
Release Date: June 12, 2012 in Hardcover
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Series: Lies Beneath #1
Buy it: On Amazon
Add it on Goodreads
Goodreads Summary
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother’s death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family’s homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.
Review
Calder White, will you marry me? Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown is such a different mermaid tale compared to previous ones I’ve read. This is told from the perspective of a male mermaid who falls in love with the daughter of a man he’s supposed to kill.
I enjoyed reading about Calder’s relationships between him and his sisters. They’re the ones that want to seek revenge on their mother’s death rather than leaving Calder to his somewhat peaceful existence.
This was such a beautifully written novel! I loved the world building. I felt like if I ever went to that place, I would know my way around. I loved the sacrifices certain characters were willing to make to save loved ones. Well, not EVERY sacrifice, but close. The scenes in which Calder was basically fighting for his life were SO intense.
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that I disliked about this novel. I didn’t know this was a series until after I read it. It works rather well as a stand alone, but I can’t wait to read more from Anne Greenwood Brown! I’m speculating that it’ll be more like a companion novel than another novel from Calder’s perspective.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds like an interesting read. I’ve never actually read a mermaid book before, but it’s refreshing to see an urban fantasy type of story that doesn’t involve drinking blood or growing copious body hair under moonlight. I wonder what other monster legends authors will start using…
Right?
Yeah, I feel like right now the “hot” monsters are mermaids, angels and demons. And I’m currently reading a book in which a girl is part dragon.
Part dragon? The fantasist in me is fascinated, while the biologist in me is just confused. I hope the angels/demons trend catches on, though, since one of my own projects deals with medieval kids encountering angels.