Mine for the Reading: Review: Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

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Source: borrowed/Public Library
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Upcoming: Zero Day (2012)

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

Um, guys whaddup with the lack of sequel talk? Yeah, so, the book came out last month. I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S A SEQUEL NOW. I don't need it right this minute, but I'd like to know dammit. Not be left in suspense. Because that would be one hell of an opening ending...

Points for Deebs for giving readers a heroine who KNOWS that she is a paranormal creature that only exists in myth. Yes, you guessed it, Tempest is a mermaid. But, she's aware that her mom was one and now she stands to become one with her seventeenth birthday fast-approaching. So, no surprises. Well, that's kind of lie. Because, unfortunately for Tempest, her mom left a few years back to return to the sea for reasons that remain unknown... until you read the book. So as all these... developments are happening, there's no one there to really explain things to her, to help her understand and acclimate to the changes. Which definitely sucks. I know I'd want my mommy with me if the lower half of my body started to get scaly on me, especially if she was the only one who knew what the hell was happening to me! Poor, Tempest, I could really sympathize with her. I didn't even mind that every time her mother was brought up, her thoughts turned to the bitter, resentful, and hurtful. Can you blame her? I, for one, have no idea what it feels like to be abandoned, so I'm stuck with imagining. And imagining my life without my mom... well, my life comes up pretty much blank, especially at this point in my life. The dreadful teenage years. Kinda need her. So I get it, Tempest. Totally.

Then while she's trying to handle all these things happening to her body, her boyfriend is getting temperamental because Tempest, as always it seems, is a closed book. He's reasonably frustrated at the fact that she won't open up to him. So, poor Mark, too. As much as I liked Mark though, I was Team Kona the whole way. Tall, dark, and I'll trade brooding for enigmatic. Not only is he yummy surfer dude, but he also seems to know a heck of a lot more about Tempest's metamorphosis, more about her mother's world than she. Can I call it instaluv? Mmmm, not sure really. Did they have heart-to-hearts in which they learned loads and loads of stuff about each other? I'd say not. But, then can you blame Tempest for falling for the guy after he, like, consistently risked bodily harm several times in order to save her stubborn butt? Uh, no, didn't think so. And I understood his falling for her. After all, she's funny... and, most likable, loyal.

On top of all the other drama piling onto her now stressful life, she has to deal with being the center of a prophecy, the object of no-good, completely evil sea witch's interest, AND with having to make the decision of staying on land or living in the sea. I could understand her reluctance. Her mom left. All her father and brothers have is her. It couldn't have been easy. And I adored her more for being so unwilling to leave them.

Now, I make Tempest sound just adorable. But she's stubborn, in a sometimes, annoying manner. Then there's the sarcasm. Though, I delight in that aspect of a character. But, overall, I liked her. And I enjoyed her story. So where the HELL is the news for the sequel? Deebs better not even THINK that she can leave me hanging like that. Things just started getting REALLY good. I want a big battle under the sea to look forward to. Tempest Rising was a good read indeed, but I need more, more, more. Big time.

Kona reached for me but I stumbled just out of his grasp, almost certain that I was going to be sick.
"Let me go!" I screamed as he walked toward me, a wealth of purpose in every step he took. "Just let me go!"
"I can't. Don't you think I would if I could?"
The rain had plastered his long, ebony hair to his skull and shoulders, had made his chest gleam and his tattoos shimmer until he looked more like an avenging god than a man. More like the fallen angel I had first compared him to than the mortal I had fallen half in love with over these last few days.
"Don't you think I see how this whole change is tearing you apart?" He grabbed me, his huge, calloused hands closing around my biceps as he forced me to hold my ground. "I need you, Tempest. I need you!" (227)

Even though there won't be a sequel, you might want to check out: