Ah, what a shame, what a shame... Such a beautiful title and cover, such an interesting-sounding premise but ultimately a very forgettable and disappointing book.

I really had high hopes for this, I find the topic of cults quite fascinating and frighteningly, they're an even more relevant topic these days than they really ought to be in 2022, but this book did nothing to explore the topic.

This was not so much about a girl brought up sheltered and unaware in a terrible cult, not realising just how strange or strict her way of life was until an outsider showed up - which is what I thought and what would have been more interesting to read - as it was about a girl brought up fully aware of the weirdness of her living situation and of the real world, who's a bit bored. I feel missold.

Nixie was not particularly likeable. I struggled to find any reason Crew would have been so enamoured with her. Her characterisation was puddle-deep and she made erratic swings, particularly near the end. The ending was just bad, bad, bad. I was rolling my eyes hard by that point.

I think this book's main problem was how surface-level everything felt. Shallow characters, slim to no plot and nothing of interest explored.

So yep, this was not very good and I don't recommend it.

2 stars ★★
ARC reviewed in exchange for an honest review

I thought the character in this book were just okay, same with the writing style. I couldn't care for the plot.

This book had a lot of interesting elements, but at the end it is simply a teen romance. Nixie is a young girl who has lived on a beached boat for nearly her entire life. Although she’s forbidden from seeing it, Nixie knows there’s an entire world beyond her little home. Nixie ends up saving a boy and they begin a relationship and the rest is pretty unmemorable for me.

thank you to evernight teen and netgalley for giving me an e-arc of this in exchange for an honest review

1.5

i wasn’t sure what to think of this book at first. it interested me, but it also took me 30% to get into. i didn’t really like the writing style or the characters. it feels like i barely got to know the characters because of how short the book was. i just really needed more backstory.

i do think i would’ve liked this more if i was a part of the target audience for this book

I received this novel as an ARC for a review.

In this novel, we follow Nixie. Nixie is the daughter of a cult leader. Nixie has lived most of her life on a boat named, Atlantica. She is not allowed to leave the boat or go on the top deck. Nixie lives on the boat with her father, three mothers, and about twenty other people. Nixie has always wished for a life on land. One day, she sees a boy drowning near her boat, Nixie jumps off the boat and rushes to save the boy. After her first experience on land, she can’t get enough. She wants to continue to see the boy and live with other people on land. Nixie starts to discover what is really going on with Atlantica. Nixie rebels against the boat and her father.

I’ve never read a book about a cult so this was super interesting to me. The suspense of Nixie finally realizing that her father is a cult leader is intriguing and entertaining. The cult is written very well. The cult members blindly follow her father and don’t realize what they are actually involved in.

I don’t really like the writing style of this book or the characters. There wasn’t much imagery and it was hard to picture what was going on. The characters just got on my nerves because they acted so young.

Overall, I think this novel is a great quick read and a remarkable story.

Cult novels have taken the world by storm in the past few years and I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for it, which is exactly why I picked up "The Sea Became Restless" by Megan Gaudino.

This contemporary YA novel follows Nixie, a young girl who has lived on a beached boat for nearly her entire life. Although she’s forbidden from seeing it, Nixie knows there’s an entire world beyond her little home. After all, many of those in her community came from the shores beyond her home and speak of how lucky she is to never have experienced its horrors for herself. Yet, she can’t help craving the freedom and fresh air. But when their deserted slice of beach begins getting visitors and the outside world comes knocking at Nixie’s door, she’ll be faced with more than freedom and inevitably find herself searching for answers that will change her life.

This book had a lot of interesting elements. The ship/cult setting is enticing to say the least and a cast of quirky characters (and cats) invites readers into a story full of mystery and secrets that propel the plot forward. However, these storylines more or less take a back seat to what seemed to be the least interesting trajectory of all: a mushy teen romance.

In many ways, this book had all the ingredients to make something beguiling and deliciously dramatic, but it gave the wrong one’s attention. The bits of the synopsis that sound the most interesting feel more like bait to get readers interested in something that was otherwise quite bland and forgettable much of the time.

Most of all, the ending is what knocks everything down a peg. The main character's reactions to everything that happens to her seem extremely unbalanced and consequences are unfairly dealt, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth as I completed the book. Although, in some ways, I could believe that these decisions were realistic to the situation, they don’t give the darker aspects of what this novel contains their fair due. There are a lot of grittier parts to this story that just don’t get the attention or unpacking they deserve as the plot evolves.

Overall, this story was just a bit unmemorable with a disappointing ending tacked on. I rated "The Sea Became Restless" 2.5 out of 5.

Thank you to Netgalley and Evernight Teen for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

(I'd like to thank Netgalley and Evernight Teen for providing me with an ARC ebook for an honest review.)

When I first saw the synopsis of THE SEA BECAME RESTLESS, I got really excited about this book. I've never read anything involving a cult, and the thought intrigued me. Then you add in romance and doing everything you're forbidden to do? Ooh la la! Total Little Mermaid vibes if it were a contemporary romance with a side of a cult upbringing.

Once I started reading, my excitement dwindled slightly. I was still enjoying reading certain elements (especially once Crew appeared) and I enjoyed learning about Nixie's life, but it took me a bit to get into it and care about the characters.

The only character I really liked was Crew; though there were parts about him that bothered me. I'm not sure if it was just the whole forbidden part of their relationship and the intrigue, but I feel Nixie and Crew fell for each other a little too fast, and then afterward it all seemed like a rush to get to the ending.

Nixie could be pretty childish at times as well, and I guess her upbringing plays a huge part in that, but I rolled my eyes SO much at things she would do or say. But no one annoyed me as much as Juliana and Sam. Most of the interactions with them had me wanting to bang my head on something and just skip through the parts.

Rissa, though, I enjoyed and wish she had more scenes and I wish we had gotten to know more about her and her past. This leads to a big issue with this book! Sometimes it felt like a spin-off , or like we were missing things we should know. I kept hoping to find out more about some things later in the book and some things we got closure on, but others were just left hanging. I also have so many questions on certain things that were never really expanded on.

There was also an issue with the morse code. I've never read a book with morse code in it before and at first, I got really excited, but the execution for this didn't play out as well as it could have. All it did was make me have to pause way too many times trying to translate what was being said. I tried to ignore some of it, but I wanted to know too badly what she was saying.

Overall, though it may not seem like it, I enjoyed the book. There were a lot of intriguing points and a bit of mystery added into it with a few twists (though they were predictable) and I read the book within 48 hours. But I really wish it had expanded on some parts more and I wish we would have gotten to know more about how things turned out besides a small little epilogue of a few months later.


Trigger Warning: Cult, kidnapping, domestic abuse

This was a beautiful story. Nixie has lived on a beached boat since she was 5 years old. Her father has 3 wives and there are other people on the boat as well that she considers her family. One day some teens are partying on the water until something goes wrong. Nixie saves a boy named Crew and he calls her a mermaid.

This story is considered YA, but I think that adults can enjoy it as well, I sure did! Nix starts sneaking off with Crew and experiencing “dry land” and finding out secrets. It’s a captivating story that sucked me in from the start. It wrapped up beautifully! 5 stars!

Nice story that I kinda enjoyed, the idea was great but I just wasn’t getting any vibes from the story that took it down a star but otherwise good.

I really did enjoy this book! I didn't know what to expect going in, and I didn't reslly know what to expect when I opened it. But it's a fast paced, mysterious, quick read. I will totally be recommending this to my friends and family.

The book had an interesting premise with the main character living on a marooned boat with her family and other members of the group. While I was curious where the story was going to go I didn't love parts of the ending that were just a little too unbelievable.

I gave this book a 3.5/5 stars. It was a fast paced book that kept my attention. I liked the characters and the plot. I feel like it could’ve used a little more detail and backstory, like why the cult was formed and why they really believed going off shore and the “drylanders” were so bad, Overall it was a nice quick read and I think it had a satisfying ending!

We follow Nixie, a girl who's lived on a boat her whole life because her dad's the leader of a cult. Nixie wants to go onto land but it's forbidden. Very much Little Mermaid energy.

Unfortunately, it turns out that I'm the unpopular opinion. There were a few things I liked: this was a unique story, the mention of a Spongebob meme, Risa, and the main character's name. Apart from that, there was nothing I really liked.
The writing style was just not for me, it took me so long to get into this book. 20% into it, I didn't really care for the plot and I almost DNF'd it but decided to power through since it's a relatively short book (thank god).
Even though this book isn't mainly focused on romance, the relationship between Crew and Nixie was a big part of it, and I just did not like it. Their romance felt very meh in my opinion. Yes, it was cute but it wasn't anything particularly memorable.
Now, I don't mind gimmicks in books, but the Morse code in this went from cute to annoying real fast. I had to constantly stop reading to check what she was tapping and it took me out of it. It sort of ruined the immersiveness (if that's even a word). I'd suggest translating, or even ditch the Morse code and just spell out words.
Nixie and Crew's characters were fine. I didn't really connect with either of them but that might be with the fact that I'm not 17/18 anymore. However, describing her as being chubby by saying she had a slightly high BMI... no one says that. Juliana was a bitch and just annoyed me. In general, all the characters were okay, not really memorable.
The plot twist was so predictable, nothing really shocked me or interested me.
The book as a whole confused me. What type of boat was it? What even was their cult? Why did the dad have 3 wives? Why was abusing Nixie fine? I have so many questions.
Overall, I think it's just a personal thing, I essentially just found it boring.

This is a book about rebellion. Nixie helps to plan a rebellion against her father to save Crew. It is a fantasy novel. It's about high school., college, and beyond.

The Sea Became Restless by Megan Gaudino
“True romance would be having an ocean’s worth of choices and falling in love with just one fish.”
~~~~
CW: Kidnapping, Domestic Abuse, parents death, Cult mentioning
This was a first for me; I finished this book in two days. The fact that this book hooked me that much was amazing. I loved the interaction between the female main character and the love interest. The banter and playfulness of their relationship was adorable; their personal growth with each other throughout the story was very detailed and great to see evolve.
When reading this; Gaudino makes you almost become a detective with little clues throughout the book about a hidden secret involving the main female character. Also involving the way that things are in the beginning; then at the very end; the truth comes at you in a huge sucker punch! Making you close your kindle cause you have to take a second to think “Did I think what just happen, happen?”
If mystery, CULTS, realizations, adorable first time relationships is something that peaks your interest then seriously check this book out on 2/18/22. Thank you Megan Gaudino, Netgalley, and Evernight Teen for a eARC!

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It is perfect for YA. It has a mixture of suspense, juevanile romance, and family discord. I read this book in one sitting.

Nixie is a young adult that lives aboard Atlantica with her father and three mothers. Nixie longs for life on dry land and struggles between obeying her father and their way of life, and wanting to experience the world she sees out of a porthole on the ship. As the story progresses Nixie's personality develops and she begins to question things that she use to overlook/accept as part of her life.

As the story unfolds it became a bit predictable but I still enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me a little is the Morse Code throughout the book. The author gives a key to decipher it in the begining which is helpful but when reading an ebook it is difficult to go back and forth between the key and the text. I ended up skipping all of the Morse code instead of deciphering it. It was only small words here and there so I dont think I missed anything by skipping it.

I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sea Became Restless is a YA story about a girl who is living in a cult on a boat. The story is pretty original and the whole situation was interesting. However, the dialogue was really forced and it was kind of slow going. The main character continues to leave the boat all the time but it is constantly stated she would be punished if she did and the romance was way too quick to be taken seriously. The father's storyline is delved into a tiny bit and then dropped. His is the most interesting story in the book so it would have been nice to find out more. All in all, it is a quick read YA story that I am sure lots of people will enjoy.

I got this as an ARC for an honest review.
This was a really interesting story. Nixie has lived a sheltered life aboard Atlantica, with her father the leader of the community. Becoming more and more restless with her life, she starts sneaking off ship, and meets a "drylander" Crew, which makes her desperation to leave Atlantica even stronger. As her restlessness grows, so does the tension amongst the leaders of the community, and no one seems to want to tell her why.

It was a good read, and I read it in a night, after starting I didn't stop until I was finished. The pacing was a little hit or miss, some parts seemed to be a bit slow, and others felt a bit rushed, but over all it was a good read, and I'd suggest to anyone who likes YA, or looking for a quick easy read, with a more original plot.

Sixteen year old Nixie resides in a beached boat with the rest of the cult, Atlantica, led by her father, Atlas. More than anything she longs to leave the confines of the boat and walk dry land and even explore the city. When she saves a boy named Crew from drowning during a "drylander" party on the beach near her home, she rebels against the rules of her father and the two embark on a slowly intensifying relationship filled with curiosity about how the other lives.
This book was so incredibly well crafted. The plot was original and intriguing and left me, as a reader wanting to know the answers to the questions that kept surfacing. There were twists and turns and revelations that were surprising and intrigued me--keeping me guessing from the very first chapter. I highly recommend this book and would happily read more from this author.