Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Heart of the Storm by Michael Buckley - Review

“There’s something out in that water. Be ready to take the people you love and leave when it comes onshore.”

For three months, Lyric Walker has been trapped in the hunting grounds, the Alpha city at the bottom of the ocean. But Lyric Walker, Brooklyn girl, is not going down without a fight. She makes an unlikely alliance with her jailor, a Rusalka named Husk. Husk reveals the truth about what actually resides in the Great Abyss. The Great Abyss is not some Alpha god but belongs to an unknown clan of monsters, ones who think in a hive mentality and believe anyone who cannot hear their voice is broken and must be destroyed. And Lyric has just woken them.

After a death-defying escape, Lyric makes her journey back to the mainland to prepare humanity for another monster invasion. Once reunited with her parents, Bex, and hot-nerd-with-potential Riley, Lyric has to break the terrible truth.

Lyric was just a girl when the Alpha arrived in her hometown. She was a soldier in the second attack that saved her world. What will she have to become now, and who will she have to leave behind?

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Heart of the Sea is the third and final installment of The Undertow Trilogy by Michael Buckley. It takes place in a alternate/semi post-apocolyptic world, mostly in New York, and is filled with the same original lore and action as the rest of the series, but deals with much higher stakes and has a darker tone. 

Heart of the Sea does a really good job of not holding back the sacrifices and losses that go along with battle. In this case, it's not only against the creatures from the sea that Lyric and her cohorts have to face but also other humans. The writing throughout the series is great and pulls readers along with good pace that reveals the magic and lore of the world without dumping information all at once or leaving readers confused. The characters, including Lyric, are well developed and have unique characters, and, most importantly in my opinion, change believably throughout the series as the situation becomes more dire. Lyric especially really develops into a completely different character, and I appreciate the choices she makes at the end of the book. 
The pacing gets a little wonky at some moments, moving a little too quickly or getting a little disorienting because it jumps back and forth from the present to past memories. Lyric is on a mission to protect everyone she loves and while it ends with a bang (and I absolutely LOVE the epilogue), the ever-present danger from the first page of the book made the ending seem a little prolonged. There are some plot points that made the story seem a little predictable, though I think that Lyric's character saved it. 

Overall, Heart of the Storm is a great ending to the trilogy. It is crucial you start with Undertow, since the series is dependent on knowing what was happening in previous books and the characters and supernatural aspects are best understood by following Lyric's journey from the beginning. Filled with action, killer supernatural sea creatures, a little bit of forbidden romance, and a great female heroine unafraid to do anything to protect those she loves, Heart of the Storm is a fantastic ending to a unique and enjoyable series. Perfect for fans of Divergent (with a little more supernatural stuff) and the Syrena Legacy (with a little more dystopian stuff). 

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
(I couldn't find a website but) You can find out more about Michael Buckley and his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Buckley/e/B001JS9QJI

Happy Reading!

Jasmine

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