Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Nevermind she’s also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.
I liked Tavia’s character. Having to constantly be on guard and quelling her powers so often would definitely have an effect on anyone and I thought she did a pretty good job of it for the majority of the storyline. I think having to overcome her father’s fears and constraints was her main obstacle throughout the course of the book. She is wanting to know more about her siren power’s and to connect with her grandmother but he is so against anything happening to her that she has to resort to sneaking and lying.
Effie’s storyline was definitely more intriguing. Originally thinking she wasn’t anything special and then to find out what happened in the park with the other kids and then eventually seeing her morph into who she truly is was quite a remarkable storyline. It’s frustrating knowing that the adults know what Effie is and just won’t tell her. Just locking her away without an explanation and being outed at the prom after being pushed to her limits.
However, I just feel like their whole magic system and the different beings in this world just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me. There was a lot of talk about myths and ethos but we really don’t get to dive right in and get a thorough explanation. I was left with more questions than answers and would of appreciated the book more had I maybe had more of a history of the siren’s and the network and how that was established.
This just isn’t my kind of fantasy I guess. I’m not even sure if this is labelled as a fantasy or whether it’s just a contemporary with some magical realism thrown in. I was just not all that invested and felt like the book dragged. The pacing might have been a little off for me and made the book seem longer than what it actually was.
⭐️2/5 stars Just wasn’t for me!
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