I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

My first book by this author, and second work (previously read a short story).

I admit that I was first drawn to this book because of the cover. There are ruins under the sea, and divers swimming around. I love exploration and discovery stories, though I seem to rarely read them. This one looked interesting. Then I read the book description and realized that the book wasn’t exactly what I’d expect. Don’t worry, once I started reading, the book turned out to be even more different than expected.

Point of Views
There are four points of views:
(1) Vivien Palmer, (2) Kai Merlin, (3) Galen & Hadley Merlin, and (4) Steve Hawksworth.

Characters
Kai Merlin is the daughter of Galen Merlin & Hadley Marcus East Merlin and designated heir to her mother’s . . . um . . . queendom under the sea. You know, Atlantis. The book opens with her newly graduated from the academy and on assignment (which is confusing because there’s also a longish history of her wandering specific spots ‘up above the waves’ doing good things, like Peace Corps, and finding water). Her assignment, chosen by her herself, takes her to the Gulf of Mexico.
Of importance: Isla Hessen and Talin Sander (members of her team), Ivan and Ram (sharks), Galen Merlin & Hadley Marus East Merlin (mother and mother), Sibyl Merlin (grandmother), Brook & Mari (grandmothers)

Vivien Palmer is the daughter of Winston and Cornelia Palmer and designated as heir to the control of Palmer oil (I forget now the name of their company). The parents exert a lot of pressure on Vivien to do their bidding, and to marry a man (specifically Steve Hawksworth). Vivien would prefer to spend her time exploring beneath the waves. Which she does every chance she gets. Before the start of this book, Vivien worked as the supervising engineer (or whatever her title was) on Triton, an oil platform nearly completion and ‘turn on’.
Of importance: Frankie Palmer (brother), Winston Palmer (father), Cornelia Palmer (mother),

Galen & Hadley Merlin: Galen is queen, Hadley is her consort. Kai is their sole child.
Of importance: Sibyl Merlin (Galen’s mother), Kai, Clarice (Galen’s sister), Brook & Mari (Hadley’s mothers)

Steve Hawksworth is a senior vice president in the Palmer oil company, and designated husband to Vivien Palmer. At least Winston Palmer has designated him as such.
Of importance: Tanice Themis (his assistant), Jonathan Hawksworth

Franklin ‘Frankie’ Winston Palmer V is Vivien’s brother, and skilled with contracts. He is wheel-chair bound.
Of importance: Vivien, parents.

Winston Palmer head of Palmer Oil, father of Vivien and Frankie Palmer. Husband of Cornelia Palmer. A hard charging oil man who has strong opinions and doesn’t like people going against his wishes (which includes ignoring the fact that his daughter is a lesbian, and that she’d prefer to do something else with her life than work for Palmer Oil).
Of importance: Palmer people.

Cornelia Palmer is Winston’s wife and has backed him for the last few years, but by the time of this book, has ‘awoken’ to the idea that she might have pushed her kids away.
Of importance: Palmers

Plot
The book follows several points of view to convey the story. Boiled down – a new oil platform is nearing completion – it’s an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that Vivien has worked hard on. Both to get it approved, to meet regulators stringent oversight (with BP’s Deepwater horizon oil spill in the background), and her own desire to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

As the book opens, though, Vivien is being forced back to the fold, to the corner office of Palmer Oil. Where she, and presumably Frankie, will be groomed to take over the company. Also, her parents keep thrusting a man named Steve Hawksworth at her with the intention that she would marry him. Despite the fact that Vivien is a lesbian and her parents know this fact. And, to add to the pressures, someone has been put in Vivien’s place on the Triton oil platform – Kai Merlin.

So Vivien proceeds through the book with this pressure on her, while at the same time trying to keep up her explorations of the underwater areas of earth. Plus, a close up examination of this ‘Kai’ person who has been thrust into her old role. She, Vivien, is suspicious by nature, and this certainly is suspicious.

Meanwhile Kai has arrived with the assignment in the Gulf Coast area to try to, as much as possible, help enhance the environmental safe guards.

Galen and Hadley, since they also have a POV, are tasked with the mission of watching things unfold while working as leaders of their people, and having vaguely inappropriate public sex.

Steve, also a POV, is on a quest to take over Palmer Oil by any means necessary. Plan A involves marrying Vivien and pushing her to the side to take the reins of Palmer.

I’m purposely leaving out a lot. Mostly because this is a review not a plot summary. Just a few things left to note regarding the plot - there are some the fantasy-like elements in the story, – the magical shells that connect Franklin to Vivien, and both to Kai; the ‘magical’ abilities of Kai with underwater thingies, like sharks. And there are science fiction elements – the advanced technology of Kai's people, and the part where they aren’t actually humans but aliens. (this spoiler is one that is probably one that gets mentioned immediately, but I forget now if it is the case, so spoiler tag used).

Overall
I've found, from my extensive reading of Vali, I joke with myself, that I find that there is something of a fog/haze between me and the characters. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but I noticed it in both works I've read by Vali. A certain distance between me, the reader, and them, the characters. There's a good chance that that is a reason I had less luck with the short story I read by her than with this book. Because I did like this book more than the short story. Then again, the book and the short story were/are in different genres. That might have played a part as well.

There is an interesting and good story here. It wasn't exactly what I had hoped for, but it still was good. And there were scenes, traces, of what I had hoped for in this book - the exploration/discovery that was hinted at with the picture of ruins underwater and divers. No, this was mostly a different story than exploring for ruins.

For those who care about such things - there is graphic depictions of sexual encounters in this book, more than one, and involving more than one couple.

I enjoyed the book and would read another in this 'universe' if a sequel would appear. One lasting thought, though - part of my disconnect between expectations and the reality of the book is in how the book is described. Things are hinted at, but not well enough to indicate that that this is, while also being a lesbian romance, it is also a work of science fiction (though I know of at least one author who felt the need to write a blog post pointing out that their book wasn't science fiction but a romance (despite the fact that it was, you know, science fiction) because of readers), and, to a certain extent, a fantasy (in the "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."(Arthur C. Clarke) way - there is at least three or four elements that are more in the realm of fantasy than science fiction, but could be conceivably be placed in the realm of science fiction with adequate explanations - which weren't given for those specific elements). Also, considering how well books that involve Atlantis sell, it's vaguely confusing that that specific aspect isn't mentioned in the book description.

It's not the book itself, but the book description. I mean, much of the stuff 'hidden' from the reader before they open the book, is basically revealed immediately upon opening the book. There are a few twists and turns, that I have not included in my review, but the fact that the book involves two people from different cultures, one of whom is from a culture that lives 'beneath the sea' of an advanced technological base is learned immediately by the reader.

It's true that there is a note in the book description that would indicate that there is something 'different' about Merlin's people. But I had read it more like those people from the Mummy movie who had spent eons as guardians of sacred stuff. Which is an incorrect read of the facts found within the book. Found immediately, I mean.

Right, so, overall I rather enjoyed the book and would not hesitate to rate it somewhere north of 4 stars, and likely somewhere around 4.67.

May 3 2016 ( )

I'm conflicted about this novel, so conflicted that I think I've given it one of my first ever 2.5 stars because it really is right in between what I think of as a 2 star and 3 star book.

It's the story of Vivien and Kai. They come from much different worlds. When they were both younger they met and Vivien's world changed forever. Now when they meet it will be Kai's world that will have to change.

I liked the characters of Kai's relations as well as Kai herself. Vivien's family as well as Vivien and the delightful bad guy Steve all jumped off the pages too.

But a lot of the time the narrative felt uneven. And here and there sometimes I could not tell who was even speaking in a scene. A lot of the time the relationship between Kai and Vivien also felt really really forced. Sometimes I wondered if they even liked each other.

Still. I did really like the plot of the novel, that's what kept me interested, reading, and guessing what was going to happen.

I've liked some of Ali Vali's stuff in the past and will definitely keep reading her stuff (and previously published stories/novels too), but t his one just wasn't one of my favorites.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. ( )