Lost Voices (Lost Voices, #1)

May 08, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: pn-sea-creatures, heroines-wimpy, young-adult, read-2011, annoying-main-characters, 2011-publication, cover-fraud

I don't like it when mermaids are mean.

This book has beautiful imagery of shimmering fins and tails and mesmerizing siren songs, as well as exciting near-misses with giant orcas. The author writes lovely descriptions that you can easily picture in your mind, and the book description sounds very intriguing--but unfortunately, neither the story nor the characters live up to the pretty words or the pretty cover.

Aside from juvenile dialogue and a slight plot, many elements of this book are actually...more I don't like it when mermaids are mean.

This book has beautiful imagery of shimmering fins and tails and mesmerizing siren songs, as well as exciting near-misses with giant orcas. The author writes lovely descriptions that you can easily picture in your mind, and the book description sounds very intriguing--but unfortunately, neither the story nor the characters live up to the pretty words or the pretty cover.

Aside from juvenile dialogue and a slight plot, many elements of this book are actually also quite disturbing. The mermaids come into being as a result of the extraordinarily cruel actions from the humans in their lives, such as attempted rape, "boiling babies," and slavery. These are serious topics that are mentioned in passing but never fully explored, and such casual treatment of such brutal topics seem both jarringly out of place and completely inappropriate in a book like this.

Luce, the 14-year-old main character, is meant to be seen as an admirable, kind heroine, but the anecdotes that demonstrate this aren't very convincing, and Luce herself seems painfully young and easily duped. The other mermaids, whose characters pretty much all blend together, spend their days playing power games and luring innocent people to their deaths just for fun--it's The Little Mermaid + Heathers with a dose of Mean Girls thrown in for good measure. And whether you're on land or in the sea, a story that primarily revolves around teenage back-stabbing and manipulation just isn't all that interesting to read about. I'd love to see another book from this author, as the writing is very beautiful in parts, but one that has a much more well-developed plot and fully fleshed-out characters.

Incidentally, I'm not really sure what the exact differences are between a siren and a mermaid (the quick research I did online seems evenly divided by those who think they are the same beings with different connotations and those who believe they are entirely different creatures), but regardless of what name they go by, the creatures in this particular book are strikingly cruel and immature. And while the sea they're swimming in is extraordinarily pretty, unfortunately it is also very lacking in depth.

This review may also be found in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

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Dec 23, 2010 oliviasbooks rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of "Sisters Red" and "A Curse Dark as Gold"

Recommended to oliviasbooks by: Nic

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, thriller, urban-fantasy-paranormal, mermaids-selkies, e-version, read-2010, cliffhanger, sequel-no-thank-you, in-love-with-the-cover, debut

Mermaids are my favorite creatures – always have been. Consequently I notice with glee all those merfolk novels that lately have started popping up left and right. And I am very, very grateful to Hartcourt and to Netagalley for accepting my request for a review copy.

Mermaids and other humanoid water-breathers can be tackled from completely opposite angles, because there is always a mystery around them: the "We-above-the-waterline-cannot-know-for-sure-factor". Thus opposed to vampires (getting s...more Mermaids are my favorite creatures – always have been. Consequently I notice with glee all those merfolk novels that lately have started popping up left and right. And I am very, very grateful to Hartcourt and to Netagalley for accepting my request for a review copy.

Mermaids and other humanoid water-breathers can be tackled from completely opposite angles, because there is always a mystery around them: the "We-above-the-waterline-cannot-know-for-sure-factor". Thus opposed to vampires (getting sucked dry can only end badly) and other monsters they can be pictured as cutish and harmless glitter-girls living in pink mother-of-pearl cities, but there are also selkies, who are not to lose their seal skins, and legions of inhumanly beautiful and alluring, but cruel, calculating, heartless and cold-blooded hunters - out to mesmerize the male two-legger. Face it, the majority of the European legends and fairytales does not present us with with wavy redheads singing happily along with the starfish chorus, but with death-bringing voices luring Orpheus into dangerous waters (Homer), hairy Lorelai distracting seafarers by shaking her booty on her wood-splitting rock (Brentano and others), clever waternixies persuading millers' sons to accompany them underwater and sending them back completely spaced out and clueless three generations later (Grimm’s), fairy-like undines tricking men into getting them pregnant and thus gaining a soul (de la Motte) and – certainly – unhappy fishgirls who give their voices and their lives for a futile shot at gaining the heart of a rich jerk (Andersen).

Sarah Porter grabbed the siren-theme from the Odyssey, recreated the unforgiving and bleak atmosphere of the European seas by moving the setting to even colder Alaska, cooked up a plausible reason for women to use their enchanted voices deathbringingly and wove a modern retelling for a young adult audience from the strings:

Girls of all ages who die from being abused or reach the point when stomaching more abuse and violence simply isn't possible anymore, turn into magical creatures with superhuman strength, sea-serpent-like glittery tails, angelic, persuasive voices and perfect faces (picture Luce as Alice Cullen with a tail) – if they are coincidentally in the vincinity of any source of water. Being disappointed from mankind and enraged for having been mistreated during their childhoods allows their bloodthirsty enchanted voices, who have a mind of their own, a good leverage. The girls find a home within one of the matriarchic mermaid communities, but spend their days dreaming of wrecking the next ship, of enthralling helpless sailors and tourists until they kill themselves joyfully.

Luce (Lucette) is different. It becomes clear quickly, that her voice is unusually powerful, but more important is Luce's attitude toward her "killer voice". Luce's experience with abusive adults didn't last as long as that of many of her tribemates. After her father’s death – at sea - she had only spent about a year with her alcoholic uncle - who had beaten her often, but had tried to rape her just that one time when she decided to jump. Even the lack of friends didn't matter so much to her during her nomadic life with her thieving father, since she had always felt loved and treasured by him. In contrast to the other mermaids Luce does not condemn humanity as a whole. She still can distinguish between good humans, bad humans and indifferent ones. And – at the latest when manipulating newcomer Anais arrives, who did not really have a reason to become a mermaid and sets a wave of envy and back-stabbing into motion - she comes to the conclusion that her fellow mermaids' souls do not really differ from the humans’ they all hate with abandon and that without their orally transmitted code of behavior everybody would be at each others throats.

In the beginning Luce starts to "tame" her enraged, beautiful voice, gradually steering it to alternative uses, because she wants to shed her crave to kill with it. Later she notices that working with her voice also hones her singing skills as such. Her bottomless admiration for Russian Catarina, the tribe's ruling queen, secret code breaker and star singer, whose friendship she desperately seeks to win, hinders her from being open about her vocal experiments – until it is to late and the bullies' trap is asbout to snap.

Luce is – like Catarina and the orphaned sisters Violet and Dana, too – a strange and unfathomable character. Sometimes she is samarithian on the border to Sainthood, sometimes unreasonable fangirlish or naive, seeking approval and praise at all costs. When she has a real chance at acquiring a friend in depressive Miriam, she blows it without giving the possibility a thought. What puzzled me immensely was her quick acceptance of the so-called Larvaes’ fate: Larvae are abused infants who turned mermaids – and certainly do not age. If not for the code the older mermaids would ruthlessly kill the helpless, clingy babies, who end up in the orcas' jaws most of the time. Luce undertakes only one feelble attempt at saving a Larvae, before she capitulates. They could have easily fenced them in I thought angrily.

Sarah Porter's writing is beautiful, the setting well defined and easy to visualize, the story a little springy and frayed with a little too much stress on bullying and mean girl stereotypes. It also does not please me that the end was a complete hanger that even lacked a proper cliff.

Personally I like stories that do not avoid problems, but play a hopeful tune and end on a promising if not cheerful note. If you are into dark and evil modern fairytale retellings, which do not magic away the gritty and dirty parts like, for example, Sisters Red (Little Red Riding Hood) by Jackson Pearce or A Curse Dark as Gold (Rumpelstiltskin) by Elizabeth Bunce and you do not mind the complete absence of romance, "Lost Voices" might be just the thing for you. It is definitely an interesting addition the available selection of mermaid fiction.

A note to the cover designer: The cover is outstanding, but the tail is supposed to be much longer!
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Nov 27, 2010 Erica (daydreamer) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mermaid-siren-selkie, arc, beautiful-writing, coolio-covers, 2010-reads, netgalley, love-love-it, fairytale-reminiscent, release-in-2011, ya, would-like-to-buy

Lost Voices spoke to me like a dark reminiscent fairytale. It almost seemed like a very vague retelling of The Little Mermaid. Little things sometimes just reminded me of the classic tale. But Lost Voices brought a whole new world to mermaids, in a very compelling and ominously beautiful way. It was darkly fantastic, full of luscious intrigue and secret enchantments. Its foreboding melodious lull swept me into the world of these killer mermaid girls. The writing was beautiful, intricately woven...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Isamlq rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-galley

It’s exceptionally well written. The first portion is haunting and so sad. All that said, I honestly had a difficult time getting into the whole mermaid mythology being offered. I was quite skeptical about this vengeful version of mermaids. Surprising given my penchant for anything paranormal. I can take any werewolf, vampire, faerie book out there... I guess, I’m just not into fish girls.

Like I said, the writing itself was solid. That the author prefaced the whole book with a song from Radiohe...more It’s exceptionally well written. The first portion is haunting and so sad. All that said, I honestly had a difficult time getting into the whole mermaid mythology being offered. I was quite skeptical about this vengeful version of mermaids. Surprising given my penchant for anything paranormal. I can take any werewolf, vampire, faerie book out there... I guess, I’m just not into fish girls.

Like I said, the writing itself was solid. That the author prefaced the whole book with a song from Radiohead also guaranteed I’d see it through.

Luce. God, how pitiful can one character get? Her father is dead; she doesn’t fit in. And her Uncle is a douche (of epic proportions.) After a very brutal attack, Luce has nowhere to go. She falls from a cliff but doesn’t die. Instead, finds herself turned into a mermaid. Only her type of mermaid isn’t the disneyfied likes of Ariel (Sorry, I just had to put her in.) Here, the mermaids are vindictive; creatures that use their voices to lure people to their death. This is where she finds herself. Should she lose what little bit of humanity she has left by doing as the others do? Or should she stay as she is and be forsaken by them?

The abrupt shift from her depressing human reality to another one peopled with creatures of unimaginable beauty tells me (a) that maybe, she might have fallen hard and been concussed, or (b) that the author is trying her darndest to fit the pieces together. Its just too much a stretch; one that I find a little INcredible. OK, maybe the abruptness can be explained away by the suddenness of her death as well. But still…

There is no way of reconciling my childhood’s notion of sweet Ariel and scary Catarina. On one hand, mermaids hold a dear and special place in my heart because that movie is one of my earliest memories. On the other, there are these creatures that exist solely because of human cruelty. The very cruelty that drives them to lure humans (good, bad, young and old) to their death. Scary? Yes. So, perhaps it’s just early childhood training that’s keeping me from swallowing this story hook, line and sinker (corny! pun intended.) Or maybe it’s the concept of an eye for an eye (and then some) that’s just pushing this book away from a solid 5 star rating.

But once you get used to this type of mermaid, things really start get interesting especially as the focus becomes one of friendship and of betrayal. It’s almost as if this book could be split in two, both parts of which would be pretty decent reads on their own: Luce’s relationships with Catarina, Miriam as well as her non-relationship with Anais; the tribe dynamic; Anais' manipulation; the mermaids' shame and Luce unwillingness to bend to any of it, made LOST VOICES much more than just a (vengeful) mermaid story.

Solid writing (+1.)
Haunting start (+1).
Luce and her friends (+1.)
but just a tad unbelievable (-1)
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Jan 09, 2011 Susan Shafer rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 28, 2011 Doskoi_panda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

I'll begin this by saying that I have had an interest in mermaids for as long as I can remember, probably stemming from Barrie's "Peter Pan" and strengthened by the references in T.S. Elliot's "Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock." And then again, they appear in Greek mythology as the sirens, luring sailors to their watery graves with their enchanted, bewitching songs and let's not forget the fairytale of the Little Mermaid, and Disney's sanitized film version. Jack Dann produced an anthology of me...more I'll begin this by saying that I have had an interest in mermaids for as long as I can remember, probably stemming from Barrie's "Peter Pan" and strengthened by the references in T.S. Elliot's "Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock." And then again, they appear in Greek mythology as the sirens, luring sailors to their watery graves with their enchanted, bewitching songs and let's not forget the fairytale of the Little Mermaid, and Disney's sanitized film version. Jack Dann produced an anthology of mermaid tales in the 1980s (Mermaids!) that had some tremendous stories. But rarely is the subject of origin addressed; mermaids seem to have simply existed. Some stories focus on their beauty, and their pain at being unable to join the human world, others demonize them in the way that does no credit to either side of the water's surface. But Sarah Porter's "Lost Voices" takes a slightly different tack - she tries to get inside their heads.[return][return]The story begins with Luce, who has been orphaned at the death of her father (he died before the novel begins, lost at sea as he worked on a fishing boat) and is now living with her uncle in a small seaside village. Luce is picked on for being different, and generally tries to minimize her presence. Her uncle, angry with his dead brother for 1) having stolen his girlfriend (Luce's mother), 2) for having "allowed" her to die due to his con artist's lifestyle and 3) for dying and saddling him with Luce, gets drunk and takes out his anger on Luce, molesting and nearly killing her. Luce decides that it's only a matter of time before it happens again, and that it would be likely to get worse as she grew older, decides to die, and plummets into the icy waters. Except she doesn't die, instead, she surrenders her humanity and becomes a mermaid.[return][return]Sarah Porter's mermaids have more in common with the sirens of Greek mythology, or the strangely cruel mermaids in Barrie's Peter Pan than Disney's Little Mermaid, Ariel. There is no kingdom under the sea, no comforting sea king to call papa. But there are other mermaids, other girls whose lives were so miserable from abuse, neglect or abandonment that they, too, rejected humanity. There are rules - mermaid laws and traditions made to protect the tribe- and there is work, of sorts, to use their voices to sing ships to the rocks and kill all the humans aboard by compelling them to jump into the icy depths. Luce is horrified by this aspect of what she has become and struggles against the compulsion to join in when her new friends attack ships. Luce's struggle to maintain something of her humanity/something of her own will and morality intensifies as more newly reborn mermaids join the tribe, and the tribe splinters into factions.[return][return]I really, really liked the book - it has a few problems, but most early novels have a few rough patches. The language is in that difficult middle ground that pops up in books for young adults, sometimes seeming too simple, and other times complex. The old lady in me has reservations about some of the subject matter being possibly too mature for younger readers, but at the same time the violence is considerably less than in the Harry Potter books. Another reviewer elsewhere seemed shocked or worried that the mermaids are not wearing bikini tops or shells or whatnot to hide their breasts, which I found to be an odd thing to point out as it's barely mentioned. There are passages that describe the mermaids as beautiful, but they don't focus on body parts particularly (except the faces), so I can't quite see that as an issue - If mermaids existed I am pretty sure they wouldn't bother with wearing shells. Honestly.[return][return]All in all, this was an excellent read, and I look forward to reading the rest of Luce's adventures in asserting her individuality. Despite the difficulties she is faced with; the cruelties of the fractured tribe, the knowledge that her gift of singing has murderous possibilities; Luce is a heroine learning to govern herself and discover her own strengths. [return][return]Copy supplied by NetGalley.(less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Kari rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, couldn-t-finish

Let me say right away, I did not finish this book. I have no idea how it ends nor do I really care to. But, I feel that I listened to enough of it to form an opinion and therefore give a partial review. I have read a lot of reviews on this book and most people seemed to like it. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.

What I liked: The writing style and the concept. I thought the author's writing style was great and beautifully descriptive. It just wasn't enough to sustain the story for me. I...more Let me say right away, I did not finish this book. I have no idea how it ends nor do I really care to. But, I feel that I listened to enough of it to form an opinion and therefore give a partial review. I have read a lot of reviews on this book and most people seemed to like it. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.

What I liked: The writing style and the concept. I thought the author's writing style was great and beautifully descriptive. It just wasn't enough to sustain the story for me. I also liked the concept of lost souls turning into mermaids. I just didn't like the kind of mermaids they turn into. I have always thought of them as "Ariel" types who help lost sailors find their way home. In Lost Voices, mermaids are more like sirens luring sailors to their death using their voices.

Why I stopped reading: Luce is a 14YO who has no parents, no friends, and is abused by her uncle. After he almost rapes her, she falls off a cliff and decides death is better. She is then turned into a mermaid. It turns out that this is how mermaids come into being. Abused girls who die turn into mermaids. OK, I can stretch my imagination to believe that works. What I found disturbing is the the mermaids range in age from 5-17. I could not make myself believe that 5 year old abused child would become a vicious, revenge-seeking mermaid who lures people, even children, to their deaths. That just seemed wrong to me and was something I couldn't get past.

There were also too many contradictions in the story. For example, the mermaids live by a code that says they cannot physically harm another mermaid and that they must help one in distress. However, this apparently does not extend to what they call "larvae". Larvae are apparently toddlers who have turned into mermaids, but aren't fully developed. Instead of helping them and taking care of them, they allow them to flounder and die in the ocean. (There is one gross scene where they are eaten by an orca.) Also, they have no sympathy to any children who may drown on one of the downed ships because they will only turn into adults who abuse. I finally had to turn it off after the other mermaids keep being mean to Luce when she makes a mistake, yet they don't take the time to explain everything being a mermaid entails. She says she has found a home, but they are all so mean to her that I can't see why she would want to live with them at all. It seems she has traded one lonely abusive life for another.

I could go on with other things that didn't appeal to me, but I think I have presented enough to show you why I couldn't finish it. This is supposed to be a YA novel and I would recommend that parents limit it to older YAs. Personally, I thought the content was a bit mature and violent for under 16. But, I always say, ' To each his own!" Read it and judge for yourself. (less)

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Jun 25, 2011 KM added it

Shelves: 2011-debuts, kindle-books, netgalley-edelweiss, mermaids

There's something special about mermaid books. If done well, they can capture the beauty and mysteriousness of the sea. They lend themselves to beautiful prose. And they are the epitome of forbidden love. But while Sarah Porter's debut had a recipe for a great book, it fell flat for me.

First and foremost, I found this novel really boring. The pacing is painfully slow, and I feel like nothing really happened throughout the book. The character arcs are pretty minimal, and I had a hard time sympath...more There's something special about mermaid books. If done well, they can capture the beauty and mysteriousness of the sea. They lend themselves to beautiful prose. And they are the epitome of forbidden love. But while Sarah Porter's debut had a recipe for a great book, it fell flat for me.

First and foremost, I found this novel really boring. The pacing is painfully slow, and I feel like nothing really happened throughout the book. The character arcs are pretty minimal, and I had a hard time sympathizing with any of the mermaids. And considering that all of the girls were abused, I feel like I should have hurt for them. I should have been able to understand their intense hatred for humans and, in some part of my mind, be able to rationalize their murdering of hundreds of people. But I just couldn't.

This is a dark book. There's a lot of pain and a lot of violence and a lot of death. All the mermaids were horribly abused in their human lives, and that's why they became mermaids. We are given glimpses into the girls' backgrounds but know the full extent of only Luce's and how her uncle tried to rape her. But we discover that one girl was thrown from a moving car, another was forced into some sort of prostitution, and others burned to death. Because of their dark pasts, these girls hate humanity, and their entire existence as mermaids consist of singing songs that hypnotize humans and drive them to their death. (i.e. they're sirens) So, needless to say, there's a lot of really disturbing material.

But that didn't bug me really. I marveled at how these girls could rationalize murdering people and I had a hard time beliving that they wouldn't feel at all guilty, but I could have gotten over that. I could even have gotten over the "larvae," babies and toddlers that turn into mermaids that are ignored by the older girls and eaten by killer whales. All of these horrible tragedies could have added to the beauty of the story if it had just been interesting.

Sarah Porter's writing is really beautiful, and she definitely has a way with words. But I felt like the actual plot and characters took a backseat to her prose. I was bored throughout this entire book, and it literally took me five months to read it. I eventually allotted it my "gym book," the Kindle story that I read on the eliptical machine. And, let me tell you, you don't want to be that book because that means I can only stand reading it when I literally have nothing else to do except exercise. Assigned school reading like Great Expectations have been reserved for this place, and unfortunately, so was Lost Voices.

I never cared about any of the characters, and their lack of a conscience really irritated me. I just couldn't believe that they would be willing to kill these people just because they're bitter. Maybe I could understand them killing the people who had hurt them; that would at least offer motivation. But killing random people? Tourists? Soldiers? Children? What's the purpose? I just couldn't buy the motivation.

And Luce. Oh, Luce. She is such a push-over, she practically spends the entire book lying down. I get that she's shy and unsure of herself, but my goodness, if you can't speak up about your new friends killing people, then you're just a wimp. We're made to believe that Luce is this wonderful person who overcomes her tragedy and wants to make the world a better place. But her actual actions never quite jived with this notion of her. She never stands up to Catarina, the tribe's queen. She doesn't tell the mermaids to stop hurting people. And she even takes part in some of the mass murders. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time sympathizing with a murderer.

I felt like Sarah Porter wanted to write a book about bitterness, pain, and what they can lead us to - how we can become the same thing we so hate. But she should have made me hurt for these mermaids and at least understand why they were so angry. If you're going to write a book with murderers as main characters, you had better make them likeable.

Think "The Godfather." They were all horrible people! But we liked them. We could understand their motivation. And we actually wanted them to be happy.

That's what I wanted from Lost Voices. But I just didn't find it here. Sarah Porter has a lovely writing voice, but I just wish the actual story had been better written.(less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Donna {Book Passion for Life} rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, for-review, e-galley, ya-paranormal-romance

I was really looking forward to reading this book so when I finally managed to get hold of an advance readers copy, I was over the moon. But I can't help feeling a little disappointed by the story.

When I started reading, I really enjoyed the first few chapters and I was quiet intrigued to discover how these young girls turn into Mermaids, but I just couldn't seem to graps the idea of what these Mermaids did to other humans, even though the concept was beautiful.

The main character "Luce" seems...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Stray rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, e-book, zzz-2010, in-english, reviewed

This was an extraordinarily written book. The writing was beautiful and lyrical sometimes and the mermaids' voices' descriptions were some of my favorite parts.

I like this kind of mermaids too, girls who suffered enough to put their humanity aside. It would also explain why they hate people enough to drown them.

Luce was a nice character, though she sounded a little too mature for her age, I guess that's because of what she went through and thus she had to grow up very quickly. Her almost perman...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Pinkie Pie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

I really enjoyed this book. The world building was intriguing, and Luce's forays in the ocean were entertaining and fun. I loved the mythology of the mermaids, but sometimes the interactions became a little too "high school" for me.

I loved Luce. She was such a pure, good person, that when all those bad things kept piling up on her, you could really feel for her. I cried a little at one point in this book. When Luce joins the mermaids, I really want her to succeed. She deserves love, and she dese...more I really enjoyed this book. The world building was intriguing, and Luce's forays in the ocean were entertaining and fun. I loved the mythology of the mermaids, but sometimes the interactions became a little too "high school" for me.

I loved Luce. She was such a pure, good person, that when all those bad things kept piling up on her, you could really feel for her. I cried a little at one point in this book. When Luce joins the mermaids, I really want her to succeed. She deserves love, and she deserves friendship. She deserves a real family, and you're just rooting for her to get these things.

When Luce joins the mermaids, I am immediately hooked. Right away, it's established that there are rules in place, and for a good reason. I want to know more! I want to know why they can't hurt each other. I want to know why they can never show themselves. I want to know why they can't put their tails above the water. And most of all, I want to know why they can't stop themselves from making their siren's call, and drowning nearby sailors.

Unfortunately, and two thirds through Lost Voices, the plot sort of deters. I'm all for betrayal and all that (in a book!) but the mermaid tribe sort of turned into a Gossip Girl at Sea episode. Anais was absolutely dreadful and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why everyone was so drawn to her and never noticed she was a raging bitch.

Sarah Porter is an excellent world builder. She's also an amazing character builder. I love the way she writes. Each of her mermaids has a story to be told, and I'm really hoping for a sequel so we can get to know more of them. She know how to create this undercurrent of intensity, so it sits just below the surface. You know it's there, but you can't quite quantify it, identify it, and you can almost believe you're imagining it. And then when the s*** hits the fan, it's half surprise, and half "I should have seen it!! Why didn't I see it!!"

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book. So much so, that it's another one I've devoured in one day. My only problems were the cattiness of the mermaids, and also why they called themselves "mermaids" and not sirens, which they clearly are. I can't wait for what I hope is an inevitable sequel. There was such a big cliff hanger, and the story can go in so many directions, and why, Sarah, why, did you do that!(less)

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Feb 04, 2013 Trish rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a different take on how mermaids exist. I am struck by the girl's ability to discern what people are saying without them really speaking, but can also be so incredibly naive. Guess that's what 14-year-olds can be like, though, especially those who have closed themselves off due to childhood trauma. There is also a lack of concern of the dangers the ocean can hold, but that might also be a kind of tragic teenagery thing... so much wasted time not trying to find truth. So much to be explor...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Sabrina *The REAL Princess* rated it 1 of 5 stars

A quick look at the tagline, or what I like to call, false promises:

The first book in a trilogy

Seriously? There is going to be another book. Yeah, count me out.

Lost Voices is a captivating

Captivating ... sure ... NOT!

and wildly original tale

Maybe orginal but most definitely not in a good way.

about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

And right there, is the biggest lie ever

"The healing power of friendship" ... yeah, I didn't think this book was t...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Jaylia3 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Initially it almost seems like a dream come true when Luce is transformed into a mermaid, because for the first time in her life she has friends, a powerful body and an incredible ability to sing personal songs that are beautiful enough to control the seas, but this is not a simple story with a shiny happy ending. Luce's human life was never great, but since her father died leaving her in the care of an abusive, alcoholic uncle it has been horrible. It's his abuse that leads to Luce's mermaid me...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Amanda Rudd rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I Liked:

This was a very enjoyable book, and a fast read. The premise is classic: a cross between the mermaid myth and the siren myth, in which beautiful unearthly mermaid-girls sing to men on passing ships and lead them to their deaths. These mermaids are not the innocent, peaceful creatures from The Little Mermaid. They are beautiful and unearthly, but they are also angry, bitter, and often violent. The moral dilemma of the story is pretty gruesome, though Porter does not dwell in descript...more

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May 27, 2012 Jamio rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-covers, no-triangle

If I had a print copy rather than an audiobook, I probably would have kept going. I will stick with a great narrator through a mediocre story, and vise versa, but this one was the wrong combo of all-around meh.

The premise is that when abused girls can't take it anymore, and they have a convenient ocean to fall into, they become mermaids, enchantingly beautiful creatures with cold hearts who lure sea-faring humans to their death.

As soon as that is explained, the big moral becomes obvious: of cour...more

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May 14, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this book, 14 year-old Luce is living with her almost never-sober uncle. Her dad died at sea after his boat crashed when she was little. No one ever found out exactly how he crashed. One night after she went to a bar and waited while her uncle got drunk, something happened. The last thing she remembers was him trying to rape her, falling over the edge of a cliff, and never hitting anything. She wakes up in a cave on a beach. Why are there people watching her from the water? Where is she? Why...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Kat rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 25, 2012 Kristin Lundgren rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy

There are few books that I don't finish - I will try on most,even though it's a slog at times, hoping that all will come together in the end, or that a series is planned that might make up for some deficiencies (you have to spread some of the deeper stuff through out the series), but this one I gave up on after about 15 minutes. I tried, I really did. I read other parts of the book, but just couldn't get past what I found to be a juvenile, simplistic approach to writing and characterization. The...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, owned, paranomal, series

Lost Voices is a book about a 14 year old girl named Luce who's living with her uncle after the death of her father. However, her uncle is a terrible man and she finds herself tumbling into the ocean after he attempts to violate her. Soon afterwards, she discovers that she's become a mermaid.

Initial Ending Thoughts:
Ummmm....what?

Quick Review:
This book was interesting. I enjoyed parts of it and parts of it made me want to throw it at a wall. Though that might be a good thing since that means I w...more Lost Voices is a book about a 14 year old girl named Luce who's living with her uncle after the death of her father. However, her uncle is a terrible man and she finds herself tumbling into the ocean after he attempts to violate her. Soon afterwards, she discovers that she's become a mermaid.

Initial Ending Thoughts:
Ummmm....what?

Quick Review:
This book was interesting. I enjoyed parts of it and parts of it made me want to throw it at a wall. Though that might be a good thing since that means I was feeling something towards the book, even if it was anger.

Full review:
Ok so Luce is miserable with her life and her life does kind of suck I'll give her that. Then there was a very vague scene after something very bad almost happened and suddenly she's a mermaid! Awesome! Mermaids are awesome right? (Personally I absolutely adore mermaids and books about mermaids). Well turns out that in this book mermaids are also sirens (you know, the mermaids who sing sailors to their deaths). Well Luce isn't like the other mermaids. She doesn't want to kill people. She just wants to live a happy life playing in the water all day and hanging out with all her new friends. And she really appreciates the friends because she's never really had friends before. However this leads to a simple problem. Her new friends are all bitches. Yup, all of them. That's ultimately what annoyed me about this book. Really? They're all insecure greedy little bitches? Does becoming a mermaid automatically make you lose all your redeeming qualities? Do you immediately become uncaring and selfish? Well apparently not always because our girl Luce is a good person who doesn't want to kill anyone and saves a bunch of lives! But that doesn't seem to stop any other mermaids from being a good person. Or even being nice. I would have taken nice. Then, of course, Luce is so enchanted by them (the queen, Catarina, especially) that she has no problems with them. At least at first. After a while she starts to see how they really are thank god, but she doesn't really act on it, she just spends a lot of time avoiding them all. Sorry for the rant there, but they just really rubbed me the wrong way.
Granted maybe the point was to make Luce completely isolated, but I feel like it could have been done in a way that didn't annoy me so much. If I was feeling really bad for Luce, and really hated the other characters because of that, then the author would have done a good job making me hate them because that means I'm really feeling something for the characters and I was really invested in the book. However, if that's the case then this entire book was just a set up for the next book, and an entire book just as set up seems like an awful lot. I mean this book is about 300 pages so I think that's a bit much. The other option is that I just generally didn't like any of the characters and they should have been developed more. Maybe some other mermaids could have felt the same conflicting emotions as Luce did about killing humans but chose to ignore it or something a bit better developed than all the characters just being insecure jerks. Especially after they were all portrayed initially as these strong, happy, self-confident girls.
There were also a few plot holes. In the beginning when the mermaids are first explaining things Catarina says, "So many of us die because of things no one can help! They get tangled in fishing nets and drown, or the orcas...I'm fighting all the time to try and keep everyone safe". Really? That's interesting, because this is then never mentioned again. None of them every just randomly die because of a fishing net or orcas. This is never an issue ever again. Heck, the orcas only ever even show up once, and all the mermaids act like they aren't even something to worry about. The author says, "orcas,' Kayley said. Luce couldn't understand why the other mermaids didn't seem more worried. 'They're pretty far off still. And we can outswim them, easy."
Oh really? Then why exactly do you lose so many mermaids to orcas? No fishing nets are ever mentioned again either, just saying.
Then there's Catarina. She's the queen of the tribe of mermaids and she loves all of the mermaids so much! But she's also a bitch. For about half the book she switches between being kind and caring and being nasty and uncaring. Is she suddenly bipolar? What happened? There was nothing truly significant enough that happened before that to have that effect for that long. And of course Luce is all confused but still cares about her! Because how could she possibly be mad at Catarina? I mean, she's Catarina for goodness sakes!
And I feel bad for Luce, really I do, but I didn't really connect with her. I felt sad about what had happened to her in her life, but I didn't really feel that ache for her. I got kind of annoyed with her actually. She always got mad at the other mermaids when they were being little bitches (well, most of the time) but she almost never acted on it! Yes your mad, and you have the right to be mad. Now go and bitch that bitch out! Don't just go sit in a cave alone singing, get some payback! Be a bad ass mermaid! Show some fighting spirit! At least she made decent choices a couple of times. She really only stood up for herself when she was being mocked about her human life, and this is after all the other mermaids assured that there was nothing to be ashamed of and that nothing was her fault yada yada yada, so that's not even that much of an accomplishment. Not the strongest character. Not the weakest either but not anywhere near the strongest.
I was really excited to get this book too because it'a about mermaids (who just might be my favorite mythical creatures) and the idea just seemed so different and awesome. But the book really just annoyed me more than anything else. If I had read this book last year, or even a few months ago, I probably would have given it four stars, maybe three if I was feeling picky, but I've been trying to really read books lately. Not just enough to find out what happens and then move on to the next book, but I'm trying to really judge them better. If you look at all my books on goodreads, (http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28...) you'd probably notice that they're almost all marked at four stars, with some at five, and a rare few at two or three. Now I'm trying to be more critical because there's no way all those books I read were four star books. It's just not statistically possible. Writing these reviews really helps me to do just that. I was going to give this book three stars, but after ranting about it for a while, I've decided to give it just two. Normally a two from me would mean, "Oh my god this was the single worst book I've ever wasted time on in my life!" but I'm trying to change my idea on what a two star book is, and what a three star book is, and so on. For me now, two stars means that I didn't really connect with any of the characters and the plot had holes in it and the book just generally annoyed me quite a bit, but it was still decently fun to read.
This book really made me want to read a book now with a kick ass main character. Like The Knife of Never Letting Go. Maybe I'll go reread that next.
2 Stars! (less)

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Jan 06, 2012 Stefanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 2011, ya, washyarg-reviews

I expected to read this and scoff, but was surprised that I found myself liking it. Teen girls who like magical creatures and fairy tales will eat this up and look forward to the second installment, where there is sure to be some Sam/Grace (Shiver trilogy) type of romance. Note: I just read the ARC of book two and it is even better than the first book.

Luce is fifteen, has never had a friend in her life and her father, the only person she loved, drowned in a shipwreck a year ago. Now, she lives w...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Kym McNabney rated it 2 of 5 stars

Fourteen-year-old Luce isn't just shy, she's also afraid to speak her mind. Luce lives with her alcoholic uncle, and when things go from bad to worse, she dies as a human and becomes a mermaid.

Luce is welcomed into the tribe of mermaid where she learns the rules of being a mermaid. If she breaks any of them, she risks being expelled from the group. The thought of being alone is too much for Luce to comprehend.

An important part of being a mermaid is their singing voice. Something Luce seems to...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Hylary Locsin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Fourteen-year-old Lucette “Luce,” lives in a small Alaskan fishing village. Luce’s mother died when she was four and her father disappeared a year earlier when the boat he was working on presumably sank. Luce was left to live with her drunk and abusive uncle who is constantly beating her and making her feel worthless. One afternoon, Luce’s uncle attempts to rape her on the cliffs near their home....more Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Fourteen-year-old Lucette “Luce,” lives in a small Alaskan fishing village. Luce’s mother died when she was four and her father disappeared a year earlier when the boat he was working on presumably sank. Luce was left to live with her drunk and abusive uncle who is constantly beating her and making her feel worthless. One afternoon, Luce’s uncle attempts to rape her on the cliffs near their home. When Luce fights him off, he tells her not to come home and abandons her in a raging storm. Luce is bewildered and unsure of what to do, when she suddenly slips off the cliff and into the ocean below. She should be dead, but instead, Luce is transformed into a mermaid. She discovers a tribe of other teen girls who were also abused or neglected in their human lives, causing them to also turn into mermaids. The tribe is lead by Catarina, a beautiful and charismatic mermaid who transformed when she was sixteen. At first, Luce is enchanted by her life as a mermaid: the girls are strong, beautiful and have the ability to hypnotically enchant humans, and each other, with mesmerizing songs. Soon, however, Luce learns how the tribe uses their singing abilities: to sink passing ships in an effort to punish humans for how they were treated in their lives on land. Luce feels a primal urge to participate in the activities of the tribe, but isn’t sure if she can cope with a life dedicated to murdering the innocent. To make matters worse, a new mermaid enters the tribe, one who threatens to destroy the first family Luce has called her own.

Well-written and utterly unique, this first installment in the Lost Voices trilogy is made even more impressive by the fact that it is author Sarah Porter’s debut novel. Mermaids are an interesting topic for a young adult novel in their own right, but the back-story the author has created for the lives of the mermaid tribe, from how they are created to the rules that govern their lives to their eating habits, take the plot to a more sophisticated level. Certain aspects of the storyline are quite sad: Luce, and the rest of the mermaids, have all suffered inexplicable horrors in their lives on land that caused them to transform. The first several chapters of the novel chronicle Luce’s abuse at the hands of her uncle, and these are some of the most tense in the story. Roughly the first half of the novel focuses more on Luce and her transformation, and this is more poignant and, in many ways, enjoyable than the second half of the book. Porter introduces other characters into the novel, including an annoying and shallow mermaid who threatens the entire tribe, creating more melodrama that waters down the emotional response invoked by the first half of the story. This is the first installment in the trilogy, so Porter did have to create some plot points to keep things moving, and hopefully she can return to the more character driven aspects of the story in the next installment. Overall, Lost Voices is an emotionally charged by enjoyable beginning to a very unique series.

I was looking forward to reading this novel and I was not disappointed. When I first read the jacket I was thinking the book would be much lighter fare than it was. There are some very serious and tense issues in the novel, and the whole concept of the “mermaid” is actually very thought provoking beyond the typical “girls with tails” mystique. The characters are well thought and intriguing as well. I look forward to the second installment in the series!(less)

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Sep 19, 2011 Jasmineluvsjb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sept-reads

One of the best books I thought I wouldn't like at all (because it's a bit on the fantasy side) but turns out to be one of the best books I have ever read. It is about a girl named Luce, who lost her mother when she was a toddler so does not have tons of feeling there but then it was just her and her father She loved him dearly but one day he went on a fishing trip and was gone just like that. Forced to live with uncle, who is a alcoholic and he abuses and he tortures her. What a life and with n...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Kaleigh Hvizdos rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a mermaid fanatic, I can say that I have put up with a lot of crap from mermaid books just to get my fix before I give up on them. That being said, this book didn't end up on the reject pile, but I'm not sure if I'm going to read the sequels. This book certainly delivers in delicious dark mermaids and lavish descriptions of a bleak, beautiful cold sea. However, the characters are capable of extremely gruesome and cruel acts as well as frustrating social "drama" among themselves that's way too...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Lydia Presley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, 2011-debut, fantasy, fiction, young-adult

With all the stories of vampires, werewolves, angels, demons and witches/warlocks out there - of course the time of the mermaid was bound to come.

I've read a few mermaid novels in the past year or so, and Lost Voices has to be the best of the bunch, but that said, it still lacks that extra umph I was hoping for.

Sarah Porter does a beautiful job with crafting a thought-out version of mermaid lore. Gone are the beautiful mermaids in The Little Mermaid a la Disney and, instead, here are mermaids t...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was hoping for a book that would enchant me with the world of sirens. But perhaps this is more of Mean Girls with fins. It lacked the mystical side of mermaids and focused mostly on social cliques. Lost Voices left me wondering "what is the point?" I read so many good reviews about this book that I kept trudging along hoping to get to the part that inspired them. Unfortunetly, I never reached it.
Something that bothered me throughout the whole book was trying to understand why they attacked bo...more

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Jul 20, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, current_issues, paranormal, relationships, young-adult

Complex issues of guilt and forgiveness, communication and despair are beautifully treated in this deceptively simple young-adult novel, Lost Voices, by Sarah Porter. First of a trilogy, it introduces the seemingly implausible concept of abused girls turning into mermaids, and turns it into an intriguing tale filled with very real characters and complicated emotions.

Lucette is darkly drawn in the first chapters, struggling at home and school, forced to live with an abusive uncle after her mother...more

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Jul 20, 2011 Karly rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

Luce is fourteen-years-old and stuck living in Alaska with her uncle who she tries her best to avoid, especially when he’s been drinking. After nearly being raped by him one evening, Luce abruptly finds herself being rescued underwater. She discovers that she is now part of a group of mermaids that were all transformed after something equally horrible happened to them. Luce discovers that the mermaids use their voices to enchant people on boats, but no human ever seeing or hearing a mermaid can...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Amy Jacobs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts that I liked and parts that were not my favorite. I loved the darker feel of Mermaid lore in Lost Voices. I loved how the mermaids are like Sirens in a way that they sing for their victims to lure them into the sea. I liked the characters of Luce and her spirit. I was happy when she got away from her abusive Uncle who didn't deserve the right to take of her.

The author does go into quite a bit of details in the book. At times it was great,...more

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Why couldn't Luce see into Anais's past?	15	38	Jan 14, 2013 10:42pm
Resolution anybody?	4	30	Aug 15, 2012 01:48am

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Lost Voices (Lost Voices #1)

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