Book Review- Tempest Rising

I finished reading Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs last night.

From Goodreads:

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

Maybe it was my love of the Little Mermaid growing up, but I seem to love mermaid stories!  And Tempest Rising was no different.

I found myself hooked in the story pretty early on. I wanted to know just what was going to happen next.

 I liked Tempest.  I liked that she cared so much for her brothers and Dad and that she was tomboyish.  And the surfing angle was new to me.  There was a lot of terminology that I wasn't familiar with (but could easily figure out) and it was fun to read about a new hobby.

And the love triangle.  Yum!  I honestly don't know which boy I would pick.  The boy from home who is loyal and gentlemanly and loves you so much.  Or the mysterious hot guy that comes from a world you know very little about, but know is about to become a major part of your life.

The ending left me like I was toward the beginning--hooked and wanting to know what happens next.  The ending left off where it could be stand alone, but could also easily lead into a sequel.  And I really hope that there's another booking coming up! (Oh, and I really liked the cover!)

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 37
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 32
2011 Debut Author Challenge: 14
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 29

*FTC Disclosure: This book was given to me for free by Bloomsbury USA/ Walker Books for Young Readers for a honest review.