Waterfell (The Aquarathi, Book 1)

So if you have a problem with that beware! There is going to be a sequel so he may be able to redeem himself but I'm not sure. Ok so that's all the major problems I had lets talk about what I enjoyed like the friendship between Nerissa and Jenna! Sometimes in YA, friendships get overshadowed by the romance but in Waterfell Jenna is very important to Nerissa.

I really loved the moments when they were together.

I also loved the Aquarathin aspects of the story. Nerissa was not in her Aquarathin form nearly enough for me. There were I think four times when she transformed and they were much to short. Something I would like to note is that while the ending was satisfying to me, I can see it annoying some people. Also a few of the twists are a bit obvious however if you don't see them coming they are quite fascinating.

I tried SO hard to finish this book. I tried for nearly an entire month, in fact. But try as I might, I just couldn't do it. I thought this cover was stunning. I thought it was going to be some type of mermaid book. To a degree it was, but the Aquarathi are not mermaids. I don't know what they are, other than water dwelling sea monster-like creatures. It is a mystery I did not solve in the pages that I read. What drove me crazy about this book was the lack of descriptions.

It was as if a grade school child was telling me a story that they remembered, but left out all the vital details. What should be been described in more depth was glanced over. What did not need pages or paragraphs of details seemed to drag on endlessly. It got to be too much. I also did not like the slow moving plot. This book literally put me to sleep at night. I think I spent one night reading for a few hours but that was it. The majority of the time a few pages had my eyes heavy with slumber. There was one element that kept me reading: I thoroughly liked his character, even when the others felt unremarkable.

He was witty and a tad bit sarcastic. My favorite type of love interest in a story. I know he was vital to the plot in some mystical way, but I never made it to the end to find out how. If you could stick with the book through the slow parts, I think there could be some promise in this series. It is a unique concept No, lost alien mermaid princess - how could that not attract me to the book?

Technically, she's not a mermaid since they are like an evolved marine species but you get my drift - the book's idea itself drew me towards it. With the influx of paranormal titles in the YA industry, the twist on this one - brownie points to the author for blending sci-fi and paranormal well.

So, these Aquarathi species live undersea in the Mariana Trench and a have a rumspringa-like rite for the royal heirs - wherein they have to live for 4 years in the human world while blending, learning and steering the human community towards marine protection I'll get to that later. Only for Nerissa, the situation is more permanent since her father was murdered and she can't ascend until she comes of age. Not to mention, her father's murderer is the one ruling and if she doesn't take back her crown, she may lose it forever.

First off, I would like to say I liked Nerissa - she is sassy, no-nonsense, knows when to pick her battles and doesn't create much drama - even though being a teenager she is prone to occasional fits of rebellion.

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She comes off as arrogant and spoiled at times, but if you were the sole princess whose every whim was catered to from birth, wouldn't you be too? In the beginning of the book, she feels vulnerable and useless because of her past attitude and her inability to go back and claim her throne.

She would prefer living in the human world, but when her enemy brings a challenge to her coast, she can't back down. Cite this Email this Add to favourites Print this page. Catalogue Persistent Identifier https: You must be logged in to Tag Records. In the Library Request this item to view in the Library's reading rooms using your library card. N pbk Main Reading Room. Order a copy Copyright or permission restrictions may apply. We will contact you if necessary. To learn more about Copies Direct watch this short online video. All in all, an under-satisfying read. Which is basically no one.

View all 4 comments. May 23, Debby rated it did not like it Shelves: This book contains instalove. It will be insufferable. You will hate it. For the love of god. Please start using this label. Because I'm getting sick of going into these books expe 1 stars Dear publishers and authors, Consider the following warning label: So in a thoroughly original turn of events, Lo, short for Lotharius, is a new guy at Nerissa's school, and from the moment they lock eyes, Nerissa just can't stop thinking about him.

But the way this instalove is set up becomes even more annoying when you factor in Nerissa's personality.

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God I don't get that guy. Oh but he's so pretty. You can tell he's strong by how skinny he is and his long fingers.. Could I possibly like him? But then this ex-friendship with Cara is introduced. Nerissa and Cara used to be friends until a guy Cara was crushing on asked Nerissa out and she accepted. However, instead of Cara being a bitch to Nerissa, Nerissa makes Cara's life a living hell, pretty much.

She completely shuts Cara out during a hockey game, refusing to pass to her when she was open, and in general just keeps narrating about how rude and bitchy Cara is. Cara barely does anything aside from glare at Nerissa. But of course then Lo becomes friends with Cara, so Nerissa doesn't like that.

And then later Nerissa's best friend Speio starts dating Cara and Nerissa doesn't like that. Honestly I don't know why I didn't just drop this book. I knew within 50 pages that it wasn't the book for me. But it went quickly, and I guess I felt like that made it tolerable? The plot is near nonexistent, as most of the novel focuses on this annoying romance that had me rolling my eyes and scoffing constantly. There's one infodump chapter around midway through the novel where Nerissa explains exactly what kind of creature she is and where she comes from, which is all rather vague, nonsensical, or confusing Then the end has a few chapters of battles and plot but it's way too late in the game to save the show.

Sadly, all the plot twists regarding the identities of several characters I had called practically at the very beginning of the book. So no big shockers there either. What a waste of time. About the only ray of light in this sad excuse of a novel was Nerissa's friendship with Jenna. Sadly, this was overshadowed by Nerissa's illogically intense hatred of Cara and the bitchy narrations associated with that element.

And of course, all the rest of the book. I thoroughly disliked this book and sped read it to get it out of the way as soon as possible. It's just not worth it. Annoying instalove, hateful main character, bland love interest, minor plot, vague worldbuilding through infodumps I know it's possible. GIF it to me straight! View all 5 comments. Oct 22, Anne rated it really liked it Shelves: Nov 09, Stacia the club added it Shelves: I'm going to refrain from rating because I read the first half of the book, then skipped ahead to the last couple of chapters.

I think I would have liked this a lot better had I read it when I was younger and loved fairy tale-esque stories of all-encompassing love. There's definitely a target audience for Waterfell , but unfortunately, it's not me at this time. The last sentence of the book made me realize that I was perfectly okay with the fact that I didn't read much of the second half: I am yo I'm going to refrain from rating because I read the first half of the book, then skipped ahead to the last couple of chapters. I am yours forever. I was actually fine with the love story. It was predictable, but sort of cute.

However, even during a "fated to be mated" story which I'm fine with if handled correctly , I'd rather see the use of terms like "forever" dialed back just a touch when we're dealing with such young characters. If you like cute romance with a heavy hand of destiny, this might end up working for you, even if it didn't work for me. Aug 31, Farrah rated it really liked it. Not what I was expecting. Going into this book, I was thinking "forbidden romance, mermaids, basically a standard YA paranormal romance. Waterfell was a wonderful YA read. Romantic, thrilling, and full of surprises.

I loved the mythology of this book. It was a new take on the mermaid-ish trope. Combine mermaid with aliens and some magic and we have the Aquarathi. It was really interesting and really well thought out. I really liked it Not what I was expecting. I really liked it and I can't wait to see more of it. Nerissa was a good heroine. Unfortunately, she was the weak point of the book for me. For one, in the beginning, I found her selfish and shallow. Later on, she realized that and began to change, so I was able to forgive. But, she also tended to be judgmental and kind of mean at times.

Not enough that I disliked her character. I still liked her. But, she annoyed me several times. And slowed down the plot with her stubbornness. On the other hand, she was also strong and definitely a force to be reckoned with. Overall, I ended up liking her character. He was so sweet and adorable and utterly swoon-worthy. He was just wonderful. And, don't underestimate him. He has some tricks up his sleeves.

I adored him and thought he was perfect. The romance was super sweet, although somewhat hindered by Nerissa's tenacity. I though these two were wonderful together, even more after what happened at the end. Can't wait to see how things turn out for them. The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. There were some twists and turns that I never saw coming. The secrets that were revealed From the truth about Nerissa's mother to Lo's secret, it was all surprising.

And I loved that about this book. The story was wonderful and the ending even better. I can't wait to read the next book and see how things turn out for Nerissa and Finn. Waterfell was a brilliant YA paranormal romance that took me by surprise. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more from this series.

It was just amazing! YA lovers, if you want something unpredictable and absolutely fantastic, then you definitely have to read this book. Waterfell is not a lot of things. It is not a romance. It is not a mermaid tale. It not your usual teen book. Waterfell, instead is a book about love, honor, trust and betrayal.

It is a book about friendship and loyalty and about being true to who you really are. It is all of those things wrapped up in an action packed book about a race of sea creatures that can morph into human form. It is about Nerissa, their princess, who is living among humans to stay safe from those that killed her father a Waterfell is not a lot of things. It is about Nerissa, their princess, who is living among humans to stay safe from those that killed her father and want to rule her Kingdom.

Narissa has to summon the courage to do the right thing, not just for herself, but for her entire race. As if that is not enough, she has to do it while not falling for a human boy, not losing her best friend and not jeopardizing the lives of those closest to her. Oct 25, Glass rated it liked it Shelves: And I thought this would be a Little Mermaid re-telling. I was sure Waterfell would be a retelling of Andersen's famous fairy tale about mermaid princess who fell in love with a boy and wanted to be human so she could be with him.

Even after first few pages I wasn't sure, everything pointed out to that premise, but quickly I realized I was wrong. Our heroine, Nerissa, is not human but also she is not mermaid no matter the fact that her "natural habitat" is sea and ocean. She goes to high school, has friends, goes out, have guardians and big brother who likes to stick his nose where he shouldn't and, of course, there is hot, new guy. Typical girl, if you ignore the fact that she is a monster. Okay, she is not monster. But you'll have to read the book to figure out things for yourself. To be honest, plot is quite predictable or maybe it's just me and the fact that I read over hundred books like this so I know what to expect , but what makes it fresh and new is mythology.

I enjoyed that part of the story the most, but I wish that Amelie Howard focused more on that aspect of her novel than the romance. Some parts have unfinished feeling, but I am guessing that we will find out everything in the sequels. I believe that it won't be a big surprise for most of the readers that central motif of the Waterfell is love. Nerissa and Lo - the almost star crossed lovers. Some parts felt little bit over the top, but on the other hand there were few really hot scenes young adult hot, nothing else.

Typical for this genre and, for me, not so likeable, especially Nerissa who is mostly self-centered and selfish. I didn't find her "transformation" very believable and honest. Lo was okay, I wondered few times how could he go along with all Nerissa's mood changes, but his background was something I didn't predict until the very end. Who should read it? All of you who love young adult paranormal romance novels. I think that younger readers will probably enjoy it more that older ones. May 23, Steph Sinclair marked it as to-read Shelves: I've been disappointed by too many "mermaid" books.

I hope this one delivers. View all 26 comments. Jul 29, Marissa DeCuir rated it it was amazing. What a brilliant idea for a story!! I was so fascinated by the premise of this whole other world out there us humans don't know about, but the Aquarathi all know well about us and actually send their leaders to come learn with the humans so we can all live peacefully. And the heir to the throne is having to save her people, yes, but more so the humans from the Aquarathi "bad guys. And the way the author brings up certain What a brilliant idea for a story!!

And the way the author brings up certain things in her writing, it makes you wonder if something like this could really be the explanation for some of the things that happen in the ocean! I know that sounds wild, but I just mean to say that she does a great job of making it feel more real even though it's fantasy and all made up. I love the heroine of the story. And I have to admit her love interest had me captivated from the very beginning. Those eyes, I could just picture them! This is a really engaging, unique story recommended with the most enthusiasm I could give! Jun 22, Ashley rated it it was ok Shelves: Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews Waterfell barely qualifies as a mermaid book.

There are a couple snippets of mermaid action near the end, or talks about this underwater kingdom, but they don't feel real. Even the antagonist Ehmora—the one who stole Nerissa's kingdom feels distant and far away, because w Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews Waterfell barely qualifies as a mermaid book. Even the antagonist Ehmora—the one who stole Nerissa's kingdom feels distant and far away, because we don't physically meet her until the very end. So until then, it's just a vague idea of some evil mermaid. One of my biggest problems with Waterfell was Nerissa herself.

For the first half of the book in particular, Nerissa was a raging bitch. Mostly she was a complete bitch to Lo, but what really drove me nuts was that she had no reason to insult him so much. Lo was nice to her and she was just like, "OMG he's so arrogant" when he totally wasn't and was an ass to him.

I could never fall for a boy like Lo.

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He's too self-confident and too amused all the time, like everything is part of some big joke. He practically followed me here after the game. Lo is still completely arrogant. Just look at what she's saying. She was constantly looking for things about Lo to complain about. I mean, she's annoyed that he looks too comfortable? But the big thing was that Nerissa constantly called him arrogant and self-absorbed but he wasn't. Lo was genuinely a nice guy. Then, right after insulting him, she'd start drooling over him.

My attraction to this boy is skyrocketing with each passing second and the attempt to calm my nervous energy is only making me focus on it more. And who knows what that might have turned into—me climbing on top of Lo and having my way with him or His simple touch ignites a flame in the pit of my stomach that spreads through my chest and into my limbs like wildfire. I'm drawn to [his eyes] like water. And all this was insta-love at its finest. Lo and Nerissa never really sit down and talk , they don't get to know each other, and they don't slowly get intimate.

There's a clear attraction immediately, Nerissa denies her feelings by insulting Lo, and then finally she gives in and they get all lusty. There's barely a real relationship here. Although I kind of liked Lo at times, I also felt like his character was quite shallow—probably because we don't actually learn much about him other than how his eyes are amazing and totally swim-able. And when she wasn't insulting him or drooling over him, she was complaining about how he didn't like her, when he so obviously did.

One thing I found hilarious was this line from Nerissa: I'm not the one with the bipolar mood swings. She was totally bipolar. One minute she hates Lo because he's arrogant. The next she's like, "Omg I love you and want to swim in your eyes. She was kind of a bitch, so why did he like her? Well we have this lovely reasoning: There's something so different about you.

You're not at all like any of the girls I know. How many times have we heard that line in YA books? It's just that standard insta-love reason: There's something different about you. In terms of writing, I found some of the lines at the end of the chapters to be so cheesy. I wish I highlighted more, but in the last half of the book I started highlighting a few of the last sentences in each chapter. It's like the end of each chapter was very specifically written to be something intense and dramatic, but I thought they were a bit over-done.

It made them feel She won't betray us. Or she'll have to die. It's not Ehmora that will be the death of me. Because one thing's for certain And the last thing I'll complain about is the twist at the end. It wasn't necessarily a bad twist, but I thought it was so obvious. I called it almost at the very beginning.

It's exactly what you'd expect. There were a few things that I kind of liked about Waterfell.

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For example, I liked Nerissa's human friend Jenna. She was a little bit unrealistically smart, but she was kind of cool. I liked how intelligent she was and I even liked her boyfriend Sawyer. Ultimately, Waterfell just weighed on my patience as the book went on. It started out okay, I tried to forgive the insta-love at first, but then Nerissa in particular just wore me down with her totally bitchy and bipolar attitude. And by the end of the book, I even lost interest in the overall plot and the whole idea of the mermaid kingdom.

Oct 09, Diayll rated it really liked it Shelves: Sarika This book was, in my opinion, the perfect example of how a YA novel should be written. To give you a better idea of my admiration of the author, I actually began devising a list of reasons why this book or the author can seriously kick ass in the best possible way. Needless to say, I was raptured from the very first p Originally Reviewed At: Needless to say, I was raptured from the very first page!

Although I did have a general prediction of what would happen towards the end, I was constantly questioning myself-which is what every good mystery writer should do. The descriptions were intricate and detailed, but never overdone. The world building for both Waterfell and Sana were brilliantly handled, in my opinion. My favorite character in the book who also happens to be the most badass is the understated best friend, Jenna. In most cases, authors often neglect the side characters and leave them there as a backdrop to the emotions of the protagonist-simply there as a plot transition or as comic relief.

Waterfell, however, explores the questions all of us must have thought at some point; how faithful should a sidekick be expected to be? What would be their mindset when going through the tumult that surrounds the protagonist? And most importantly, who is the real hero in a situation like this? Someone who rises to their duty because they are chosen-the protagonist, or someone who chooses to involve herself in the conflict despite no direct duty or obligation to do so. The answer, at least in my opinion, is the latter. If you were a real person, and if I actually owned a hat, it would be off to you.

But this is acknowledged, and dealt with, which fits in the novel beautifully. So there you have it! I really liked Nerissa as a character. I liked her a ridiculous amount. I loved her voice and the narration and her over the top angst and selfishness and the way she turned herself around to become responsible and ultimately fight for her crown. I really loved her relationship with her human best friend Jenna. I even loved how Rissa was determined not to fall for the cocky, arrogant bad-boy wannabe hottie-pants Lo right away. There was no insta-love in this book.

I also really loved how Rissa had hobbies and interests that expanded beyond the boy, including school hockey and ocean conservation, which served to round out her character and add depth to the story. See the full review on The Moonlight Library! Jan 12, Colleen Houck added it Shelves: I fell in love with the Aquarathi right along with Lo.

Such a fresh take on an "under the sea" adventure. Mar 23, Nancy The book junkie rated it really liked it Shelves: I don't want to write a long review because I know it's going to end up being a rant, so I'll just list the things I did and did not like. It's very simple; The author doesn't just gloss over things, yet she also doesn't pound you with too much detail.

I thought it was pretty decent. The "creatures" in the novel were really interesting and I loved the different take on mermaids but they aren't actually called mermaids in the book. I still pictured them as mermaids though. Their powers, and the world of Sana and Waterfell were so different from all the other books I read. It's one of the things I actually really liked about this book and it's what made me want to keep reading.

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The pros stop there unfortunately. Holy hell, the main character Nerissa was so irritating and bitchy. I could not stand her. She was selfish, stupid, and mean. There was absolutely no reason for her to be such a bitch to a lot of these characters. Let's start with Cara her ex-best friend, now enemy. Throughout the entire novel, the only thing Cara does to Nerissa is glare at her. She just looks at her with evil eyes, but apparently that's a good enough reason for Nerissa to talk shit. I didn't understand it. Then we have Lo, the love interest, who I did not even like, but we'll get to that later.

He barely says anything to her, except smirk a bunch of times, and Nerissa already comes to the conclusion that he's an arrogant asshole, and she treats him like crap. Honestly, it was too much to even call her bitchiness a flaw. She was just a selfish and mean person. Okay, can we talk about Lo for a second. Seriously, he is one of the most boring and underdeveloped characters I have read about in a long time. I couldn't see why everyone liked him. He had no personality and he provided nothing for the story view spoiler [ except for that twist we all saw coming at the end hide spoiler ].

You could have completely erased him from this novel and it would have been ten times better and pages shorter. Why the hell was there even a romance in this story. We could have totally done without it and I probably would have bumped the rating by a few stars. The romance was pointless to the story, and did nothing for the characters. Their relationship was not believable at all. I don't understand how no one thought to just delete the entire romance plot from the book. It overshadowed everything interesting and good about the novel, which is really disappointing because I loved the world and concept of the story.

The plot was way too predictable. I pretty much saw the entire end coming from about 50 pages into the book view spoiler [ except for Ehmora and Nerissa's mom being lovers. That was so random. It felt like it was added just for the element of surprise hide spoiler ]. Like I said, I really didn't like Nerissa. About halfway through the book, she admits that she's bitchy and selfish. Yay, good for you Nerissa, and thank you Jenna her best friend for calling her out on it! But does she do anything about it?

At least not until the last few pages. And even then, her personality change was too drastic because there was no gradual development. Also, I mentioned that Lo was very one-dimensional. The part of the problem was that there wasn't a lot of important dialogue with him. We get his past and backstory from everyone else, except for him.

I wish there were more intimate and deeper conversations between Lo and Nerissa, but the author rushed everything about the romance and Lo's character. It dragged too much in the middle. I honestly think this book could have been maybe pages shorter. Nothing really happened until maybe the last 4 chapters of the book. That's all I can think of at the moment, but seriously. I'm glad I won this from a Goodreads giveaway and not actually paid for this myself. Overall, would not recommend, I mean, unless you like bitchy characters and unnecessary romance.

Then go ahead, You'll love this. Apr 05, Dana Cuadrado rated it it was ok. Waterfell is definitely not the story I was expecting it to be. I was expecting a cool mermaid story that had a deeper mythology and a really strong main character. I wouldn't say I hated this book but because of my high expectations and misconceptions I ended up being turned off my this novel. It actually got me into a reading slump. I didn't want to even finish it but I was half-way through so I felt I needed to. I was expecting a book about mermaids but what I got is a book about aliens that Waterfell is definitely not the story I was expecting it to be.

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I was expecting a book about mermaids but what I got is a book about aliens that are aquatic creatures. I am a fan of aliens but if I wanted to read an alien book I would have picked a different one. I think there is it unique but this book was deceiving. Another problem I had with this book was the narrator Nerissa.

She is really annoying and shallow. Nerissa was hard for me to like and I didn't find my self rooting for her. She spends one half of this novel hating Lo and then the other half she all of a sudden has fallen in love with them. Also the fact that she didn't grow up in the human world was almost forgotten after the first chapter. I thought she was only there for around 4 years. She even says she has a slight accent when speaking English.