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Under #3
Underground: A Merfolk Secret
Tensions are growing between the surface merfolk and the increasingly impatient US government. When a joint mission goes awry and Drake goes missing, trust between both species reaches a breaking point.
A new reporter in town has been tracing Kate's steps, convinced that Ray is alive. He's getting dangerously close to discovering Brooks Inc. participation in a worldwide conspiracy, bringing to the public light some uncomfortable questions.
And behind it all, an unforeseen enemy plays with the bonds and fears of the Brooks family, testing how much it would take to break them.
A new reporter in town has been tracing Kate's steps, convinced that Ray is alive. He's getting dangerously close to discovering Brooks Inc. participation in a worldwide conspiracy, bringing to the public light some uncomfortable questions.
And behind it all, an unforeseen enemy plays with the bonds and fears of the Brooks family, testing how much it would take to break them.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2018
16 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
M.N. Arzu
7 books250 followersThe first series that captivated my imagination was The Chronicles of Narnia. The idea of having a secret world —imaginary or otherwise—was so appealing I had to create my own as soon as possible.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I have gone through the dark realms of Stephen King, to the lighthearted girl power of Sailor Moon. I've fought monsters on Zelda, and become a die-hard Roswell fan. I've lost my memories with Jason Bourne, and I've lived a thousand lives alongside vampires, immortals, fairies and goddesses.
Magic and science blend into the tales I bring to life, and I am constantly striving to capture the essence of the great storytellers from my past.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I have gone through the dark realms of Stephen King, to the lighthearted girl power of Sailor Moon. I've fought monsters on Zelda, and become a die-hard Roswell fan. I've lost my memories with Jason Bourne, and I've lived a thousand lives alongside vampires, immortals, fairies and goddesses.
Magic and science blend into the tales I bring to life, and I am constantly striving to capture the essence of the great storytellers from my past.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 16, 2019
4.5 Stars
Review:
This is a fantastic, complex series that has only gotten better with each book!
I love that every book in this series has had its own smaller plot, but overall the series is still about the premise of what would happen if merfolk were discovered by humans. The author didn’t take the easy way out and wrap things up with a rushed ending and a neat little bow after the conflict of the first book was resolved. Instead, it has been super realistic and continued to delve deeper into merfolk-human relations, and each book has built on the previous ones.
I love that this series is about family as much as it’s about merfolk-human relations. I love the Brooks family and how close-knit they are. I love how hard Julian tries to be the best father possible to all of his adopted sons and how much he loves and respects them. I love the realistically rocky but always loving and loyal relationships between the brothers. This time there was also an unexpected relative who showed up and added another complicated family relationship into the mix. There was a lot of focus on what it means to be family and the message that blood might be a reason to give someone a chance but isn’t the deciding factor (since the brothers are all adopted from different parents). There were quite a few touching moments, some that made me teary-eyed.
There were still a lot of POVs, and it was a bit hard to keep up with in the first book, but now I don't even notice, and I love getting to see such a well-rounded picture. Especially since every POV is clearly separated and so different, like they're all real people.
I still enjoyed getting to see the mistaken assumptions characters make, especially about merfolk, when they didn’t have all the information. It just added to the realism and was also funny sometimes.
I also still enjoyed that there wasn’t a whole bunch of romance. One of the teenage sons had a crush/maybe-girlfriend, but it was something that fit naturally in the story and was only a small part.
I’ve definitely become attached to all these characters, merfolk and human. I don’t even have a favorite, I just love reading about them all together. But I have to say, Drake turned out to be really interesting. I feel like we didn’t get to know him that much in previous books, but he featured prominently this time, and he’s ridiculously intelligent—and calculating when he wants or needs to be. Luckily he’s one of the good guys. I loved getting to know him better, and I couldn’t help but smile at some of his antics and brilliant plans.
To summarize, this was another amazing book in an amazing series with touching family relationships, realistic characters, and an interesting, complex premise about merfolk-human relations!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in M.N. Arzu's Under series. Anyone who likes merfolk, realistic characters, adorable family, and a different kind of mer story.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
Initial Thoughts:
I'm loving this series! The adorable family, the realistic characters, the complicated merfolk-human relations. This was another great book! 4.5 stars. Full review soon.
Review:
This is a fantastic, complex series that has only gotten better with each book!
I love that every book in this series has had its own smaller plot, but overall the series is still about the premise of what would happen if merfolk were discovered by humans. The author didn’t take the easy way out and wrap things up with a rushed ending and a neat little bow after the conflict of the first book was resolved. Instead, it has been super realistic and continued to delve deeper into merfolk-human relations, and each book has built on the previous ones.
I love that this series is about family as much as it’s about merfolk-human relations. I love the Brooks family and how close-knit they are. I love how hard Julian tries to be the best father possible to all of his adopted sons and how much he loves and respects them. I love the realistically rocky but always loving and loyal relationships between the brothers. This time there was also an unexpected relative who showed up and added another complicated family relationship into the mix. There was a lot of focus on what it means to be family and the message that blood might be a reason to give someone a chance but isn’t the deciding factor (since the brothers are all adopted from different parents). There were quite a few touching moments, some that made me teary-eyed.
There were still a lot of POVs, and it was a bit hard to keep up with in the first book, but now I don't even notice, and I love getting to see such a well-rounded picture. Especially since every POV is clearly separated and so different, like they're all real people.
I still enjoyed getting to see the mistaken assumptions characters make, especially about merfolk, when they didn’t have all the information. It just added to the realism and was also funny sometimes.
I also still enjoyed that there wasn’t a whole bunch of romance. One of the teenage sons had a crush/maybe-girlfriend, but it was something that fit naturally in the story and was only a small part.
I’ve definitely become attached to all these characters, merfolk and human. I don’t even have a favorite, I just love reading about them all together. But I have to say, Drake turned out to be really interesting. I feel like we didn’t get to know him that much in previous books, but he featured prominently this time, and he’s ridiculously intelligent—and calculating when he wants or needs to be. Luckily he’s one of the good guys. I loved getting to know him better, and I couldn’t help but smile at some of his antics and brilliant plans.
To summarize, this was another amazing book in an amazing series with touching family relationships, realistic characters, and an interesting, complex premise about merfolk-human relations!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in M.N. Arzu's Under series. Anyone who likes merfolk, realistic characters, adorable family, and a different kind of mer story.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
Initial Thoughts:
I'm loving this series! The adorable family, the realistic characters, the complicated merfolk-human relations. This was another great book! 4.5 stars. Full review soon.
January 7, 2019
3.4 Goodreads; 3.9 Amazon. This time it's Drake and Matt who have the most to deal with.
Family by choice and by blood, wary yet hopeful trust among allies/friends, and the manipulation of agendas and public opinion drive the plot's action and relationship threads this time.
A cooperative project involving the Navy is destined to go dangerously wrong, putting Drake (canny and brilliant head troubleshooter and intelligence-gatherer for the surface-dwelling merfolk's Council) up close and personal with a difficult position which partly mirrors book 1.
A newfound family member for Matt may not be worthy of trust, causing a crisis of loyalties at an already troubled moment.
A new reporter also comes into the scene, ironically convinced that Julian Brooks and company wear black hats when it comes the well-being of merfolk, and the "Save the mermaid!" SWIMMER organization proves to include a lot more than just kooks.
This volume is a bit one-step-forward,-two-steps-back in terms of merfolk's going public under their own control, but the ending is a definite big step forward, the repercussions of which remain to be seen.
I like the realistic emotional touches that their species only further complicates, from Julian's dedication and self-doubt in dealing with parenting teenagers, to Matt's unearned sense of guilt, to young Alex's "girl trouble" . The humans who have supported them are also believable. Only one significant character among those they have to try to outwit isn't shown to have any sympathy-evoking reasons behind their actions. (Ruthlessly striking first when faced with fear of the unknown is not acceptable.)
I saw one revelation coming, despite having gotten a major clue half wrong, but I certainly didn't guess what Admiral Coleman had been up to. There was a great deal of partial-truth-telling on the "good guys"' side, and some plans where the left hand had to guess what the right hand was doing.
M.N. Arzú is a fine storyteller, able to make you care about her protagonists, but she does still need to find a better team of beta readers and/or professional proofreaders. I found nearly two dozen outright errors and very iffy wordings. Some are minor (e.g., a missing comma before an addressee's name, "alone" for "along"), and some probably result from English being her second language (such as the wrong preposition in certain idiomatic constructions, or a phrase with the wrong connotation). One thing that confused me was that the Navy crew was suddenly calling the "consultant" introduced as Joe Drake "Mr. Joe", with no explanation as to why; the first time, I thought it was a typo! I know Southerners sometimes do that, but the tone seems inappropriate in this situation. Am I missing something?
Anyway, I do want to read more of this series. I just wish she'd take the care needed to pull her books up that last bit that would let me give them full Goodreads 4s, rather than hesitating over whether to round up or down.
Family by choice and by blood, wary yet hopeful trust among allies/friends, and the manipulation of agendas and public opinion drive the plot's action and relationship threads this time.
A cooperative project involving the Navy is destined to go dangerously wrong, putting Drake (canny and brilliant head troubleshooter and intelligence-gatherer for the surface-dwelling merfolk's Council) up close and personal with a difficult position which partly mirrors book 1.
A newfound family member for Matt may not be worthy of trust, causing a crisis of loyalties at an already troubled moment.
A new reporter also comes into the scene, ironically convinced that Julian Brooks and company wear black hats when it comes the well-being of merfolk, and the "Save the mermaid!" SWIMMER organization proves to include a lot more than just kooks.
This volume is a bit one-step-forward,-two-steps-back in terms of merfolk's going public under their own control, but the ending is a definite big step forward, the repercussions of which remain to be seen.
I like the realistic emotional touches that their species only further complicates, from Julian's dedication and self-doubt in dealing with parenting teenagers, to Matt's unearned sense of guilt, to young Alex's "girl trouble" . The humans who have supported them are also believable. Only one significant character among those they have to try to outwit isn't shown to have any sympathy-evoking reasons behind their actions. (Ruthlessly striking first when faced with fear of the unknown is not acceptable.)
I saw one revelation coming, despite having gotten a major clue half wrong, but I certainly didn't guess what Admiral Coleman had been up to. There was a great deal of partial-truth-telling on the "good guys"' side, and some plans where the left hand had to guess what the right hand was doing.
M.N. Arzú is a fine storyteller, able to make you care about her protagonists, but she does still need to find a better team of beta readers and/or professional proofreaders. I found nearly two dozen outright errors and very iffy wordings. Some are minor (e.g., a missing comma before an addressee's name, "alone" for "along"), and some probably result from English being her second language (such as the wrong preposition in certain idiomatic constructions, or a phrase with the wrong connotation). One thing that confused me was that the Navy crew was suddenly calling the "consultant" introduced as Joe Drake "Mr. Joe", with no explanation as to why; the first time, I thought it was a typo! I know Southerners sometimes do that, but the tone seems inappropriate in this situation. Am I missing something?
Anyway, I do want to read more of this series. I just wish she'd take the care needed to pull her books up that last bit that would let me give them full Goodreads 4s, rather than hesitating over whether to round up or down.
January 7, 2021
“On paper, the UN could offer the sun and the stars, but in reality, they were little more than a polite man asking to please behave nicely at a dinner party.”
Having read the second book in the series as my first of 2021, I couldn’t resist immediately picking up the third book and getting right to it—especially since my hazy memory of the first book made reading the second a bit more tricky than it should have been. If you’ve seen my review of the second, you will notice that I rated this one star greater, perhaps for this reason. Once again, Arzu has crafted a compelling story that centers around the Brooks family, particularly Matt and Drake.
Perhaps it was because a lot of exposition for the current book was set up in the second, or maybe because this book was a bit longer and felt more fleshed out, but the plot moved at a much nicer pace in this book. Without getting too lost in the details of the plot, a lot was happening here from threads that Arzu had planted in the second book, so the plot moved along realistically and seamlessly. (I recommend reading these books in quick succession.) The plot brings together different governmental organizations once again, though now the emphasis seems to be on their disconnect and disarray—that diplomacy isn’t always as neat as it seems on the surface. The merfolk have a lot at risk and a lot to fear in this book since their so-called allies are perhaps also the ones who are putting them in danger. The third book also resolves some of the previous threads from the first and second books, while also leaving seeds for what may come in the future—and the ending certainly leaves a lot of implications that will be seen in future books. (Side note: I am glad this isn’t just a trilogy! I was very excited to read the opening chapter for the fourth book, Undertow, from Arzu’s blog.)
The characters are once more the shining strength of this book, and in this one, the theme of ‘found family’ is even stronger as Matt contends with the notion of blood family and finding his place among his own. My ties with my blood family are not great and often one of great stress and contention, so I have always found ‘found family’ stories compelling and deeply moving, in part because I have been a strong believer of the idea. My friends have always seen more of me than my family ever will, and I intend to keep it that way—the great thing about found family is that it becomes your choice to make, not something that is forced on you; and this is reflected in Matt’s story as well as something he struggles with. On the other hand, we also get to see a lot more development of Drake as a character here, as well as learning more about his skills and engineering abilities. We have always known Drake to be resourceful and crafty, but we get to see the degree to which he is capable of creating elaborate schemes here. Drake’s actions and thoughts in this book also serve as a great study of the Council itself, which is at the best of times struggling to maintain a unilateral strength and at worst, fractured with infighting and distrusted by the very people they want to protect. Everything is certainly not well in the realm of the merfolk, and government is a messy business to get involved in. Unfortunately, the focus on Matt and Drake here also leaves something to be desired of the other characters, whose plots fall to the wayside and feel somewhat static. While the characterization isn’t earth-shattering or extraordinary, the characters are realistic enough (though I discussed in my second review some writing style choices that held back some of the realism for me, especially for the kids and even the adults at times).
One mixed aspect I wish had been explored more is the worldbuilding. While Arzu does take us deeper into the politics and mythology of The City in this book, as well as building on the history of the Council and its members, there are a lot of elements from all of the books that feel like dangling threads—things that could have been more, or perhaps things Arzu had planned but were fizzled out. For example, several times the notion of merfolk having an exceptional singing ability is mentioned, which is consistent with the usual mythology; but it is never really utilized in any of the books. In the third book, it is also suggested that the Brooks kids, and surface merfolk at large, may be unaware of a lot of things about their ancestry. I found myself checking the first and second books to remember certain details that were established but that I had forgotten, like the merfolk technically being alien species, or that The City is supposed to be a domed ‘city’ made from the wreck of a spaceship with breathable oxygen, not merely underwater. Arzu hints at great depth with her worldbuilding, but I would love to see it fleshed out a bit more.
Some other minor issues exist, like the frequent use of ‘marines’ to describe members of the Navy, which still strikes me as odd, and Julian once describing an organized room as ‘bordering on OCD’ (an extremely outdated stereotype that should be thrown out of the window by now), and a few inconsistent thread lines that are either dangling or resolved in an unsatisfying way. For instance—at one point someone (Julian?) says, “It was the reason why they called it The City to begin with, why they referred to themselves as merfolk and relinquished their own language, and why they adopted human names.” This explains away some details as to why the merfolk always seem to speak human language and refer to themselves as ‘merfolk’ (which seemed strange to begin with). These may have started as deficiencies or oversights in the worldbuilding, so while I appreciate Arzu tying these loose ends, I also wish she had done more to make it interesting. Also, at one point Drake is thinking, “But his last meal had been around 11:00 a.m., and a liquid diet never satisfied anybody, much less an adult merman.” The thought of food of course got me thinking about its natural conclusion—how exactly do you deal with merfolk waste underwater in a government setting? Arzu doesn’t mention this of course, but I’m laughing a little imagining some poor intern whose job it is to clean the tank.
When it comes to it, I enjoyed reading the third book of the series and enjoyed the time I spent with the characters. While certain issues can be taken up with the writing or some of the characterization, I am still in awe of how well Arzu has crafted this world and its characters that make me feel so relaxed and comfortable—not an experience I have in most books. I eagerly await the next book in the series, and to spend time with these characters again.
While I meant to review these books as a way to add to Goodreads’s review count (these books are literally underrated!) and for posterity, I am toying with the idea of starting to review the books I read. I struggle a lot with forgetting most of what I read a few weeks later, not remembering character names or major plot points. Perhaps writing about my feelings and discussing the book in a general way will help to cement some of what I felt while reading. I’ve resisted the idea of reviewing for a long time, but I would love to make this a theme for 2021.
Having read the second book in the series as my first of 2021, I couldn’t resist immediately picking up the third book and getting right to it—especially since my hazy memory of the first book made reading the second a bit more tricky than it should have been. If you’ve seen my review of the second, you will notice that I rated this one star greater, perhaps for this reason. Once again, Arzu has crafted a compelling story that centers around the Brooks family, particularly Matt and Drake.
Perhaps it was because a lot of exposition for the current book was set up in the second, or maybe because this book was a bit longer and felt more fleshed out, but the plot moved at a much nicer pace in this book. Without getting too lost in the details of the plot, a lot was happening here from threads that Arzu had planted in the second book, so the plot moved along realistically and seamlessly. (I recommend reading these books in quick succession.) The plot brings together different governmental organizations once again, though now the emphasis seems to be on their disconnect and disarray—that diplomacy isn’t always as neat as it seems on the surface. The merfolk have a lot at risk and a lot to fear in this book since their so-called allies are perhaps also the ones who are putting them in danger. The third book also resolves some of the previous threads from the first and second books, while also leaving seeds for what may come in the future—and the ending certainly leaves a lot of implications that will be seen in future books. (Side note: I am glad this isn’t just a trilogy! I was very excited to read the opening chapter for the fourth book, Undertow, from Arzu’s blog.)
The characters are once more the shining strength of this book, and in this one, the theme of ‘found family’ is even stronger as Matt contends with the notion of blood family and finding his place among his own. My ties with my blood family are not great and often one of great stress and contention, so I have always found ‘found family’ stories compelling and deeply moving, in part because I have been a strong believer of the idea. My friends have always seen more of me than my family ever will, and I intend to keep it that way—the great thing about found family is that it becomes your choice to make, not something that is forced on you; and this is reflected in Matt’s story as well as something he struggles with. On the other hand, we also get to see a lot more development of Drake as a character here, as well as learning more about his skills and engineering abilities. We have always known Drake to be resourceful and crafty, but we get to see the degree to which he is capable of creating elaborate schemes here. Drake’s actions and thoughts in this book also serve as a great study of the Council itself, which is at the best of times struggling to maintain a unilateral strength and at worst, fractured with infighting and distrusted by the very people they want to protect. Everything is certainly not well in the realm of the merfolk, and government is a messy business to get involved in. Unfortunately, the focus on Matt and Drake here also leaves something to be desired of the other characters, whose plots fall to the wayside and feel somewhat static. While the characterization isn’t earth-shattering or extraordinary, the characters are realistic enough (though I discussed in my second review some writing style choices that held back some of the realism for me, especially for the kids and even the adults at times).
One mixed aspect I wish had been explored more is the worldbuilding. While Arzu does take us deeper into the politics and mythology of The City in this book, as well as building on the history of the Council and its members, there are a lot of elements from all of the books that feel like dangling threads—things that could have been more, or perhaps things Arzu had planned but were fizzled out. For example, several times the notion of merfolk having an exceptional singing ability is mentioned, which is consistent with the usual mythology; but it is never really utilized in any of the books. In the third book, it is also suggested that the Brooks kids, and surface merfolk at large, may be unaware of a lot of things about their ancestry. I found myself checking the first and second books to remember certain details that were established but that I had forgotten, like the merfolk technically being alien species, or that The City is supposed to be a domed ‘city’ made from the wreck of a spaceship with breathable oxygen, not merely underwater. Arzu hints at great depth with her worldbuilding, but I would love to see it fleshed out a bit more.
Some other minor issues exist, like the frequent use of ‘marines’ to describe members of the Navy, which still strikes me as odd, and Julian once describing an organized room as ‘bordering on OCD’ (an extremely outdated stereotype that should be thrown out of the window by now), and a few inconsistent thread lines that are either dangling or resolved in an unsatisfying way. For instance—at one point someone (Julian?) says, “It was the reason why they called it The City to begin with, why they referred to themselves as merfolk and relinquished their own language, and why they adopted human names.” This explains away some details as to why the merfolk always seem to speak human language and refer to themselves as ‘merfolk’ (which seemed strange to begin with). These may have started as deficiencies or oversights in the worldbuilding, so while I appreciate Arzu tying these loose ends, I also wish she had done more to make it interesting. Also, at one point Drake is thinking, “But his last meal had been around 11:00 a.m., and a liquid diet never satisfied anybody, much less an adult merman.” The thought of food of course got me thinking about its natural conclusion—how exactly do you deal with merfolk waste underwater in a government setting? Arzu doesn’t mention this of course, but I’m laughing a little imagining some poor intern whose job it is to clean the tank.
When it comes to it, I enjoyed reading the third book of the series and enjoyed the time I spent with the characters. While certain issues can be taken up with the writing or some of the characterization, I am still in awe of how well Arzu has crafted this world and its characters that make me feel so relaxed and comfortable—not an experience I have in most books. I eagerly await the next book in the series, and to spend time with these characters again.
While I meant to review these books as a way to add to Goodreads’s review count (these books are literally underrated!) and for posterity, I am toying with the idea of starting to review the books I read. I struggle a lot with forgetting most of what I read a few weeks later, not remembering character names or major plot points. Perhaps writing about my feelings and discussing the book in a general way will help to cement some of what I felt while reading. I’ve resisted the idea of reviewing for a long time, but I would love to make this a theme for 2021.
October 15, 2023
CLEAN WHOLESOME, YET COMPLEX. LOVED IT!
Book 3 dives even deeper into the concept of what makes someone a "real person" with "Person Rights". What makes the Merfolk a part of the "Us" category as opposed to the "Them" category. And what makes some of the humans part of the Merfolk community.
The writing is so well done that while the setting may be alien first contact, it is easy to bring the concepts into our present day living. In every group, in this series, be it military/government, citizens, Merfolk, even family members, there are good "People" and bad people; there is no way for anyone to generalize and pigeonhole a whole group..
I love the rich complexity of these books. No easy solutions. The characters are all so well visualized without all the unnecessary descriptions of every piece of clothing, every stick of furniture, etc. I like it when there is just enough description so that I am included in the process, so I can picture them in my mind the way I want to see them
I was really thrilled to be given this book in exchange for a candid review. There was no compensation involved. I know that it will be thought provoking and very memorable for years to come.
This book lets us into the family life of the Brookses in a way that we really get to know them.
I highly recommend this book
Book 3 dives even deeper into the concept of what makes someone a "real person" with "Person Rights". What makes the Merfolk a part of the "Us" category as opposed to the "Them" category. And what makes some of the humans part of the Merfolk community.
The writing is so well done that while the setting may be alien first contact, it is easy to bring the concepts into our present day living. In every group, in this series, be it military/government, citizens, Merfolk, even family members, there are good "People" and bad people; there is no way for anyone to generalize and pigeonhole a whole group..
I love the rich complexity of these books. No easy solutions. The characters are all so well visualized without all the unnecessary descriptions of every piece of clothing, every stick of furniture, etc. I like it when there is just enough description so that I am included in the process, so I can picture them in my mind the way I want to see them
I was really thrilled to be given this book in exchange for a candid review. There was no compensation involved. I know that it will be thought provoking and very memorable for years to come.
This book lets us into the family life of the Brookses in a way that we really get to know them.
I highly recommend this book
February 17, 2019
I've read all three books and I really enjoyed them all. I like Ms. Arzu's writing. She draws you in the world she created and the characters have so much depth. I love that these stories are not about teenage first love. This is a story about love and loyalty between true friendship and family and not even the traditional sense of family. It's about the connections we can make with others, that are not by blood, but by a spiritual connection that bonds us and makes us a family. It can be just as strong as a blood connection. I'm looking forward to the next book.
July 21, 2018
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This series, it's so gripping! Trilling! The characters are so easy to love, so easy to care for, and while you are reading you want to hurry to finish the book to know what happens! At the same time you don't want the book to finish, you just want more! An absolutely fantastic read!! I Highly Recommend this book and the whole series! A Fantastic book. A must read series!!
November 11, 2018
Enjoyable. Have read the whole series thus far. Book one was build up for the next two books. It was a little dry for me but I kept with it. Sure glad I did. The next two books were more action packed and a good story line to get caught up in some great fantasy. Great for YA fans too. I would recommend
August 19, 2018
And ... the follow-up to book 1, "Underneath, and book 2, "Undercurrent," is a wild ride of a conclusion. I'd recommend this trilogy to fantasy readers. (I think the door might have been left open for future stories too ...)
September 10, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly Drake's role in it; you can definitely perceive MN Arzú great growth as a writer and storyteller as the series progresses. She has me hooked in a way that I can't wait to know more about The City, the rest of the merfolk and how this world will unwind.
July 26, 2018
I love this great series and hope there are more. These really need to be read in order.
So inventive and great character development with lots of action, suspense and relationships.
So inventive and great character development with lots of action, suspense and relationships.
February 16, 2020
4.5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars
That's my ratings for Books 1-3 of the Under series all in one review for the sake of brevity. Obviously, I liked them.
That's my ratings for Books 1-3 of the Under series all in one review for the sake of brevity. Obviously, I liked them.
August 2, 2020
Great job
Book two was just as good as the first. Looking forward to reading book three. Enjoying this author's work. Such a story teller.
Book two was just as good as the first. Looking forward to reading book three. Enjoying this author's work. Such a story teller.
June 6, 2022
The author says another book will be ready to read soon and I am ready. This Sci-Fi paranormal series is a treat! This could be a fantastic limited series or more, similar to LOTR.
May 1, 2019
Good book
Third book in trilogy. Closed loose ends' circular and expected. Enjoyable, and I'm glad I finished the merfolk under series.
Third book in trilogy. Closed loose ends' circular and expected. Enjoyable, and I'm glad I finished the merfolk under series.
March 12, 2019
I absolutely love when I do a search and find a new book in this series. Immediately downloads ensue.
I think this series would be absolutely amazing if it were picked up and turned into a television series--not a movie due to the need for detail and a longer encompassing storyline. I could absolutely see it playing out on the screen, with the discovery of merfolk, the fight to learn ore about them and whether they pose a threat, and the possibility of fantastic racism if/when they are completely outed to society. On the other side of the coin is the close relationship of the merfolk families and friends as they navigate their culture being found out and the dangers they face from those who want to use them.
Seriously, we have enough cop and hospital shows--this would bring a great dash of sci fi/fantasy while still being a good family vs government drama. and I think even the network budgets could handle the special effects.
I think this series would be absolutely amazing if it were picked up and turned into a television series--not a movie due to the need for detail and a longer encompassing storyline. I could absolutely see it playing out on the screen, with the discovery of merfolk, the fight to learn ore about them and whether they pose a threat, and the possibility of fantastic racism if/when they are completely outed to society. On the other side of the coin is the close relationship of the merfolk families and friends as they navigate their culture being found out and the dangers they face from those who want to use them.
Seriously, we have enough cop and hospital shows--this would bring a great dash of sci fi/fantasy while still being a good family vs government drama. and I think even the network budgets could handle the special effects.
September 20, 2025
Possibly the best of the series so far!
We finally get a few more answers to some questions raised in book 1 and get to know a few of the characters better, including Drake. Can't wait for the next one!
We finally get a few more answers to some questions raised in book 1 and get to know a few of the characters better, including Drake. Can't wait for the next one!
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