Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai #2) by Tiana Warner | 426 pages | Published July 2016 by Rogue Cannon Publishing | Teen fantasy/SciFi, LGBTQA+ > Lesbian
Summary:
Meela has just returned from the Massacre—the annual attempt to wipe out the mermaids threatening her people’s survival. After forming an unlikely connection with Lysi, a mermaid she was trained to kill, Meela is determined to stop the war between humans and merpeople for good. She knows of a legendary weapon that could bring peace if she uses it against King Adaro, ruler of the Pacific Ocean. But her people have plans for future Massacres and refuse to help her uncover it.
While Meela works in secret to unearth the Host of Eriana, Lysi is held captive under Adaro’s tyranny. Sent to the battlefront, Lysi joins forces with a band of rebels that could either bring her freedom—or have her executed for treason.
Separated by the vast Pacific Ocean, Meela and Lysi must find a way to defeat King Adaro and end the war that has been keeping them apart (courtesy of Goodreads).
My thoughts:
Read July 25- August 24, 2016 | 5/5 stars
Oh my. Oh my. I can’t. I can’t handle this book. I think I may explode, seriously. I need more. Anyway, I’ll try to contain the fangirling.
I started this book right after I finished the first, Ice Massacre. Unfortunately, I fell into a reading slump and it took me a month to read it, though I read the bulk of it over this last week, I left it sitting at 22% completed. I don’t know if I wish I had finished it sooner, or if I had yet to finish. I desperately didn’t want to leave this world. Though it’s cold and wet, I’m missing it already.
I had a feeling before I started this that Warner would be doing chapter character switches. With the whole first book from Meela’s point of view and knowing little of the merfolk’s world, how would the second work? Well, character shifts. At first I was just a teeny bit disappointed, but reason and logic took over and I knew there was no way this book would work without knowing Lysi’s side.
Throughout this book, Warner subconsciously challenges the attitudes toward women and LGBTQA+ people. Things like: “So you’re willing to send a girl out to fight for our people... but you’re not willing to listen to what she has to say?” “You’re training us to fight this war because it’s the only way to battle the sea demons, but you won’t take us seriously,” and,” In a perfect world, I would tell her I’d fallen in love years ago. I’d tell her love looked like sapphire blue eyes and coppery blonde hair and smooth, ivory skin. But I couldn’t. Not in this world.” Quotes like this stood out to me all over, but they weren’t in-your-face, as they sometimes can be.
I love that the merfolk count days as “tydecycles,” and that we get the origin of the term “sea demons,” and the history of Eriana Kwai. (Also, I’m glad there’s a map in the back because I kept trying to Google where Eriana would be, but it wasn’t working.
I had a whole bunch of stuff about Meela, Lysi, Tannu, and Dani here, but my browser closed and I don’t remember what I said...
I want to point out that I love the battle and action scenes. They’re very clean and concise, but really effective. I loved seeing a mermaid transformation. Seeing that it’s slow and somewhat painful and not magical and instantaneous. I also really loved Warner’s writing when it comes to expressing emotions. It comes across so raw and real. I truly cannot wait to read more from her.
So, I decided this time to highlight every love-thought in pink so I could find them better. Needless to say, there’s a lot and I’m totally okay with it. If I wanted my ebook to be really confusing, the last 10% would be entirely pink.
I have only a few questions about some things, like: how do the mermaids smell underwater if they have to breach to breathe? do the merfolk wear clothes? (I know this isn’t imperative to the story in the least, I’m just curious) and how the hell does Spio know what a fart would taste like, hence, the smelling underwater question.
In conclusion, I loved it. I’ve never read a mermaid book like this and I hope I never do again. I want to hold out hope that there will be a third book, but the end was so vague... I think there could be more, but idk. I did tweet Tiana Warner, so fingers-crossed!!
UPDATE 8/25/16: yiiiisssss
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