Mermaid Trials

4.5 Hoots!

Well, I can honestly say that this book really did surprise me! I though that this was going to be more like a mixture between Cinderella and the Little mermaid, but boy was I wrong! It was so much more than that, not that I am not a fan of those two stories.

You begin by meeting Katriana (Tri), and her adorable shark familiar. Seriously, the shark was adorable and sometimes stole the show. He is big and menacing but he is a lover and not a fighter. Katriana on the other hand is very much a fighter.

She was born into a wealthy family but her mother died when she was young and her father eventually ended up remarrying. One day he was sent out on a mission by the royal family and he never came back. This of course allowed her wicked step mother to cast her off in the servant quarters and treat her like crap while giving her own daughter everything that she could ever want. See, so far it sounds just like Cinderella.

Well, buckle up because things are about to change! When Tri turns 16 the mermaid trials begin. This is a competition that occurs every 100 years and every eligible Mer gets to compete for a change to work for the royal family. That was not all, if you were able to pass the trails you would have a chance to live on land and have legs and serve the royal family that way. Of course this  is the position that Tri wants above all of the others. Unfortunately, she is at a disadvantage because she doesn’t even have proper armor, but that all changes when a mysterious benefactor gives her a gift.

I really enjoyed reading about the different trials that they had to go on. They were very suspenseful at times and really pulled you into the story. It was hard to put the book down during these parts. Most of the story was pretty fast paced, and even though this was the first book in the series you aren’t left with a major cliff hanger. You actually got a complete story that left you satisfied and wanting more. There was even a bit of romance involved but even that was done very well! It was not the primary focus of the story and it really did happen organically.

I do wish that the author would have spent more time developing certain elements of the world that Tri lived in but I understand that it might have taken away from the main story. Hopefully, in the other books they will touch on some of the magic that was being used my the Mer people. With that said, the portions that we did receive were very wonderful and inviting.

Overall, this book was able to get me hooked (no pun intended) right from the start. During the trials, the book really gave me a Goblet of Fire vibe. What I really enjoyed was that this book focused on a girl and her dreams, and nothing was going to stop her….not even a little crush. This is a big deal to me because a lot of the times you see that become the main focus. Instead, here you just have a strong female lead achieving everything that she set her mind to. I really recommend this for young girls everywhere.