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asparagusisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Rep: nonbinary character, gay character, bisexual indian character, bisexual latinx character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual content, and Car accident
fanboyriot's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A non-binary MC that just so happens to be mer?? Sign me up. I really liked so much about this book even if I have somewhat mixed feelings about how it ended. I easily fell in love with the characters, the humor, and all the merfolk stuff. It was really cute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Alcohol
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Definitely a fun read for the most part! It falls into some cheesy tropes that I don't love, and I think I would have loved it a lot more if I'd read this when I was around 15-17.
There were times where I wanted to shake certain characters by the shoulders because of their hypocrisy. I think I'm also a little bit upset thatSean and Crest don't end up staying together in the end, because I'm a sucker a happily ever after. But I'm also torn, because I appreciate that each MC stayed true to themselves and their own lives and passions without sacrificing that for someone they've known for just a month.
All of that said, I love that we have nonbinary and fat MCs, I love fake dating stories, and I love the ways this reminded me of Aquamarine. Unrelated, but the cover art is also so lovely and a huge reason I got this book in the first place.
There were times where I wanted to shake certain characters by the shoulders because of their hypocrisy. I think I'm also a little bit upset that
All of that said, I love that we have nonbinary and fat MCs, I love fake dating stories, and I love the ways this reminded me of Aquamarine. Unrelated, but the cover art is also so lovely and a huge reason I got this book in the first place.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content
offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Car accident
Minor: Mental illness and Transphobia
smarty007's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Mental illness
aus10england's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol
cassielaj's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a sweet story. I liked it a lot at the beginning — funny references, good character voices, social commentary — but after a while it started to feel like it went on too long. There were about 5 conflicts too many as things got more and more complicated. Not my personal favorite, but I definitely get why people like it.
I will say, the fat rep in this is fantastic
I will say, the fat rep in this is fantastic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content
anniereads221's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book y'all, I can't. I love merpeople give me more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Vomit
sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for over six months, but unfortunately, I found it to be a huge letdown. The premise was really interesting and it had so much potential, but for me, it ended up being incredibly mid.
Things I liked:
-The casual representation was really nice to see
-I thought the world building with the merfolk and their culture was interesting and pretty well done. I especially liked the stuff about gender
-I liked Crest’s exploration of gender presentation
-It was a pretty fun and quick read
-The portrayal of teenagers felt pretty realistic. Teenagers make a lot of stupid choices, as did the characters in this book (I myself am a teenager)
Things I didn’t like:
-Personally, I found all the mer-slang to be cringy and overused
-The extent of Crest’s confusion about human culture didn’t make sense to me. They supposedly took human culture classes for years, yet they didn’t know how to cross the street or open a door? Also, in one of the first chapters, it says that Crest has mer magic to help them understand human things if they get confused, but it’s only used one time and never mentioned again?
-I was uncomfortable with how much the teenaged characters talked about sex-related topics (I myself am a teenager and I thought it was weird). It’s not bad to have teenage characters who aren’t ashamed of being horny or anything, but I felt like Sean and Crest were often reduced to their sexual attraction and I found it took away from the other more important parts of their characters. I also didn’t like how their relationship was built so heavily on physicality and lust, yet they kept talking about how they were in love
-The pacing was also off in my opinion, especially toward the end. It felt like the author kept adding in more and more things just to add to the drama of the situations. I saw another reviewer who said that they should’ve focused in on a few things instead of having so many, and I’m inclined to agree
Overall, it was a fun, quick read that you don’t have to think too much about, but I was disappointed because I didn’t love it like I thought I would. I don’t hate it, but I definitely won’t be recommending it to anyone either.
Things I liked:
-The casual representation was really nice to see
-I thought the world building with the merfolk and their culture was interesting and pretty well done. I especially liked the stuff about gender
-I liked Crest’s exploration of gender presentation
-It was a pretty fun and quick read
-The portrayal of teenagers felt pretty realistic. Teenagers make a lot of stupid choices, as did the characters in this book (I myself am a teenager)
Things I didn’t like:
-Personally, I found all the mer-slang to be cringy and overused
-The extent of Crest’s confusion about human culture didn’t make sense to me. They supposedly took human culture classes for years, yet they didn’t know how to cross the street or open a door? Also, in one of the first chapters, it says that Crest has mer magic to help them understand human things if they get confused, but it’s only used one time and never mentioned again?
-I was uncomfortable with how much the teenaged characters talked about sex-related topics (I myself am a teenager and I thought it was weird). It’s not bad to have teenage characters who aren’t ashamed of being horny or anything, but I felt like Sean and Crest were often reduced to their sexual attraction and I found it took away from the other more important parts of their characters. I also didn’t like how their relationship was built so heavily on physicality and lust, yet they kept talking about how they were in love
-The pacing was also off in my opinion, especially toward the end. It felt like the author kept adding in more and more things just to add to the drama of the situations. I saw another reviewer who said that they should’ve focused in on a few things instead of having so many, and I’m inclined to agree
Overall, it was a fun, quick read that you don’t have to think too much about, but I was disappointed because I didn’t love it like I thought I would. I don’t hate it, but I definitely won’t be recommending it to anyone either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
danajoy's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
If you want a complete escapist, Aquamarine meets little mermaid but queer YA story then this might be the book for you.
If you want a romance that feels well rounded with completely realised characters that you buy the love between then this could be a disappointment.
Out of the Blue is conceptually fun and filled with representation. I love the Nonbinary merfolk and that the cast don't have to come out.
Sean is a life guard that finds 'Ross' when they wash up on the beach to start their coming of age journey on land. Sean is heartbroken after being dumped for someone else by his boyfriend and 'Ross' thinks humanity is horrible and destructive and can't wait for the month to be over so they can return to the sea.
I read a review that I can't help but agree with. The main couple's relationship is based on lust and never really evolves beyond it but they call it love. It is all horny teenagers who are more interested in making out or having sex than anything else.
The writing is quite juvenile but the content isn't really. It feels like there is some disconnect between the target demographic and the writing style as I assume this is meant to be older YA.
If you want a romance that feels well rounded with completely realised characters that you buy the love between then this could be a disappointment.
Out of the Blue is conceptually fun and filled with representation. I love the Nonbinary merfolk and that the cast don't have to come out.
Sean is a life guard that finds 'Ross' when they wash up on the beach to start their coming of age journey on land. Sean is heartbroken after being dumped for someone else by his boyfriend and 'Ross' thinks humanity is horrible and destructive and can't wait for the month to be over so they can return to the sea.
I read a review that I can't help but agree with. The main couple's relationship is based on lust and never really evolves beyond it but they call it love. It is all horny teenagers who are more interested in making out or having sex than anything else.
The writing is quite juvenile but the content isn't really. It feels like there is some disconnect between the target demographic and the writing style as I assume this is meant to be older YA.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Car accident