Raging Sea (Undertow #2)
Author: Michael Buckley
Published: 2016
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated R for a raucous road trip and rioting, raging, emotional tidal waves.
Today is the day we’re going to save the world.
After the tragic events that decimated Lyric Walker’s home, Coney Island, the sea is at war with land and everyone in the nation is terrified. Lyric just wants to find her loved ones and her best friend, Bex, and the hard-headed Triton, Arcade help her in hopes of also finding ones they love.
After being kidnapped by a corporation called White Tower, Lyric is given an ultimatum. Train other kids like her or her parents and even the prince of the Alpha, Fathom, will die. It’s hopeless, but she agrees. Secretly, Lyric is hoping to find a way to unite the Alpha and the nation before the next wave in this war.
Undertow Reviews
Undertow – review
Romance and action followed up by a lot of drama. What YA lover doesn’t thrive on this? LOL. This book really amped up and up, and continued to do so with each chapter. With everything in Lyric’s life ripped apart, the entire tone of the trilogy completely shifted into something more dire and extreme. I certainly enjoyed it for sure. There was a lot of character development with Lyric (still love that name). She grew harder, but didn’t lose her head or heart. There was a lot of growth with all of the characters, especially Arcade if I have need to pick one. I really came to like her. She reminds me so much of Echo from The 100. A warrior and badass through and through that’s loyal to her people to a fault.
Just as much as there was great character growth during this tragic time, there’s so many questions I still have and so many loose ends that don’t fully make sense. I did like that Lyric seemed to know as much as I did, which was little, so she was winging it a lot. That helped strangely enough. The addition of new characters like Lucas and Father Henry mad my heart swell because the world fictional or not needs proof that good people exist. And Fathom is alive! The reunion between him and Lyric was sweetbitter. Yep. I said what I said. Love the chemistry between Lyric and Fathom but there is so much coming between them that it makes me wonder if they have any chance at all.
The war was infuriating but only because it was used as business propaganda. I was seeing red as much as Lyric. White Tower, the newest big bad was worse than that of Minerva and the Rusalka of the sea that started the war and decimated Coney Island. Lives aren’t transactional and war isn’t a business to make money off of. Like Lyric, I was ready to destroy this corporation myself. The place really hit close to home with the immigrant holding centers here in the U.S. This wasn’t the only spot that was parallel to the issues happening in the U.S either and I admire Buckley for shining the light on them.
Overall
While I clung to the action and Lyric’s occasional badassery, I wasn’t entirely in love with this book. There was on hell of a cliffy at the end, but there was so much detail lacking throughout the entire book. The nonchalant brush-off of so much became an annoyance and hindrance. There was so much more that I enjoyed more so I got over it. There 4are important issues highlighted and the fast-pace of the book had me clinging to the pages. Recommend? Yeah. This is still a fresh and original story.
Quotables:
“You are Alpha. Your mother is Sirena. You have never been human, Lyric Walker. You have only pretended. Your real people need you, and it is time to embrace your blood.” (Arcade to Lyric, p.98-99)
“Don’t give up on people. Most of us have good hearts. Some are just afraid of things that they don’t understand. I’m sure everyone got freaked out when they saw Jesus walk on water. Actually, it sounds like you two have something in common.” (Father Henry to Lyric, p. 124)
“I will hear no more of how you are small. I will not listen to any further nonsense about your weakness. They are lies you tell yourself that no one else believes. I love you with every drop of my blood, and I know any chance of winning your affection is slim, but I cannot walk away without saying this to you. It is time to stop acting delicate. You are not fooling me. I see what you are.” (Fathom to Lyric, p. 315)
More to come soon…
-K.
P.S. Song today? Head Above Water by Avril Lavigne.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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