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Deep Waters #1
Whispers of the Deep
One of the many engineers that keeps Beta, the city under the sea, running, Mira only wants to make her family proud and to prove herself worthy. She knows the mysterious city better than anyone and it’s her dream to help it flourish.
But then, on a solo job in an abandoned section of the city, she encounters a monster of legend. An undine. A dangerous merman from an ancient civilization, long forgotten.
Arges has fought his entire life for his people. With deadly creatures under his control, he plans to eradicate Beta once and for all to protect his kind and their peaceful way of life. But when a human woman saves him, she unknowingly creates a bond between them, one he can’t ignore. Even though her flaming red hair haunts his dreams, he needs her for information on the undine’s enemies.
So he steals her. Keeps her. Feeds her. Only to realize their bond is far deeper than captor and captive. He cannot let her go—but he cannot keep her under the sea. In a battle to determine if love can survive a war beneath the waves, it will be their decision that changes the tides.
But then, on a solo job in an abandoned section of the city, she encounters a monster of legend. An undine. A dangerous merman from an ancient civilization, long forgotten.
Arges has fought his entire life for his people. With deadly creatures under his control, he plans to eradicate Beta once and for all to protect his kind and their peaceful way of life. But when a human woman saves him, she unknowingly creates a bond between them, one he can’t ignore. Even though her flaming red hair haunts his dreams, he needs her for information on the undine’s enemies.
So he steals her. Keeps her. Feeds her. Only to realize their bond is far deeper than captor and captive. He cannot let her go—but he cannot keep her under the sea. In a battle to determine if love can survive a war beneath the waves, it will be their decision that changes the tides.
381 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2024
About the author
Emma Hamm
62 books2,943 followers
We all know you don't really care about reading my background. Enjoy Cap instead.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,228 reviews
January 30, 2024
Good for her!!
(So many plot holes and retcons but by god that woman fucked that fish man)
(So many plot holes and retcons but by god that woman fucked that fish man)
January 16, 2024
“ 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓴, 𝓴𝓪𝓲𝓻𝓸𝓼, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓰𝓸 𝓽𝓸 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓼𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰.”
Whispers of the Deep by Emma left me thoroughly surprised. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. The world building was intriguing and the romance was a real enemies to lovers.
Brief Summary: Mira is an engineer at the Beta underwater city. One day she’s working on a solo mission when she is kidnapped by the dangerous merman Argnes who plans to use her to get information about the humans to take them down. After spending time with her he starts to realize their relationship is more than captive/captor and he can’t let her go.
Tropes & What to Expect
🖤ENEMIES to LOVERS
🖤captive/captor
🖤HumanXmerman
🖤language barrier
🖤Dual POV
🖤sloowww burn
Spice level
1.5/5🌶️
I’m not going to lie I read this book wanting to know about the mer-dick 🍆 and I’m going to get to those details soon but I want to say this is a sllloowwww burn. There is no spice until then 80 percent mark!!!! I know I almost couldn’t make it 😓 now there is plenty of gill and tail touching so it’s still steamy and some sweet intimate scenes so don’t be too alarmed.
The romance is slowly built and I loved that because they didn’t wake up loving each other their interest and feelings grew over time. The language barrier plays a huge factor and made it difficult for them to communicate obviously. They learn each other and observe each other it’s the sweetest 🥹 The relationship is so taboo and unheard of but they are both determined to make it work.
“𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷,” 𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓭. “𝓦𝓱𝔂 𝓷𝓸𝓽?” 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓮𝓭, 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝔀. “𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝔀𝓸.” 🍆
Now back to the mer-dick.. it’s two of them and it’s hidden within the scales so it can pop out. This is my first time with a twoer but let’s just say there are benefits 🤭🤭 use. your. imagination.
Do I recommend? YES there is a second book coming in September and I’m super excited about the continuation of the series
Whispers of the Deep by Emma left me thoroughly surprised. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. The world building was intriguing and the romance was a real enemies to lovers.
Brief Summary: Mira is an engineer at the Beta underwater city. One day she’s working on a solo mission when she is kidnapped by the dangerous merman Argnes who plans to use her to get information about the humans to take them down. After spending time with her he starts to realize their relationship is more than captive/captor and he can’t let her go.
Tropes & What to Expect
🖤ENEMIES to LOVERS
🖤captive/captor
🖤HumanXmerman
🖤language barrier
🖤Dual POV
🖤sloowww burn
Spice level
1.5/5🌶️
I’m not going to lie I read this book wanting to know about the mer-dick 🍆 and I’m going to get to those details soon but I want to say this is a sllloowwww burn. There is no spice until then 80 percent mark!!!! I know I almost couldn’t make it 😓 now there is plenty of gill and tail touching so it’s still steamy and some sweet intimate scenes so don’t be too alarmed.
The romance is slowly built and I loved that because they didn’t wake up loving each other their interest and feelings grew over time. The language barrier plays a huge factor and made it difficult for them to communicate obviously. They learn each other and observe each other it’s the sweetest 🥹 The relationship is so taboo and unheard of but they are both determined to make it work.
“𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷,” 𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓭. “𝓦𝓱𝔂 𝓷𝓸𝓽?” 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓮𝓭, 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝔀. “𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝔀𝓸.” 🍆
Now back to the mer-dick.. it’s two of them and it’s hidden within the scales so it can pop out. This is my first time with a twoer but let’s just say there are benefits 🤭🤭 use. your. imagination.
Do I recommend? YES there is a second book coming in September and I’m super excited about the continuation of the series
May 15, 2024
ignore me…just heard the mmc has two of…everything
⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑/5
4.2/5
-
i thoroughly enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would. this was written very well and in a manner that makes me want to reread it again. i will definitely be picking up the second book.
-
”you make my hearts bleed when you worry like that. i have two,”
“one beats for my people, and it will never stop beating for them. but the other beats for you, mira. i’m sorry it took me such a long time to realize that.”
mira is a welder that inhabits beta, an underwater biome that is created because the surface of the earth is no longer habitable. she is stolen away by a creature the humans call ‘undines’. the push and pull between her character and the undine we come to know as arges.
arges is a merman (idc what you say he is a merman) with the people of the water and a strong hatred for archnoms which we call humans. he affectionally calls mira kairos. to learn more about him it’s definitely worth picking the book up. if you’re into monster romances and yes merman’s with two cocks this is the book for you.
honorable mentions
byte the cutest little droid that i fell in love with. i think you will too.
overall
i walked into this book expecting it to be all monster porn with no plot and i was so elated to realise that it is not. there is 2 smut scenes max and the way this world was created…i enjoyed reading it. i am so happy to know that there is a second book and i cannot wait to dive into it. what a spectacular read.
⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑/5
4.2/5
-
i thoroughly enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would. this was written very well and in a manner that makes me want to reread it again. i will definitely be picking up the second book.
-
”you make my hearts bleed when you worry like that. i have two,”
“one beats for my people, and it will never stop beating for them. but the other beats for you, mira. i’m sorry it took me such a long time to realize that.”
mira is a welder that inhabits beta, an underwater biome that is created because the surface of the earth is no longer habitable. she is stolen away by a creature the humans call ‘undines’. the push and pull between her character and the undine we come to know as arges.
arges is a merman (idc what you say he is a merman) with the people of the water and a strong hatred for archnoms which we call humans. he affectionally calls mira kairos. to learn more about him it’s definitely worth picking the book up. if you’re into monster romances and yes merman’s with two cocks this is the book for you.
honorable mentions
byte the cutest little droid that i fell in love with. i think you will too.
overall
i walked into this book expecting it to be all monster porn with no plot and i was so elated to realise that it is not. there is 2 smut scenes max and the way this world was created…i enjoyed reading it. i am so happy to know that there is a second book and i cannot wait to dive into it. what a spectacular read.
January 18, 2024
*zoolander voice* merMAN merMAN
March 17, 2024
the pacing is all over the place, there’s narrative inconsistencies that made my eye twitch, but goddamn can that fish man fuck
January 7, 2024
I lovedddd this one!!!
I couldn’t stop reading it and was obsessed with these two characters. I loved seeing both of these main characters grow and slowly fall in love. Their romance was stunning and I can’t wait for other people to learn about their epic love story!
Thank you so much for Emma Hamm for sending me an early copy to review :)
I couldn’t stop reading it and was obsessed with these two characters. I loved seeing both of these main characters grow and slowly fall in love. Their romance was stunning and I can’t wait for other people to learn about their epic love story!
Thank you so much for Emma Hamm for sending me an early copy to review :)
March 18, 2024
This book taught me a lot about myself. Like the fact that I would have this merman’s baby
January 13, 2024
2.5/5
Aigh~ I’m a simple gal who loves to devour a monster fantasy romance as much as the next girl. And did I started this because of the cover? Absolutely! However everything just felt so ...flat the whole way. Btw, I stoped that end of chapter 28. Then, I just read the epilogue and I was right...it’s the same flatness.
This world feels incredibly weak, I know it should not make sense, but I wish the author could have built it better/stronger in the fantasy universe sense. The guy is supposed to be a strong warrior/leader, but there was not a moment where I felt his power or influence comes out for the page. The water people’s leader felt very one-dimensional...and short-sighted, not in a ethereal mysterious way; which I’m assume the author is trying to show. The whole time reading, I imagine his people consists of handful individuals. Some of the dialogues didn’t do it for me. The sassiness and comedic dialogues were repeated in multiple individuals. There were scenes /sayings that felt like they needed to be there regardless of progress of the story; like the fighting scene between the main characters came out of nowhere and then nothing. Information is not consistent throughout, like it was revealed that some info was known but then later on the similar info was not known. OR that character decided on an action as though it would be significant later but then nothing became of it. This story should need another round of edit or 2.
I wish it has more angst. Everything is solved so quickly. Wish that it’s a true enemies to lovers. Nothing like that here. They are pretty much instantly attracted to each other or at the least very intrigued. Wish that characters (even side ones) are more complicated.
I do like the android in this and how helpful it was. That was imaginative and fun. I also like the mermen’s appearance or how they were described, very beautiful and frightful. I also love that the main female is an engineer. But these were not enough to make the story for me. In the end, it didn’t care of they were together or not. So meh ~.~
Aigh~ I’m a simple gal who loves to devour a monster fantasy romance as much as the next girl. And did I started this because of the cover? Absolutely! However everything just felt so ...flat the whole way. Btw, I stoped that end of chapter 28. Then, I just read the epilogue and I was right...it’s the same flatness.
This world feels incredibly weak, I know it should not make sense, but I wish the author could have built it better/stronger in the fantasy universe sense. The guy is supposed to be a strong warrior/leader, but there was not a moment where I felt his power or influence comes out for the page. The water people’s leader felt very one-dimensional...and short-sighted, not in a ethereal mysterious way; which I’m assume the author is trying to show. The whole time reading, I imagine his people consists of handful individuals. Some of the dialogues didn’t do it for me. The sassiness and comedic dialogues were repeated in multiple individuals. There were scenes /sayings that felt like they needed to be there regardless of progress of the story; like the fighting scene between the main characters came out of nowhere and then nothing. Information is not consistent throughout, like it was revealed that some info was known but then later on the similar info was not known. OR that character decided on an action as though it would be significant later but then nothing became of it. This story should need another round of edit or 2.
I wish it has more angst. Everything is solved so quickly. Wish that it’s a true enemies to lovers. Nothing like that here. They are pretty much instantly attracted to each other or at the least very intrigued. Wish that characters (even side ones) are more complicated.
I do like the android in this and how helpful it was. That was imaginative and fun. I also like the mermen’s appearance or how they were described, very beautiful and frightful. I also love that the main female is an engineer. But these were not enough to make the story for me. In the end, it didn’t care of they were together or not. So meh ~.~
August 5, 2024
Devoured. Easy five stars.
An utter joy to read. Both Mira and Arges are such compelling characters. The fact is, they couldn’t even properly communicate for over half the book, and their romance felt so complex and full-bodied. Adore.
Told in dual POV by two clever minds, you can feel the overwhelming press of the ocean and the urgency of their situation. An excellently written investigation of beings from two very different worlds trying their hardest to cling to each other.
A true exploration of enemies to lovers. Also, he has two.
An utter joy to read. Both Mira and Arges are such compelling characters. The fact is, they couldn’t even properly communicate for over half the book, and their romance felt so complex and full-bodied. Adore.
Told in dual POV by two clever minds, you can feel the overwhelming press of the ocean and the urgency of their situation. An excellently written investigation of beings from two very different worlds trying their hardest to cling to each other.
A true exploration of enemies to lovers. Also, he has two.
January 21, 2024
5 stars meaning : is it perfect ? Nope. But did I have a blast while reading this book and could I potentially reread it ? Absolutely. So it's a 5 starts from me.
The world building was chef's kiss ! Especially ghe parts about the ocean. I could really visualize all the fishes and colors and cold beauty of it.
The herione is easy to like and root for. She's strong, smart, and compassionate. As for Arges our merman... I loved his description and how etheral he looked. And his curious, grumpy and mischievous personnality was the cherry on top. I really need more books about merman !
Their relationship is an enemy to lovers and also a slowburn. The first smutty scene happens around 80% of the book and I really appreciated that. Loved to see them trusting each other, becoming friends and then fall in love.
Also, the spice was 👀 that 2 D surprised me 😂
So yeah, loved our merman and courageous girlie and can't wait to read the next book. I really wonder how I'll be able to like Daios but we'll see !
The world building was chef's kiss ! Especially ghe parts about the ocean. I could really visualize all the fishes and colors and cold beauty of it.
The herione is easy to like and root for. She's strong, smart, and compassionate. As for Arges our merman... I loved his description and how etheral he looked. And his curious, grumpy and mischievous personnality was the cherry on top. I really need more books about merman !
Their relationship is an enemy to lovers and also a slowburn. The first smutty scene happens around 80% of the book and I really appreciated that. Loved to see them trusting each other, becoming friends and then fall in love.
Also, the spice was 👀 that 2 D surprised me 😂
So yeah, loved our merman and courageous girlie and can't wait to read the next book. I really wonder how I'll be able to like Daios but we'll see !
August 20, 2024
Ok I came for the merman smut but stayed for the plot and world building bc WOW. Like no notes. I am starting book two IMMEDIATELY.
February 3, 2024
I loved this so much! I can’t believe how beautiful and original this was. Alien romances have to be really good for me to like them, but spectacular for me to love them. The romance was believable and top notch. The world building was *chefs kiss*. The tiny robot companion was icing on the cake! I am very excited for the next book about Daios!
June 23, 2024
This surprised me in a good way and it was so much better than I was expecting it to be. It's a fantasy romance featuring a human engineer and an inhuman merman. It's enemies to lovers and these two are very much adversaries on opposite sides of a war. The hatred between their very different species has been cultivated and nurtured and both have very preconceived notions regarding each other. There's also a massive language barrier to overcome and the small fact that Mira our heroine cannot breathe underwater so a future together seems wholly impossible.
So the basic premise here is that the earth is inhospitable and humans have adapted to building cities under the ocean. In the process destroying the surrounding environment and angering the resident species. Mira is an engineer in one of the underwater cities and after catching the eye of Arges one of the mermen he is ordered to take her and learn her secrets so they can destroy the encroaching invaders.
This was highly imaginative and I enjoyed myself this all takes place under the ocean and manages to weave a believable bond which surprised me especially as Mira and Arges needed such different environments to thrive. I just wasn't expecting It to be so good but It was such an easy well-written read that drew me in almost instantly.
It's the first book I've read by this author but I'd definitely now pick up another. It was very slow burn which worked well making this feel more authentic. The initial dynamic and environmental aspects meant there was a lot to overcome. I'm especially looking forward to book two which I believe focuses on the brother so a redemption arc and I can't wait. I highly recommend this it was a really good read
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
May 17, 2024
This was my first Emma Hamm book and it was very enjoyable. The descriptions of the underwater world were so interesting and beautiful. If I wasn't terrified of the deep ocean it would sound like an amazing place to live. The Undine's were really fascinating creatures and I actually was rooting for them over the human because I get it humans kinda suck when it comes to the impact on the environment.
The heroine, Mira, is a human who lives in an underwater dome since above water is no longer habitable. The hero, Arges, is what they call an Undine and is a mermaid-like creature whos people hate the humans. Arges ends up kidnapping Mira to try and learn about her people and a way to attack them and destroy the dome.
This is a slow burn romance and it was frustrating at times since they can't communicate for a lot of this book but I loved the way their romance developed. They look beyond their differences and fall in love in the most beautiful way.
Tropes: enemies to lovers, captor/captive, human X mermaid, language barrier, slow burn
The heroine, Mira, is a human who lives in an underwater dome since above water is no longer habitable. The hero, Arges, is what they call an Undine and is a mermaid-like creature whos people hate the humans. Arges ends up kidnapping Mira to try and learn about her people and a way to attack them and destroy the dome.
This is a slow burn romance and it was frustrating at times since they can't communicate for a lot of this book but I loved the way their romance developed. They look beyond their differences and fall in love in the most beautiful way.
Tropes: enemies to lovers, captor/captive, human X mermaid, language barrier, slow burn
December 25, 2023
am I officially in my monster romance era? I think yes. full review coming!!!!
January 25, 2024
The author said fuck the mechanics, let me give u a merman with two dicks and i ate, lick the plates clean off kinda ATE.
February 16, 2024
I didn't like it, didn't get it, but LOVE that the author told me to shut up and ignore the unrealistic bits. I appreciate that! However, it just didn't tickle my pickle.
August 26, 2024
I love mermaids! Teh cover is stunning, gorgeous, ethereal, enthralling!
ofc I had to read this
This could have been so, so good but unfortunately it fell flat for me :(
- for a monsterfucker book there was too little monster fucking :(
- the language barrier held like an iron fortress and these two couldn't do the nasty without blabbing there words first. painful!
- the author kept skipping through days and weeks like she was fast-forwarding through a video
- I liked the /idea/ of the side characters but they had too little screen time, which means they felt one-dimensional and the relationship between Arges and his brothers was not fleshed out in a way that made me care about their bond
- the humans sucked as usual, but the fact that the heroine had zero friends or any meaningful relationships in her life is just sad
- the robot was cute and I liked how he was used to move the plot forward, but while he was meant to speed things alone, he also served as an excuse for the author to create yet more filler
- I think the author wanted to write a monsterfucker book but she was too anxious about getting a decent plot down on paper I guess which means she fumbled both the pacing & the character development
The worst thing is that I truly believe that a decent editor could have helped the author fix the pacing and the character development (and stop showing the MCs performing meaningless tasks /alone/ while monologuing about off-page time that they spent with each other) and made this a peak monsterfucker book.
There are no truly good mermaid books and that is the sad truth of my life
ofc I had to read this
This could have been so, so good but unfortunately it fell flat for me :(
- for a monsterfucker book there was too little monster fucking :(
- the language barrier held like an iron fortress and these two couldn't do the nasty without blabbing there words first. painful!
- the author kept skipping through days and weeks like she was fast-forwarding through a video
- I liked the /idea/ of the side characters but they had too little screen time, which means they felt one-dimensional and the relationship between Arges and his brothers was not fleshed out in a way that made me care about their bond
- the humans sucked as usual, but the fact that the heroine had zero friends or any meaningful relationships in her life is just sad
- the robot was cute and I liked how he was used to move the plot forward, but while he was meant to speed things alone, he also served as an excuse for the author to create yet more filler
- I think the author wanted to write a monsterfucker book but she was too anxious about getting a decent plot down on paper I guess which means she fumbled both the pacing & the character development
The worst thing is that I truly believe that a decent editor could have helped the author fix the pacing and the character development (and stop showing the MCs performing meaningless tasks /alone/ while monologuing about off-page time that they spent with each other) and made this a peak monsterfucker book.
There are no truly good mermaid books and that is the sad truth of my life
January 14, 2024
Fazla slow?
Fazla uzun?
Sorun nerde bilmiyorum malzeme güzel ama yazar bazı şeyleri görmezden gelmiş bazı şeylere de çok takılarak detaya boğmuş bizi. Bir günde bitecek kitabı bir haftada bitirdim. Fena değildi ama bir MR bu kadar slow olmamalı.
%80 de de etkileşim vermezsin ya. Mariana Z monster romance yazsa nasıl olurdu başlıklı kitap..
Fazla uzun?
Sorun nerde bilmiyorum malzeme güzel ama yazar bazı şeyleri görmezden gelmiş bazı şeylere de çok takılarak detaya boğmuş bizi. Bir günde bitecek kitabı bir haftada bitirdim. Fena değildi ama bir MR bu kadar slow olmamalı.
%80 de de etkileşim vermezsin ya. Mariana Z monster romance yazsa nasıl olurdu başlıklı kitap..
March 22, 2024
Tropes:
~dystopian romance
~monster (Merman) hero
~enemies to lovers
~forbidden romance
~kidnapping
~slow burn
~size difference
~double 🍆
I'm really sad that this one didn't get a higher rating for me, especially since the first few chapters were SO good! I was excited for a hero that both looked terrifying and acted brutally, but then he went very quickly from "I'll kill her" to being so soft and doting on her. I wanted more tension build up and more of the enemies part.
I also couldn't help but notice inconsistencies in the plot, and I don't even mean with having to suspend my disbelief for the dystopian world set-up. Things would get mentioned and then totally forgotten about. For example, in one scene the heroine, Mira, discovers that she's gotten her period and is a bit distraught because wtf is she to do about that when she's kidnapped by a merman and being held alone in an underwater cave with nothing on but a wet suit. And her little robot sidekick, Byte, freaks the hell out when she goes to wash the blood off in the water, saying that it'll attract predators. After that scene, we NEVER hear anything else about her period or how she even handles it. In fact, the hero shows up not long after and takes her on a little adventure through the water, and there isn't even a thought in Mira's head about if she's bleeding into the water and attracting predators. Hell, the hero himself would've smelled it (considering near the end of the book he can smell a drop of her blood like a mile away or something like that). This is just one example of the author having an idea but then just letting it drop with no follow through.
However, I am very interested in the "hero" for book 2. The tension and extra scary villainy hero that I was hoping for more of in this book? Well, she's set herself up perfectly to have that hero in the next book. So I'll be picking it up out of curiosity, and giving the series a second chance.
If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:
"Clear blue water
High tide came and brought you in"
~dystopian romance
~monster (Merman) hero
~enemies to lovers
~forbidden romance
~kidnapping
~slow burn
~size difference
~double 🍆
I'm really sad that this one didn't get a higher rating for me, especially since the first few chapters were SO good! I was excited for a hero that both looked terrifying and acted brutally, but then he went very quickly from "I'll kill her" to being so soft and doting on her. I wanted more tension build up and more of the enemies part.
I also couldn't help but notice inconsistencies in the plot, and I don't even mean with having to suspend my disbelief for the dystopian world set-up. Things would get mentioned and then totally forgotten about. For example, in one scene the heroine, Mira, discovers that she's gotten her period and is a bit distraught because wtf is she to do about that when she's kidnapped by a merman and being held alone in an underwater cave with nothing on but a wet suit. And her little robot sidekick, Byte, freaks the hell out when she goes to wash the blood off in the water, saying that it'll attract predators. After that scene, we NEVER hear anything else about her period or how she even handles it. In fact, the hero shows up not long after and takes her on a little adventure through the water, and there isn't even a thought in Mira's head about if she's bleeding into the water and attracting predators. Hell, the hero himself would've smelled it (considering near the end of the book he can smell a drop of her blood like a mile away or something like that). This is just one example of the author having an idea but then just letting it drop with no follow through.
However, I am very interested in the "hero" for book 2. The tension and extra scary villainy hero that I was hoping for more of in this book? Well, she's set herself up perfectly to have that hero in the next book. So I'll be picking it up out of curiosity, and giving the series a second chance.
If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:
"Clear blue water
High tide came and brought you in"
December 27, 2023
“𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌, 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
Mira has grown up in the city under the sea known as Beta. She is an engineer and all she wants to do is make her parents and to help the city flourish.
Arges is an undine, a merman, that has fought his entire life for his people. He plans to eradicate Beta once and for all and rid the ocean of these invaders.
His plans begin to unravel when Mira ends up saving him. He steals her in hopes to gain information to beat the humans. Except he never planned on the tides changing, now they must see if love can survive a war beneath the waves.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔.”
LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS! Never a dull moment in this one and I am already ready for more! Definitely and enemies to lovers with a bond you will melt for.
Mira has grown up in the city under the sea known as Beta. She is an engineer and all she wants to do is make her parents and to help the city flourish.
Arges is an undine, a merman, that has fought his entire life for his people. He plans to eradicate Beta once and for all and rid the ocean of these invaders.
His plans begin to unravel when Mira ends up saving him. He steals her in hopes to gain information to beat the humans. Except he never planned on the tides changing, now they must see if love can survive a war beneath the waves.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔.”
LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS! Never a dull moment in this one and I am already ready for more! Definitely and enemies to lovers with a bond you will melt for.
March 10, 2024
I kept reading this hoping it would be a slow burn that was blossoming but all of a sudden, I was 70% in and nothing much was happening :(
May 4, 2024
Did I devour a merman romance book in 2 days? YES THE F I DID.
Emma was able to create such an amazing world under the ocean, that at times had ME gasping for air. Byte will forever have my heart and will be my number 1 robot.🥹
The slooooooooow burn romance between Arges and Mira was so sweet and intense. The communication barrier was breaking my heart and had me screaming the entire time. This plot was plotting, the smut was smutting, and the vibes were vibing.
This really blew me away and this will be my personality for the next 2 weeks.
Anywho, if I ever see Arges swim by👀🧎🏻♀️➡️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Emma, thank you for making me fall in love with my first merman. I can’t wait for the next 🤝🏼🥺🧜♂️
Emma was able to create such an amazing world under the ocean, that at times had ME gasping for air. Byte will forever have my heart and will be my number 1 robot.🥹
The slooooooooow burn romance between Arges and Mira was so sweet and intense. The communication barrier was breaking my heart and had me screaming the entire time. This plot was plotting, the smut was smutting, and the vibes were vibing.
This really blew me away and this will be my personality for the next 2 weeks.
Anywho, if I ever see Arges swim by👀🧎🏻♀️➡️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Emma, thank you for making me fall in love with my first merman. I can’t wait for the next 🤝🏼🥺🧜♂️
June 16, 2024
3.5 stars
I can really appreciate the author trying to make this as realistic as possible lol and the authors note in the beginning made me giggle
I went into this thinking it would be exxxtraaaa spicy but I ended up being very surprised that this is a slow burn with not many spicy scenes. Now I love a slow burn, if a romance doesn't have one then I don't want it. BUT this was a little too slow in the beginning. Lots of jumping in between different settings and then there was a language barrier that went on way too long. It's basically all miscommunication in the beginning which is not my favorite lol
But I did end up enjoying this at the end. I probably won't jump into the sequels anytime soon but I'd love to read them at some point!
I can really appreciate the author trying to make this as realistic as possible lol and the authors note in the beginning made me giggle
I went into this thinking it would be exxxtraaaa spicy but I ended up being very surprised that this is a slow burn with not many spicy scenes. Now I love a slow burn, if a romance doesn't have one then I don't want it. BUT this was a little too slow in the beginning. Lots of jumping in between different settings and then there was a language barrier that went on way too long. It's basically all miscommunication in the beginning which is not my favorite lol
But I did end up enjoying this at the end. I probably won't jump into the sequels anytime soon but I'd love to read them at some point!
August 3, 2024
With my fascination of the ocean is it surprising that I loved this?? Seriously I need more!
August 14, 2024
“Everyone needs to be taken care of sometimes, you know?”
He didn’t. But looking up into those strange eyes, even if they were surrounded by white, he wondered if it wouldn’t be too bad to be taken care of by her.
Okay, I wasn't expecting this book to be so cute. I absolutely loved this slow burn, and just watching Arges, our grumpy merman, going back and forth between finding Mira disgusting one moment, and then beautiful the next. I loved how confused they both were, and how they overcame their challenges together. The story mainly revolves around the issue between undines (merpeople) and achromos (humans). There's a lot of hate the undine have towards humans, and Arges is no exception. In their eyes, humans are the reason for the destruction of their home and their people.
Basically, Arges and Mira cross paths and have to work through their own preconceived ideas of the other. It isn't an easy journey for them, but I really loved how they grew on their own and together. I loveeeed Mira. I thought she was strong, smart, and compassionate. I never once thought she was weak, and I really thought she tried her best with every situation she faced. I also want to mention that I loved the addition of the android Mira befriends. Byte was perfect, and honestly reminded me a little bit of Iko from the lunar chronicles. Not as sassy, but close. I desperately wanted more friends for Mira, and I was glad she was able to have Byte and Arges.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The writing was engaging and fun. They dynamic between the two of them was cute, and I even got emotional towards the end of this book. I was truly not expecting that. There were a few things that could've been fleshed out a bit more, but honestly really just had a great time overall. I'll definitely be continuing the rest of this series ♥
(side note: just want to say the part of me that was obsessed with little mermaid as a child is so happy to have stumbled across this book 😂)
He didn’t. But looking up into those strange eyes, even if they were surrounded by white, he wondered if it wouldn’t be too bad to be taken care of by her.
Okay, I wasn't expecting this book to be so cute. I absolutely loved this slow burn, and just watching Arges, our grumpy merman, going back and forth between finding Mira disgusting one moment, and then beautiful the next. I loved how confused they both were, and how they overcame their challenges together. The story mainly revolves around the issue between undines (merpeople) and achromos (humans). There's a lot of hate the undine have towards humans, and Arges is no exception. In their eyes, humans are the reason for the destruction of their home and their people.
Basically, Arges and Mira cross paths and have to work through their own preconceived ideas of the other. It isn't an easy journey for them, but I really loved how they grew on their own and together. I loveeeed Mira. I thought she was strong, smart, and compassionate. I never once thought she was weak, and I really thought she tried her best with every situation she faced. I also want to mention that I loved the addition of the android Mira befriends. Byte was perfect, and honestly reminded me a little bit of Iko from the lunar chronicles. Not as sassy, but close. I desperately wanted more friends for Mira, and I was glad she was able to have Byte and Arges.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The writing was engaging and fun. They dynamic between the two of them was cute, and I even got emotional towards the end of this book. I was truly not expecting that. There were a few things that could've been fleshed out a bit more, but honestly really just had a great time overall. I'll definitely be continuing the rest of this series ♥
(side note: just want to say the part of me that was obsessed with little mermaid as a child is so happy to have stumbled across this book 😂)
September 8, 2024
Obsessed
Not me in the middle of reading arcs stumbling upon a monster romance that caught my attention. It was utterly Ahh-mazing!! Holy marbles, i loved it. A human and a sea creature with double d and sensitive gills, yes, please kidnap me into the ocean. lol, I just want to read it again and again. This story has stolen my heart.
Not me in the middle of reading arcs stumbling upon a monster romance that caught my attention. It was utterly Ahh-mazing!! Holy marbles, i loved it. A human and a sea creature with double d and sensitive gills, yes, please kidnap me into the ocean. lol, I just want to read it again and again. This story has stolen my heart.
January 31, 2024
2 stars
If there's something you need to know about me, it's that I'm a huge fan of fantasy stories with mermen/mermaids or pretty much any sea creature you can think of. Although this book had all that and then some more, it felt like a polished-beta read more than a finished product.
Not to say it didn't have any good ideas or concepts because it had them, but some of them were not explored in depth or they read incomplete.
These 'People of the Water' were told from a young age that humans were monsters. Not only because they were taught by their own people, but because they saw the damage they caused to the ocean floor with their machinations and inventions. However, when Agres (our MC) needs someone to take care of Mira (our MFC), one of the undine just puts all her life-long beliefs aside:
"The life of an achromo?" Melete winced, her lips drawing up over her teeth in disgust.
He swam closer, their faces almost touching as he loomed over the much larger female. "The life of my mate, Melete."
That did it. She nodded...."
I don't know about you but we're at 92% of the book while being introduced to this NEW character that had zero contact with humans previously, and she even had seemed to be grossed out by the mere sight of mira, only for her to flip her morals like an underdone pancake within the same page.
Another example would be how, throughout the story, Mira gets injured at least twice. One cut on her hand and then spines on her arm. Once they happen, they never get mentioned again as if they were afterthoughts.
Some of the sentences I had to read twice in order to understand them. I feel like a proofreader might help by giving some structure to those.
Some of the dialogue read awkward, even juvenile at times.
In regards to continuity, I must point out that the characters are aware of certain things happening early in the book, but then a couple of chapters later, they don't know anything which makes things repetitive.
Most of them are small details, but they definitely made me pause and go back because I felt like I was getting confused.
Some other important things happen behind our back. We don't know about them until a character mentions it. For example: the undine don't use technology, they're not used to it. Even Arges mentions how Mira might be a witch when she's able to repair Byte (a droid that spent years underwater).
Later in the book, Mia gets badly injured, and we're told Arges had time to teach some of the undine how to use a human medkit:
"You're taking her to the the dome using the medkit like I taught you."
I don't even know when or how Arges learned how to use the medkit, much less taught his people how to operate one.
There's some other stuff added randomly that serves to help our MCs out of nowhere:
"What have you done to me, Arges?"
"Something that we are all capable of doing and none of us were aware of it until now."
I feel like lack of planification and structure could have contributed to these deus-ex-machina powers appearing out of the blue. It was just too convenient. The odds were non-existent.
In regards to the romance, it was there. I didn't find it too interesting, though. It turned explicit around 75% and I think the best scene was around page 365, so that was towards the very end.
By the end, there were so many plot-holes that everything read anti-climatic. Mira addressed some of them by mentioning how, eventually, she would have to deal with them. However, it's implied that the undine' story continues from the perspective of two new characters.
I'm still unsure if I want to read the next one. I can suspend my disbelief, but not my common sense. I'm hoping that makes sense 🤔
If there's something you need to know about me, it's that I'm a huge fan of fantasy stories with mermen/mermaids or pretty much any sea creature you can think of. Although this book had all that and then some more, it felt like a polished-beta read more than a finished product.
Not to say it didn't have any good ideas or concepts because it had them, but some of them were not explored in depth or they read incomplete.
These 'People of the Water' were told from a young age that humans were monsters. Not only because they were taught by their own people, but because they saw the damage they caused to the ocean floor with their machinations and inventions. However, when Agres (our MC) needs someone to take care of Mira (our MFC), one of the undine just puts all her life-long beliefs aside:
"The life of an achromo?" Melete winced, her lips drawing up over her teeth in disgust.
He swam closer, their faces almost touching as he loomed over the much larger female. "The life of my mate, Melete."
That did it. She nodded...."
I don't know about you but we're at 92% of the book while being introduced to this NEW character that had zero contact with humans previously, and she even had seemed to be grossed out by the mere sight of mira, only for her to flip her morals like an underdone pancake within the same page.
Another example would be how, throughout the story, Mira gets injured at least twice. One cut on her hand and then spines on her arm. Once they happen, they never get mentioned again as if they were afterthoughts.
Some of the sentences I had to read twice in order to understand them. I feel like a proofreader might help by giving some structure to those.
Some of the dialogue read awkward, even juvenile at times.
In regards to continuity, I must point out that the characters are aware of certain things happening early in the book, but then a couple of chapters later, they don't know anything which makes things repetitive.
Most of them are small details, but they definitely made me pause and go back because I felt like I was getting confused.
Some other important things happen behind our back. We don't know about them until a character mentions it. For example: the undine don't use technology, they're not used to it. Even Arges mentions how Mira might be a witch when she's able to repair Byte (a droid that spent years underwater).
Later in the book, Mia gets badly injured, and we're told Arges had time to teach some of the undine how to use a human medkit:
"You're taking her to the the dome using the medkit like I taught you."
I don't even know when or how Arges learned how to use the medkit, much less taught his people how to operate one.
There's some other stuff added randomly that serves to help our MCs out of nowhere:
"What have you done to me, Arges?"
"Something that we are all capable of doing and none of us were aware of it until now."
I feel like lack of planification and structure could have contributed to these deus-ex-machina powers appearing out of the blue. It was just too convenient. The odds were non-existent.
In regards to the romance, it was there. I didn't find it too interesting, though. It turned explicit around 75% and I think the best scene was around page 365, so that was towards the very end.
By the end, there were so many plot-holes that everything read anti-climatic. Mira addressed some of them by mentioning how, eventually, she would have to deal with them. However, it's implied that the undine' story continues from the perspective of two new characters.
I'm still unsure if I want to read the next one. I can suspend my disbelief, but not my common sense. I'm hoping that makes sense 🤔
January 14, 2024
If you go into this book thinking is a monster porn book, think again. Although it is a mermen doing it with a human, the sex scenes only happen towards the end of the book.
I do have to say that I feel like this story was mid-undeveloped, if that makes any sense. There were things that were really interesting and with good concepts, but they never really were fully developed and explored?
The relationship between Mira and Arges being one of them, if not the main. More than half of the book they can't communicate, until Arges finds Mira's a robot that can provide chips for them to be able to understand each other, however, the robot only had a chip for english, as they didn't knew Argues' language, and they needed to learn it first before getting the chip done for Mira to understand Arges. So more than half of the book is them not being able to communicate, yet were horny for each other (especially Arges).
But then, out of nowhere, they barely get down to the sexy parts and they are saying they love each other? Make that make sense.
Also, although this book is supposedly focused on the romance, I found that the lack of Mira's support system really annoying. She only had the robot to speak with, and Arges was constantly being away to deal with his family.
The first sex scene was really cool and interesting, and even hot. However when they had their following up sex scene I was just too annoyed at the book and honestly, I jumped. Couldn't be bother.
Why?
Because the ending was lacking of everything. Tension was supposedly to be high with Arges' family locking him away and taking Mira back to her home, but everything is resolved in the following chapter. Meaning that the conflict that was supposedly to be a conflict wasn't really one at the end.
Still I gave it 3 stars because I liked the first half of the book - I thought it was really interesting how they were just trying to communicate with one another when not even their movements and signs had the meaning. It was after they start to communicate that things were rushed and under-delivered.
Also, one last comment: I really disliked that they just didn't call each other human and mermen, I get why, it was just a pet peeve of mine during the reading (very much a me problem).
I do have to say that I feel like this story was mid-undeveloped, if that makes any sense. There were things that were really interesting and with good concepts, but they never really were fully developed and explored?
The relationship between Mira and Arges being one of them, if not the main. More than half of the book they can't communicate, until Arges finds Mira's a robot that can provide chips for them to be able to understand each other, however, the robot only had a chip for english, as they didn't knew Argues' language, and they needed to learn it first before getting the chip done for Mira to understand Arges. So more than half of the book is them not being able to communicate, yet were horny for each other (especially Arges).
But then, out of nowhere, they barely get down to the sexy parts and they are saying they love each other? Make that make sense.
Also, although this book is supposedly focused on the romance, I found that the lack of Mira's support system really annoying. She only had the robot to speak with, and Arges was constantly being away to deal with his family.
The first sex scene was really cool and interesting, and even hot. However when they had their following up sex scene I was just too annoyed at the book and honestly, I jumped. Couldn't be bother.
Why?
Because the ending was lacking of everything. Tension was supposedly to be high with Arges' family locking him away and taking Mira back to her home, but everything is resolved in the following chapter. Meaning that the conflict that was supposedly to be a conflict wasn't really one at the end.
Still I gave it 3 stars because I liked the first half of the book - I thought it was really interesting how they were just trying to communicate with one another when not even their movements and signs had the meaning. It was after they start to communicate that things were rushed and under-delivered.
Also, one last comment: I really disliked that they just didn't call each other human and mermen, I get why, it was just a pet peeve of mine during the reading (very much a me problem).
April 6, 2024
I HATED this book. All I wanted was to read about mermaids making love. I was curious, okay. I was not prepared! The storyline sucked and then when they finally did the love making it was GROSS and he has TWO long, thick, smooth whale dicks?? Ew!
Definitely not The Little Mermaid
Definitely not The Little Mermaid
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