**REVIEW** The Savage Blue by Zoraida Cordova

 
Glad I had waited that bit longer to read The Vicious Deep. Okay
I wish I had read it sooner but I hate waiting and now I know the
wait for the next book seems so far away!!!!

A storm is coming...

The ocean is a vicious place. Deeper and darker than Tristan could have imagined. Beneath its calm blue surface, an ancient battle is churning —and no one is safe.

In the quest for the Sea Throne, Tristan has already watched one good friend die. Now he must lead the rest on a dangerous voyage in search of the trident that will make him king. But while Tristan chases his destiny, the dark forces racing against him are getting stronger, and the sea witch of his nightmares is getting closer.

Battling sea dragons and savage creatures of the deep, Tristan needs his friends' support. But they each have their secrets, and a betrayal will force Tristan to choose between his crown and his best friend Layla — the only girl he's ever loved.

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Published By:  Sourcebooks Fire

Review Copy: ARC, 408 pages

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Review

  The lies, the betrayal and the full out action from start to finish made this one just as good if not better than the first!  Tristan is full out fighting for his spot as the new King and with new threats things just keep on getting harder for him.  There were so many moments that I just wanted to reach in the book and hug and/or shake him.  There is still the vivid and adverse characters that I fell in love with in The Vicious Deep but things are changing.  Though change is normally good I was shocked at the change in some and down right furious with it in one person but I wont mention who.

  With the tournament in full swing Tristan has truly embraced his duty.  His duty to the people he didn't even know he was a part of.  Though I didn't expect any less from him, I also didn't expect his maturity jump like it did.  With that said he still held the teenage set of worries and sense of humor that I came to love in the first novel.  Endless challenges seems to be the theme of this guys life but he doesn't let it get him down(most of the time).  I really admire how seriously he takes his honesty and couldn't make some of the promises that people wanted him to make because he wasn't sure if he could follow through.  Tristan is still one of my top 10 male characters (I have them in no particular order) and he seems to just be getting better!!

  I knew that Tristan had a strong set of morals from the moment that he stepped up and accepted that he was chosen the kings champion that he was strong willed.  He still takes his responsibilities seriously but I think he may be starting to take what he will have to leave behind a little more seriously.  The romance that was in the background in The Vicious Deep is still there but it is developing more.  It still doesn't take a front seat but Layla seems to be a little more into it now as well.  There were a few heated moments that I really cheered them on but I'm still leery of where they are headed.  With so much in Tristan's life taking over the chances of them really having a chance at things aren't looking good.

  The biggest thing for me with this is all the change in the characters and you didn't know who was truly on your side and who was only there to get ahead.  I was disappointed that Thalia was absent the good majority of this one but there is a reason behind it all.  Took a bit to get there but there is a legit purpose, did it help... We have yet to find out.  Gwen never really grew on me but she did begin to grow on me.  The character that won the award for biggest change went to Kurt.  I am not sure that I have ever wanted to smack a character that I liked around as much as I wanted to with him.  His motives in this one were all over the place from the start and I couldn't help but feel that this journey was for him as well as Tristan.

  The ending just blew my mind!! I would love to say that I seen it coming or that I had suspicions but that would be a lie.  I was basically hit over the head with a heavy seaweed covered rock and woke up wondering how it all went wrong!  The pressure  was obviously building but the resulting explosion was more than I can handle.  Waiting until next year for more and finding out how this all plays out may just be too much.  This is an explosive sequel and I am more excited than ever for the next book!!

Quotes

  I consider shifting into my tail, but then I remember these are my last pair of cargo shorts, and I've not yet mastered the half-shift combination of legs and scales to cover my goods.  Instead, I let my gills develop, only freaking out a little that I, in fact, have gills.

  The thing - the makara - is undulating in wide arcs, eating.  It shakes its head back and forth with a twelve-foot-long shark in its mandible.

  "I think I just peed myself," I say.  "How can you tell down here?"

Kurt shakes his head, gripping his sword even tighter.  "If we live through this, I'll point it out to you."

Sure, when it comes to fires and evil merpeople I can be concentration guy, but put me in front of a girl crying or puking, and I don't know the difference between my ass and my elbow.

  "Are there any happy prophecies?" Marty asks.  "Like born will be the last son of kings and he's going to shit rainbows."
  "That sounds terribly uncomfortably." Thalia groans.