TEMPEST by Cari Z.

4 STARS

Manticores, selkies, and mer... Oh my!

This is a journey story. Colm Weathercliff is a fisherman with a knack for finding a good catch. Colm, alone for all intense purposes after the death of his father, Ger, wanders to find a life more suited to him. In a small town of farmers he doesn't fit, a landlubber he's not. Actually, it's more than that. 

"This is your opportunity to live the life you want to, instead of the life you would be resigned to.” 

This was not what I was expecting. I guess I imagined something more martial, but having read the Z's stories I have, I should have known better. Once I readjusted my preconception, or threw them out, I really enjoyed the story. It revolves around Colm's discovery of himself. Who he is as a man, a friend, his father's son, and a lover. And, much of it comes as a surprise.

After leaving the safety of his farming village, Anneslea, Colm begins to confront life and make choices. Who should he trust? How will he survive? In an intolerant society sometimes the choices we make, what we want are overshadowed by other needs. In the seaside town of Caithmore, Colm makes decisions that alter his path in life.

Having been welcomed by distant relations in Caithmore he soon realizes that he is not as alone as he believed, even in his darkest moments, even after transformative events. His heart is bound by love and friendship, each giving him strength and opportunity that he needs. And with the challenges Colm faces, they are crucial.

I found the secondary characters almost stole the show. When they appear, bigger than life, they suck all the attention away. It seemed as if times Colm and Nichol were the backdrop for fantastical characters and their stories. Like Frodo and Sam wandering to destroy the ring while everyone around them has these epic tales to tell, and they carry on. Except, here Frodo and Sam, or Colm and Nichol fall in love. And all we want as the readers is for them to find their way to home.

Overall, a transformative fantasy adventure where the hero learns that things will never be the same again. 

Favorite quote: 

“I never thought I would get the chance to both ruin and save the same person…"