Review: DEPTHS by JACQUE STEVENS

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 212 pages

Published APRIL 23RD 2020

Synopsis:

I always knew this day would come. That just as my hair lengthened and my curves formed, I would make the transition from girl to woman.

To siren.

Arianna is the youngest daughter of a siren. To become a siren herself, she must kill a man and sacrifice his heart to the God of the Deep. But she never expected to be assigned to kill a prince or to fall in love with him.

Torn between her family and her new love, Ari must decide what lies in the depths of her soul.

If you like inspirational heroines, unique love stories, and some darker thrills and chills this dark fantasy retelling is for you! One-click now to start this emotional and spell-binding journey!

My Thoughts

Depths is atmospheric and enchanting. A twist on a fairytale we all know and love.

Set in a Greek/Roman era, where not only one but three worlds are colliding, Arianna is a human girl who must prove herself worthy to become a siren, and that is taking the heart of a man. Set apart from others, Ari hasn’t ever really come in contact with a man before, and her mother and several other sisters have filled her head with horror stories. She grows up fearing and detesting men because she believes her family. Now, all she has to do is kill the Sun Prince to take her place in the sea.

What I loved:

The world-building was phenomenal. Stevens did an outstanding job creating a deep world, where we understood the laws, the way things were, and what was happening in it. There were so many little things that added up into a big picture. I appreciate all that effort. I also enjoyed the twist to the Little Mermaid here, where the prince must die in order for the girl’s wish to come true! There is also a side character who uses ASL, and I enjoyed the research the author put in to use proper signing. It was also a quickly paced story, which made it easy to devour in a few sittings.

What Left Me Wanting More:
While the pacing was quick, it, unfortunately, meant some development’s character-wise happened too quickly. I was hoping for a little more depth as far as Ari’s relationship with the prince went, and more development on their parts, but I have hope that in the sequel there will be.

Final Verdict:
Depths is a great read for anyone who is a fan of retellings or The Little Mermaid. It’s a quickly paced fantasy read, with a promising setup for the sequel!

Originally posted on YABC