Atlantis Riptide

Atlantis Riptide was a summery, fun read that follows the circus runaway, Pearl, as she navigates her way through a familiar teen gig at a theme park on the Boardwalk...and the less familiar teen gig of managing secrets about her supernatural abilities underwater.

Though this book is billed as a YA romance, it has plenty of under water action and twists that gives Pearl opportunities to shine while still placing her in personal situations that are relatable.

The "but..." part of the review title and the reason for only 4 out of 5 stars is in the romance, which unfortunately follows the trope of flawlessly gorgeous young man who falls in insta-love over the protagonist without any genuine chemistry except through the insisted upon "telling" of said "chemistry." You get the feeling Pearl is only attracted to her love interest because he is literally the only friend she's ever had whom she made only five minutes ago. And by the way, he happens to be her boss and he bought her a burger, once. In Pearl's very disadvantaged situation at the age of sixteen, she is more likely desperate for any kind of friendship than true romance, and she would easy prey for anyone to take advantage of that. Sure, there are the expected moments of heroics that are supposed to signal that her love interest is a stand-up gentleman, but I kept thinking this would be a much more interesting story if he DID turn out to be more disappointing, and Pearl could've been a more solid character without the template-perfect arm candy at the end.

But it's STILL 4 stars for a mostly positive review.

If you can just keep swimming through the teen-cringe romance, you'll find more interesting moments in this underwater adventure!

Wonderful play on the emotions of teenagers.

The book is an adventure you can’t put down.