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A review by sssssoup
Out of the Blue by Jason June
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