Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.
I am always a fan of a good fantasy novel set in modern times; the idea that more exists in our world than meets the eye always excites my imagination. So, mermaids in the Great Lakes - why not? While the plot of this novel was nothing unexpected, the premise was interesting and the characters were engaging, which kept me reading until the end!
Calder White reminded me a lot of Jacob Black from the Twilight series, specifically his narration in Breaking Dawn (yes, I've read the series a few times. Feel free to judge :). He is caught between family loyalty - a bond strengthened by his telepathic connection to his sisters - and following his heart. Although not a new debate to the literary world, Calder's added guilt over his "monstrosity" and his awkwardness in dealing with new feelings made him an interesting narrator. Lily Hancock, on the other hand, fell a bit too much into the new romantic heroine archetype: the nerdy, "weirdly dressed" girl who manages to captivate all the boys around her. I like that authors are trying to show beauty and intrigue can come in all forms, but seriously, a girl who loves Victorian poets so much she wears velvet in the height of summer? Not sure I'm buying it. I would have liked to see her character get a bit more unique development, instead of a uniqueness that seemed forced.
The plot of this book didn't have too many unexpected turns, but Brown created such an interesting world that I felt compelled to keep reading. I loved her take on mermaids not as beautiful, benevolent singing sea creatures, but rather as jealous, depressed beings consumed by their own bitterness. Okay, so that sounds more dark than it comes across in the story, but I think for the book to be interesting there needed to be that element of darkness. Lily and Calder falling in love was predictable, but the family jealousy and revenge plot added enough conflict to the storyline to make it enjoyable to read. The ending of the book was also very exciting, and while it left on a relatively satisfactory note, I care enough about Calder to pick up the second book in the series.
One of the strengths of this novel, from my perspective, is how relatively clean it is. There are a few very minor instances of language, but nothing at which to raise an eyebrow. The relationship between Calder and Lily stays innocent, and seems natural while doing so (I always hate the whole "Well, we would, but these supernatural forces conspiring against us make it impossible" abstinence reasoning). I LOVE the cover of this book too, and think potential readers would enjoy it as well. The double meaning of the title is also quite clever (I'm a sucker for a good title).
Lies Beneath was an overall satisfying reading experience, and one I can share with my students with pleasure. Though it had a male protagonist, I would hesitate to give it to many of my guys, as it is still a bit "mushy" for their taste. But, for my Team Jacob girlies, this novel will come highly recommended.
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