Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

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.

            My Thoughts:

I knew I had to read this book as soon as I found out it was about Mermaids! Really, who doesn’t love a great Mermaid story?? Tempest Rising was a wonderful book-the writing was excellent, the characters were awesome and the mythology that Tracy Deebs incorporated on Mermaids and other sea creatures added so much more to an a already fantastic story. There was even an evil sea witch!

The main character, Tempest is half-human and half-mermaid. She is about to turn 17 and with that comes the biggest decision of her life. She needs to choose whether to stay human and stay with her father and brothers or truly accept the mermaid side of her and live in the sea. Hell, I thought having to choose what college I wanted to go to at 17 was a big decision!

Tempest was a wonderful character to get to know. I loved watching her grow throughout the book. I loved how loyal and caring she was, how she took care of her family, and how she was willing to do whatever she had to do for the sea creatures that she had just met. Even though the Sea was not officially her home, she wanted to protect it how ever she could.

Tempest also had to choose between to awesome boys-Mark, her human boyfriend and Kai, who helps her to understand who she truly is and encourages her to come to terms with it. I think Tempest had a wonderful connection to both of these guys, which made her choice that much harder, but I definitely think she made the right choice! 

Deeds did a fantastic job describing life under the sea. Her descriptions reminded me a lot of Finding Nemo because of the rich colors and details. I also loved how the story was so much more then just a mermaid story. It was about family, friendship and trust. It was also about finding yourself and being able to do whatever you want to do with your life. 

I highly recommend reading this one and I’m excited to see what Deebs has in store for us next!