Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs

Book: Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs

Acquired: Books-A-Million

Retail Price: $16.99

Sale Price: $14.50

Number of Pages: 388

Synopsis:  To embrace passion and power, she relinquished her home. To save her people, she buried her feelings and her past. Torn between two loves, her heart is no longer her own. As war beneath the ocean brews, a tempest will be unleashed.

In the depths of the ocean...
Eight months have passed since Tempest Maguire embraced her mermaid heritage and her mother's clan. As the future merQueen, Tempest holds dominion over the entire ocean and has access to more magic than she had ever dreamed possible. More important, she has Kona, the selkie prince whose passion and power kindle her own.

On land...
But when Tempest receives word that her brother has been gravely injured, she rushes to his side-once again facing a choice. Her father and brothers have barely survived her absence, and the intense connection she once felt for her old flame, Mark, has only strengthened with time.

Caught between two worlds...
But Tempest's life is not the only one at stake. The sea witch Tiamat still desires to control all who live among the ocean depths-and Tempest alone has enough power to face her. As a deadly battle looms beneath the waves, Tempest once again finds herself caught-between Kona and Mark, sea and land- and this time she may not survive her choice.

Stars: ★★★

Review: I like the first book better. Far better. Tempest's character does a 180. She becomes really wishy-washy with her decision that she made. Firstly the books starts our with her swimming home to see Mark. And thus we set the tone for the book! She's already unhappy and claims to not see Kona frequently because she is training to fight Tiamat. Now the synopsis is a little misleading because it claims that Tempest is training to be merQueen. I think this is a little questionable. She is training to be the champion of the merpeople, but not really to be queen.

One thing you find really quick is that people are not as they seem in this book. the initial impression you get from the merQueen, Hailana, is that she is an old and feeble woman, who needs assistance to rule her kingdom. She's just as crazy as Tiamat is though. Sabyn was a character I did like in this book. He always gave you conflicting emotions. I liked him or didn't, or didn't like him and wanted to. He was always going back and forth as to who he was in the book and it gave the book a different dimension.

I still dislike Mark, with an undying passion. the love triangle is much like Twilight for those of you who haven't read this book. Now I am not a Twilight fan by any means like I have said in the past, however it is the only book with a similar triangle with a wishy-washy girl who can't make up her mind as to who she apparently loves. To me, if you have to question who you are in love with, then you most definitely have not  and are not in love with anyone. Love is something you would never question if you felt it and there is no mistaking it for something else, like they attempt to justify in the book.

With that said its a YA book, so I understand most people reading the book wouldn't have a clue yet, so it's easily brushed under the rug. My biggest problem is children and YA books are meant to have a bigger picture or a morale that can be learned from the characters. You follow the characters journey to becoming some thing special and love them as you journey with them. For me, it was backwards. I loved the character in the first book and I see her back tracking in her learning experience, making me dislike her as she went.

Just so we are clear, I didn't absolutely hate the book. There is redeeming aspects. I like the battle scenes although they are a little difficult to follow. I truly love Kona's character he's loyal and loving. He's a true character I can visualize and I have to prevent myself from thinking he is similar to people around me. the ocean scenes are always wonderful. The descriptions of the plants and life around her is beautiful and cohesive.

I have yet to find out what the next book name will be, but I will let you know as soon as I learn it. Happy Reading everyone!