Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.
Genre: Young Adult/ Sci-fi Fantasy
Release Date: August 10 2020
Rating: 2/5 stars
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Crystal White is the new girl on Starfish Island. Dragged to the remote community by her environmental activist father, she is eager to find fun that doesn’t involve touching fish guts or listening to local folklore.
During a midnight swim with some new friends, Crystal is pulled out to sea by the waves. Convinced she’s going to drown, Crystal is rescued by Llyr, a handsome stranger. As she searches for him in the following weeks, she finds there may be more truth to the Starfish legends than she thought.
Over a sizzling roller-coaster summer, Llyr introduces Crystal to magic she’d only ever dreamed of. But as Crystal comes to love Starfish Island, it begins to drive her family apart. A nearby power plant is devastating local marine life, and her parents are stuck in the middle. As the magic and mundane parts of Crystal’s life converge, she finds herself risking everything to save Llyr, her family, and herself.
Sarah's Review:
This book is a light and easy beach read. We get a little bit of everything romance, fantasy, and activism. However, this book fell short in a lot of ways.
There were things I liked about this book. When it comes to mythical creatures merpeople are my absolute favorite, so I am always willing to read about them. I loved that this book had a focus on environmental activism. I think the health of the ocean is really important, and that was really nice to see in a young adult romance. I really liked the friendship between Crystal and Rosie. They were really close, and even when life took them different directions they were able to fall right back to normal when they were together. I think showing healthy female friendships is also super important in young adult reads. Overall, I liked all of the characters even though there wasn't much development with them.
Now the things I didn't like. Loathed even. The insta-love was nauseating. I totally understand connecting with someone easily. Some people just click. However, in the book Crystal and Llyr barely spoke before they were head over heels in love. Every single romantic relationship in this book was unhealthy. To keep this review spoiler free I won't give details. However, when a novel is written and the prime audience is teen girls, it is important to show healthy relationships. Also, Crystal referred to someone as "emotionally retarded." This is not okay. At All. Since this is the third edition, I would expect something like this to be fixed. It is just as easy to say "emotionally unavailable." Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book.
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