Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.
When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul.
From Goodreads
Celia doesn't really know how to be herself. She has always just been one third of the triplet set in the Reynolds family. With a long-dead mother, a father with Alzheimer's & much older brothers, Celia has always felt rather isolated. Add to that the fact that she & her sisters share extra-sensory powers & you've got a recipe for a more-frustrated-than-usual teenager.
Lo is just a sea girl. She has been one for quite some time & doesn't really remember who she was before she became Lo. In a way she doesn't mind, but on the other hand she really can't shake the desire to know her past. The old ones say you can recover your soul & go back to being a land girl if you convince a boy to fall in love with you and then drown him.
In walks Jude, the answer to both girls' desires. He's rebellious enough to encourage Celia to find her own voice & caring enough to become caught in Lo's snare when he falls off the pier. And with his involvement the two girls meet & share in their mutual distress.
Jackson Pearce is one heck of a writer. Written with all the flare, attitude, & reverence as her other two books in the fairytale retellings series (Sisters Red & Sweetly) Fathomless has earned its stripes. I've mentioned before that I am not a fan of mermaid stories & that still holds true; but this book was about so much more than a mermaid that I could suspense my aversion. Lo & Celia contrast just enough to strike a fine balance between their stories. One girl can't seem to shake everyone else's past while the other has the need to chase her own past.
Through in a rather self-assured, yet compassionate young guy (Jude) and you've got a great recipe for conflict. It was amazing to watch the two girls have their own experiences with him that overlapped just enough that neither one caught sight of the other. I enjoyed how their stories flowed from one to the other & was enough more surprised by how much I enjoyed Lo's alternate personality. Now that's something you have to read the book to fully appreciate.
All in all I wouldn't change a thing about this continuation of the series. After having finished the book, I was rather excited to sit back & place the information gathered in this story alongside the information gathered form the other stories. An intricate & complex world is being developed & I sincerely hope that when the series "ends" we get to see all those clues come into play together.
