Review: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Monstrous Beauty

Author: Elizabeth Fama

Genre: Paranormal YA

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Review Source: Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley

Format: eGalley

Description: 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.


Review: This is one of my first books about mermaids. I've never been a huge fan before - nothing against the subject, they just weren't at the top of my list - but the description for this book sounded interesting and I decided to give it a shot. The story skips back and forth between the past and the present, which seem to get all tangled up and can get a little confusing. I thought that the characters were pretty flat and they didn't have any development throughout the novel. The plot itself was interesting, but became predictable with some cheesy twists. As I mentioned, mermaid fiction has never been right for me, which may have had something to do with my reaction to this book. It was an okay read, and people who love mermaid fiction will probably love it - just not entirely for me.