Since the fall of Cerula and finding out she is part of a greater prophacy, Serfina is left to pick up the pieces of her life and figure out where her talisman is before Abbadon is released. Meanwhile, her best friend, Neela had returned to her kingdom of Mitali to warn her family of the upcoming dangers and gain allies. But her warnings aren’t heeded, in fact they thhink she’s crazy. Now both girls are alone, trying to find a way to save the world and be heard.

You know, when it comes to a quartet, it’s a difficult balance between moving the plot forward but not too fast as you have the grand finale to build to. Oftentimes, that makes the second book feel like filler, setting things up so a lot happens but it also feels like nothing happens.

The problem is that Donnelly has a tendency to build up events and summurize the follow-through such as Serafina’s search for the talisman which should feel like a powerful moment for her to accept that this is really happening, she is going to save the world. Goes by in one page and summarized because Serafina passes out from her life nearly being drained from her. We get more action in Serafina’s journey to find out where the talisman is being hidden (seeing Mahdi again, saving refugees from Death Raiders, being mistaken for a siren and escaping than getting the actual talisman.

That isn’t to say there aren’t moving moments. When Donnelly hits an emotional high, she hits it as when Serafina is reunited with Mahdi and they amazingly talk things out and resolve the issue of Mahdi’s supposed unfaithfulness. It’s refreshing to see that happen early on in a book and the commitment ceremony was depicted beautifully. The running theme about love, be it romantic, community or love of kingdom turned out to be a powerful reprise.

Neela had a very interesting arc in which she realizes that she’s tired of others talking down on her and deciding her life. Her family won’t believe her story about the prophacy of Abbadon and the Six Who Ruled. They think she’s crazy and lock her in her room. Neela could escape by submitting to what they want and being nice and polite and pretty again, but she’s tired of it. She’s tired of not being listened to because she doesn’t look ladylike so she breaks out.

It’s a great arc and she had a thrilling follow-through when she journeys to Kadina to get Navi’s moonstone from the sea dragons. Donnelly’s world-building is on full display as she contrasts the beautiful, gilded yet bureaucratic Mitali kingdom with the warrior, Madagascar-inspired Kandina kingdom with such a badass queen in Kora. Their opposites-attract friendship was nice.

The only downside was that Neela was in house arrest for two-thirds of the book so we didn’t get to see badass, unladylike Neela fighting dragons until the last three chapters. Serafina’s POV takes up most of the book. Serafina as the main character gets the stronger arc although it’s more subtle here where she goes from sheltered, shattered princess to a runaway who is becoming hardened to the death that surrounds, perhaps changing for the worse when she takes the lives of Death Raiders and feels nothing of it.

I also feel like Neela’s family was a bit one-dimensional. Neela’s kingdom seems to have a heavy gender bias or at least Neela’s family does as it is the only Mitalian mermaids readers get to see. But it felt a bit ridiculous that the family’s sense of ladylike appearences was so ingrained they wouldn’t listen to their distressed daughter especially when there is a clear threat to the kingdom.

The other mermaids aren’t present in this book, but Donnelly ups the stakes with a plot twist that I saw coming and one that I didn’t. No spoilers but Ling is in real danger and I can’t wait to see how she swims out of it.

Interesting plots but summarized followthrough leaves this book with 3 seashells.