Book: Oceansong by C.W. Rose
Reviewed by kats_reads_books
Rating: 3/5
Angie is a young woman working on the docks that her father manages, as part of her studies to become a marine biologist. The local fishing community is greatly affected by reduced yields, both as income and for feeding their families. Angie soon meets one of those responsible, a merman named Kaden, who happens to be a prince among the mer people. The mer are hiding fish and sea life in a sanctuary so the humans cannot keep overfishing and destroying the marine life and environment. They are also terrorising the local fishers, interfering with their boats and even killing some. The humans of course start to take revenge.
Angie and Kaden meet in secret and develop feelings, and attempt to negotiate peace among their two species by convincing their parents. Kaden was a definite cinnamon roll love interest, and Angie was a great independent young woman.
As much as I loved the elements of the story, it felt a little understated for my preference and there were a few times I wished the story would move along a bit quicker. The conflict was described as a war between the humans and mer, but even after clashes that result in multiple deaths it felt a bit brushed off as people just went home afterwards. I didn't really feel the impact of the conflict, as much as I was told it, though there were some scenes with captured mer that were quite sad. Nick was a horrible person and it was tough to understand why Angie's father tolerated it. There were some references to domestic violence and suicide that may be triggering to some.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.