Ripple by Mandy Hubbard



Lexi has always been drawn to the ocean, but on the night of her 16th birthday, she finds herself compulsively wanting to go for a swim and convinces her crush Steven to go with her. Something happens, and before she knows it she surfaces and finds Steven dead. Lexi is a siren, and must swim every night. When she sings her song, men can't help but follow her in to their death. After she kills Steven, she distances herself from her friends. She can't resist hurting anyone else, and its safer that way. Plus, they all blame her for Steven's death anyway (even though the autopsy shows he simply drowned). Then she meets Cole, who was Steven's best friend. She finds herself falling in love with him and wanting to share things with him. And then there's the mysterious Erik, who tells her that there is a way to end the curse and live a normal life. The catch, is that she would have to give up Cole.

 

I honestly wasn't a huge fan of Lexi. She kinda frustrated me with all of her fickleness. She was sooo in love with Steven. Then he dies, and she finds herself falling in love with Cole, who happened to be his best friend. And then there's Erik, and is she falling for him too? Okay that's getting confusing haha. I felt pretty loyal to Cole, so Erik angered me for sticking his head in Lexi's life. Also, she's sort of a b*tch to people. I guess it goes with the whole "distancing" thing, but she's kinda mean. She has her moments where I like her, but I wouldn't want to be BFFs with her. I don't blame Sienna for not really liking her afterward.

 

As for the concept of the story, amazing. I've never read anything about sirens, in fact, I barely know anything about them. And I had never heard of a nix before. I really liked the whole modern-day siren story. Ripple had a few slow moments, but it got really exciting towards the end. It was truly like an adventure because I wasn't able to predict a lot of things.

 

I think the cover is really beautiful, even though I'm not a huge fan of book covers with people on them. The title was kinda ehhh, it was simple and intriguing but not the most relevant to the story. Or at least not as relevant as it could have been haha.

 

A few things that bothered me was the location. Maybe I missed it, but I had no idea where this took place. I probably missed it somewhere though haha. Also, the grandmother. Ripple doesn't mention what she thinks of her granddaughter never sleeping at home. Hmmm...

 

I would have given this book 5 stars, but I think the conclusion could have been a little longer and things could have been said that would have tied the whole thing together, and there was the whole fact that Lexi was kinda mehh for me. But I really did like the concept and the story, so its like a 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's a unique, magical read, and I would recommend it.