I'd give this 4.5 stars. Even though this is my first book about mermaids, I loved it! I liked each one of the chapters and the way they ended just pulled me more in. I have to say that I was really able to connect with the main character Jade and I really liked her personality. However, I would like to learn more about other characters and I'm hoping to see more of that in the sequel. Definitely, can't wait for the next one. :D

Breakwater is more than an opportunity to read about life under the sea. Yes there are mermaids but the plot of Jade's story is more political intrigue than musical numbers. The author does an incredible job of painting a fully functioning society in the city of Thessaloniki. Readers know who committed the murder but the implications of Jade turning in her former fiancée will suck you into the story.
There are classic elements of a story "under the water" and they don't disappoint. From swimming out near the reef to the magical creatures who cast water and are forced to work for mermaid nobility Paynes story is captivating and unique!

An underwater fantasy about a city of mermaids and naiads, Breakwater takes a contemporary topic and applies it to a different setting. If you haven't been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you will see the allegorical lines between the book and racial tensions in USA. The king of Thessalonike had provided sanctuary to naiads, but they are not accepted by the populace as a whole. Racial and class differences drive the majority of the plot, in which a privileged noble mer Jade has to decide whether to report her fiance murdering someone and risk open civil war in their city.

In the world of Breakwater, the mers and the naiads are living in a reef in the ocean, protected from the deeper parts and thus essentially corralled into a single city. Travel outside is risky and naiads rarely risk moving out of the city and venturing to other, more favorable places. So, they accept their low status in the city and try to coexist with the mers who treat them like servants and in some cases, expendable. Jade is quite naive in that regard, because she doesn't see the injustice of it until she gets involved in protecting the naiads, and even then she frequently defaults to worrying more about what the whole 'scandal' is doing for her reputation rather than focusing on the fact that, you know, mers are oppressing the naiads. She is not a likeable protagonist in that way, and I was rolling my eyes quite a few times with her, much like the naiad Pippa who has to frequently educate her on the subject.

As for the world, there is nothing much different about it from a standard historical novel set in the Victorian times. The society structure is similar, and the class system is too. For a society of mers that literally can swim in all directions, the city seems awfully confined to traditional land-like houses. Why have walls and courtyards, canals and doors and such in a REEF? It made no sense, and the world-building did not lend to the plot in any manner. And the writing was haphazard, starting with an abrupt introduction and then plunging headlong into the 'scandal', devoting half the book to the murder case and Jade's fashion (of all things).

Overall, as a concept Breakwater is interesting but the book need to be have written/edited better.

"I was already seen as a naiad-lover."

Jade is the daughter of one of the mer-king's closest advisers. Growing up in a life of privilege and opulence, she knows little of struggle and inequality---other than the fact that her father was killed trying to fight it.

Engaged to Tor, she prepares for her future with him---until she stumbles upon him in the courtyard, holding a dead naiad girl.

Forced to decide whether to believe his story, or turn him in for the crime which he admits to, Jade is thrust into the world of politics, where privilege and blind eyes are everywhere. With her beloved city on the cusp of war, she grapples with the truth of what is really going on in Thessalonike.

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How cruel power, prosperity, and position can be. It is cruel enough to evoke racism, slavery, and trafficking.
This story speaks loudly about the injustices of racism and prejudice. In Breakwater, the two races who coexist in Thessalonike are the Mer and Naiads. Mer have resided in Thessalonike for eons, but the Naiads had been taken in as refugees after being forced from their river-homes.

Things that I liked

#1 The scandal. Although simple, it was well done---so well done, that it took away from the rest of the story.

#2 The idioms. Even though they are small, and sometimes quirky, I loved them. A few examples were: "the elephant in the room," replaced by a "blue whale," and as often said inappropriately in our culture today, "thank God" was instead "thank the tide." Sometimes these small changes in a story bring the world-building full circle for me. I did still want to see more description, but this helped.

#3 The cliffhanger was completely unexpected! I'm curious to see where this tail (haha---get it?) will go.

#4 This book is great at walking in the shoes of others. Even in the smallest of versions. In a scene, Jade is talking to her younger brother, Benjamin, and asks how he is after their family has become central to gossip because of Jade's accusations against Tor. He replies:
"No, I'll be fine. I haven't been through nearly as much as you have."
"Doesn't mean it isn't hard," I said.

I'm not certain why this interaction struck me so. Maybe because it shows the influence an event can have on each and every person, not just the people directly involved. I think it did a good job at---even if not capturing fully---glimpsing each party's direct or indirect involvement.

Things that I didn't like:

#1 Character names varied so widely in this book. From Maximus to Jade, to...George? I felt like it didn't help the novel to flow together because when I think of a name like Maximus, and then compare it to George---they just don't go well together. It's like a mix of ancient world, the 50's era, and contemporary. This is more of a personal preference, and some people may be entirely fine with the variety. I just didn't care for it.

#2 The character development was lacking. As stated earlier, the main topic of this story was discussed majority of the time, and I felt that it pulled attention away from getting to know the characters more. We are privy to Jade's inner-workings more than anyone else---but I still felt like she needed more complexity. However, I was glad that her character did develop after the instance with Tor. I felt that she went from a silly, conceded teen to, this-is-real-now-young-adult.

#3 I liked the world-building to the point that it took the reader, but this was another area where I wanted to see more of. I wanted to understand the explore the breakwater further, and to get to know more about the history and cultural differences between the races themselves.

#4 The romance/not-so-love-triangle was "meh" to me. I don't think the story benefited from it much, and made it obsolete for me.

Overall, it was a good read for the lesson to which it offers. Especially for present times and valid for all peoples being aware of prejudices and inequality and how they effect members of society is imperative.

Sexual content: Minimal.
Vulgarity: Besides some what I deemed to be derogatory terms in Mer and Naiad tongue, there were none.
Violence: There was some, but it was non-descriptive and didn't bother me.

3.5 stars.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

It was creative and fun and it tackled Speciesism. That is probably the one and only time I will ever use that word. I actually had to look it up specifically for this review.

Now I love a good mermaid tail. Pun intended, obviously. So it really was no skin off my nose to read this book. It was, however, not really what I was expecting. I don't know, I feel like whenever I go into a mermaid novel I'm hoping it will be a bit dark and mysterious with a sort of Pirates of the Caribbean mermaid vibe. I never seem to get that though. This was a pretty standard mermaid novel though.

Even after finishing I still can't decide if I like the main character or not. Jade is the daughter of two prestigious merpeople, she was raised in the upper class and has been taught to always treat the Naiads right, with respect. Now, most of the other merpeople don't agree with this, the naiads are basically treated like leapers. Now while I commend the Jade for not being an asshole to the naiads, she basically kept trying to make herself a martyr throughout the book, just doing such stupid things all the time. It drove me crazy because her thought process was just so confounding at times. Someone would be really mad, like crazy mad, mad enough to kill her and she would be like "Oh, it's the perfect time to go out for a swim by myself, with no protection from threats whatsoever." Even when her mother told her not to. No common sense.

As for the story itself, we didn't get a lot of world building or any explanations for the most part. It was just sort of there and we either had to catch up fast or be left behind all confused as to what was happening. Now, I went into this book with no idea what a Naiad was, so I had to google because I was so confused. Honestly, I've never come across that word before. It's basically just a water nymph.

I can always appreciate a book with a murder plot and then you dive a bit deeper and there's just a huge mess under the surface. At first you think everything is fine, but in reality everything is just being held together by a couple threads. I liked how this played out and I can honestly say that I now need to read the next book. Spoiler alert there's a cliffhanger.

I would recommend this book to people who like mermaid books.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I am not going to lie. I requested this book on NetGalley because of its beautiful cover. Yes, I know I should not judge a book by its cover, but I totally did it anyway.

This is a mermaids' based YA, with some intrigue but without explicit violence. Also, the world the author described seemed pretty interesting (basically the social structure) and the plot was complex enough to give some rhythm to the story, added to the clear writing of the author.

The one thing that annoyed me was that the main character had some personality at first, but it seemed to disappear as the story went on. Weird.

This is a great YA which may not change lives, but can serve as a great pastime for kids and teens.

A surprisingly serious read about Mermaids and dolphins that incorporates serious issues relevant to today's world. Catherine Jones Payne weaves a story about what it means to sacrifice your own happiness for someone you don't know, and how the truth can sometimes be hidden in a bunch of lies. Breakwater is for anyone who may not be looking for just your average beach read, and is looking for a story that will make you question the way those are treated around you. And if our justice system is truly just.

Full review up on my blog: http://heathertooreal.blogspot.com 5/25 12:00 PM EST.

I tried very hard to get into this book, but I was unable to do that. After hitting the 70 page mark I gave up...it just didn't grab me like I was hoping it would.

I really, really wanted to like this. I know so many mermaids, and I think there's a real lack of them in fantasy novels, but this... was unfortunately not my answer.

The premise is typical. The merpeople are the superior race and there are tensions between them and the lesser naiads in an underwater metropolis. A girl from the upper crust of the merpeople finds compassion and fights for the underdog, and finds herself in the process.

I just couldn't get into it. There were a lot of things that broke my suspension of disbelief like things being thrown as if it weren't all taking place underwater. The dialogue was pretty stiff, and the book felt very slow even though what were supposed to be the big events were quick and vaguely explained and out of nowhere. The feelings came from events that weren't properly described, so it was disorienting throughout.

I think this author has potential, and would be willing to eventually read a book from her after she's had some time to edit and refine.

Jade is a young mermaid who is happily engaged to a young merman rising in social status. But things go wrong when she catches him trying to cover up the death of a naiad woman - creatures who are treated badly by mer society - and reports him to authorities. Soon Jade is in the centre of a war between two species and being blamed.

I picked this book up basically because I saw it was about a mermaid and I love mermaids! While I did like the society that jade lived in and how things were described, such as buildings, clothing and food, there wasn't much about this book that really grabbed be.

While the story itself is important enough as it highlights today's own struggles with racism in modern society, I felt like there could have been more action. It seemed like Jade did a whole lot of nothing and was repeating the same actions over and over again. I also thought the sudden appearance of Alexander a bit eye roll-inducing and it was so typical that she'd fall in love with a guy she hadn't seen in years. This story unfortunately was just bland and boring for me, and while the very last line peaked my interest I don't think I'd read any more in the series.

I received a copy through Net Galley.
Initially I was excited to delve into this after reading the description and seeing the beautiful cover, it seemed like it was going to be the perfect recipe, but I found myself greatly disappointed.
I couldn't even get into it, let alone handle the writing enough to finish, and I rarely have stopped reading a book mid way. We meet Jade a mermaid recently engaged to Prince Tor, there's societal split in their world between mermaids and naiads a two legged aquatic creature. Naiads are considered second class citizens who work for higher society families and are tolerated at best.
The premise seemed so good, but I couldn't get into the style of writing. It feels so flat and one dimensional, the characters feel under developed with shallow base emotions.

I would not recommend it.

I found the story refreshing. Different than the books I usually read, & that's what made it unusual, but at the same time a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The story is a lot different than what you would normally expect in a mermaid tail, but then again this is the first mermaid tale I've read so I don't have a lot to base my judgment upon.

I was in a bit of a reading slump before I started reading Breakwater, but it ended up being a really fast read once I started & perfect book to get me out of the slump.

The story is simple, yet masterfully written, the characters have enough depth to them to carry the story, but they have been subjected to it, as the story takes the focus. While some book have the characters tell the story, here it's different, as the characters serve to make the story accessible. You follow the story as an observer from afar but the characters draw you in and give you focal points you can follow, and the more you relate to the characters the more you're drawn into the story.

And at the same time, while the story is masterfully written, it is somewhat predictable. There are enough flips and turns to keep you guessing but you get the jist of it. And while the book ends with a cliffhanger, (you are given enough information through the book to be able to conclude what happens) I can't wait to read book 2 to find out what happens next

All that being said, I'd recommend you pick it up & read it, and to be honest this is probably going to end up on many a shelf as a cover buy as the cover is gorgeous

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance, I'm really greatful for that. Unfortunately, this does not influence my opinion.

I got lured to this book by the wonderful cover and, of course, by the fact it talks about mermaid.
I have been looking for a book on mermaids for years and was really excited about the idea of finally reading one.
Sadly, this was a huge disappointment.

The world-building is lacking. We have no real information about the Naiads popolution, so much as it was really hard for me to even imagine them.
Same for the merpeople's society. Apparently, there is some sort of nobility and merpeople are discriminating Naiads but it is all very confusing.

The writing is juvinile. The characters have very shallow interractions and scenes changed so quickly it was hard to keep track of what was going on.

Jade, the MC, was exactly the kind of character I do not like to read about. She is egocentric, she jumps to conclusion and is so very judjgemental.

All of the above meant I could not really relate or care for any of the characters or the plot making the hole book too boring for me to keep going.

Also, I really think the author was trying to spark a discussion on the topic of discrimination, which could have been a great idea if only executed in a better and more attentive way.

I wanted to die when I realized how long I'll have to wait for the second book, mainly because after everything I've been put through, I grew to not only appreciate Jade's character growth but the world itself. It started off as a very easy mer read with pretty writing, but then things go complicated with the politics and image, and the more Jade was forced to see the world for what it really was, the more frustrated I got at her young, unrealistic ideals. At the same time, when she'd learn something from it, my frustration not only turned to relief, it added a complexity to Jade that I more than appreciated. She wasn't perfect, and though immature, annoying young girls bug me, Jade was far from one. Yes, there were a handful of times when I wanted to choke her, but Payne did a great job at convincing me that it was all warranted. She's the daughter of a high-ranking woman who's sheltered her two kids their whole lives, even more so when she lost her husband. Seeing her learn the harsh realities and slowly stand up to her mother was more than satisfying.

Payne gave me a story that spun realities we all know by heart- segregation, racism, terror -and turned it into a unique tale of life under the sea. I won't lie and say Jade isn't annoying at times, because she is, but they aren't pointless, and I think you'll be more than happy with witnessing not only her growth through all the chaos, but the drama itself with a king, an army, and a teenage girl that's only now realized what it means to swim with sharks.

I feel really bad writing this review knowing it's not going to be positive but alas.. the review will be honest. And I honestly did not like this.

I've never read a story, YA or adult, about mermaids and the concept of BREAKWATER along with the political element of mers vs naiads and murder, intrigue, etc, was hard to pass up. Also, hello, pretty cover. It just never, not once, lived up to the potential. The writing, the characters, the machinations, the dialogue.. it all felt very juvenile and flimsy and one dimensional. There wasn't a single person or event that got me excited or felt.. I don't know, realistic? Warranted?

And don't even get me started on the repetition and ridiculousness within these pages. I swear the word "wrap" (to describe shirts/clothes) was used a hundred times in the first few pages.. maybe a thousand by the end of it all. "Peace be with you / go in peace" was also used ad-nauseum as some kind of farewell. There was backstory mentioned and yet never expanded on. Little comments dropped about this or that but never as reference to something explained. Just.. dropped and left for us to piece together or just ignore. Everything that could've made this a really intricate and fascinating story just.. wasn't there or wasn't used or was only mentioned off-hand with zero follow through.

"<b>Why do mer hate the naiads so much?</b>"
<i>I didn't have the energy to explain the messy, complicated history.</i> <-- mmhmm, okay.

Jade, the MC, might have been the worst part of it all. But that unfortunately isn't saying much as there wasn't anything I did enjoy beyond the synopsis of the story. Between the contradictory behaviour and thoughts, immature behaviour, the thinly veiled attempt at "doing the right thing" for the benefit of angst and tension, and the preoccupation on things that had nothing to do with the specific unique nature of the setting and circumstances (thereby completely defeating the point of it all), this was a hard one to get through. The ending, left wide open for a sequel to follow the rather painfully predictable cliffhanger, did nothing to hook me and I definitely won't be reading on in this series.

This was Payne's debut and so there's always room for improvement in future releases, not only in this series but others, but at this point, I'm sorry to say, I won't be counting myself among her readers.

The story had an interesting premise, but it was lacking a little in execution. The world building was barely adequate - if we could have had some more information to explain the history of the mermaids/mermaid city, and daily life (beyond that of the snobby nobles) I think it would have brought the story up another level.

I would have loved the characters to be fleshed out a little more (I didn't really feel that connected to any of them, tbh) and the 'insta-love' relationship whats a little boring.

What I did like - the naiads - what an interesting race. I would have loved to explore them more deeply.
The racial and political conflict was really great - it made the story.
The original idea - its like nothing I've read to date.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, but I feel I was missing details about this underwater world. I feel like this story and it's characters could have been a bit more developed. I also feel that I didn't get a very good explanation about how life underwater works, and more about the Naiads and how they walk underwater. For me this was a fast read and it caught my attention and interest early on, I still fell it could have used more depth..
Jade was a great character. and the love story was unexpected, also the unexpected, it left me wanting a sequel to see what happens next.

After a severe let down by Deep Blue, I have been waiting and on the search for a Merfolk book that didn't have me rolling my eyes constantly or wanting to lob the book across the room. [See my review for the reasons why I felt that way!]

I wish I could say that this book was refreshing, but it simply wasn't. Jade came across as a shallow, self centered individual the moment the book opens, her ideals are frivolous and even as she is supposed to grow she is floundering [no pun intended.] The supporting roles add a distraction, rather than enrichment to the story.

For the first half of the book it is Jade wallowing in self pity and fretting over trivial things. There is room here to explore on the world, in fact, there were many missed opportunities to delve into the world, to show us Thessonalike on a larger scale or even present a deep, interesting view of political intrigue. While there is some it is [no pun intended,] shallow on many levels. I never felt invested in this story, likely because I felt it just skimmed the surface, sprinkled ideas and [ughhhh these punny things,] just continued to tread water.

The second part? I felt the same way, it only touched on surface issues, never really made me connect or feel as I were part of their world. Friendships were easily lost, love was cast aside and picked up again. I just felt terribly disconnected.

The story ended abruptly, so abruptly that I squinted and flicked backward on my ipad to ensure that I hadn't skipped a part.

It was not living up to my hopes, but it also wasn't terrible.

Rating - 3.5 Stars
That cover though!! Sigh. This book was so promising and it many ways it did fulfill what I look for in a YA/Science Fiction-Fantasy. The author provides an amazing setting, with lots of details. But after stewing about this book for several days I've come to realize what exactly what bothered me. Jade, the main protagonist, seems one dimensional. Her back story seems haphazard (WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HER FATHER!?!) and the author brings details in the story that were never fully explained. A few of these are answered (Why are the naiads there, why do the mer hate them so much) but it come so late in the book I felt robbed once I found out. It was no big secret, why wait to tell me until the end of the book?!

Review - 4/5

I really enjoyed reading this. It was a good story. I was impressed that it took a fantastic background of a world of mermaids and naiads, that we could relate to racial tensions around the world today. I felt like Jade was a pretty well-thought out character as far as her faults and strengths, but I was never convinced that she romantically "loved" either of her gentleman suitors. She did things that we would think of as romantic, like holding hands and stroking cheeks, but compared to the internal monologue of her feelings on justice, I would say that Jade was in love with doing the right thing and not another person.

As much as Jade fought against Tor and believed she could never be with him because he was "loyal to a fault," so was she. Jade and Tor would have made it if they could have been loyal to each other instead of their own families, but then we wouldn't have had story. I think Jade's character was strong enough to support my desire to keep reading, where her relationships with others seemed to be lacking. She seemed frivolous with her ties to others, outside her younger brother's consideration, and seemed to only be tethered down to doing what she thought was right. It was frustrating to read conversations between characters that seemed to repeat and then end in a smirk or smile of some sort of stalemate instead of developing more into a relationship.

I thought the memory of her and Alexander being italicized was weird. I think it was supposed to be a convincing scene to show their past feelings for each other, but it was short and not really that sentimental. And the ending? Blah. I was cool with it not having a final resolution, but then ending with Tor's mother dead without any other mention of the repercussions or possibilities? Not such a great way to end.

It would be a great read for my students interested in a grown up Disney story or those wanting to explore racial tensions. The language was appropriate and appealing. It was lacking the romantic interludes I wanted, but still a pleasurable read.