Tempest Maguire is happy with her decision to embrace her mermaid nature and live among her mother’s clan within the ocean’s depths. Even though training to one day ascend the throne for the aging mermaid queen is rigorous, she finds refuge in the arms of Kona, the selkie who first opened her up to her mermaid side. But when word comes that one of her brothers has been gravely injured on land, Tempest immediately rushes to his side—which also brings her back to her old flame, Mark. And in her absence, a deadly battle begins raging at the hands of Tempest’s old nemesis, the sea witch Tiamat. As the dangerous war erupts, Tempest’s two loves—Kona and Mark, sea and land—will collide for the first time, both to protect her and to force her to choose.

So… I have ranted numerous times about how the middle book of a trilogy is usually pointless, boring, and frustrating. OH MAN. This is not so with Tempest Unleashed. The book lives up to its name, as Tracy unleashes the insanity. I mean, I was on the edge of my proverbial seat, flipping through this book as quickly as I possibly could. To be honest, it’s better than the first one. SO much better. And I’ll warn you right now, if you have not read Tempest Rising, the first book in this trilogy, this review will spoil that book for you. If you’re interested in an exciting mermaid story, definitely go check out my review of book one, and see if it sounds like something you would enjoy. Anyway, onto my review of book two! As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. Like I said, this book is much better than the first one. That’s so rare! It was more exiting, though, and the bulk of the book took place under the water this time. We got to learn more about Tempest, her family, and her gifts.

2. I love mermaid books because I really enjoy reading about underwater scenes and worlds. The descriptions were glorious.

3. The writing was very pretty, and I can see major growth and development in Tracey’s writing since the first book.

4. Tracy’s imagination is amazing! She came up with the craziest looking creatures. I’m not sure if she did a ton of mythological research, or if she made these up on their own. Regardless, they were fascinating. Also, the descriptions of Tempest’s powers were enormous, and so detailed! I found myself flying through these smoothly-written passages, eager to devour every single word faster than my brain wanted me to.

5. Tempest has grown up a little, and has this sense of responsibility and duty. She’s so much more mature now, and I liked her a lot more. She wasn’t selfish at all this time, thought through every decision carefully, and was so brave. I’m so happy to see this new change in her. And I really love how she treats her family. She’s so motherly and caring. I really like Tempest.

6. Kona got much less likeable. He’s not this sweet, swoon-worthy guy in my eyes anymore. He’s grumpy, controlling, pushy, lacks compassion and sensitivity, and has major anger management issues. I’d be scared of him if I were Tempest. Every once in a while, the old Kona would shine through, but I’m thinking his true colors are opposite of what I thought about him from the first book. I don’t like him anymore!

7. Mark is still sweet, but now he’s passionate and giving as well. He’s amazing, and I found myself switching my loyalties from one male in the love triangle to the other, which I almost never do. Mark is willing to give anything, do anything, sacrifice anything for Tempest. She’s a mermaid, and he’s not, but he’s willing to commit to her anyway. Kona has never said anything like that. And the passion with him is so much more fiery than what Tempest has with Kona. I actually love that Tracy did this. I love that she changed my mind. I mean, I loved Kona. LOVED him. And now I love Mark instead. Tracey had me feeling the way Tempest was feeling, which is the sign of a truly wonderful author.

8. That ending was pure insanity! I loved it! There was so much build up to an amazing climax that had me staying up so much later than I had planned. I can’t wait for the next book.

Really, you just need to read this. I have never had such a change of heart from book one to book two in a trilogy like this. I wasn’t even fully excited to read this after reading the first one, but I am SO glad that I did. The writing, the characters, the flow, the plot… all of it was SO much better! And if you loved the first one, just think of how much you’ll love this one! If mermaids are your thing, I think you’ll really like Tempest’s journey.