Promise Bound

Lies Beneath #3

by Anne Greenwood Brown

Calder and Lily never imagined falling in love would mean breaking apart. But ever since Lily started wearing a glass pendant that once belonged to Nadia, Calder's adoptive mother, she's been having vivid dreams of what life was like for the mermaid matriarch. In fact, she's been dreaming as if she were Nadia! And Nadia, it seems, made a promise before her death. A promise to reunite Calder's biological mother with her son. Lily knows merfolk are bound to keep their promises. Calder's not buying into it, though. He chalks up the dreams to stress. He wants Lily to focus on the future—their future, not the past. Which forces Lily to send Calder away. Calder goes, feeling rejected and more than a little tempted to revert to his hunting ways.  
What both of them overlook is the present: Calder's sisters, Maris and Pavati, are fighting for control of the mermaid clan, and now that Lily and her dad have transformed into mer-creatures, both mermaids vie for daughter and father as allies. Which of the two mermaids can be trusted? Will Lily make costly mistakes, forcing her to descend to the depths of Lake Superior? And if Calder returns, will he be the same merman Lily grew to love? The stakes are high, with many lives at risk, but Calder and Lily must confront the past as well as their darkest impulses if they want a chance at being together.

Genres: Mermaids, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Mythology, Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2013

About the author

Thanks for stopping by!

I am the author of the following Young Adult novels:

COLD HARD TRUTH (contemporary/romance);
GIRL LAST SEEN (contemporary/suspense);
and the paranormal mermaid trilogy: LIES BENEATH, DEEP BETRAYAL, PROMISE BOUND.

I also write adult romance under the name A.S. Green.

Reviews

[Jay G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

The third book in the Lies Beneath series following Lily Hancock and some killer mermaids.

The first book was average, but the series has just gone down hill from there. I wasn't a fan of the second book, and I am not a fan of this last book either. Calder was a whiny baby and Lily turned into a giant bitch. This just felt like Twilight Breaking Dawn... but role reversed with mermaids. The only redeeming parts of these books are Maris and Pavati, but even they can't bring my enjoyment of the story that far up. I want more killer mermaids and less love sick whiny baby teens.

Overall, just a meh series in general.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series a lot more than I thought I would! I really liked the mermaids of this world and even when it wasn’t amazingly done, it was always interesting and fast paced.

[⋆♱✮♱⋆☽ ａ ｆａｉｒｙ ☾⋆♱✮♱⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do i begin... this series was one hell of a ride! literally.. it drove me insane at times and others it made me want to cry with such joy and love- i really couldn't contain myself. Book one was addicting- i just couldn't get enough of it and i felt as if this was going to be one of my all time favourites; sadly after this book i do not feel so strongly about it being 'my all time favourite series'. The second book was a great continuation- it didn't make me want to pull my hair out nor did it make me want to throw the book in a fire and watch it burn with pleasure, this is exactly what THIS book has made me feel.

I mean its a great conclusion to the series, but characters such as Lily- which as i mentioned before; i really liked her, she was different from your average whining female protagonist who thinks the world centres around herself and herself only. Lily actually thought of others before herself- of course i instantly feel in love with her and it followed till the start of this book, which quickly changed my whole perspective on her. For some weird reason she changed dramatically, for all i know it could be her mermaid hormones- but the way she spoke to Daniel was just plain fucking rude! i dont understand where that came from, she's always seemed so innocent; sweet and kind, then all of a sudden she's this bitch! (sorry for the overuse of exclamation marks but its best describing how i feel about her) Not to mention my frustration with the fact she's always trying to save the world and failing miserably each time, i mean she literally sacrifices herself in every chapter! its so god damn annoying for fuck sakes.
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Calder, my love for him will never change- he's so fucking gorgeous and all he ever does is think about Lily and their future together its just so heart warming and i really felt for him when Lily just sent him off that way.. he was about to 'propose' to her (or a promise ring or something) and she just stares and... and.. fuck knows i forgot because it annoyed me that much! Calder is by far the nicest most caring and loving male protagonist i have ever come across, he's just amazing and i've never once felt frustration or anger towards him as i've felt with Lily. His character development was insane, he has come such a long way since the first book whereas Lily i feel has not really changed much besides in attitude.

Anyway enough moaning about the flaws, i will conclude this review with a positive outcome- it is definitely worth 5 stars. The way the author left you anticipating to know whats going to happening throughout the book and throwing it in your face literally at the very end was a better ending than what i was expecting, i prise her for that- it made the series a whole and left me happy with approval. Overall this series was AMAZING- id highly recommend this to ANY Ya book lover and i hope to read more from this author in the future:)

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutelly fell in love with this series! I would have to say that it is one of the greatest tales involving mermaids that I have ever read. Anne Greenwood Brown's take on one of the oldest mythological creatures was stunning and pulled off amazingly. The story was unlike anything I have read before and portrayed just how animalistic and human such an ancient creature can be.

[Seeing Double in Neverland · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Full Review go to http://seeingdoubleinneverland.blogsp...

4 out of 5 stars

This book sums up and finalizes what need to be finished but like life things are not always perfect.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the overall story but Lily and Calder just grow more annoying as the story continues.

[Hannah H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first two books of this series, so I am sad to say I was disappointed by this book and the way it all ended. I still enjoyed all of the characters, and thought the story contained a fun amount of mystery, but overall I thought the ending was rushed and unsatisfactory.


Lilly is now a mermaid and is trying to adjust to her new lifestyle. Not only does she have to endure gut wrenching pain when she transforms back into a human, but she gets no sleep because Nadia is haunting her dreams. Pavtai and Maris are also adding to her stress, because both sisters want the Hancock's to swear allegiance to one of them, so that they may become head of the family. And to top it all off Lilly also has to help look after Pavtai's son, until he is strong enough to enter the lake.

Back to Nadia...... she causes so many problems from beyond. She has an unfulfilled promise, that Calder will reunite with his birth mom. Therefore, Lilly sends him away to discover the truth about his past. This is where I really started to loose interest in the book. Since it was from a duel POV you saw how in love and happy Calder was and then on the other hand you had Lilly who was about to send him away. I really hate when author's do this because it just makes the pain that much worse!


So Calder goes off hurt and believing that Lilly no longer loves him or wants anything to do with him. Ultimately, him leaving causes them both to spiral into despair, which leads to a lot of close calls. Also I thought Chelsea was such an irrelevant character, she really had no purpose because in the end it was (SPOILER AHEAD! SPOILER TURN AWAY) Pavtai who helped Calder discover who his birth mom was. I guessed who she was before the end of the book, so it wasn't a huge shocker.


Ultimately I would have liked to see more of Lilly and Calder together and happy, instead of apart and depressed. I also wish the ending would have been a tad longer because I felt it was rushed and left you with a lot of loose ends. I still really enjoyed this series, but I have to say the final book was my least favorite in the series. However, I still highly recommend all 3 books to anyone who loves mermaids, romance, or mystery!

(Sorry this review also seems like a rant...... oops! Thanks for reading!)

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this final book in the Lies Beneath trilogy.

I mean.... mermaids!!!!

I figured out something that wasn't meant to be discovered til the end pretty early on, but that didn't disappoint me, I like feeling smart.

I think there was one thread that wasn't completely tied up, but I was left satisfied with the ending of this series. I would of course love to see more tales from the Lake Superior Mermaids, but I'm quite happy with where things were left.

I recommend this series.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though the murderer from book two has been killed, teen Lily Hancock’s life is far from peaceful. The killer’s sister keeps hounding Lily to find out what she knows about her brother’s death. Also, Lily is able to quickly transition to a mermaid and back, however, it is still excruciatingly painful.

While she enjoys the time in the water with her boyfriend, merman Calder White, she’s experiencing weird dreams due to the pendant she wears that belonged to Calder’s merfolk family’s mother, Nadia. Through these dreams, Lily can see and talk to Nadia and learns she has a promise yet to keep. Everyone knows that merfolk must always keep their promises. This unfulfilled one has Nadia lingering around Lily’s dreams, much to Calder’s annoyance who wants Lily to focus on a future with him, not the past.

Meanwhile, Calder’s sisters are fighting each other over control of the family and are making wild promises to earn the loyalty of Lily and her father. However, they are unsure which manipulative mermaid can be trusted due to their questionable behavior in the past. As Lily tries to fulfill Nadia’s promise, her family is once again in peril and Lily must figure out the best way to help Calder and save her family, even though in doing one, she might jeopardize the other.

This ending to the trilogy contains enough action and romance to satisfy most readers of the first two books as things wrap up with minimal unanswered questions. The sibling drama in the Hancock house and in the ocean is riveting and heightens the tension as both families deal with heartbreaking changes. For grades 7 and up.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated everything about this book. Even the fact that it included mermaids. Surely not, I can hear you saying. You adore mermaids.

This is true. But even that could not rise my opinion of this book to anything above pure contempt.

So Lily, who has been relatively stable for two books (other than the fact that she is dating a literal murderer and has never once discussed this with said murderer/boyfriend as if pretending it didn't happen makes him psychologically sound) starts wearing a magic necklace that gives her scary dreams that cause murderer/boyfriend to say "hmm perhaps this is not safe" and she says NO! NOT ONLY IS THIS THE BEST IDEA EVER, I AM ALSO BREAKING UP WITH YOU BECAUSE I CAN'T THINK OF ANY WAY TO GET YOU TO GO FIND YOUR BIRTH PARENTS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO AND YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BIRTH PARENTS, BUT ANNE GREENWOOD BROWN HAS NO IDEAS SO THIS IS THE WHOLE PLOT OF THE NOVEL NOW GO FORTH AND BE MISERABLE WITH A CREEPY DEATHWISH CANADIAN GIRL AND DON'T TELL ME ABOUT HOW YOU MAKE OUT WITH HER AND WHILE YOU ARE GONE I WILL TRY NOT TO KILL MY MOTHER JUST KIDDING I AM GOING TO DEFINITELY TRY TO KILL MY OWN MOTHER"

Also something about a mermaid baby and families are terrible unless you are Calder White and then you MUST FIND YOUR BIRTH PARENTS because apparently adopted children are not allowed to be happy in their adopted homes in young adult novels. Even ones about murderous mermaids.

Would recommend to masochists who cannot dnf mermaid novels.

[Sara St. Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen...these books are garbage. And I love them. I am the garbage queen. I love garbage because I'm the queen of it. The end.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I realized I hadn't finished the series yet, and I had the final installment downloaded. So I read this way after I read the others. That never bodes well for a review.

The story is disjointed but tolerable. What I couldn't stand was the central relationship of the book. Lilly and Calder's romance is pretty creepy by the end. For example, she asks him to go find his family. A decent thing to do really. Do it in a weekend. I don't understand why Lilly, the more tech savvy one, wouldn't spend a couple hours helping him, but whatever. He freaks out and almost kills a girl. He needs Lily to keep him from doing that sort of thing? Then he tells Lilly she can report him to the police if she wants, it's her chance to be rid of him. That is so manipulative and abusive. She actually asks Calder if it's her fault that he hurt a girl. Um honey no. He's responsible for himself. Lilly didn't break up with him, just told him to find his parents. What's with the melt down? He's gone a couple days and Lilly is having a hard time remembering what he looks like? Good grief. Then there's crazy librarian chick. One second she's hostile, the next she's desperate for a hookup, and Calder doesn't just walk away?

Calder keeps saying how full of goodness Lilly is, but I just don't see it. She's isolated from her friends, doesn't even notice her mom's worsening health. Her best friend forgives her for not calling in two months, Lilly doesn't even ask how she is.

I think the author wanted us to forget that Calder is basically a serial killer, he's reformed, he couldn't fight his nature, etc. Lilly keeps saying that was Calder of the past, not now...but he literally just tried to drown a girl, then he stole a man's livelihood so he could have a ride, and used another girl for rides and food. Great guy...

Apart from the sick relationship, the book ended so abruptly. So, Maris is just out there killing? We're all okay with that? And nobody is going to talk about, or realize even, that all a mermaid/man needs to do is fall in love and they're totally fine? Is Daniel a merman now? And couldn't Calder's mother take a second to explain she always hated Lilly because she looked like Nadia, the woman who reminded her of her lost son? Everyone says Lilly looks exactly like Nadia yet that's never even touched on.

I'm glad to have the series over.

[Reagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one less because Lily did something really stupid that made no real sense. BUT the author knew this and had another character call her out on it with the exact words I would have used! I about died laughing because the author literally wrote every readers thoughts in that moment. Then, because the plot wouldn’t work if Lily didn’t do the stupid thing, she did it anyways and it all worked out in the end. Overall, a good read like the rest of the series but not quite as great as books 1 and 2. So I give it a 3.5.

[Meghan Fasnacht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book and a much faster read then I thought it would be but I didn't have a pull to read it, like I had fun while I read it but when I put it down I didn't feel driven to pick it back up. Also the ending was a little lack luster, I wish it had an epilogue like 5 years later or something to clear up a few things for me(like how did gabby handle everything). But all in all I still had fun with the whole series.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***










Ugh. Terrible end to an otherwise pretty decent story. To be fair I always thought Lily was annoying but she really out did herself in this one. In the end the one I felt bad for was Maris. Was she a mess? Yeah. But she just wanted her family. Only part that really redeemed this book at all was the reveal of Calder's mom. Otherwise bleh...so many unanswered questions and such an abrupt ending.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating system

5- Gush/Absolutely Loved
4- Low Love/High Like
3- Like
2- Meh
1- Dislike/Hate

If it is a .5 star I round up

4 Stars

A decently satisfying conclusion to the killer merfolk of Lake Superior trilogy, wish that there was more of a "future" shown for Lily and Calder though.

[Charlotte King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book and series however it does leave a lot of loose ends that are never really explained and nothing really feels resolved at the end- it kinda cries out for another book to really tie up everything nicely or at least a chapter in the future to see how things turned out

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good. I had no idea how it would all end, but it was really good! It was a little disappointing that no solution was found for

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank the author, Anne Greenwood Brown, for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review. I have loved this series from the start. So given the chance to read the final book early, you can bet I jumped at it. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.

Blurb from Goodreads:
Calder and Lily never imagined falling in love would mean breaking apart. But ever since Lily started wearing a glass pendant that once belonged to Nadia, Calder's adoptive mother, she's been having vivid dreams of what life was like for the mermaid matriarch. In fact, she's been dreaming as if she were Nadia! And Nadia, it seems, made a promise before her death. A promise to reunite Calder's biological mother with her son. Lily knows merfolk are bound to keep their promises. Calder's not buying into it, though. He chalks up the dreams to stress. He wants Lily to focus on the future—their future, not the past. Which forces Lily to send Calder away. Calder goes, feeling rejected and more than a little tempted to revert to his hunting ways.
What both of them overlook is the present: Calder's sisters, Maris and Pavati, are fighting for control of the mermaid clan, and now that Lily and her dad have transformed into mer-creatures, both mermaids vie for daughter and father as allies. Which of the two mermaids can be trusted? Will Lily make costly mistakes, forcing her to descend to the depths of Lake Superior? And if Calder returns, will he be the same merman Lily grew to love? The stakes are high, with many lives at risk, but Calder and Lily must confront the past as well as their darkest impulses if they want a chance at being together.

When I heard that this book would be a dual POV, between Calder and Lily, I was very excited. I really missed Calder's POV from the first book. It was interesting getting to know Lily more in the second book, but I needed to really see what Calder was thinking, and that was hard to see from her POV.

If you have not read the first and second books, I would stop here. I know there will be spoilers for those books and I don't want to ruin anything for you!

This book picks up pretty much where the last book left off. Lily is getting used her new form and learning to deal with changing from human to mermaid. But she is still having a hard time with the transition from mermaid to human as it causes her immense pain. And Calder hates to see her in pain. More than anything, he wants to just be with Lily, to start their life together and move on. But Lily has other plans.

I have to say that I was annoyed by Lily in this book. She was trying her hardest to be selfless but it was coming off more as her being selfish. She wanted things her way because she thought that would make things right, but it just caused everyone so much suffering and pain. She believes that by letting Clader go, he can find peace with the life he left behind. But Calder doesn't understand why she would want this for him, until he realizes what finding his former life would do to complete him.

Both characters grow immensely in this book, even if it is through a series of actions that might drive you a little nuts. Neither can let the other go, but they also realize the need to find themselves before they can actually be happy with each other. Calder definitely changes more than Lily, tho. As a matter of fact, I think the fact that Lily doesn't change as much as he does really solidifies his story. Because I do believe that these books are really more about him than they are about her.

As with the first two books, Brown gives us so much to think about. She inserts unexpected twists and turns that have you sitting on the edge of your seat and wondering what comes next. She paces the book so that you don't want to put it down and need to find out what will happen next.

This book certainly solidified my love of Calder. He is totally fascinating. He's kind, loving, appreciative, and so much more emotional than I ever thought he would be. Don't get me wrong, he still has the mermaid streak in him (and anyone who read the first book will understand what that means) but he does his best to steer clear of the craziness his mermaid side brings. He wants to keep his humanity and tries so hard to make sure he can be in control.

The most amazing thing to me about this book is the fact that Lily and Calder are actually separated for more than half the book. Yet they still have such a great draw to each other. As a matter of fact, I was almost annoyed with how Lily was constantly thinking about Calder and pining over him.

As for the end, it was wrapped up nicely, no strings left untied. I liked that about this book. I hate when books end and let you come to your own conclusion. Brown certainly showed you exactly where she wanted Lily and Calder to go and how she wanted them to end up.

So, if you are up for a mermaid series, I highly recommend this one. I really loved the story arc and how Brown put you in the heads of her characters. It's a great twist on mermaids, how they feed, and why they are on our planet. Give it a try!

[Reanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a review for the series as a whole and contains spoilers for the whole series.

Lies Beneath is a book that kinda took me by surprise. I hadn’t read a great many mermaid books, and I don’t know that I’ve read any others that are actually merman books. Plus, the angle of having mermaids actually be really dangerous to humans was appealing.

The first book was very enjoyable. It introduces characters who are dark yet sympathetic. Merpeople in this book are actually a lot like werewolves, vampires, and other monsters. They suck the life out of people—not so much to survive but to be happy. They’re kind of emotional vampires, except they generally drown their victims in the process.

After I read this book the first time, I was eager to read the other two books in the trilogy. Sadly, the other two are not in audio, and there are apparently no plans for them to be. (It would be tricky for them to be, actually. The second is from the POV of a woman, so there’d need to be a new narrator, and the third is from so many POVs that I think the only way it would work would be to have one male and one female narrator and just have them each read multiple character POVs as necessary.) So, I bought the hardcovers from Amazon, confident that this was a series I’d want to keep around.
I’m sorry to say that didn’t turn out to be the case. They weren’t bad, certainly, but they were disappointing to me because of the expectations that the first book had built up in me.

The first book ends shortly after Jason becomes a proper merman. This left me extremely excited to see what it was like for him in these early days of adapting to his new body and new nature, learning the ropes of being a merman. I was also very excited to see how his family handled this and how his merman-ness would affect/interfere with his family’s life. I anticipated this would involve Calder being the one to teach him, so there might be an interesting dynamic between the two of them, with them being sort of brothers and also being father and daughter’s-boyfriend.
This is where my disappointment is greatest. The second book is told from the girl’s POV, and a lot of the cool merman stuff is deliberately left out. Cool stuff is apparently happening between the two mermen, I guess, but we’re left sitting back on land with the girl, wondering what’s going on. In fact, Jason spends most of the book deliberately avoiding his family. His mind and personality appear to be changing to be more in line with merpeople, which would have been fascinating from his POV or even from the POV of the other merman (the guy whose POV the first book was from). From the girl’s POV, all we get are brief glimpses of Jason out in the water before he runs away and confusion about why he’s acting like that.

So, while I really wanted book two to delve into Jason’s transformation into a merman and what that meant for him and his family and his relationship with the other merpeople, we actually see very, very little of that. Instead we get a human girl moping around on land, wondering why she never sees her dad or boyfriend.

In the third book, we still don’t get hardly anything of Jason being a merman. When he returns to his family, we now almost always see him as a human. Even though we know that sometimes he’s out swimming as a merman, we don’t get more than maybe one scene where we see that, and even that’s brief. So there’s still not nearly as much of what’s going on with him as I want.

One thing about mermaids in this series is that they pretty much go topless when they’re in the water. This is understandable, and I have to give props to the author for doing the thing that makes sense and meshes with lore rather than the thing that would fit in with modern western ideas of modesty. For most mermaids, including the boyfriend, this is treated as normal and no big deal because they’re just used to it. I can kind of understand Megan eventually deciding to go with it and becoming accustomed to it. However, there’s a huge flaw at the end of the story. As I said, Megan and her dad, even after becoming merpeople, pretty much spend no time together as merpeople. But at the end, there’s a big scene where all the merpeople are together. And, even though there’s big stuff going on, I was still really expecting to be at the very least a moment of real awkwardness between the two of them (who were both raised with human ideas of modesty) when they meet up and see each other in their topless/naked mermaid forms. Like, I’m sorry but that would be super awkward for both of them, even in the midst of dramatic stuff happening. And there’s no mention whatsoever of anything. It’s as if at that point in the story the author chickened out and decided to pretend she was still wearing the shirt she’d been wearing at first rather than being true to the awkward situation she’d written her characters into. And since I really love awkwardness in stories, especially when authors really milk the awkward moment for all the awkwardness it’s worth, that was another disappointment.

In the end, I returned the books. So very much potential, so ultimately unsatisfying.

[Jason Mccurry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lily was far different from the other books and maris wasn't finished how I would have liked.

[Emily Michie ☆]

N o s t o l g i a

[Savannah Halliwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a really great series. I genuinely loved all of the characters. I had some trouble finishing it but totally worth the ending. Though, I would have been happier if they fit in a sex scene.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to see a more bloodthirsty depiction of mermaids

3.5 for the series overall

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always hard to return to a world you haven't visited in awhile, especially one where you read the last book as an ARC. Anne Greenwood Brown's Promise Bound is the final book in the Lies Beneath series that brings us the mermaids of old. The kind that liked to lure sailors to their watery deaths. I've always enjoyed Anne's spin on mermaids, they're not all the singing princess longing for land--although she was great too!

My memory from Deep Betrayal is pretty much nonexistent. The most I could recall was Lily turning mermaid towards the end while in the meantime Calder was helping her father adjust to his new merman state. So yeah, there are a LOT of details I couldn't recollect. Which is always hard for me as a reader, because I tend to struggle to remember instead of just enjoying the story. We do get some threads of recap, but I was still left trying to remember.

Anyway, after reading the description, you can bet I was fearful for our teenaged couple. I am sucker for happy endings and when I read that trouble would pull them apart, I wasn't prepared for it even as I saw the signs of it happening. Lily is not the same. She's changed. She's been having dreams about Nadia--Calder's mermaid adoptive mother. She has unfinished business and needs Lily to help put it into action. Calder is to find his birth parents, as Nadia made a promise long ago to his birth mother that she'd return Calder to her one day.

Lily accepts this and forces Calder to go on this insane mission. He promises her and it's a promise he must fulfill if he ever wants to see Lily and be with her again.

But there's still more trouble on the home-front. Lily's mother continues to fail in health, her sister wants to be a mermaid so badly that she's going to extreme lengths, Daniel is forced to raise the baby he had with Pavati, and Lily's friend Gabby is starting to get ideas about mermaids and wanting to find them to find the answers to what happened to her brother Jack and then there's both Pavati and Maris trying to get Lily and her father to join them in overthrowing the other in a family power struggle. So a lot goes on in this one!

This was a surprisingly quick read! A one-day read in fact! Less than 8 hours even! The words and pages were just flowing so fast before my eyes, because I was dying to know what happened to each of the characters. We get Lily and Calder's points of view in this one, plus the occasional chapter being told through Gabby, Daniel, Pavati, Maris and even Nadia's eyes! It helps to get a better understanding of each of the characters. We get more insight to Nadia's plight, what Pavati thinks and feels, how Maris felt about everything...it's quite a lot of info and it's not too much or anything. It's all easy to comprehend, but it's just like...you get sooo much understanding from these characters!

Upon finishing it, I found myself with just a question or two. Mostly just wonderings about some of the secondary characters. But I don't think there will be any answers. None now at least. They aren't burning questions though, just wonderings, as I said. I was otherwise quite pleased and content with the ending. I look forward to reading whatever new world Anne creates in the future! This is definitely one highly recommend mermaid read!!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

[Les Chroniques Aléatoires · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il faut une fin à tout et c'est le cas avec cette trilogie intrigante et originale qui parle de sirènes : Attirance. Ce dernier tome n'est disponible pour le moment qu'en anglais, ce qui ne m'a pas empêcher de me l'acheter pour mettre un point final à tout cela. Après le point de vue de Calder, puis celui de Lily, on se retrouve ici avec un point de vue alterné du groupe mais aussi des petites scènes décrites par d'autres protagonistes. La romance est toujours présente au second plan, mais elle a tout de même son importance, après tout les émotions sont ce qui est jeu à la fois pour les humains que pour les sirènes.

Quoi qu'il puisse arriver, Calder reste mon chouchou de l'histoire, sa façon d'aborder les choses étant tellement fraîches et mignonnes. Malgré certaines erreurs de sa part (et qui ne sont pas réellement de sa faute), il est attachant et on finit par tout lui pardonner. Ses sentiments pour Lily sont une évidence qu'on souffre avec lui lorsqu'ils doivent se séparer. Lily de son côté baisse de plus en plus dans mon estime, se transformant en véritable garce ici. Entre Calder et elle, c'est le jeune homme qui est le plus humain des deux.

Dans les personnages secondaires, j'apprécie d'en apprendre plus sur Nadia et du coup sur le passé de ses divers enfants. Toutes les scènes de flashbacks/rêves sont vraiment intéressantes et agréables à lire. Maris et Pavati sont toujours aussi manipulatrice, bien que leur bouclier se fissure peu à peu laissant apparaitre qui elles sont réellement. Will est un personnage qui évolue rapidement et qui m'a surprise à plusieurs reprises par ses décisions. Il y a plusieurs autres personnages qui apparaissent dans l'histoire et qui ont un impact sur l'avenir du couple Calder/Lily.

La raison principale pour laquelle j'ai tenu à lire le livre jusqu'à la fin est le style d'écriture si particuliers de l'auteure, qui arrive a bien mettre en avant la psychologie de chacun de ses personnages. Tout cela est d'autant plus notable lorsqu'on voit certaines actions de leurs yeux. La mythologie des sirènes est bien expliquée une fois de plus, on grappille encore de nouvelles informations sur leur façon de vivre et leur passé. Il ne reste pas beaucoup de secrets à la fin, mais on ressent un potentiel inutilisé concernant les sirènes mâles.

Un bon livre dans son ensemble, mais qui n'a pas su raviver la flamme que j'avais en lisant le premier opus de la trilogie. Je pense que la personnalité de Lily y est pour beaucoup. Il n'empêche que tout cela se lit très bien, vite et sans vraiment s'en rendre compte. C'est bourré de rebondissements totalement inattendus, toutes les révélations sont faites à point nommé et émotivement nous faisons des loopings avec les personnages. La fin reste tout de même un peu bâclée, en tout cas c'est l'impression que j'en ai. On ne sait pas vraiment si c'est un point final, ou si l'auteure laisse une possible ouverture pour une suite.

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on Fable's Library
5/5

First off let me warn you in saying that this is the third book in a series, I will try not to spoil anything, but if you don't want to take your chances then do not read this!
Yay final book in the Lies Beneath Series it's too good to be over T.T Whyyyyyyyyyyy?!?!?!?!

Lies Beneath is my most favorite book series about mermaids out there. (Okay I've only read one other series but hey, who's counting?) From the moment I first picked up the book I knew I would love every second of it and I did. Especially when I found out it took place in Lake Superior (I live in Michigan so that's pretty dang cool!) I loved it. I mean come on killer mermaids in Lake Superior sounds awesome minus the killer part of course.

The characters are ultimately cool in this whole series. Lily is the main female character and Calder is the guy one. Each chapter alternates their points of views and sometimes it changes in the middle of the chapter, there are titles at the top of each section where they change point of view which is nice. The changing views don't take away from the emotion or action either I think it adds to it. Because when Lily is depressed it changes to Calder who's trying to find his (spoiler) parents (end spoiler). Of course Lily loves Calder and Calder loves Lily and they have their romances and troubles but this isn't the whole book, not really. Which is good if your not one for hard core romantic books. Instead there are moments of mystery, action and heart pounding moments.

Calders sisters are written well also. Maris and her evilish glory are back this time with more of a sinister reason. Pavati is back as well this time with a child whom Danny will have to take care of for a year then give back to her, that is the way of the mermaids. Which did not work out so well with Nadia. All of a sudden everything is dumped on Lily, she must watch Pavatis son to make sure Danny will give him back when the time is right, (spoiler) her mothers is nearing death and her family is pushing for Lily to make a deal with either Pavati, who refuses, or Maris, and Calder leaves to find his parents (end spoiler) which all sends Lilys mood spiraling down. Giving Maris the perfect chance to strike.

Honestly this book is awesome. It has it's intense moments, romantic ones, chilling ones, basically the whole story is tied up perfectly to the end. All except what happens to Maris is a mystery. People are happy, Lily is happy, Calders happy, a happy ending for everyone.

If you like series about mermaids, romance, mystery and revenge the Lies Beneath series is the series for you. Just make sure if you read it to start with book one!!!!!!!

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an epic conclusion. This is probably my favorite mermaid series I’ve ever read. It’s full of interesting characters and crazy twists and a beautiful setting. This final book isn’t just from one character’s perspective, but it alternates between Lily and Calder. I wish the first two books did this. Lies Beneath was completely Calder’s POV, and Deep Betrayal was from Lily’s POV. I love how well differentiated the narration is between their parts. Calder is self deprecating and sarcastic and very much a guy. Lily is more poetic and quirky and also sarcastic. The narration of this series is just so well done.
I like the other characters beside the two main ones. Despite everything, I think Pavati is pretty awesome. I wish we could get more of her story. She had a baby and handed it off to Daniel, the father, but she really cares about that baby. Daniel cares for it too and I hope they do stay together despite mermaids’ tendency to not stay with mates. I loved seeing how Danny dealt with the baby. He seems not like the best choice for a father figure, but he really likes the baby. I don’t really like Maris because she’s kind of cruel.
I also love the setting. I’ve been to Lake Superior multiple times. Never to Bayfield specifically, but near there. I’ve been to Ashland, and Park Fall, Butternut (where my great uncle lives) and other places in the North Woods of Wisconsin. I have travel brochures and a post card of Bayfield, so I can picture the town easily. The Apostle Island are a beautiful places and I hope I actually visit them someday instead of look at them form a distance.
Other important events in this book include Lily’s dreams in which she’s Nadia, and Calder’s search for his real parents. Lily’s sea glass necklace is letting Nadia’s spirit show her the past and what’s she’s shown leads her to believe that Calder must find his family. Calder doesn’t believe Lily and she tries to convince him what he must do. She sends him off to Thunder Bay, Canada and he promises he will try to find them. Meanwhile, Maris and Pavati are fighting over who gets Lily and her dad on their side. The turn of event near the end resolve the story well. I wish there was more and that the story didn’t have to end yet, but I’m pretty happy with the ending.
If you haven’t read the Lies Beneath series then you are missing out. It’s great for anybody who likes paranormal romance or mermaids.
Cover Art Review: Nice underwater photo, but the girl kind of looks dead. Maybe that’s the point. It’s and okay cover because it fits with the previous books.

~Haley G

My blog:
http://breathlessbookreviews.blogspot...

[Shy The WidowMaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that this is one series I fell in love with and I am sad to see it end but the author wrapped things up so well that I am ok with letting it go. I really fell in love with the character of Lily and Calder and it was great to see how their story would end. We started this book out with Lily and Calder having to deal with the fact that Lily is different now that she has started wearing Nadia's pendant. I have to say I loved the way the author wove the dreams that Lily started having into the current story line. It was a great way to get some insight into who Nadia was but still keeping the story flowing. I think that we got more of Calder's POV this time was an awesome addition to the book. I love learning more about him and why he thinks the way he does. I have to say that as the book went on I knew that the were going to have to separate and I think it broke my heart just as much as the characters. I was feeling like they are finally happy and not having to worry about much and then things had to change.

The story progresses and we now also have Maris and Pavati back in the picture and wanting Lily and her dad to chose a side. I was not happy at all with the addition of the sisters being back because I figured they would be up to no good like always. As the story goes on we learn that I wasn't really that far off. They just seem to bring destruction and devastation in their wake. I wasn't happy how they manipulated Lily for a good bit of the story and made her not as likeable as a character but luckily she had Calder to rein her back in when it was needed. I loved that this time we finally learned more about where Calder came from and there are some major things revealed that I didn't see coming. I was so happy in the end though.

Overall this was a great conclusion to this series and I loved seeing how things turned out for all the characters involved. The way Lily and Calder got their happily ever after was an epic showdown and I loved every minute of it. I will truly miss these characters but I am happy with the way the author ended things. I would recommend this one to all my mermaid lovers out there or anyone that has been in love with this series like I have been since the beginning. Hats off to the author for ending this one a high note and making it all worth while.

[Amber at Fall Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promise Bound is an excellent conclusion to the Lies Beneath trilogy. Calder grows quite a bit, as does Lily, and Brown manages the alternating viewpoints in this novel like a pro. I could clearly hear every character's voice during their chapters. The characters are also faced with tons of challenges, which I liked. However, this book isn't perfect, and there are a few things that I would have liked to have seen, such as a clearer, more definite ending and more steady pacing. For the most part, though, I really enjoyed this novel.

Brown pulls out all of the stops when it comes to the characters in this installment. We get to hear from Calder, Lily, Maris, Pavati, and Daniel. Also, the reader gets to learn a lot from Nadia through Lily's dreams. This caused me to view all of the characters as more well-rounded and real. I could connect with, or at least understand the motives of, everyone after reading from all of these different perspectives. I know the last book was really Jason-heavy, and he wasn't as prominently featured in this novel. I would have liked to have learned a bit more about how he was dealing with being a mermaid. I also would have liked to have seen more of Sophie. It would have been nice to get at least a chapter from her perspective.

The pacing was pretty slow for part one of the book. The second part was a bit faster, and the third part flew by. I really liked the ending, but I feel that Brown left too many loose ends. I won't say what they are here because I don't want to spoil it for you. Also a couple of things could have been explained a bit more clearly. The plot itself was easy to follow, but there were a few twists at the end. Some of which I really liked and one of which didn't feel realistic to me. When there's a mystery being solved, a few clues should be dropped so it at least makes sense to the reader in the end. As it stood, things just felt too manipulated by the author for one event. Also, Calder didn't need to state he was fully evolved. That would have been better left unsaid. We could get that without being told.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but as I mentioned, some things were lacking. It held my interest to the very end, and while the conclusion isn't completely satisfying, it's not exactly unsatisfying, either. I'd recommend this series to anyone who likes good mermaid tales.