Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Lies Beneath, Book 1

Synopsis: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother’s death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family’s homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him. 

Review: As soon as I read this book’s synopsis I was more than intrigued by this novel. And what can I say about the cover? When we see it we only want one thing: learn more about this first volume. Indeed, I think it’s really rare to have some novels featuring mermaids, so I was more than happy to read this one. It’s my first book about this topic, and I was enthralled by it from the start until the end.

We discover Calder, a young merman, eager for freedom but who however doesn’t truly accept his nature. Yes, because here the mermaids aren’t some nice Disney’s characters like Ariel, no, but some real dangerous creatures who kill everyone who dares to be in their ways. But more than that, they’re really hazardous and more evolved than we could think about. Indeed, it was fascinating to know their daily lives, to see how they evolve and to try to understand them. The story starts in this world, a story that mixes betrayal, conspiracy and love, an amazing mix that keeps us alert all along this first volume. Calder and his sisters just want one thing since their mother’s death: revenge. Now the culprit is back on the island where they live, so now our little sibling wants to kill him and therefore to finally revenge their mother. But won’t it be difficult to really do it? Everything seems to be complicated when Calder gets closer to Lily, the daughter of the man.

Lily and Calder are very touching all along the story and we hope they will have a beautiful end, together, even if, of course, nothing ever happens like we would like. But it’s always a pleasure to see Calder change during this first volume; he understands we can’t always have what we really want. At first he is a young man who wants to live his life away from his family, to live like he wants, and he become a man looking for love. I have to tell I was very surprised by the revelations at the end of the book, I didn’t expect that at all but finally it allows us to understand some events of the story.

Therefore, Anne Greenwood Brown succeeds to write a great novel, very pleasant to read. We stay intrigued by this whole atypical universe we discover with the chapters. I would be very curious to read the possible sequel of this book. If you want a little nice story, this book is perfect for you!

22 thoughts on “Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

  1. Merci Melliane!

    Thank you for the lovely review. I always meant for Lies Beneath to be an evolution story, even more so than a love story, so I had to smile every time you used the word “evolve.”

    Only 27 more days until Lies Beneath hits shelves, and the French translation will follow some time after that (Milan Editions). I’m so excited!!!

    Have a great week!

    Anne

    • Wow I didn’t know that, it’s an amazing news, congratulation! I’ll add that in my french review on the blog, thank you!

      You really suceed in that evaolution, I was very surprised by all the characters.

  2. Yay, another mermaid book!! I recently read and loved one called Of Poseidon, and I’ve been dying to read another awesome one since, so your review couldn’t have come at a better time! Lily and Calder both sound like sweet and touching characters that are worth giving a part of heart to. I love how forbidden their romance feels — that just makes it more heart-wrenching!

    Fantastic review, Mel! 🙂 <3

  3. Normally I say mermaids aren’t my thing but I recently read Of Poseidon and loved it so I’m feeling a bit more open minded. Glad you really enjoyed this one! Sounds like it has a unique enough concept I may enjoy it.

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