Book Review: The Deep End Of The Sea by Heather Lyons

 

Category/genre: New adult/Fantasy Romance

My star rating: 4/5

Goodreads blurb:  What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.

But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again.

THE RAVE-WORTHY: I have a book coming out soon about Medusa's daughter (no, she didn't have one according to the myth.  But hey, it's my story, so, yeah she did).  So as you can imagine, I was SUPER excited to read this.  It was a sweet, emotional love story that I really, really enjoyed even though it was nothing like I expected.  It read perfectly, as if you were right inside Medusa's mind.  Honestly, I was pulled so strongly into the story heart actually ached for her, and then celebrated for her.  Heather handles the touchy subject of rape very delicately.  At first, I was a little afraid this would be one of those stories who give the heroine the damsel take...and in a way, it sort of did.  She cried...a lot.  And she relied on Hermes...a lot.  But it was redeemed when she met Granny and began getting her life together for herself.  And that twist at the end?  Loved it!

THE GRUMBLE-WORTHY:  There wasn't much dialogue at all. I found myself skimming through the pages, looking to get out of Medusa's head for just a minute.  I would've liked to have seen more interaction with the other characters.