Breakwater

Before I launch into a review, can we talk about that amazing cover?! Love!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Catherine Payne's Breakwater. Surprised because the first 10 minutes of the book left me skeptical. As the summary discloses, our story begins with our heroine, Jade, finding a murdered naiad in the arms of her fiancé. But before we get right into action, we catch a tiny glimpse of Jade's character through her inner monologue that gave me cause for concern.

"Of course, she’s not as well-connected as I am. I can’t assume it’s as easy for her as it was for me."

It made it a little hard for me to not picture Jade as Regina George from Mean Girls.

Regardless, I continued reading. To my pleasant surprise, Jade's character matures as she is forced to stand witness against her ex fiancé and aid the naiads who are facing growing animosity from the mer as a result of the murder. She loses some of that naiveté she displayed in earlier chapters when she realizes that not all is black and white. That the guilty can and do walk. The escalating hostility toward the naiads really hit home for me. You cannot help but draw parallels to the growing racial and religious conflicts in the US. The fear that turns to rage and violence. The violation of human rights.

Payne paints a beautiful story of political injustice and a heroine trying to follow in her father's footsteps to right wrongs against a community who does not merit them. The underwater world was a bit murky to me (Thessaloniki is a city in Greece, so I assume we're in or near the Mediterranean?). Pun intended. But I don't think that took away from the plot or the mystery around Anna's death, and I'm sure we will see more of this world as the series develops.

Unfortunately, I wasn't convinced of the romance between Jade and Alexander. Like Jade's relationship with Tor, we are not really privy to how and when they first fell in love. Once he comes back into her life, it felt like a switch was just turned back on and she was back in love. So I didn't really feel anything when the ending was revealed. However, I can forgive that considering the intended audience (YA).

Overall 4 stars for Breakwater! I look forward to the next installment after that ending!

This book was a good read. The story is told in first person point of view. The plot involves treachery, sacrifice, and a little romance. It is the calm before the storm, when tensions are rising, which cause others to act out.
Jade is a mermaid in the underwater city of Thessalonike. She is engaged to Tor, a captain in the king's army. When Jade witnesses Tor holding a dead naiad, she is in shock. When Tor tells her that the naiad was trying to blackmail his family and that he did not mean to kill her, Jade still feels she needs to report him. Jade has strong morals of right and wrong. By having Tor arrested, she creates many enemies and even her friends cannot afford to be seen with her. Jade ventures into the naiad territory and befriend's the murdered naiad's sister. Jade also comes into contact with Alexander, a merman whom Jade went to school with and was her first love. Jade testifies at Tor's trial and Tor tries to make Jade appear as a woman who wanted a tryst and Jade is betrayed by someone she considered a friend. The verdict of Tor's trial has many unforeseen consequences that put a lot of pressure on Jade and her family. Jade has been attacked and called a naiad lover. However, when Jade discovers the true reason behind the naiad's murder, she knows something must be done, even if she has to make many sacrifices. The naiads make a decision due to the restrictions the king has put on them and it affects Jade's plans to leave the city.
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to see what direction the author is taking the story and if Jade will find the courage to seek her own happiness.

This has all the classic elements of a great YA fantasy novel. There's mystery, there's magic, there's a society divided into factions and there's murder. I started this book thinking it was going to be laughable and that I would be entirely disenchanted by page four. But, like a current, this book swept me along and I found myself reading the whole thing in a day because I had to know what happened! Add to that the (possible spoiler alert?) massive cliffhanger of an ending (end of possible spoiler) and you have yourself a recipe for a book, the sequel of which will definitely end up in my TBR list on goodreads as soon as it can!

The plot is pretty darn cool. I loved the elements of internal conflict in Jade as she struggles with the complications of noble society and the implications her actions could have on the rest of her family while still trying to be herself. In fact, you could probably take away the under the sea element and this would still be a halfway decent YA novel. But it's the fantasy element of having mermaids and naiads that makes this extra amazing. There are little touches, like how mermaids might administer medicine through the gills, or how mermaid clothing would work, or how there would certainly be a small amount of trade with 'overlanders' that make it clear that the author has really thought about how this society would function.

The romance was the only thing that might not suit everyone as there is a slight element of 'insta-love' that is disguised by 'we used to know each other as children' but I think this can be fleshed out in later books and it was certainly nowhere near as cringey or awful as these things have a tendency of being. Her romantic interest was also pretty awesome -at least in my imagination.

This is a strong opening to a series that could get a whole lot more amazing as it goes on and the underwater world expands in later books. The setting is interesting and captivating as it feels so different to the vast majority of fantasy books that I have known or loved, mainly as they are so often set in a forest. If you're at all on board with this mermaid trend that seems to be turning up everywhere (again?) then I recommend having a read of Breakwater, it'll quench your thirst for unique fantasy settings.

My rating: 4/5 Stars

Breakwater is due to publish on the 30th of May 2017 but is available to preorder now if the fancy takes you.

By the way: I received a digital advanced review copy of Breakwater from the publisher (Fathom Ink Press) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own and I wouldn’t recommend this if I didn’t think it was worth reading.

Let’s chat shall we? I want to talk about this book before I actually talk about this book. Honestly, I’ve never really thought about mermaids. Yes as a teen or early adult I watched ‘The Little Mermaid’. Yes, if I wasn’t older than a couple of decades I might remember a fascination or wonderment about them as a child. Obviously if there was it was short lived because I have no memory of such. If you know me at all, I’m not besties with the fantasy genre. Yarp, I’ve had my nerd card threatened to be revoked over this. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read fantasy and even enjoyed fantasy, it’s just not my go to genre. It’s honestly been more than a minute since I spent some time with the genre. I dipped my toe with this book mostly thanks to the ever increasing insistence of Kristin. Have you yet realized that when I get tossed into something new/different/weird/quirky/chaotic/so on and so forth, it’s almost always her fault? Yup, I’ve noticed it too!

That being said let’s actually talk about ‘Breakwater’. Obviously I have it 4 stars which means I actually really liked it. Many of the the things I enjoyed are tempered with things that were off for me. One thing I really think this book needed is more back story. The story gave me some of what I wanted but not enough. What was the deal with Jade’s father? How was it the naiads were pushed into the corner they were in? They were obviously welcomed into the city at some point but when and how did it start going so sideways? I get it, the naiads and the mer were in a racial clash that was extremely reminiscent of current news with the refugees in Africa and the Middle East. It reminded me of racial issues of the 1950’s and 60’s. It reminded me how of things started with the Jews in Germany leading up to WWII. It reminded me of a lot of issues throughout human history where one race or class or gender even felt they were superior to another and found ways to invoke that superiority onto the other and push the other down and keep them down in what ends up as an attempt to eradicate them. That’s probably a little too deep for a young adult book review isn’t it? This is what I thought of as I read this book. It was entirely more political (without politics if that makes sense) than I expected from a book about mermaids. But, I’m not complaining.

The characters throughout the story were relate-able and bond-able. Sometimes, however, they lacked depth. I don’t mean like how shallow her friends were when the engagement was broken but in how they came to be in the situations they were in with the outlooks they had. It’s known that Jade’s father was killed by the naiads, which had to in some way color her views. While she was ready to stand up for them and embrace them I feel like there is more to Dad’s story than the dusting we were given to provide her this outlook. I respected her. I have a desire, no a need, to see where her story is going to lead. And for the love of gravy the cliff hanger at the end is enough to leave me checking for a release date on the next book already!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

A wonderful read. It flows well, with great characters and a wonderful plot. I loved this book, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I had to know what was going to happen next. What a cliffhanger, I can't wait to read the next book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.