Audiobook Review: Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Title: Beneath the Haunting Sea
Author: Joanna Ruth Meyer
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
Publication Date: January 9th, 2018
Publisher: Page Street YA
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Can’t you hear it, Talia?
Can’t you hear the waves singing?

Sixteen-year-old Talia was born to a life of certainty and luxury, destined to become Empress of half the world. But when an ambitious rival seizes power, she and her mother are banished to a nowhere province on the far edge of the Northern Sea.

It is here, in the drafty halls of the Ruen-Dahr, that Talia discovers family secrets, a melancholy boy with a troubling vision of her future, and a relic that holds the power of an ancient Star. On these shores, the eerie melody of the sea is stronger than ever, revealing long-forgotten tales of the Goddess Rahn. The more dark truths that Talia unravels about the gods’ history–and her own–the more the waves call to her, and it may be her destiny to answer.” (Goodreads)

Edit: I just finished rereading this but this time I listened to it and thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook. The narrator does a great job of differing the voices and I just loved how it felt listening to the mythology of the gods from the book. It was well done and my thoughts still stand as my original review. Wen is the sweetest cinna-roll ever and I love him!

The only reason I knew this book existed was because of NetGalley and seeing the sequel on there. The sequel sounded interesting and so I decided to request it knowing that I would need to read the first. Usually, this could be a very bad thing. I am glad that it worked out and that I enjoyed this book! It was different than what I thought it would be and I only had a couple minor issues with the book overall.

Talia was a character that had to deal with a lot bad things. I’m not really sure how she managed to stay so strong through it all because I would have been a wreck. Even when things begin to look up, something else happens and she still held her head high. I liked that about her. There were a couple times that I wanted to yell at her and tell her how selfish she was being but I think that everything she was doing was to be expected. She was stubborn and didn’t want to do what others told her to do. I probably would have made the same choices as her, to be honest. My one gripe with her was how she quickly forgave this other girl and laid the blame all on Caiden even though the girl was the mastermind behind what was happening.

As for the other characters, I loved Wen and Caiden. Any book with brothers is a plus for me! They were both different since Wen was quiet and Caiden was bold and very charming. They each had their faults at times and when I thought I knew who I wanted her to be with, the other brother becomes so irresistable! Now, I will say that the relationships in the book can be considered insta-love. Did I hate it? No, because that brother is just so dang charming! (I couldn’t resist it!)

There are other characters that are introduced throughout and the one thing I didn’t like about the minor characters was needing more from a few. Once their plot point had run its course then they were done. There was closure but I am just set in my ways and I needed more!

The book is filled with plot twists that involve love triangles, family drama, and a sea that calls which can drive you to madness. It was easy to get swept away and it made it real hard to put down even when it was time for bed. I will say that the ending was anti-climatic and definitely my least favorite part of the book. I just needed more action or something from someone who was supposed to be quite powerful.

The one thing that really pulled me into this book was the world building. The author did a great job of creating it and adding stories of the old gods to help bring everything together and let the reader understand why it was all so important. As someone who loves mythology, this was perfect!

Overall, this book was enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it!

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