Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Book one in The Aquarathi series

Publisher : RAH Media LLC

Publication date : September 7th, 2019

Source : eBook from Xpresso

Rating : 5 hearts

Synopsis

THE DEEP CAN BE DEADLY…BUT LOVE CAN BE DEADLIER

Nerissa Marin is far from home. Though she lives an anonymous life on land during her cycle of human study, she is Aquarathi royalty by birth—and the future monarch of a hidden, undersea kingdom. But when her father is murdered, the human world becomes her only refuge.

Adrift and indifferent, Riss indulges her every whim, including her feelings for the new surf king of Dover Prep, Lokeane Seavon. But as the day she comes of age looms closer, old enemies appear and challenges are issued: If she forsakes her throne, her people will suffer for it.

To win her crown, she must become the queen she was born to be.

Review

Nerissa is an Aquarathi, an Alien species that fled its planet to Earth. This species is aquatic, they are not sirens, I rather see them as marine dragons. The king was Nerissa’s father, he sent her to the mainland to study human beings, like all heirs. However, Nerissa’s father was murdered and the new regent had to fight Nerissa in a duel to become queen.

On land, Nerissa must therefore prepare for the battle, avoiding endangering her human friends and trying not to fall in love at the same time.

I really liked this first volume, Nerissa is certainly quite selfish at first but she will evolve and become a real queen. She is helped by Echlios and Soren, her guards and Speio their son.

It can be said that Speio is not particularly happy to be stuck far from Waterfell and he will not always make the right decisions towards Nerissa.

However, Nerissa will be able to count on Jenna, her best friend. She will do everything she can to help him.

Lo is the new boy who arrives at his school and will shake up Nerissa’s life.

The friendship between Nerissa and Jenna is an important part of this book, we discover that without this friendship Nerissa would have been a completely different person and then we can only love Jenna. She is funny, smart, fearless (or almost).

The love story between Lo and Nerissa is a complex affair, it takes time to create and they turn around for a while. But I like them both very much, they are cute and go very well together.

Amalie Howard takes us into a magical and extraordinary world, with aliens different from what we expect and she writes very well.

Quick word: A story to read absolutely to discover a wonderful fantastic universe.

Chronique

Nerissa est une Aquarathi, une espèce Alien qui a fuit sa planète pour venir sur Terre. Cette espèce est aquatique, ce ne sont pas des sirènes, je les vois plutôt comme des dragons marins. Le roi était le père de Nerissa, il l’a envoyé sur la terre ferme afin qu’elle étudie les êtres humains, comme tous les héritiers. Cependant, le père de Nerissa a été assassiné et la nouvelle régente doit combattre Nerissa en duel pour devenir reine.

Sur la terre ferme, Nerissa doit donc se préparer à la bataille, tout évitant de mettre en danger ses amis humains et en essayant par la même occasion de ne pas tomber amoureuse.

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce premier tome, Nerissa est certes assez égoïste au début mais elle va évoluer et devenir une vraie reine. Elle est aidée par Echlios et Soren, ses gardes ainsi que par Speio leur fils.

On peut dire que Speio n’est pas particulièrement heureux d’être coincé loin de Waterfell et il ne prendra pas toujours les bonnes décisions vis-à-vis de Nerissa.

Cependant, Nerissa pourra compter sur Jenna, sa meilleure amie. Celle-ci fera tout ce qu’elle peut pour l’aider.

Lo est le nouveau garçon qui arrive dans son école et qui va bousculer la vie de Nerissa.

L’amitié entre Nerissa et Jenna est une part importante de ce livre, on découvre que sans cette amitié Nerissa aurait été une toute autre personne et puis on ne peut qu’aimer Jenna. Elle est drôle, intelligente, n’a peur de rien (ou presque).

L’histoire d’amour entre Lo et Nerissa est une affaire complexe, elle met du temps à se créer et ils se tournent autour pendant un moment. Mais je les aime beaucoup tous les deux, ils sont mignons et vont très bien ensemble.

Amalie Howard nous emporte dans un monde magique et extraordinaire, avec des aliens différents de ce à quoi on s’attends et elle écrit très bien.

En bref : Une histoire à lire absolument pour découvrir un univers fantastique génial.

About the author

AMALIE HOWARD is the author of several young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kid’s INDIE NEXT title. Her debut novel, Bloodspell, was a #1 Amazon bestseller and a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read. The sequel, Bloodcraft, was a silver IPPY medalist and a Children’s Moonbeam award winner. She is also the co-author of the adult historical romance series, THE LORDS OF ESSEX, written with her good friend and fellow author, Angie Morgan.

As an author of color and a proud supporter of diversity in fiction, her articles on multicultural fiction have appeared in The Portland Book Review and on the popular Diversity in YA blog. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children. Visit her at amaliehoward.com.

Links

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48126762-waterfell

Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0996958460/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9