Jennifer Donnelly

Uncovering an ancient evil, Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas, to save their hidden world.

Deep Blue

Giulia Pianta

2021 ‘tis the damn season readathon
  

Album: Taylor Swift
Song: Our Song
Prompt: Read a book about music

I probably bought this book 5 years ago and never read it. I loved that it was about mermaids, the cover is gorgeous and the words inside are all light blue!
I only decided to pick it up this month because of a readathon and that finally gave me the motivation to try this out.

To start off, this is not a masterpiece. It felt to me like Disney wanted a book about mermaids to make movies or a TV show on it if it went good, and chose this author, gave her the characters and an outline, and she wrote it. I am very likely completely wrong, and the author was probably the only one to come up with the story, but that’s just what it felt like.
The story is simple, the world isn’t very complex and the characters are not deep.
But...I liked it??

Ok, let’s go in order.


  Language

The story starts in the Adriatic Sea near Venice, which is also an area I know really well as I used to live nearby and often had holidays there. And being Italian, at first I was really impressed by how the author managed to get some Italian words right.
Recently, I had experience of authors using Italy as setting and getting it all so horribly wrong *cough* Kerri Maniscalco *cough*, so I was a bit worried here. It definitely started off ok spelling Principe and Principessa right. Names are also ok, Serafina is not common in Italy at all, but Lucia, Cosima and others were good. But then, Vallerio?? What? We use Valerio, why the double L? And Kolisseo, why not Colosseo? Weird.
When we get to the Lagoon, Serafina and Neela talk with an Italian woman, but her words are not very right. Like, you can tell it’s not Italian. But aside this, most of it was correct so I am quite pleased.



  World

I liked the world overall, it was cute and I like the idea of having an underwater society that reflects the above ground one. We didn’t get to see too much of it as the descriptions were a bit vague, but it was enough to paint a picture.
However, sometimes it didn’t feel underwater. I noticed many instances in which the characters were behaving more like humans than mermaids. One of these was the fact they were drinking tea. Ok, it is said it is thick and viscous, but still how can you drink underwater? Another case was when the characters bleached their hair...How? If the world is underwater, it implies a completely new set of physical rules. Objects will be wet, and will float. Clothes will be drenched, metal will rust. Mermaids have no legs so they also float without the need for floors and halls. But often this was forgotten. The characters moved like they were on Earth, and we would forget they are in water, so I wish this could have been a bit more accurate.

Lastly, humans are called terragoggs, but all human objects are called with their names and their function is known to everyone. And while I get that they may be aware of what goes on over on land somehow, it really felt too convenient.
 


  Serafina

She is a bit of a dumb bitch. And I mean it in a rather nice way, she is just stupid. Especially at the start, she was very whiny with her mother, so insecure and passive at court. I am glad we got to see her have a little character development of course, but at the end she was still not very bright. Her chats with Astrid gave such an obvious clue to what happened, and she was just so blind to not see it.



  The other mermaids

A great quality of this story is the diversity. Neela, Ava and Ling are not white, Ava is also blind. The main love interest is also not white. I really liked how this was not really commented upon, it seems mermaids are not racist and diversity was there just because, which I really liked. All the mermaids were also strong and smart (mostly, Serafina maybe not too much) and at no point there is even the idea that they are females so they may be seen as inferior. They also never question this, they are afraid of not succeeding because they are few and young, but never because they are females.

A little aside for Astrid, she also ain’t that smart. Really she and Sera couldn’t figure out their kingdoms were framed?



  The story

We start off with an info-dump. I usually don’t mind having the first few chapters of a book explaining the world and magic system very well, but here it was too much even for me. We get to know the story of the kingdom and of each important person and of Merrow and 1000 names and the rituals and the palace and the songs. Too much. Luckily, all those things are then reprised so they become clear. And also quite interesting was seeing the whole backstory of Atlantis, the mirror realm was very cool too.

There are many fast action scenes and I think sometimes they were too fast. Not only they were described vaguely, but the main characters would get pushed away from the action so quickly, so you had no idea what was really happening. But the fact that they were so fast also makes you want to keep reading as it flows well.

I think this is targeted as young adult book but could easily be middle grade. The romance is introduced but not really developed. (view spoiler)[Of course I could so easily tell that Blue was Mahdi (hide spoiler)], but I liked that things didn’t really go fast and the main focus is the friendship among the mermaids and their mission. I also appreciated the environmental aspect, some points are raised about the overexploitation of the oceans and seas and how dangerous that is. While this theme was not tackled in depth, it was still prominent and accessible for a young audience.

Then, Abbadon? Like in City of Bones? I swear, I could only think about that while reading this! I know it’s a religious figure, but I’ve seen it associated with being a demon just in the first Shadowhunter book so I am wondering, why not have another demon? Maybe one associated with Greek mythology as Orpheus that created it, while Abbadon is a biblical figure.



Overall, I wasn’t expecting anything special or magnificent, and so my expectations were met. I also needed a simple, easy, quick read. I wanted something I could enjoy and have fun with without feeling too much. And this was absolutely perfect. It was simple, silly, not too deep, engaging but not too much. I definitely recommend it for when you want a fun read for which you don’t need to turn your brain on too much. I have already started with the second book in this series and plan to read the third and fourth as well.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be about reuniting with handsome Pirnce Mahdi, her childhood crush. Instead she finds herself haunted by strange dreams foretelling the return of an ancient evil, and dealing with the deaths of her parents as assassins storm the betrothal ceremony, plunging the city into chaos. Led only by her shadowy dreams and pursued by the invading army, Serafina and her best friend Neela embark on a quest to avenge her parents' death and prevent a war between the mer nations. In the process they discover a plot that threatens their - and our - world's very existence.

Patricia Santos

Opinião do blogue Chaise Longue: http://girlinchaiselongue.blogspot.pt...

Um vestido invocou uma visão. Uma visão de um mar belo e cativante, de um mar obscuro e traiçoeiro, que iria inspirar Jennifer Donnelly a escrever sobre profecias, demandas, amizade e sereias. Deep Blue é único na sua concepção, uma história arrebatadora cheia de promessas, que irá finalmente satisfazer os fãs da mitologia marinha e os que estão fartos de livros sobre amores românticos. Com uma escrita cuidada e doce, Donnelly leva-nos para as profundezas dos oceanos onde canções são feitiços, lendas verdades distorcidas e a amizade é o mais poderoso dos poderes. Uma história sobre descobrimento e destino, princesas e monstros mas, mais do que isso, uma jornada pelos mais belos tesouros e os mais monstruosos pesadelos.
Conchas, anémonas, pérolas e estrelas do mar. Castelos afogados, caudas coloridas e brilhantes e espelhos cheios de algas onde podemos ver mais do que a nossa imagem. Polvos ou piranhas como animais de estimação. Canções que contam histórias e enfeitiçam. Bruxas que nos salvam e príncipes que nos desiludem. Este é o mundo que vive por entre as páginas deste livro. Um mundo de sonhos e imaginação, de lendas e contos de fadas. Mais do que as lindíssimas descrições que nos apresentam este mundo cheio de tesouros e magia, é a complexidade desta sociedade marinha que nos conquista. Reinos ou impérios, herdeiros da caída e bela Atlântida, reflectem nas suas caraterísticas as influências dos mares em que estão localizados e, se em terra o século XXI decorre, no mar o tempo parece ter parado numa época de bailes, intrigas e rainhas. Sociedades matriarcais, magia e profecias rivalizam com a extinção das espécies, a poluição e a caça ilegal, num confronto entre água e terra, futuro e passado, magia e ciência. 
Ao longo desta leitura, entrámos numa jornada que nos irá levar até um mal demasiado poderoso e antigo, um mal que tem deixado um rasto de destruição e crueldade atrás de si, discórdia e intrigas que têm dividido o mundo e provocado uma guerra tenebrosa. Para o destruir, é necessário união, poder, mas acima de tudo amizade, entre as mais improváveis das sereias. Aqui está a razão porque Deep Blue é tão refrescante em relação a outros livros. Não é sobre amor e príncipes encantados, é sobre amizade, confiança e ligação. É uma história onde seis raparigas não precisam de um rapaz que seja para mostrarem o que valem. É sobre família, expectativa e auto-descobrimento.
As únicas falhas que se podem apontar a este livro são o final abrupto que nos deixa completamente perdidos e as personagens que precisavam de mais de profundidade. Se ficámos a conhecer bem Serafina e Neela, já Ava, Astrid, Ling e Becca entram tarde na narrativa e acabam por não conseguirem ser bem apresentadas na história, com muita pena minha. Quanto às personagens secundárias pareceram-me interessantes e o vilão convenceu-me. 
 Cativante e delicioso, doce e aventureiro, Deep Blue é uma pérola única no vasto meio literário do género, que merece ser lido e apreciado, não só pela sua diferença, mas também pela sua essência. 

**I received a digital arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Hali Rivir Koehn 

Donnelly

De zeemeermin Serafina heeft dromen over een monster dat de zeeën wil overheersen. Ze gaat op zoek naar vijf heldinnen die haar kunnen helpen de wereld te redden. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.

geheimen van de zee (Waterfire Saga ; dl. 1)

Deep blue

Nena Wyers 

Hannah Wall

Au fin fond de l'océan, dans un monde pas si différent du nôtre, vit le peuple mer. Plusieurs communautés se partagent les eaux du monde entier, certaines en bonne entente, d'autres en conflit déclaré. Lorsque la princesse Serafina s'éveille au matin de ses fiançailles, sa première préoccupation devrait être de plaire au beau prince Mahdi, son promis. Pourtant, Serafina est hantée par un cauchemar lui annonçant le retour d'une ancienne malédiction. Ses sombres prémonitions se confirment quand un assassin frappe sa mère, la reine Isabella, d'une flèche empoisonnée. Serafina doit alors découvrir qui a commandité ce meurtre afin d'empêcher les communautés mers de s'entre-déchirer dans une guerre impitoyable. Aidée par cinq amies issues de mers exotiques, elle mettra au jour une conspiration qui dépasse leurs pires craintes.

Deep Blue

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