A fun, high-rise and compelling novel. I loved the writing and the characters, but the pacing fell a little short. Overall, a good, quick read with a great cast of characters that make you root for them!

Advanced copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Shearwater is a great read full of legends and myths set in the modern world. Full of loss, but finding yourself in the process. The fantasy aspect within the story has just the right amount of realism and magic that draws you in. It has a twist to mermaid mythology, magic wielding half breeds and a cult that is out to kill the dark being of the sea.

The story follows Clara, who loses her parents in a freak accident in the first chapter. She’s shipped off to her new found guardian, her grandfather, who she didn’t even know existed and happens to live in Ireland. The transition from America to a foreign country is hard, but going to a different country where mysterious deaths and disappearances surround your family is even harder.

She also wasn’t expecting to find out that she’s not exactly human. And even with several people knowing about her family’s past, what she is and what is coming, no one seems to be able to come out with the truth until she’s practically guessed it.

There’s a semi love triangle that is slowly woven into the mix between Sebastian, a full blooded mermaid and Ethan, a half breed descendant of mermaids, who happen to kill any mermaid they come across. As if impending death and finding out you’re a mythical creature isn’t enough. I wasn’t drawn to one over the other, which was disappointing and pleasant at the same time. She’s drawn to each of them, but there’s not too many...if any romantic scenes to give either prospect an advantage.

The plot is intriguing as it pulls in mythology and is set in a real life place. The mystery and secrets between the characters keeps you reading. It all unravels throughout the book. Different personalities and great supporting characters help keep you connected to them and the storyline.

There are a fews things that bothered me, but it could just be me. Such as how our leading lady is barely sixteen and her grandfather lets her drink to the point of being drunk...several times. It’s only after she’s attacked that he starts worrying, but he’s known about the trouble and what she is since the beginning. It could’ve saved her from a lot of mishaps along the way.

Overall, the novel was refreshing. You don’t see too many mythical books out there pertaining to mermaids, so it’s definitely worth giving it a try.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and that is possibly why I loved it so much. I loved getting to explore a part of Ireland and Irish mythology. I would love to have more from these characters.

I love the portrayal of the races and the history that is woven into this plot so skillfully. There are legitimate reasons for every single twist and turn in this story that'll have you on the edge of your seat, wanting more... Clara is the main protagonist - she is not perfect, strong and wise, but she grows and improves a lot over the course of the plot. You will want her to succeed in her quest, one she did not ask for at all.

There is romance, of course, but this is not the driving force of the plot, which I appreciate so much. Clara and Sebastian is the epitome of a love that will transcend time. Ethan, bless his sweet heart, has a much bigger role to play than romantic - maybe a bit of a spoiler, but I have to mention this!

The rich history that is part of this plot will make you think about the world we currently live in and the horror of what we do to our world; this is such a subtle touching point in the overall plot, but will not make this big of an impact without it. The races in this world, fighting about land and wars that we never truly win. We are only visitors to this world that we are deliberately killing with our ambitions and views, selfishly and brutally even. The many versions of this history, each with small differences, told by different people with their own perspectives, is essential - since it shows that everyone's reflection of and reactions to things shape them and their interpretations differently.

While there are some small grammatical errors, they were few and far between (and will be straightened out for the version you'll get), so irrelevant that I didn't even stop to acknowledge them in my thirst for more words.

It is difficult to say anything about the plot because even small revelations will give one thing or another away, if I'm not careful. So, I'm leaving the spoilers for another time. What I can say is this: Go into this story, knowing as little as possible and fall in love with a fantastical world within our own, with magic and myth seamlessly blended to form a captivating plot you will not get enough of.

Actual rating: 3.5

Obligatory Summary

Clara Clark (whose name makes her sound like a comic book character) is a 15 year old who self describes herself like this:

I have a dark sense of humor that few people get, and a passive-aggressive sarcasm that comes from having an overbearing mother and a fear of any kind of conflict.

TL;DR she is ~so unique~

So Clara's overbearing mother (and her dad) die in a car accident one day as she's singing in a concert and she is sent to live with her Irish grandfather that she didn't know existed in a small town in Ireland. Once there, she tries to discover the mysteries her mother left behind, while also changing in ways she never imagined (like getting hot overnight and reading people's emotions).

She also meets a rude bad boy wiz kid and a blond stalker. She reasonably falls for the stalker.

But then strange things start happening in Ireland and it's up to Clara to save her new home!

The Writing and Worldbuilding

This book had a very interesting idea but a less than satisfactory execution. Honestly, the biggest problem was that it didn't seem to be...edited or proofread or beta read or anything. It felt like I was reading the first draft. There were inconsistencies and redundancies and random name changes. At one point, a character was speaking about themself in third person as if they weren't there. Also...it was painfully obvious that D.S. Murphy doesn't know basic dialogue formatting standards. He had innumerable instances of "...," he nodded. and quotation marks after monologue paragraphs, completely confusing who was speaking. These are dialogue rules I learned in the 6th grade. It's unforgivable to not know them.

The worldbuilding was also very expositiony, sometimes straight up technical info dumps that felt unrealistic and stilted. There were also way too many plotlines, and it felt rushed and slow at the same time because of that. The magic sometimes tried to use scientific explanations and then just went with magical justifications and that felt very inconsistent and annoying.

I did like the mystery though. And I found myself wanting to know how it ended and how it all came together. And some of the funnier lines were chuckle-worthy.

The Characters

Ariel: Clara is honestly so annoying. She claims to be someone who needs answers and won't forget anything important but constantly forgets super important things whenever merboi Sebastian looks at her. It was extremely tropey and cliche and made me feel super distant from her. She literally thinks about how attractive and cool people are like a week after her whole life gets uprooted. She's extremely status conscious but hates girls who act exactly like her (like mean girl Roisin) and that makes her someone I just don't particularly like.

She also has to (spoiler alert though it honestly doesn't amount to anything) "give up" singing 76% through the book despite not singing for three months before then (aka the majority of the book).

Sebastian: He's part mermaid part Wikipedia. Not much of a personality and not much of a sex appeal tbh. And I just couldn't stop seeing Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid. "You've got to pucker your lips like dis!"

Ethan: I couldn't find this guy attractive because he has the same name as my brother, but otherwise, I actually quite liked him. He's a douchebag but at least he has a personality.

The Squad: Jackie was nice but boring, Derry was fun (and gay so there's that), but Patricia was a straight up b a lot of the time and that made her really unlikable. I thought she was going to be the mean girl but then it was Raisin Bran instead.

Conclusion

I liked it enough. It has the skeleton of a good story but lacked any unique writing or characters and suffered from technical problems. With a good editor, it could be something great.

I remember reading the first part of this book when it was first released on its own and absolutely loved it so I was delighted to receive the full story. Part 2 of the book didn't disappoint either and the story continued at the same great pace with lots of intrigue and mystery unravelled as I read through the pages. I loved the author's voice and style and felt the characters were well developed. I loved Clara and felt for her moving from America to Ireland and to a grandfather she'd never met. I loved the whole species war and can't wait to read book two in the series. For anyone with a fascination with mythology and mermaids, this is a book you won't want to miss. It's suitable for both YA and adults alike and for me it was a real page-turner.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book. I really wanted to like it, It was okay, it could have been alot better and just fell flat for me.
This was my first book by this author.. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
2.5 star rating!

An interesting story with an original and unique story.I was intrigued most of the time and I liked the characters too. The style was very readable, I read it so fast that it's good for a book!

While I really enjoyed the premise of this book, I wasn't as into it as I expected to be. The characters were well written, so I don't think it was that. I just didn't click with it like I do other books. That being said, it was a good plot, but I think mermaids just don't do it for me the way they used to.

If any book can be described as Twilight meets the Little Mermaid then it is this one. I think this read came at the perfect time for me as I have just started to watch the TV series Siren so I went into mermaid overload for the last week.

Clara has had a pretty tough time of it when she has to move to Ireland she has to learn about herself, her new friends and her family. It is a lot for he to take on but some how she manages it.

I particularly liked the new take on folk tales and stories that exist in Ireland and the writing style certainly gives us a whole ton of information which allows us to keep up with what is going on. Even going back to Greek mythology which is my favourite.

I liked most of the character. Sebastian was interesting, I enjoyed that he never pretended to be something he wasn't. I liked Clara I thought she was relate-able but I wish she was a bit more of something. I'm not sure what but she was a little but lacking for me.
I didn't like the mean Girls and even Clara's friend I thought they were quite 2 Dimensional but then again maybe they will develop as the series continues.

Unlike other reviewers I found that the more I stuck with the book the better it got. I really wasn't that bothered by the book at the beginning and I did really have to stick with it but as I got maybe 80/100 pages in I was enjoying the story.

I did also think that the twists were a little predictable but I did still enjoy the story and It is always exciting to find a new author that I enjoy. I would recommend this book as there are not tons of mermaid tales (Pardon the pun) around.

Thanks For Reading
Em x
emmacoxy88@gmail.com

Magical and Otherworldly.
My first dive into Irish Mythology was great. Super entertaining. I wish the mystery of who was killing the dead bodies played a bigger role and the ending felt rushed but other than that I thought this was great.
Clara was a strong and self aware character considering this was YA.
There was a mix of me being totally seeing things coming from the get go but also there was a hell of a lot of things that took me by surprise. Can't wait to read more from this series.

This was a deliciously written guilty pleasure kind of book with romance, innocence, coming of age themes and an interesting take on historical events. Reality and fantasy are blended so effortlessly into a story that really picks up early on in about the 6th and 7th chapters. There are definitely current, relevant themes regarding the ocean and pollution, which are intertwined wonderfully with the fantasy world of mermaids. It was also so interesting to read the take on historical events and wars and how they were tailored to suit the plot. A fun, easy and entertaining read, for sure.

When Clara's parents are killed in an accident, she's forced to relocate to Ireland to live with a grandfather that she didn't know existed. As if these changes weren't enough, there's a mysterious (and alluring) new male student, a magical post-birthday makeover, and girls being murdered in the village.

Really, what more could go wrong?

Clara's a likable character, but there were times when I found her to be selfish. She's going through a lot which makes it hard to sometimes see her at her best. The area that most bothered me was her relationship with her grandfather...although she realizes it later on, it takes too long (in my opinion) for her to realize that she's neglectful of her connection with him. She gets extremely caught up in everything else and tends to forget the people around her.

The two leading men, Sebastian and Ethan, are given some of their own qualities. They come from the opposite sides of a long-running conflict; the Tuatha De Danaan (human, magic users) and Merrow (magical creatures from the depths of Irish lore that come from the sea). The two boys share their fascination (not sure I'd trust that it's really love at this point) with Clara, and a devotion to their races. I can't really say that we get too much personality out of them; I feel like there's some hints of depth, but they're not well-explored in this first installment.

The plot's pacing is moderate, and it's pretty easy to follow along. There are long excerpts that delve into the mythology of Ireland and of the relevant races (Tuatha De Danaan, Fomorian) that are sometimes a bit dry. I think the plot moves a little quicker towards the end, but I was surprised by one of the "villain" reveals, so kudos to the author on that.

Overall, I wasn't in love with Shearwater, but there's the chance I'd give it's sequel a try. I think it's pretty awesome to find a book about a paranormal creature outside of the standard group: werewolves and vampires. Just for that alone, I think it's worth dipping your toe in and getting a taste of some new mythos.

I found this book to be enchanting. The author wrote this story very well with lots of research. The mythology of the mermaids was so interesting! The world building was amazing and captivating. The main character, Clara Clark, was very relatable and believable. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!

Clara is a sophomore in high school and has the lead role in the school play. She's very antsy because her parents aren't there yet and they're never late. She realizes they were in an accident when she sees the uniformed men come into the auditorium and her life has changed forever. She has to move and live with her grandfather, Aeden Daly, in Portballintrae, Ireland and since she thought he was dead there is some major immediate adjusting for her.

She's always had a fascination with the ocean and her mother never let her near it, now she is finding out why. Her mother had lied about her past and she is going to figure out why. During her inquiries she finds out her mother had a difficult childhood. On Clara's sixteenth birthday things change dramatically. SHE changes, her appearance changes and she has weird powers. She is really a Fomori, or merrow which means she's a mermaid!

Sebastian, a super hot mysterious guy from school, teaches her about her heritage and how to hide her Meroe from humans but its not enough. She flees to the sea as it calls to her, only to find herself stuck in a centuries old war with no control. She's also stuck between two guys, one human an one merrow. I can't wait to find out more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

2.5 stars
Mermaids, Irish Folklore, Magical Arts, Teen Drama and Ireland. How could I not give this book a shot ? I'm glad I did, I see an author to watch here. There were flaws, but there was something alluring too. The story was interesting, the beginning started strong, with mysterious events, people, magic and a new location. The author spent a lot of time researching and detailing mythological stories to give us a history behind the beings involved. The imagery was well written and easily visualized. I was sitting on the edge of my seat when the first part ended. Sadly, I did not have the same felling through the second part.
The second part of the story dragged long and slow for me. it was over filled with detailing of these myths and magics, all dry and too long. I felt like I was reading a school text through some of it. The characters just went flat for me, they seemed very stereotypical in their teen roles. The mean girl, was a cut out replica from other books. The MC was emotionally stoic when we were to feel something for her character, then she'd be enthusiastic at odd times. Oh and she withheld information because it wasn't the right time to bring it up ? Oh I really hate that, it's a life or death situation and a character decides to talk about it later after dinner or party or...There was a stabbing that was just left out there, dead bodies with strangeness all around that was barely talked about. It was frustraiting, I felt like the author got lost in the story trying to check off all the must haves in a young adult read. Hot guys-check, Hot girls- check, Love triangle- check, Dead parents- check, Mary Sue MC- check, School bullies-check, Unfair teacher- check, Clothing drama-check, Feeling of inadequacy-check, Super duper powerful MC-check.
I am not sure if I want to read more in this series. I see talent but it need tuning, an editor, and some good beta readers.

When I began the book I was sucked right into it: there were strong characters, Ireland, fomoris and Tuatas De... But then, when I was at Part 2, it seemed like nothing happened. I mean, there was some action (basically siren attacks) but the plot kept stalling and repeating the same: sirens wanting to kill humanity because humanity misused their blood and contaminated the oceans; Tuatas wanting to kill sirens because they are monsters. Our main character debating whether she loves Sebastian or not, whether she loves Ethan or not; wanting to play a part on the war and wanting to know more about the conflict. And every time we get aaaall we know until now repeated before adding some new info (like weapons).
While the book was great at the beginning and has very strong points and characters, it would have benefited of less stalling and moving the story forward. And while the triangle between the two guys and her was interesting at first as they come from two different worlds and she has a feet in each, it soons become repetitive.

This is a very interesting take on mermaids. Right from the beginning, this book has you hooked. This author does a very good job explaining the mythology and keeping you entertained, and wanting to read more. I am already looking forward to book 2.