THE MERS BY AMI BLACKWELDER

BLURB from Goodreads
A Mermaid Dystopian...out now! 
The Mers: 
What lies beneath the surface? 
One hundred years from now, the world has 
changed and brought with it, new forms of life. 
Who are the Mers? Who is Mira? 

Mira always knew she was different. Growing up with Mers, she never quite fit in. When Mira breaks the rules and takes Niren with heracross the border dividing Ellis Island and New Jersey, the border dividing two vastly different worlds, she thought the journey to find out who she really is would be an easy one. 

But, as the world in Jersey proves to be a convoluted mix of aristocrats who hate the Mers, pirates who want to sell them, and magi who want to use them...finding her true identity will be a challenge, especially when her best friend Niren is a Mer willing to fight to the death. 


MY  REVIEW
I did find this a little difficult to get into to begin with, but once I got to reading more about Nerin, his sister Nerissa and of course the main character Mira I really became hooked on what would happen next.
I like the way the Mers are so accepting of Mira even though she is different from them. Then Mira finds out the Mers that she thought where her parents are really the people who found her abandoned and brought her up as one of their own, she feels the need to find out what she thinks is her true identity and find her birth parents.
Mira sets off on her quest only to be followed by Nerin who secretly loves Mira and his little sister tags along after them not wanting to be left out of the great adventure. They face the dangers of Limbo, and eventually reach the town of Remnantville, where things seem extremely odd to them. Mira is immediately accepted and it is Nerin and Nerissa that face the prejudice and danger here.
What started out as an adventure to find out who Mira's parents are, soon becomes a fight for their own survival and the future survival and safety of the Mers too.
They meet allies in the least likely places as well as facing many enemies.
I did enjoy the battles that the trio faced, how they ended up rescuing much stronger Mers than themselves. I enjoyed the relationship between Nerin and Mira and how it developed into something deeper as their journey went on. I also loved how Mira interacted with Nerissa at one point in the book even saying that Nerissa was as much her sister as Nerin's. Mira's Mer family also show that though they worried about Mira they love her unconditionally. There are plenty of twists and turns in the tale, we find out who Mira's parents are , why she had to be sent away for her own safety. We also learn what Mira is. We ponder whether Mira should really trust her half brother Ethan. The end of the book leaves the way open for further tales, it leaves you feeling that the Mers battle for survival is far from over in certain ways.
I like the cover of this book, though it is also available with a different cover which I like even more (pictured below) The covers depict Mira with her unusual red hair, that in the end leads her to her father as that is who she gets the red hair from and her unusual hair colour is from her mother.
So, did I enjoy the book? Yes, Would I recommend it? Yes,  Any negatives?As I was reading an unedited arc there were quite a few mistakes and spacing issues. Was not as dystopian as i thought I would call it more fantasy really with a dystopian twist in there too. Would I read more in the series? Yes.

I feel that I prefer this cover this is the one I would pick up in a book store more than the other cover, even though the other cover is more colourful. Only negative on this cover is that the authors name is placed straight across the character of Mira's face! this cover is apparently going to be used for the re-released edition.


Available at Amazon.co.uk