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Devils of the Ocean
All he wanted was closure. What he got was a grumpy warrior soulmate, a tail, and a grand destiny.
There are many stories about Marle, the mysterious island off the coast. But the only story Kay cares about is the one that tells him the truth about his loved ones' disappearance beneath the waves.
Kay Dalton knew Marle’s strange and hauntingly beautiful inhabitants were hiding something. He just never imagined it was their fishtails and a supernatural war raging in the ocean. In search of his missing father, Kay dives into a world of underwater battles, ancient temples, and taciturn soulmates. It’s not only sea monsters he has to fear, however. Not everyone welcomes an outsider prying, and the power Kay possesses may change the fate of Marle forever.
All Beck Osinga wants is to protect his island. Mainlanders visiting spell trouble—especially the curious ones like Kay, who get themselves captured by sea monsters. Faced with the impossible decision to let Kay drown or revealing himself as a merman and sharing this gift, Beck reluctantly chooses the latter. Now connected to Kay through a soul bond, Beck is torn between loyalty to his island or to Kay, who holds the key to uncovering Marle’s sinister past. What is really behind the monster attacks? Have they waged a war built on lies?
There are many stories about Marle, the mysterious island off the coast. But the only story Kay cares about is the one that tells him the truth about his loved ones' disappearance beneath the waves.
Kay Dalton knew Marle’s strange and hauntingly beautiful inhabitants were hiding something. He just never imagined it was their fishtails and a supernatural war raging in the ocean. In search of his missing father, Kay dives into a world of underwater battles, ancient temples, and taciturn soulmates. It’s not only sea monsters he has to fear, however. Not everyone welcomes an outsider prying, and the power Kay possesses may change the fate of Marle forever.
All Beck Osinga wants is to protect his island. Mainlanders visiting spell trouble—especially the curious ones like Kay, who get themselves captured by sea monsters. Faced with the impossible decision to let Kay drown or revealing himself as a merman and sharing this gift, Beck reluctantly chooses the latter. Now connected to Kay through a soul bond, Beck is torn between loyalty to his island or to Kay, who holds the key to uncovering Marle’s sinister past. What is really behind the monster attacks? Have they waged a war built on lies?
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 2, 2020
8 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 13, 2023
This is a fun MM merfolk story. It's hard to find one that's unique, honestly. It has some fun tropes too, like their unexpected bonding, forced proximity, and the chosen-one trope.
I liked Beck a lot. His reserved nature made him interesting, and I liked seeing him come out of his shell and learn new things with Kay. It took me a while to get a grasp on Kay's personality, but what I liked most about him was while he wasn't really resisting everything happening to him, he didn't just immediately agree to things or jump onboard with everything. Every time he said he'd have to take time to think about something, I was like "yes! This is refreshing."
I think there was definitely room for more exploration of worldbuilding with the lives of the people on the island. Not having TV or internet, growing up without knowing Disney movies, etc--these were interesting tidbits but I felt myself wanting to know more. Just how many people lived on Merle? How did they afford to ship groceries & necessities to the island, or maintain their buildings, without any sort of business or revenue? Was it just a result of immortality and wealth accumulated over time? Did they have a farm to grow their own produce and raise livestock? What do they do with trash? How is housing allocated? Maybe I'd have been annoyed by info dumping if that were included, but I was curious.
The only real criticism I have is that the ending felt a little rushed. It was evident in the increasingly common proofreading errors in the last 20% of the book, too. Lots of missing words, duplicate words, incorrect words. Not a problem for me; I can look past that. But the way the story wrapped up left a little to be desired. Things were kind of rushed; all of the sudden there are lines about people having left the island and what they're doing now, and I didn't realize that much time had passed. It was also definitely more of a HFN than a true HEA. I don't know if the author intends to write more in this universe, though.
Overall, this was a fun read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for merfolk stories.
I liked Beck a lot. His reserved nature made him interesting, and I liked seeing him come out of his shell and learn new things with Kay. It took me a while to get a grasp on Kay's personality, but what I liked most about him was while he wasn't really resisting everything happening to him, he didn't just immediately agree to things or jump onboard with everything. Every time he said he'd have to take time to think about something, I was like "yes! This is refreshing."
I think there was definitely room for more exploration of worldbuilding with the lives of the people on the island. Not having TV or internet, growing up without knowing Disney movies, etc--these were interesting tidbits but I felt myself wanting to know more. Just how many people lived on Merle? How did they afford to ship groceries & necessities to the island, or maintain their buildings, without any sort of business or revenue? Was it just a result of immortality and wealth accumulated over time? Did they have a farm to grow their own produce and raise livestock? What do they do with trash? How is housing allocated? Maybe I'd have been annoyed by info dumping if that were included, but I was curious.
The only real criticism I have is that the ending felt a little rushed. It was evident in the increasingly common proofreading errors in the last 20% of the book, too. Lots of missing words, duplicate words, incorrect words. Not a problem for me; I can look past that. But the way the story wrapped up left a little to be desired. Things were kind of rushed; all of the sudden there are lines about people having left the island and what they're doing now, and I didn't realize that much time had passed. It was also definitely more of a HFN than a true HEA. I don't know if the author intends to write more in this universe, though.
Overall, this was a fun read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for merfolk stories.
November 27, 2023
Devils of the Ocean is a fun, romantic, and wee bit mysterious tale for everyone. As someone who isn't a fan of merfolk or soul bound stories in general, I gobbled this one up, so that says a lot. Kay and Beck are enchanting characters you'll be rooting for from start to finish. The writing is engaging, and the action scenes are easy to follow. This would make an excellent addition to anyone's TBR!
February 4, 2024
A simple, cute story. I might have given it 4 stars if it hadn't switched POV midway through- seeing the merfolk world through a stranger's eyes was a lot more interesting and compelling.
September 6, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 stars
I really liked the plot and how mermen are differently portrayed. Still, I would have liked to have Kye’s pov in all the book! That’s why I’m giving only 3.5!
I really liked the plot and how mermen are differently portrayed. Still, I would have liked to have Kye’s pov in all the book! That’s why I’m giving only 3.5!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews