Goodreads Blurb
Harper only wanted a safe, normal life. But when her younger sister Gemma runs off with a dangerous clique of beautiful girls, Penn, Thea, and Lexi, everything changes. Vowing to get her sister back no matter what the cost, Harper must face dangers unlike any she's ever experienced. Fortunately, she has Daniel by her side, a gorgeous guy who's devoted to helping her find her sister—and who's immune to the girls' dark powers.
While Harper searches for her sister, Gemma struggles to adjust to her new life. Gemma's powers are growing by the day, and the longer she lives with her new "sisters," the harder it is to resist entering their magical world. It's a realm both dark and beautiful, and where she's plagued by strange hungers and unspeakable needs. Just as she's drifting far away from her old life, Harper and Daniel find her...but no one can deny how much she's changed. All she wants is to return to her family and the mortal world, but how can she do that when she's become something else entirely—and will they still love her once they learn the truth?
While Harper searches for her sister, Gemma struggles to adjust to her new life. Gemma's powers are growing by the day, and the longer she lives with her new "sisters," the harder it is to resist entering their magical world. It's a realm both dark and beautiful, and where she's plagued by strange hungers and unspeakable needs. Just as she's drifting far away from her old life, Harper and Daniel find her...but no one can deny how much she's changed. All she wants is to return to her family and the mortal world, but how can she do that when she's become something else entirely—and will they still love her once they learn the truth?
So I decided instead of writing another badly written review in my short amount of time, I'd write another joint review except less...messy than before. All white writing will be Eileen and all neon blue will be me! I basically replied to Eileen's review and she replied, then I did, etc.
Lullaby wasn't what I expected it to be. The plot that I expected was there, but I didn't expect to be that blown away by the story. I'm not that big a fan of mermaid books, I've found, but I really loved this one.Trust me, it wasn't what I expected either. :P Same for the plot (boring for me)...and I'm a giant fan! Have you READ Of Poseidon or Monstrous Beauty? But that's probably why I didn't like this one. Compared to other mermaid books, this was kind of disappointing...not to say it was bad!I read Of Poseidon and also really loved it! That was probably one of the exceptions, but I haven’t read many intense mermaid books so maybe that’s what I was really drawn to it.Right?! It was amazing. :) And hmmm...maybe. I've read about mermaids since I was little and knew about their bloodthirsty legends since I was like, 6. So I guess it just depends on whether or not you've read about them or not!The only mermaid book I ever read when I was six was The Little Mermaid. HA.
| Dang...I was a messed up kid.
Lullaby begins right where Wake left off, and Harper is stopping at nothing to find her sister, Gemma. From missing posters to blogs to calls to anything you could think of, Harper's got her hands full. She preoccupies herself so completely with finding Gemma that she has to sacrifice things that she really wants to do. The loyalty I found from Harper was so admirable and it really enforced that family dynamic that was present in Wake. Harper would do literally anything to keep Gemma safe and sound, even if it meant risking her own life in order to do so, which I thought was not only extremely noble but it reminds you of how much siblings can love each other.I'll admit that her loyalty was pretty sweet, but I was so annoyed because Harper was like...ugh. I hated how she didn't think about anything else and while that could be thought as sweet, I just felt as if she didn't care about anything else and…I just can't put this right! But I wanted to smack her. Of course, this may have something to do with me not wanting her to find Gemma.I can see where you’re coming from, but if you’re kid sibling disappeared, you knew that she had run away, and you knew that who she was staying with was pure evil, would you be like, “Oh hey, I have a lead on my sister! No, it can wait, I’m going to go get a smoothie”? Personally, if my younger brother disappeared in that fashion I probably wouldn’t have been as calm.True, but I'm more talking about her own life. I liked how Daniel put it. You have to move on. Not saying give up, but I felt like she should've concentrated, just a LITTLE more, on her own life. To me, she sort of felt like a Gemma-finding robot sometimes.Image: “I must find Gemma. Gemma is my leader.” *robotic moving arms*Once again, Daniel didn't fail to make me laugh. He was obviously extremely devoted to Harper and trying everyday to help and take care of her, while convincing her that he wasn't the "loser" he was when Harper first ran into Daniel, which, let me say, was an equally hilarious and mortifying situation. Lullaby's secondary characters were probably my favorite part out of the entire novel. Harper's best friend Marcy was snarky but caring underneath her constant remarks, and one of the sirens Thea was supportive and helped Gemma through her phase as she was transitioning into a blood-thirsty siren.Another reason I didn't like Harper. She was so annoying when it came to Daniel! He just wanted to be there and help and she just...she was like "deny deny deny." And SO TRUE! The secondary characters, in my opinion, were so much better than the main ones.Okay, I agree. Harper kind of irked me at times with the “I’m trying to keep you safe, don’t talk to me anymore” speech, but it was kind of endearing how she tried to make sure nobody else got involved, although for Daniel it was kind of too late for that.See? And I guess, though I felt it was more of an "I don't want people to think I'm crazy" kind of thing sometimes, you know?Gemma herself also had a heart of gold. She always tried to do the right thing and she rarely ever let her hunger win and get the best of her. She was imperfectly perfect, in a way that made my heart ache for her but at the same time I was cheering her on, because Gemma had some fight in her. She was persistent, aggressive, and loved Harper just as much as Harper loved Gemma. Everything Gemma did was for Harper and to make sure she stayed safe, as well as the rest of her family and other people she loved.I LOVED GEMMA. Erase my last comment! I agree with all of that! I loved seeing how Gemma would transform into her siren abilities and I think that was my favorite part. But I think she did it partly for herself. Trying to avoid the hunger, but making the best of it? She seemed to enjoy some of her powers. SOME of them.RIGHT? I think she was such a refreshing character and when she was turning into a full-fledged siren it was absolutely fascinating to read!YES! I loved her transformation so I was so disappointed when she was found. Honestly, this may sound evil, but I kept waiting for Penn to come and get her back. The ending? Not my favorite. (P.S. WHAT WAS GEMMA THINKING? It was sweet, but not very...smart. We must talk about my questions later.)Yeah it wasn’t really smart of her. Kind of impulsive, but also a little sacrificial and I was like, “Aw, sad feelings.”
Yeah....but I sort of focused on the not smart/impulsive. I was in a bad mood at that scene.
While I wouldn't recommend this to people who don't like mermaid books, to people who have had a fairly good track record with them, check this one out. The unique spin on the classic siren tale, making it more gruesome than most people remember, will hook you, and then the characters and the hilarious dialogue will take over after. Not only will you fall in love with Gemma and Harper, you will leave Lullaby feeling equal love for every secondary character: Alex, Daniel, Thea, etc.Complete opposite here. I wouldn't recommend it for people who love reading about mermaids since it sort of fell flat for me. On the other hand people who aren't used to mermaids? This would be the perfect introduction to them! I loved the spin on it definitely, but I would've liked to see more to it. More siren parts, less Harper searching parts.Hmm possibly. I could see someone who wants to ease into the mermaid genre to start with this one, seeing as it is kind of more of the characterization and less of sirens.Yeps! I'd definitely recommend it for someone who wants to save best for last!From heartwarming characters to a unique plot, Lullaby will touch you in its "tail" (Get it? No?) about family, love, and loyalty. Any mermaid fan or Amanda Hocking fan will love this story.#Punny. ;PWhy thank you!
