Underneath by M.N. Arzu

I am so excited and happy that this book is out! I first read it when it was a NaNoWriMo draft, and even in its first-draft state, it was a captivating story. Now that it's been properly edited, it's even better!

Underneath is going to appeal to people who like mermaids (sorry, merfolk) but don't really want to read romance. Or is that just me? I hope not. Anyway, Underneath starts when a mermaid is found on the beach. Obviously, this leads to all sorts of craziness because it's the social media age and no one knew that merfolk lived among us.

Caring for the merman (dubbed 'Ray') is Dr. Gwen and her colleagues. I liked them enough. And trying to get the merman (real name: Chris) back is his family - Dad (Julian) and brothers (Matthew and Alex). I adore the family, because of their strong bonds and because the dynamics are just adorable!

Trying to make a big mess - er, get to the truth - is Kate, a news reporter. Her, I didn't like but that is because she's interfering with the rescue attempts and putting all the merfolk in danger!

What I really liked about this book were the characters. I either loved or hated all the characters (there are some baddies that I haven't mentioned). There were no "meh" characters - I was fully engaged in the story, and that helped to make the stakes feel even higher to me.

The ending resolves the problem of Ray/Chris in captivity but it raises a lot more questions. Questions that I really hope will be answered in a future book. Oh, and there's a sort of bonus section where M.N. shares drabbles set in the world of Underneath. Totally worth reading (and totally worth signing up to her mailing list to get more)

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.