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    Monstrous Beauty
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    Monstrous Beauty
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    Monstrous Beauty
    Ebook297 pages4 hours

    Monstrous Beauty

    By Elizabeth Fama

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra's help, Hester investigates her family's strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean - but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateSep 4, 2012
    ISBN9781429955461
    Author

    Elizabeth Fama

    ELIZABETH FAMA is the author of Overboard, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, which appeared on five state lists. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois.

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    Reviews for Monstrous Beauty

    4/5

    127 ratings30 reviews

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    • 4/5
      BookNook — Young Adult book reviewsI have read no other book like Monstrous Beauty. We have mermaids, ghosts, history, lineage, love, heartbreak, and a fascinating story with multiple characters whose lives, deaths, and fates are all intertwined.I love how Monstrous Beauty is told in two different time periods: modern day and the 1800s. It allows us to follow Hester's life as she tries to piece together her history, and follow Syrenka's life as she lives the very history that Hester is trying to uncover. We read about Syrenka's tragedy, and then switch to Hester trying to figure out her lineage, and what may be a curse that follows her family.Monstrous Beauty is riddled with a lot of death and sadness. The truth that finally emerges is really devastating.. but I won't spoil it for you. ;) The mermaids are brutal, harsh, and violent. They earn a very bad reputation amongst the sailor and fishermen's myths, and for the most part, it is well deserved.I was actually surprised how little romance is in the book. Obviously, the story itself was fueled by romance, but it doesn't dominate the story at all. The main point of the story is really the mystery aspect—Hester trying to learn about her lineage. She follows clues from the library to the graveyard to the bottom of the ocean. She tries to figure out why all the mothers in her family die after giving birth. The reason behind that is linked to a tragic love story, but we mostly learn about the history of that love rather than actually experience it first-hand.I suppose the romance was my main disappointment. It was sweet between Syrenka and Ezra, but there wasn't much romance between Hester and Ezra. Obviously it all gets explained in the end and it makes sense, but the romance between Hester and Ezra was so small, fleeting, and insta-lovey that I didn't care for it. There is a reason for that insta-love, but it didn't make it much more tolerable for me.But overall, I really enjoyed this story. I loved trying to piece together all the facts and uncover the truth. Once I got about 60 or 70% through, I pretty much already knew exactly what the ending will be, which was a bit of a bummer. But the book was still dark, creepy, and very much worth reading! My favourite part is definitely how all the characters come together at the end. They all play a significant role in the history, and it's brilliant to see how they overlap and intertwine!
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book. An interesting take on mermaids.
      Though some of it went rather quickly with out much plot growth.
    • 4/5
      This was an unexpected read. I was thinking, supernatural romance with mermaids and a little mystery and suspense, sounds fun. And this book had all that and more. A lot more. When you can use the words quadruple mermaid murder-suicide to describe the plot, that says something. This book was more violent than I expected but not gratuitously so. The action was woven very well between the two story lines, Hester in modern day Plymouth and Sarah in 19th century Plymouth. The mix of all the elements could have been convoluted but instead work really well together. Just be prepared.
    • 5/5
      Oh. My. Goodness. Go ahead and slap yourself now. This book is phenomenal. It’s almost beyond words. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of books featuring mermaids, but this book broke all the molds. It defied all my expectations. I was expecting something like a love story with a little under the sea action, but that is not what I got. What I did find is a fantastic story that had mermaids, an evil sea witch, ghosts, and true love. Wow x 3. Yep, I said ghosts and mermaids. Epicness. The way the alternating points of view intermingled was amazing. To flip from a story set in 1873 to present day—and to do it flawlessly—was fantastic. I loved every page. EVERY PAGE! And the last few chapters were intense. Speaking of intense, there is this one scene that made my stomach lurch. OMGoodness. It was so awful. It still haunts me. I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. Read it. That’s all I can say. Read it and love it. Enjoy its epicness. Savor the mystery and the haunting romance of star-crossed lovers. Devour every page. You’ll want this one on your keeper shelf.
    • 4/5
      Wow. It's been quite some time since I've read a book so well written. Elizabeth Fama truly is a master of words - her writing is evocative and aware and thoughtful. She is a real story teller. Somehow she managed to create this vivid, tangled-up plot, and sympathetic, captivating characters that added even more life to an already beautiful story.

      I absolutely loved the mermaid lore in this book. Fama hearkens back to the original mermaids: animal-like creatures with vicious pointy teeth, who seduce and murder their land-dwelling neighbors. Those who lived in this little fishing town were terrified of the sea folk and made no attempts to hide it. Monstrous Beauty was way more than just a mermaid book though; there is romance and a century old curse, a little bit of sleuthing, and some ghost. It seems like it could be all over the place with that many ingredients, but they are all pulled together so perfectly and unexpectedly.

      There is a wonderful, colorful cast of characters, each fleshed out and unique to each other. But my favorite character by far was Ezra, the young man who fell in love with the mermaid Syrenka. I loved how inquisitive he was, and how much he adored and admired Syrenka. He was open and accepting and I believe he truly loved her. He did what he could to protect her and save her, and in the end payed the ultimate price. When he comes back to modern times and meets Hester, I love him just the same. It is his innocence and his openness that draws me to him.

      The only character I couldn't really connect to was Hester. I didn't really feel like I got to know her. The only things I do know about her are her family curse and that she likes history. The rest is pretty much just a blank slate. I can't really pin down her motivations, besides to keep the plot moving. She was very closed-off from the people around her, and in turn to the reader, even if it was told in first person. The plot and the other characters, though, we well enough to make me keep reading.

      Monstrous Beauty is not your typical mermaid book. I wouldn't even call it your typical YA book. There is paranormal romance to be sure, but it is like no paranormal romance you've seen before. The sea folk of this book are beautiful, brutal monsters. And with well-rounded, lovable characters, and a complex and enthralling plot, Monstrous Beauty is a must read for lovers of magic, romance and the gray areas between good and evil.
    • 4/5
      Monstrous Beauty is a story about mermaids, but probably not like what you're thinking. In this book, the mermaids are generally dark and vicious, even when they don't mean to be. Also, there are vengeful ghosts.I keep trying to find a good angle from which to summarize the plot of this book, and I can't seem to do it. There are two interwoven stories, one in the present and one in the past, and of course the events in the past have a great deal of impact on the events in the present. The intricacy of the plot is a testament to the quality of the writing -- I didn't get lost or bogged down in reading it. There were a few things that were a little difficult to buy (the romance, for one -- I'm getting awfully picky about the romantic plots in books, aren't I?), and I think most readers will see certain twists coming before the main character does, but that's all part of the fun.I realize this is a pretty vague review, but if you think complicated plots involving vicious mermaids and unquiet spirits might be your thing, this book is for you.
    • 3/5
      Quick & Dirty: This novel will appeal to readers looking for more literary young adult novels with strong characters and high stakes that have a twist of the terrifying paranormal. The Review: Monstrous Beauty isn’t Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Here the underwater sirens are dangerous, seductive creatures who kill mortals that stumble upon them. Because Fama’s using folk lore, the story has darker undertones than other mermaid books on the shelf today. The story alternates POVs between the seductive Syrenka in the eighteen hundreds and Hester in modern times, threading together stories about cursed family and lost-love into such a complex chain the reader hardly knows what it is they want to happen. The novel’s violent—borderline gory in places—and harsh. Fama doesn’t pull her punches when is comes to the hard stuff. There’s a horror aspect to Fama’s novel that I’m not used to seeing in YA, but will definitely appeal to mature readers who want a serious paranormal. Because Fama is constantly changing the POV of the novel, you’re pulled into the story from different angles, past and present, right and wrong. Helen is trying to deal with a genetic defect in her family—none of the females survive giving birth—and how that will impact her future. Just when she convinces herself she could be happy without love, she meets the mysterious Ezra down on the beach. As Ezra helps her figure out her family’s curse, the story of Syrenka and her human lover unfolds through the chapters, a dark and deeply developed mystery evolves. The best part about Monstrous Beauty’s small cast of character is that by the time you reach the end all your first impressions (and second and third) have flown out the window. Like real people, these characters are more than you first see or expect. There were some points where a close reader could see the end coming, the predictability being the novel’s main drawback. If Hester had just taken a minute to think everything through…well, it would have been a much shorter novel. The problem with having a predictable plot is that it also makes me reconsider the intelligence of the characters. It’s always easier to see things coming when you’re reading about it from the outside, but sometimes I really wonder how a heroine failed to see the end coming. The writing was so phenomenal, however, that I almost didn’t care about the predictable plot. I can’t believe this is only Fama’s second novel. The way she strings sentences together, with perfect word choice bringing everything to life, was awing. I sank immediately into the village, the sea, our narrators. Her writing makes all the sinister aspects more immediate, all the stakes seem dearer, and every character more precious. Monstrous Beauty is a chilling novel in many respects. Far more like a young adult literary novel than I’m used to seeing in the paranormal genre.
    • 3/5
      I so wanted to love this book. I had really high expectations going in and maybe that's why I feel so let down after reading it. It felt like I was reading two separate books, one really well written and one that I could barely follow and that felt rushed. Monstrous Beauty is written in two parts the present and the past, the 1870's in alternating chapters. I completely understood what was going on in the past, everything followed a straight line and made perfect sense. Ezra Doyle, a bookish type who wanted to go to college rather than run the family shipping business came home from college to be with his dying father. While mourning his father's death, he occupied his time by drawing pictures of the abundant sea life on the Massachusetts shore. And there, he met and fell in love with a mermaid. A lot happens after that to make the present day story happen.Now, I realize if the story had been told completely in the past and then told completely in the present it might have lacked the suspense it did, but as it was, it was hard to believe that Hester could fall in love with a man she didn't know. Feel the force of an anger she felt towards him when she didn't know him and then suddenly feel this pull towards him that she couldn't deny. And with all the people that were intermarried and connected I had to draw a family tree to see who was who and if the boy that was in love with Hester wasn't a cousin or something. And then, there was that. Why have him be a love interest at all? She didn't return his feelings at all so why not just have him be a good friend or a best friend? He didn't need to be the unrequited love, it just didn't fit. I will say though, that towards the end of the book or the last third, by the time Hester is starting to put things together, the book seemed to gel or become more cohesive. It just felt like that first part of the book was too rushed and implausible.And then there's the characters. I easily liked the characters from the 1870's and felt I knew them well enough to get a feeling about them, at least, Sarah and Ezra. But I didn't like Hester at all. Not a bit. And when you can't connect with the main character, it makes it hard to connect to the story. In the end, she was noble and I liked her then, but I spent most of the book not liking her. Peter was such a side character I really didn't get to know him at all and there was Sam, her brother. At one point I had to go back and figure out who he was because there was so little mention of him.In all, this wasn't the best of the mermaid stories I've read this year. The mermaids are definitely scary and the type you want to avoid. If you like them more shark like and deadly, then this is your mermaid story. They are very non-human like. And very violent. And if you can get through the first shaky part of the story, then the rest of it is a decidedly different take on the mermaid lore.I received an ARC of this novel from the publishers Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley for review purposes. I was not compensated for my review. The opinions in this review are my own.
    • 5/5
      Seventeen-year-old Hester Goodwin has vowed to live a life without love and its complications. She’s resigned to a single life. For generations, the women in her family, including her own mother, have died mysteriously within days of giving birth. So she shies away from even her good friend Peter. They’ve grown up together in Plymouth, Massachusetts where his family owns an excursion boat business, and she works as an interpreter at Plimoth Plantation playing the part of a Pilgrim. All this changes when she meets a mysterious and stranger on the beach one night. She enchanted by Ezra, his odd manner of speech and his seductive good looks. She becomes obsessed with him, and it drives her to do things that she’s never even thought of before. The narrator’s pacing and voice fits the pace of this well researched ghost story, from leisurely and wistful when the reader is introduced to the heroine to frantic and shrill as she battles with sea monsters and gruesome death. Kellgren also displays her mastery of various accents from Wampanoag to seventeenth-century Pilgrim to nineteenth and twenty-first century American English. Her delivery of Pastor McKee’s lowland Scots is exceed only by her ability to mimic the non-human voices of a seagull (Disc 1 Track 11 at 1:30) and a mermaid (Disc 6 Track 1 at 2:00 and 3:06).
    • 5/5
      Monstrous Beauty is a wonderfully gothic story--romance, tragedy, some horror, a smidgen of gore/violence, doomed lovers, curses, ghosts, hauntings. Delicious! I love this kind of stuff!! Plus, it's original. I haven't encountered anything quite like it. Great mythology, nice use of language. There's an interesting historical (and geneological) element to it, as Hester goes through microfilmed newspapers, looks at gravestones, etc to uncover the past. A sense of foreboding pervades the story and helps to create suspense. Though not every revelation is a surprise, I still found myself impelled to find out what was going on and uncover mysteries. I feel I should warn you that there is one rape scene. It's brief, it's not graphic, but it does happen.
    • 4/5
      I've had a mission this year. I wanted to find good mermaid books - because I grew up watching The Little Mermaid, dang it and I wanted some good Ariel-vibes in the books I read.So when Monstrous Beauty came up, and I saw the glowing ratings it was getting, I allowed myself to feel hope. Not all the mermaid books I've read have been bad (The Forbidden Sea by Sheila Nielson was fantastic) - but I wanted something a little more mature.Well, I definitely got mature in Monstrous Beauty.First, the good things. Finally, a mermaid scenario that makes sense; I always wondered logistics and how they fit into myth/legend. A prologue that gave me chills. A perfect mix of paranormal and fantasy. A nice little mystery, and some freakishly creepy elements. All these things made up something that, aside from one nagging detail, could be in my top two YA reads of the year. I loved the details about Hester as well. She was strong, independent, a go-getter, and honestly ... her job cracked me up. It was so entertaining I found myself wanting to read more of what it was like to be at work. That's talent, people!The mystery was okay - I mean, once things really got going it wasn't hard to figure out - the hard part was trying to see how it would all fit together. I'm normally not a big mystery person so this wasn't as big of a deal to me.And the mermaids - they were fantastic. Every bit as chilling as I believe mermaids to be - from the jagged rows of teeth to the bloodthirstiness of certain ones. I was entranced and found myself wishing I could go lay on a rock and just wait for them to come to me by the sea.Now - that nagging detail. There's a rape in this book. And while I was surprised at the level of detail (it's not super detailed, but a little more graphic than I'm used to seeing in YA fiction), I was more concerned at how it was not addressed. At all. I mean, it's there basically as a plot device - and that disappointed me. I mean, really? Using a rape as the means to make sure your heroine ends up where you want her to be? I'm not going to rant. I'm not. But I will say I'm very tired of seeing rape bandied about and then not addressed after the fact. It leaves lasting effects on women, people. Mythical or not. I'll get off my soapbox now.So - the only thing keeping this from five stars is that detail. That's it. The rest of the story? Fantastic. I plan to read it again - but this time I'll just skip the scene that bugs the bejeebus out of me.
    • 4/5
      With all the amazing books coming out lately, I am especially excited about this one. I love a good mermaid story that has a special twist on it.What I enjoyed most about this book is the great back round history to it. Stories that flow back to the past, leaving the reader piece by pieces only intrigued me more. I love seeing the present as well as getting that flashback to the past matching it with what is going on today. Lots of the back round history in the book has affected generation after generation. It's good to see one person in the family seeking out the answers that were never found.With that said, the plot twist in the book is awesome. Most mermaid stories follow the same rules, but this world played by their own rules. I enjoyed the different circumstances of being a mermaid. The consequences that followed them is harsh. Yet, as the reader, all I wanted to do is bring them some kind of peace.The love interest as well played out differently than what I thought. Unique and entertaining, I was no other but hooked to follow to the end. I am amazed of how well the past flowed to the future. It weaved beautifully, leaving me giddy.Monstrous Beauty is a an well constructed story. Beautifully woven, Monstrous Beauty is written wonderfully. The stunning world building with great plot, Monstrous Beauty is great.
    • 5/5
      Guys, it's books like this that keep me reading YA paranormal stuff. Stunningly wrought and carefully crafted, "Monstrous Beauty" is a feast for the senses, and quite the teaser for the brain. I don't even know where to begin talking about how much I loved this book. If you like paranormal romance and historical fiction, you simply must read this book.I guess I'll start with the sensory imagery/language area, as that's the one that blew me away the most (along with the mystery tangled within the plot). Fama brings all of the Plymouth area of Massachusetts to life in all time periods - from the prologue in the 1500s, to Syrenka's misadventures with Ezra and the townspeople in the 1870s, to our current time. I could smell the food, feel the spray of the sea on my skin and the itch of Hester's heavy wool pretend-Puritan skirt, taste the salt of the ocean on my tongue, hear the ghosts and their pleas for help. Everything just felt so real, so solid, and everything is minutely detailed. Nothing is left to chance, everything is described in gorgeous terms. This ties into the worldbuilding, which was also excellent - while the 1500s were a little blurrier than Syrenka and Ezra's time and our current time, everything was still built up wonderfully. The creepy church and crypt and graveyard just added to this book's strange charm, and absolutely cast a spell over me. It felt 100% real.The plot: While some may get dizzied by the switching time periods and points of view, stick with it. The two puzzles that Hester and Syrenka, in their separate time periods, must unravel are very intricate and complicated. I'd have to call this the relationship web school of plot, if anything - everyone is related to everyone else, and ties back into the world that Fama has created. The relationship web is VERY important when it comes to Hester's puzzle, and later in the book, to Syrenka's. It turns into a whodunnit tale, a chain of love, murder, and revenge, of men and monsters. Absolutely delicious all the way. (And the scene in the underwater nursery? Gave me the chills. WONDERFUL.)The characters: I LOVED Syrenka. I wanted to give her a hug and be her bff. Not even kidding. She may be a monster, the truest kind of mermaid (or merrow, depending on which mermaid myth you subscribe to) - seducing men into their deaths, in order to get souls of their own - but she's trying to become human. The Sea Witch was disgusting but so real that I had at least one nightmare about her. And the ghosts of everyone felt like real people until we get each and every single Big Reveal about who they really are, and how they relate to one another in the relationship web. Each character gets their own journey arc, no matter how small (yes, even the ghosts), and we get to see the results in the explosive ending. Hester was great, and slipping into her skin was extremely easy. She felt like a real, modern girl, and she's a very sympathetic character that I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to. I could keep going on, but I won't. All of this book is beautiful. While I still might have had a question or two at the end of the book, I didn't care if I got the answer because I was just so stunned at how complete the ending felt like. Fans of traditional YA PNR may not be able to relate to this one as much as Fama takes the magical realism school of literary fiction more than your normal YA PNR story - just a warning, but keep trying anyway. The ending is well worth it. "Monstrous Beauty" will be out from Macmillan in North America on September 4th, so be sure to check it out then. Its place on my best of 2012 so far list is well-deserved indeed, and it's definitely worth the read.(posted to goodreads, shelfari, librarything, and birthofanewwitch.wordpress,com)
    • 3/5
      I liked the Plymouth setting, it helped bolster a historical family saga, and explained why our modern-day main character is named Hester. I liked the plot, love story avec mermaid gets replayed in successive generations. The details were just about the right amount of complex ... you did have to pay attention and put some clues together, but it wasn't so crazy that it's easy to give up trying to keep anything straight. As sometimes happens in books like these, it's a little silly that teenagers who set out to do some research seem to walk into a library and come across the right primary source document right out of the gate, but I guess things have to keep moving. I liked that some of the characters are good, and others are selfish, and some seem very believably in between. The book presents the concept of ghosts as beings who are literally lost, and it's very convincingly sad. My complaints with the book are mostly Old Person complaints. Hester seems a little ... overly assertive? to me. She strides around a lot, making demands of adults, despite the fact that she's presented as a quiet teenager, almost shy. But I can tell I'm getting into "hey you kids, get off my lawn" territory with this.
    • 3/5
      Hester Goodwin has sworn to never fall in love and marry. For the last five generations, the women of her family have died after having their first child. Walking on the beach alone one day, though, she meets a very good looking young man and they are immediately attracted to each other. Stories of sea creatures - mermaids - have always circulated among the fisherfolk of Plymouth, and Hester is about to learn how the mermaids, a haunted graveyard and her family history intersect.
    • 4/5
      Wow. It's been quite some time since I've read a book so well written. Elizabeth Fama truly is a master of words - her writing is evocative and aware and thoughtful. She is a real story teller. Somehow she managed to create this vivid, tangled-up plot, and sympathetic, captivating characters that added even more life to an already beautiful story.

      I absolutely loved the mermaid lore in this book. Fama hearkens back to the original mermaids: animal-like creatures with vicious pointy teeth, who seduce and murder their land-dwelling neighbors. Those who lived in this little fishing town were terrified of the sea folk and made no attempts to hide it. Monstrous Beauty was way more than just a mermaid book though; there is romance and a century old curse, a little bit of sleuthing, and some ghost. It seems like it could be all over the place with that many ingredients, but they are all pulled together so perfectly and unexpectedly.

      There is a wonderful, colorful cast of characters, each fleshed out and unique to each other. But my favorite character by far was Ezra, the young man who fell in love with the mermaid Syrenka. I loved how inquisitive he was, and how much he adored and admired Syrenka. He was open and accepting and I believe he truly loved her. He did what he could to protect her and save her, and in the end payed the ultimate price. When he comes back to modern times and meets Hester, I love him just the same. It is his innocence and his openness that draws me to him.

      The only character I couldn't really connect to was Hester. I didn't really feel like I got to know her. The only things I do know about her are her family curse and that she likes history. The rest is pretty much just a blank slate. I can't really pin down her motivations, besides to keep the plot moving. She was very closed-off from the people around her, and in turn to the reader, even if it was told in first person. The plot and the other characters, though, we well enough to make me keep reading.

      Monstrous Beauty is not your typical mermaid book. I wouldn't even call it your typical YA book. There is paranormal romance to be sure, but it is like no paranormal romance you've seen before. The sea folk of this book are beautiful, brutal monsters. And with well-rounded, lovable characters, and a complex and enthralling plot, Monstrous Beauty is a must read for lovers of magic, romance and the gray areas between good and evil.
    • 5/5
      I read this in a single morning - it was so good, I didn't want to put it down. Loved the historical fiction/fantasy blending. The mermaid culture was well thought out and plenty creepy. Everything moved really fast plotwise; you have to be on your toes to keep up.

      Disclosure - I know Elizabeth Fama online a little bit; we've worked together on a couple of blog posts.
    • 5/5
      My Opinion: I was quite impressed with this book as it was different from most other mermaid books out now. I tend to love mermaid books anyway, and this one was unique enough to really grab my attention. To begin with, it's written from the POV of two different female mermaids, one in our time (Hester) and one who lived one hundred and forty years ago (Syrenka)! Then we have poor Hester, whose family history shows that to fall in love means death. Since Hester thinks it's a family curse, she is determined never to fall in love, but as we all know, teenage hormones are not going to go along with that at all! First she starts having feelings for her neighbor and friend, Peter, and when she runs away from him, she runs smack dab into gorgeous Ezra on the beach! What's a girl to do? Then there's the weird happenings at the church and in the graveyard that I'm not even going to tell you about because I want them to be a surprise :) All in all, I really enjoyed this book. Syrenka and Hester had very different voices and ways of talking so it was easy to switch back and forth between their POVs, which is always a plus. The characters were compelling, the pace of the book was spot on, and I definitely recommend it to all lovers of YA mermaid tales :DI received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
    • 2/5
      This is a well written book and may even deserve a higher rating but I struggled through it. I think the reason why I struggled through it was the subject matter vs whether it was a good book.
    • 4/5
      This free young adult book ended up being quite entertaining. This is the second novel by the author for me and I like this one better than the first one I read. The story is set in Puritan England and in two time periods. It jumps back and forth telling the story of different characters who all died on the same day. It involves mermaids, sea monsters and ghosts. Very entertaining. A bit of sex and a few swear words are in this book so if considering whether you want your young person, be aware. There is also a fair amount of violence. There is a strong female character for the main character. The author is a good researcher and the end of the audible book, she talks a bit about her researching the book.
    • 4/5
      A mermaid ghost story? Interesting. I wish the book were as interesting as its plot, but overall, more memorable than many things I've read this summer.
    • 3/5
      If you're looking for a good October read or just something with a bit of a creep factor, then this one is for you! I enjoyed the story and the romance was timeless, but something lacked for me. It could have been the odd historical language or the fact that we never got dialogue between the main character and her parents... Just a part of the story was missing for me.

      To describe the book... I'd say it's a dark version of The Little Mermaid. It's about a mermaid family curse that turns many shades of dark. I liked the edge this tale brought and the romance that spanned over years. The characters were likeable, but I wished we got more of Peter and what happened after she set the souls free.

      It was a good fast read that I'd recommend to all readers searching for an unconventional story.
    • 5/5
      Background: In the 1800’s in Plymouth, Syrenka is in love with Ezra; the only problem is that Ezra is human and she is not. Current day, Hester is just a teen with a horrible family problem, after having children, all of the mothers die. Hester has sworn off love and children, until one day she meets Ezra and begins to think that there is a chance for her to have everything she dreams of.

      Review: Two intertwining stories are told in this wonderful, creepy, and dark take about sea creatures, magic, and ghosts. With alternating point of views we learn about Syrenka and Ezra and about Hester and her modern life. I received this via audio book from Macmillan and was at first a little put off by the audio reader; but as the story progressed, the strength in her voice added to the strength of the female characters and how they interacted throughout the book.
      Syrenka and Ezra’s story is full of ups and downs, first I hated her and then I felt for her. Their story is set in the 1800’s in Plymouth and how they came to be together. Alternating is Hester’s tale, a normal history-buff teenager, working/ living in historic Plymouth, trying not to fall in love. Syrenka’s and Hester’s tales start to mold together and the darkness begins with a good portion of the story taking place in a cemetery and an old church. Later, there is drama, murder, trickery, and myth all rolled into one amazing story. Fama did a wonderful job recreating the time periods and the layout of Plymouth, as well as researching extensively to do so. Very well written, in vernacular at times, and overall a wonderful read/ listen. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      This book was not at all what I expected, which turned out to be absolutely wonderful. It was a dark and beautiful mystery that was part fairy-tale and part ghost story. Lovely.
    • 5/5
      Haunting. Beautiful. My heart aches. I highly recommend reading it.
    • 4/5
      Good supernatural fiction that moved between past and present and explored the darker side of mermaids, with a few ghosts thrown in.
    • 2/5
      How did I manage to read another book this year where a guy goes from the past to the present via magical means and makes out with the great-great-great-granddaughter of his previous love interest? Once again no one acknowledges how creepy this is.

      As for the rest of the book I liked the mermaid and supernatural stuff ok, but overall I just wasnt that into it. I guessed what was up with the mystery pretty early on and then proceeded to get frustrated with the other characters for not catching on. Unfair of me but thats the way my brain was working I guess.

      There was also quite a bit of unpleasantness...a pretty graphic and unexpected rape scene, multiple scenes of sexual harassment/assault, and some grisly deaths. The sexual violence bothered me a lot more than the murder.
    • 5/5
      Monstrous Beauty opens by introducing the reader to the passion, alienation, and disaster of Syrenka, a mermaid to dispel any inclinations one might link to the Disney version of such creatures. In this world, mermaids have eyes "reminiscent of an octopus," razor-sharp wrist fins, and long tails covered in armored scales. They are beholden to Noo'kas, the witch-queen of the marine world, but Syrenka can't be content to put Noo'kas' jealous whims before her own needs. She falls in love with a young naturalist named Ezra in 1872, a relationship fraught with tragedy before they barely have a chance to be together.

      In alternating chapters, we meet Hester in present day New England, a young woman who suspects the women in her lineage have a curse set upon them, dooming them to die shortly after the birth of their daughters. During this summer, she meets several mysterious characters that may provide insight on this curse and sets about on a haunting and dangerous journey to discover her connection with Syrenka.

      Monstrous Beauty drew me in from the very first page, and I found it hard to put down (actually, I dropped everything I needed to do and read it in nearly a day). It is filled with such a fine balance of mystery that both allows the reader an omniscient control over the link between Syrenka and Hester and drops in new pieces of the puzzle to keep the creepiness and suspense on high straight to the end. You can tell the work that Elizabeth Fama put into researching the book--it draws so soundly upon the folklore of mermaids and the New England setting of Plymouth, MA, that it is impossible not to get caught up in the lush, atmospheric ebb and flow of coastal life. Before you can dismiss it for being "just another mermaid book," it grips you with all the gothic horror and adventure of great 19th century novels while holding its own as a modern novel. It is immediately evident that this is foremost the story of a young woman learning to take charge of her own life, fighting against the odds. Hester and Syrenka are quite different from each other and yet they share a strikingly empathetic blend of naivete and insight. Fama's characters are strong, unique, and thoroughly likeable despite all the grim and twisted events they suffer (or perpetrate). This novel makes the paranormal credible and literary again--a notion that seems to have been lost particularly in YA literature. There is a depth to it that is often absent in most other YA novels I have read, which I found invigorating, but it is characteristic better suited more for mature YA audiences and stands as excellent crossover appeal for adults. It is a bold read for adventurous readers.
    • 4/5
      When Syrenka, a young, headstrong mermaid falls in love with Ezra, a human, she gives up her life in the sea to be with him. She doesn't realize that this decision will prove deadly. More than a century later, Hester meets a young man named Ezra and is immediately drawn to him. The bond is so strong, it's almost as if she can't stay away from him. The problem for Hester is that there's a curse on her family and the women always seem to die once they fall in love. Hester is determined to find out the reason, but what she doesn't realize is just how dangerous searching for answers will be.I must admit that I've always been a little indifferent about mermaids, but I loved the original story of The Little Mermaid. As of late, I really haven't fallen in love with any of the mermaid books I have read. While I wasn't totally in love with this one either, I will admit that it did hold my attention. There's a great mix of mystery, action, ghosts and romance to keep things interesting. The mystery surrounding Hester's family curse intrigued me. There are a lot of characters in this book (mermaids, humans and ghosts in two different time periods), but for the most part, I was able to keep up with who was who.The writing is very fluid, though it did seem to drag in parts. Ms. Fama's style is perfectly suited to this story. Somehow she managed to make it feel as if I were floating peacefully in the water while reading. It just had that atmosphere, and I didn't realize it until about halfway through the book. Another thing that Ms. Fama pulls off well is alternating between two time periods without losing the reader, or breaking up the flow of the story.With an elegant writing style, Ms. Fama has written an engaging mystery. It will definitely appeal to fans of romance, mermaids and deep family secrets.
    • 4/5
      This book started off very promising. Its alternating present day and historical chapters really kept me turning the pages. But at one point, when the past and present began to collide, the story line became a little hard to follow and convoluted. I wonder if it might be a little overly complicated for a teen audience...The characters too were far more mature than the teens I've seen in other teen fiction. This title could have easily been marketed as an adult book. Despite its shortcomings though, this book wins points with me for having well developed characters and for the author's ability to interweave so many different kinds of the supernatural. And I'll take a mermaid over a vampire any day!