Katie's Book Blog!!

Lies Beneath is not your Disney mermaid story. It's a dark tale of murderous mermaids with a little romance thrown in for good measure. It's one of the best mermaid books I've read.Calder is not like his sisters. He does not enjoy killing innocent humans; he has to do it though. His sisters, however, seriously love killing people and they have their next victim picked out: the guy responsible for the death of their mother, Tom Hancock. They need Calder's help though. They need him to get close to Hancock by getting close to his daughter Lily. This plan involves some stalking, lying, and just being a creeper in general. It does not involve Calder falling in love with Lily. But he does...Calder may act like a total creeper but he's actually a pretty sweet guy (except for the occasional murders.) He's a victim of his circumstances and he just wants out. He doesn't think about how this might affect others at first but he does eventually realize his selfish ways and attempts to change them. Deep down he seems like a good guy with a good heart, one that is capable of true love. Lily is also a good person and it's more easy to see that with her. She's a bit naive at first but she does grow up throughout the book. She is kind, caring, funny, smart, and imaginative. She clearly loves her family and would do anything for them. Her relationships with her sister and parents were one of my favorite things about the book.The sisters are pure evil. They want revenge and they don't care who they hurt in the process (not even their own brother.) They get pleasure from murdering people and they are truly creepy mermaids. I would stay out of the water near these girls. But while they were sufficiently creepy I felt that they could have used a lot more development. I never felt like I knew their motives. The plot isn't very fast-paced for the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the book but it is by no means boring. There is a lot of history given as well as some build-up of relationships. And while there is a bit of insta-love between Calder and Lily it's not bad. It's more insta-attraction then anything. (Lily does realize he is kind of a creepy stalker.) Their relationship is more of a slow build and I think it will really take off in the next book. (Although I'm not sure what that one is going to be about. Things were pretty resolved at the end of this one.)Overall, Lies Beneath is an interesting, unique take on mermaids. I highly recommend this one for all you skeptics out there. (I'm not really a mermaid fan but I loved it!)