The Rising

The Rising is the start to a new trilogy called the Painted Mermaids Trilogy, and it's a great, strong beginning. I was drawn in by the stunning cover and the interesting and new to me premise of the story. I mean, how often do you see books that involve both mermaids AND werewolf's? I don't read too much of either, but I've been making an effort to change this, and The Rising was a great start for me.  Serena is your average girl living underwater. She's feisty but not overly so, and she sees things in a completely different way from others living in her undersea kingdom. Her viewpoints are different, and she challenges everything people believe in, which I loved about her. Strong female characters are always, always a win for me. Brains over beauty any day! The other characters were equally strong and interesting, and I even found myself admiring the king of the kingdom... so surprising for me since I really quite disliked him at first. He came off as selfish to me upon meeting him, but this has to do with a sad past that you have to read about to truly understand.  This isn't your typical love story and there was so much more to it than I has been originally anticipating. Though I has expected a cute and unique love story between a werewolf and a mermaid, the story was about so much more. The final chapters were a race to the finish for me, with secrets and action and so much goodness packed into about 50 pages. I can't wait to dig into the next installment!

Rarely do I find such a delightful surprise in reading. This book takes some traditional folklore and creates new beginnings. I love this new series!

MERMAIDS!!! Yeah I do like Mermaids, and the cover looks awesome so I really wanted to read this book. The book is about Serena the last mermaid in her class. Her species is on the brink to extinction due to climate change and WEREWOLVES. Yes, werewolves and mermaids in one book. I do have to add I really like werewolves but just never expected to find them in the same book. Anyways, the book was hard to get into at first, with the world buildup and the new terminology it got kind of confusing. I am still kind of confused with the transformation between, Undine (mermaid in this book)and human or human who keeps part of its scales. But other than that, I did enjoy the story and it got a lot better. The ending is where a lot of the action takes place and secrets are revealed. I will continue with this series.  I got this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I think the story is well told with great detail

How can anyone resist a cover that beautiful? It screams to be read. While the story was a bit slow to get going, the premise of werewolves and mermaids being so interconnected was enough to keep me reading--such an original combo. The characters are likeable and the book is enjoyable, though it fell short of my expectations. I think Harmony did a lot groundwork for what is to come in this book, and I will be reading book 2. If you enjoy mermaid stories, I'm sure you'll like this one.

This book is awesome want to read the next one

I have been excited about this book since I heard about its release. A good mermaid book is difficult to find.  Characters: 4/5 Terra definitely creates interesting characters, and they are easy to connect with right from the start. I am not even sure how to discuss these characters without giving too much away. Even the minor characters like Sasha and Cordelia are intriguing.  Serena - Serena is the outcast in her society. I like her and admire her bravery. She is playful and easy to fall in love with. Her journey is a tough one, and I was asking a lot of questions in the beginning trying to piece all the elements of Serena's story together. As scary as her title is (werewolf liaison) I definitely think she does a kick-ass job of it! Ervin - Ervin is a childhood friend of Serena's. He is torn between his duty as a guard and his friendship with Serena. They have a platonic friendship, but a beautiful one. He really is a sweet character. Kai - hmmm, intriguing. I like him!! Wow I hope Kai and Serena get a chance at love and make little painted mer-babies! Liam - I love Liam to pieces. He is definitely my favourite character in the book and I am looking forward to seeing more of him in the rest of this trilogy.  King Merrick - what a tough position it is to be King. The king's role and the decisions he has to make tugged at my heart strings when I finally understood where his story was going.  Plot, Pace, Writing style: 4/5  Terra's writing style has definitely improved and smoothed out since writing the Akasha saga. Her style is more rounded and complete. The first half of the book was the ground-laying part, but the second half of the book hooked me and tugged at my heart strings. The plot is original and the pace is perfect. The ending is quite shocking and I think awesome stuff will follow in the next book.  Some of the smaller details I enjoyed about The Rising are the last names Terra has chosen: Moon-shadow, Air-spirit, Sea-fire. Another detail I enjoyed was how Terra incorporated the title and series name into the story.  Cover talk: 5/5 I love everything about the cover. It suits the story perfectly and it is definitely one of the prettiest I have seen for a while. I wouldn't mind having a paperback copy of this on my bookshelf.  Final Thoughts:  I enjoyed this series and will definitely be continuing with it!. This is one of the best mermaid books I have read so far

Terra Harmony has done an excellent job with the first book of this new series. I loved every page of this book and can't wait for the second to come out. I think Terra is an exceptional writer, with a sense of detail that draws you in and doesn't let you go until you've finished the book!