This story was the second book in the Sirens and Scales Box Set. Another mermaid story, I’m loving this box set so far!
Bailey has always been bullied in his life by his brother and by other mermaids that live near him. He has learned to cope with it and ignore the people for the most part, but he wishes that things were better. Verona, a bottom-feeder of the mermaid society, tried to befriend him when he was younger. Once she was named a bottom-feeder, Bailey tried to avoid her so that he wouldn’t be labeled the same thing. When Verona is exiled and whipped, told not to return until she ventured to the surface, Bailey knows that he has to save her.
I didn’t quite understand this story. I didn’t know what qualified people as a “bottom-feeder” in the mermaid society. Sometimes I felt that it might have just been chosen at random, but in the end, I decided to stop focusing on the details and instead just enjoy the story.
I also thought that Bailey was a bit cruel. Even when he chose to save Verona, he berated her and insulted her quite a bit. Verona was nice and just put up with it, but it had me thinking “If you wanted to save her, why are you acting so cruel now?”. The story says that he wasn’t saying what he actually felt, but it confused me.
Also, the ending of the story seemed disappointing, but at least it was a quick read.
Overall, I did enjoy that the mermaid society in this story wasn’t picture-perfect, but there were some flaws in the overall storyline that I couldn’t ignore. I am going to continue this box set as soon as possible, and I hope to see more mermaid stories!
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
