This book was well thought out. But it wasn’t my vibe. The character was wonderful, but it took me a long time to get through.

Amazing narrators and was an amazing story getting the chance to listen to the Audiobook was amazing and I enjoyed it as much as I did reading it

I was intreagured by the description of this book and really excited to dive into it. I listened to the audiobook and would like to give credit to the narrator, she did an amazing job showing the emotions and depravity of our FMC. As well as the author for writing the beautiful but heart-wrenching scenes. She does an amazing job showing the toxic and cylicical nature of abusive relationships and how they can affect our actions/motivations.

I did like the details of the FMC’s heritage and culture that were given. As someone that’s not too familiar with other cultures myth and legends, it was nice to be given all the details of the without it feeling like too much information.

I typically am not a fan of retelling’s of classic tales. I was unaware going into this book, that it was a retelling. At the point that I realized it was a retelling, I was tempted to put it down ( thats how much i’m not a fan of them). However, at that point I was attached to our main characted and wanted to see her story through. I’m glad I did, It was worth reading. But, had I known beforehand, I probably would have chosen to pass on this book.

The plot points were well delivered and the pacing of this book is perfect. right when the slow scenes of the book start to feel too long, your givin a cricical plot point to suck you back in.

All-in-all I think Robin Alvarez did an amazing job on this book and I'm happy to add it to my library for a re-read in the future. if you’re a fan of darker mythologies and lore then give this book a read.

When diving into "When Oceans Rise" by Robin Alvarez, readers are submerged into a world where curses, mythical creatures, and the depths of abusive relationships collide. The narrative centers around seventeen-year-old Malaya, cursed within her family's legacy where first loves meet tragic ends. Alvarez crafts a story that delves into the complexities of abuse while intertwining elements of Filipino mythology, promising an engaging read from the outset.

As someone less accustomed to Young Adult (YA) fiction, I found the narrative leaning heavily into YA tropes, which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. The writing style and character dynamics felt overly simplistic, making the story read younger than anticipated.

Furthermore, despite the intriguing premise of a retelling inspired by "The Little Mermaid," the execution fell short of expectations. The love story between Malaya and her romantic interest felt rushed and lacked depth, veering into the realm of "instalove," which may leave some readers longing for more substantial development.
It's important to note that "When Oceans Rise" contains sensitive themes and triggers, including physical and emotional abuse, trauma, substance use, and language. Readers should approach the book with caution, especially if these topics may be triggering or distressing.

In conclusion, "When Oceans Rise" offers a thought-provoking exploration of abuse within the framework of Filipino mythology. While its portrayal of abuse is commendable, the book's adherence to YA tropes and underdeveloped elements may leave some readers wanting more. Despite its flaws, Alvarez's debut novel provides a unique perspective on navigating abusive relationships and the power of resilience in the face of adversity.

Thank you NetGalley and Robin Alvarez for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I liked this but didn't at the same time. Definitely an interesting premise but it couldn't quite hold my attention throughout. I enjoyed the Filipino culture/mythology as that isn't something I read about often. The narrator did a good job.

3.5⭐

A heartfelt tale that revolves around reconnecting with family within the backdrop of Filipino culture and mythology.

Malaya has been warned of a family curse that predestines her to fall in love with a bad guy, but she dismisses it, believing it won't come true. When she finally realizes it has, it's already too late. She finds herself unable to leave the guy. Moreover, she feels alone in the predicament as her family has grown distant from her because of her boyfriend and his bad influence. Desperate, she listens to auntie's advice and seeks out the sea witch's help. She is promised to have her past altered in exchange for her voice, but instead finds herself in her parallel self's place and with Filipino monsters rampaging around the city.

This is the first book that I have read that introduced Filipino culture and mythology and I enjoyed exploring the new setting. We learn more about it through Malaya, who is forced by the events to reconnect with her Filipino heritage. I must say, Filipino mythology has some truly terrifying monsters. Also, the ways one fights them are unique, to say the least.

I think the part where Malaya starts reconnecting with her family is the best, especially once the mother comes in. She brought in the most emotional scenes as well as the most hilarious ones. There are a lot of characters in the story, but they each feel distinctive and well-developed. For example, Malaya's sister is self-described as a big coward, and that personality trait is taken into account in the story without her being judged for it.

Another thing the book does well is representing the mute people. It depicts the challenges they face, along with the biases some people harbor against them.

What I didn't enjoy as much was the romance part. Obviously, the initial abusive relationship was heartbreaking but my issue was that in my opinion, it wasn't so well portrayed. I don't know if it was done hazy on purpose but we see the more subtle red flag behavior only in retrospect. This made it a bit harder to believe at the time why it was impossible for Malaya to leave her boyfriend. I am not saying it was something unbelievable in general, I just think in this case it could have been portrayed a bit more convincingly. It wasn't the biggest issue for me but if I wasn't already aware of what goes on in the victim's mind, I might have been thinking she was acting unreasonable. Maybe that's why the author chose to put in a preface that explains her behavior.

I also had some issues with the actual "good" romance. The good guy was sometimes a bit of a jerk. I don't know if that was also done on purpose showcasing that there is no such thing as perfect guy or romance. It just made it a bit hard for me to root for them.

Finally, I had a bit of an issue with the ending. Without spoiling anything, I will only say that something happened that was left unexplained.

I consumed this book as an audiobook and I have been very happy with the quality of the narration. I cannot vouch for the Filipino pronunciation but it sounded right to me and it added to the cultural atmosphere.

I believe this is a good book that probably wasn't a complete fit for me. I have also been a bit caught off guard when contemporary daily life fiction switched to supernatural fantasy in just a few pages. I can definitely recommend it for the emotional and comedy parts, though.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"When Oceans Rise" by Robin Alvarez is a compelling and imaginative young adult novel that skillfully intertwines elements of fantasy, mythology, and the harsh realities of toxic relationships. The author crafts a narrative that delves into the complexities of love, sacrifice, and the empowering journey of self-discovery.

At the heart of the story is Malaya, a seventeen-year-old grappling with a generational curse that dooms every first love in her family. Alvarez deftly portrays the toxic relationship that ensnares Malaya, and the emotional turmoil she experiences is palpable. The theme of breaking free from an abusive relationship is handled with sensitivity, offering readers a protagonist they can empathize with and root for.

Alvarez seamlessly weaves in Filipino mythological creatures, enriching the narrative with cultural depth. The inclusion of these fantastical elements enhances the stakes, providing a unique and immersive reading experience. The struggle to undo the unintended consequences of the switch, along with the threat posed by mythological creatures, adds layers of tension and excitement to the plot.

The character development throughout the novel is noteworthy. Malaya's journey toward self-empowerment and breaking free from the curse is skillfully depicted. The ensemble of characters contributes to a well-rounded and dynamic cast.

While the narrative explores dark themes, it also emphasizes resilience, courage, and the importance of finding one's voice. Alvarez strikes a balance between the fantastical and the real, creating a story that resonates on multiple levels. "When Oceans Rise" is a captivating and thought-provoking read that offers a fresh perspective on love, choices, and the strength to overcome adversity.

This was just plain weird but not in a good way at all. I’m still trying to process what I read. I wish I could go back in time and not read this book.

As a Filipino American, who’s absolutely favorite Disney story is the Little Mermaid (my go-to Karaoke song is Part of Your World and I cried with happiness when I was able to finally ride TLM ride at California Adventure), and who has had quite the unfortunate past of DA/DV trauma, I was incredibly excited to be able to read a book that would speak to me and where I could hopefully see flashes of myself. It took me a very long time to pick this up because I had to prepare myself for the emotional turmoil that I would happen to experience in reading this book, as someone with the past that I have had. And yet, I do think this may be the absolute worst book by a Filipino author that I have ever read.

There will be spoilers in this review as I have listed things that happened as I went along my reading experience. While I did read via on ALC on netgalley, I did already own a physical copy which I pre-ordered long before release day as I do my best to promote and support Filipino authors on my platform. Thus, receiving an ALC no way affects my thoughts on this, and any inaccuracies in quotations are my own fault as I was roughly transcribing the audio version. Perhaps one day I’ll crack open my physical copy and really break down the things that I found off about the text even more.

Starting with a couple of awkward writing choices by the author:
1. “Her sepia eyes are wide and glued to my face” I’ve never quite heard eye color be described as sepia.
2. She compares tumbling into the ocean to a washing machine.
3. The non-abusive love interest is Internet Famous for falling asleep on the shitter. He is actually known as “The Sleeping Pooper” as he fell asleep on the toilet.
4. The FMC meets a guy for the first time and her first thought is “Is he Mexican or Filipino? Why? I don’t know, so I can figure out what our babies would look like. What is going on with me? It’s like I can’t get my hormones under control” This is such a disgusting first thought to have and the fact the author thought it was acceptable to write this…
5. Out of nowhere theres ONE sentence that the FMC has a third eye and suddenly has visions. The plot point isn’t followed or pursued.

On the portrayal of Filipino culture:
1. She lives in Texas and yet chooses to say “po” to random American strangers. That’s such a strange and weird choice. Not a single Filipino would say “po” to someone who isn’t even remotely familiar with Filipino culture. That’s seriously strange.

2. "I told you would become a TV star if you go to the Philippines. Your dance moves could use some work, but you have a wonderful voice.” This was used to put down the FMC by her, as described “bitchy” aunt, and insult her for her life choices. Not only does this stereotype Filipinos, but also this is a terrible representation of Filipinos who do know how to sing. The stereotyping by this author in this quote and multiple quotes about the Philippines and Filipinos seems offensive at best and problematic at most.

3. “It also had a handle, which he’d carved with the Filipino star. My jaw drops because the Filipino star is not easy to draw, let alone carve.” First and foremost, there’ no such thing as a “Filipino Star.” The ambiguity of this statement can either refer to a newspaper, Philippine Star (unlikely), a Christmas Parol in the shape of a star (also unlikely), or the beautiful and complicated, and hard to draw Sun and THREE individual stars that make up the Filipino Flag (more than likely). This misrepresentation is so disappointing as the THREE five pointed stars symbolize the major islands that make up the Philippine peninsula and the SUN represents unity, freedom, independence and signifies the dawning of a new era. The reason why the SUN is complicated to draw is because there are 8 major rays and 2 minor rays for each major ray at a specific distance, which represent the first 8 provinces that courageously defied and revolted against the Spaniards.

This misrepresentation alone of such an extremely significant part of Philippine culture alone is extremely insulting. And yet, this is one of many incorrect “Filipino” things referenced in the book.

4. The author also takes extreme liberties with the mythological creatures presented in the book. I wish the author added a caveat that she took extreme liberties with the portrayal of all the creatures and that while she used the name, they are NOT an accurate representation of Filipino mythological creatures. For example, why are there aswangs in the ocean? Aswangs are literally witches, werewolves, vampires, and ghouls – not this stingray creature that is in the ocean. Why not give them another name? Or at the very least adapt a Philippine mythological creature that ALREADY IS IN WATER? Like a syokoy – a humanoid mythological creature that actually drown humans. I feel like just because the author saw that aswangs can shape shift, it was used as a catch all to say that well, let me shapeshift this one mythological creature into whatever I want. I’m not too sure where this author got her information but so much of this seems so muddled and made up and not in a fantastical, writer-takes-acceptable-liberties kind of way. Evil Encanto chain? Duendes coming out from the bottom of the sea? There’s also a weird referenece to a “Fili-pedia folklore” website that she uses to look up creatures so she can battle them with video game magic (which came out of no where since they never even mentioned video gamed before) and FILIPINO SPAHGETTI BEING USED AS A WEAPON. WTF.

5. The wrong terms are also used multiple times. Life for example here: “Looks like you’re stuck with this injury. You’re going to need a Mangkukulam to heal it. Fortunately, I know just the Mangkukulam to see.”
While the mangkukulam is of the same category as an arbularyo, THEY ARE DIFFERENT. The mangkukulam is a malevolent voodoo witch who tricks and curses others while an arbularyo is a witch doctor who heals people. They are two ENTIRELY different groups of witches.

On the ableism in the book

When the FMC loses her voice, the main adjective the author uses to describe her voice getting stolen by the sea witch is “SPEECHLESS”
“Silence spills between us like black ink on a rug, unwanted and permanent. Permanent because even though I don’t confirm what she’s saying, my utter speechlessness has done that for me.”
“Mom, who I’d thought had been distracted with a puzzle game on her phone, smacks Eric on the back of the head. “Bobo, can you not see she is speechless?””
“Tita holds the knife menacingly, which would have rendered me speechless if I wasn’t already.”

The FMC’s and her family’s reaction to losing her voice is the fact that she no longer can sing karaoke, her mom thinks shes DEAF, and that she needs medical help.
So, it’s true? You can’t speak?” Gabrielle asks.
Mom pulls away, and all three examine me like a science experiment.
I open my mouth with no clue what to say, but it doesn’t matter because Mom takes my indecisiveness as confirmation that I’m broken.
“She will never be able to sing karaoke again!” If I could laugh, I would for the ridiculousness of that statement, which Mom said with absolute sincerity. She always did like my voice though it wasn’t like I was going to be a professional or anything. Also, I find it humorous that she suddenly spoke about me in the third person, which suggests that she thinks I must not be able to hear just because I can’t talk.
“Oh, good.” Mom pushes me toward the nurse like I didn’t hear her. “Malaya. You. Have. To. Go. In. Now.”
I can hear you. I overemphasize my lip movements, using my hands to push the air down so Mom knows to lower her volume. She looks so confused.
“Mom.” Gabrielle jumps in. “She can hear.
You don’t have to yell.”
I nod, my eyebrows raised in amusement.
“Well, how was I supposed to know,” Mom replies. “She didn’t tell me.”

There’s also so much emphasis on how shes now weak and powerless and even more insignifant because she no longer has a voice, “Turns out, the loss of my voice is a tragedy that breaks people’s hearts. If only they knew I willingly gave it away to overcome my broken heart."

More than that, the FMC fakes memory loss into the magic induced mutism while also implying that memory loss = instability.
“I scratch at an imaginary itch on my ear, guilt weighing down my limbs because I remember too much. I didn’t want to taint this life with lies as I’d done in the last life, but this was unavoidable. I mean, I didn’t want to come off as unstable. I don’t remember anything, I mouth.”

This casual portrayal of ableism by the secondary characters also does a huge disservice to the representation of Filipino culture. While I do understand that a lot of Asian moms and Filipino moms can be imposing and a little bit much, the way these characters are stereotypes is harmful. Not all Asian moms are bossy, ablelist, and yelling all the time. Not every single Filipino acts the way they ALL the Filipinos are portrayed in this book. In here, everyone’s a monolith. Everyone EXCEPT the main character sucks and everyone is at fault except her.

On the portrayal of DV/DA:

Starting off with the content warnings at the very beginning of the book: “...Malaya undergoes mental and physical abuse from someone she loved. If you have never experienced this, you may think Malaya’s choices and behaviors are nonsensical”

While DV/DA victims are not a monolith, I do think that it is the authors duty to be able to adequately prove to the reader why certain choices are made through the thought process of the narrator and main character regardless of whether or not they have experienced similar situations. In this case, I feel like dismissing the gut reaction of the reader as “nonsensical” is a cop out and shows extremely lazy writing.

As someone with personal history of DV/DA, because the author failed to write proper character exposition on Malaya’s choices, her actions still very much felt nonsensical. I couldn’t understand why they were together in the first place or why she loved him so much. Unlike Kennedy Ryan’s Long Shot, where I myself nearly fell in love with the abuser in the first couple of chapters, this book offers no romance buildup or exposition to why she “loves” him beyond the narrator SAYING that she does. These characters don’t live together. She visits him. They have no children together. Even at the early stages of their relationship, there was no romance. He was barely attracted to her and she never even wanted him in the first place. He never seemed to show her even the smallest affection for her to cling on to so it really translated as nonsensical.

And yet it does seem that it was a combination of pride and virginity as virginity was presented as Very Important Point. It starts off with her mom starting a weird conversation saying “Malaya, your virginity is something you can never get back. Once you give it away, it's gone. (…) You only get one chance to decide if the person you give it to is worth it. That is why you wait until marriage." Followed immediately by Malaya using her virginity to rope her this guy who barely seems to care for her into a relationship “I know I'll lose lan if I don't do this. If I've learned anything from the stories I'd read, it's that a person needs to feel like you're willing to fight for them.”

Then, later on at the end of the novel when she chooses to go back to her abuser, she thinks to herself, “What comes to mind are his two hands wrapped around my neck until blackness crept into my vision. What was my life worth? What was my virginity worth? Not this. If I'd learned anything from Mom, it was my virginity was a commodity that couldn't be given without getting something eternally valuable in return. I was getting nothing.”

From the very beginning of the book, she never even seems to excuse his abusive behavior. She knows its wrong. She didn’t like him when he was fine and she still didn’t like him knowing he turned abusive. And still she stays, with nothing tethering her beyond her virginity and pride. You may ask perhaps, was it the need to be needed? Unfortunately not, as he never, not once, needed her or showed any sort of desire to be near her.
She, in fact, is always constantly irritated that he doesn’t want her.

The way things are also written don’t allow for any other interpretation. Readers are spoonfed and told how things are, secondary characters are used to expound on the authors’ view point and as world building devices, but the main character does whatever the opposite the prose dictates. This ends up making it look like the main character is ridiculous, frivolous, and completely obtuse as she doesn’t seem to listen and the prose and narrative doesn’t support her choices.

There's no self reflection. There's no intentional character growth. There are 56 instances of characters accusing each other of lying in this book.

On the romance and FMC in the alternate timeline

The FMC runs away to an alternate universe in exchange for her voice. This whole universe is implied to be sunshine and dasies and the “perfect and ideal life” and yet if you’re reading in any which way critically, the family is still ableist and horrible and the love interest is STILL abusive, while not intended to be presented as abusive! While he doesn’t lay a hand on her HE STILL IS ABUSIVE.

She lays eyes on him and immediately is imagining having his babies. She’s *already* in love with him when they haven’t talked at all – which is surprising cause she was still *so* in love with her previous partner and nursing a broken heart remember? She literally just met him and immediately says “Salvador makes me feel alive.” ._.’ ok. And she does keep going on about it “I feel alive when he’s near”

Oh but wait, a friend of hers kisses her on the cheek to say goodbye, Salvador sees, and tells her they cant even hang out at all anymore cause of that kiss. So now the FMC is freaking out about losing someone she never had in the first place. Salvador also flirts with other girls to make her jealous. He orders her around to serve him food and she literally does so without complaint. The author tries to play him off like he's the good guy, but... He's not much healthier than her first abusive ex.

Oh and in this life she’s totally the “IT” girl in this books. While she’s still chasing after this guy, just cause she’s no longer getting smacked around, she’s, and I quote, "I’m so much more fun in this life!" simply because she now goes to conerts, she’s part of the swim team, some random person on the street asks her to be a model, she gets to be an actress, oh and she’s also trying to be a social media influencer too. Please take note she’s still at school. And she’s totally the popular girl.

Overall:

This entire book was nonsensical – from shaming women and making the FMC a victim of absolutely everything except her own choices. As someone who has personal experience on DV/DA, while there are a handful of parts of it that can appeal to certain victims, the portrayal of the FMC as shallow, stupid, and playing the blame game left me wrongfooted

The fact that she chooses to go back to her own timeline so her alter ego isn’t stuck with an abuser, and after cheating on her abuser with Salvador, the first thing she does when she goes back to her own timeline is run straight back into her abuser’s arms AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED. The fact that both mothers, aunts, and the love interest in both timelines are all portrayed as terrible people make me upset. The fact that the Filipino culture and mythological creatures presented here are inaccurate and written with such liberties leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

To me, nothing about this book was good or enjoyable. While you may have a different experience reading this book, I feel like this needed not only a heavy editorial hand but also sensitivity readers not only for the Filipino culture presented but also for the DV/DA written in the narrative. The representation of Filipino culture was insulting at best. Take a page from Dominic Lim, a Filipino American author who hired a sensitivity reader when he wrote his book, just to make sure that random bits of Filipino culture wasn’t completely off. Take a page from Kennedy Ryan, who wrote long shot with multiple DA/DV sensitivity readers. This was not just disappointing but also extremely disheartening.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tides Collide Publishing for providing me with access to an audiobook ARC of When Oceans Rise in exchange for my honest review!

I grew up as a 100% Little Mermaid girl obsessed with the ocean, and I've always been amazed by how little we know about our planets' oceans. So when I saw When Oceans Rise, the cover alone was enough to have me instantly intrigued, and then the fact that it's so steeped in Filipino folklore and culture meant it was one that I *had* to get my hands on. I've always loved getting the chance to learn more about other cultures through reading, and in this case specifically, I loved the story even more because so many of Malaya's experiences and so much of her relationship with her family reminded my of my brother-in-law/one of my best friends, who grew up in the Phillipines.

Malaya's journey, not only of self-discovery, but also of discovering new ways to combat and to heal from trauma--whether it's her own trauma from never feeling good enough for her family or from the abuse she suffers in her 'first love' relationship or the multigenerational and cultural trauma of friends and family members around her--is such an important one, and I am so glad that Robin Alvarez took out the time to write it.

The pacing was a little off for me, especially in the beginning as the story was trying to set the basis for what the rest of the book was going to be, but once the first act gives way to the second, the whole story flips itself over like the other side of a coin and the stakes are *so much higher*. The magic, the folklore, the violence, the *heart*, the way that she is forced to learn how to be an entirely new version of herself while also discovering that the real her has never really been a problem anyway....just ugh. I loved all of the different relationships Malaya cultivates throughout the story so, so much and how much each of those relationships and the individual characters grow throughout the strain put on them as the plot unfolds. I just wish that the pacing of the first act and the ending held up as well as the second and third acts, but all around, this was such an incredible story with so much heart, and it's one I know that I'll revisit in the future.

This was such an interesting take on a Little Mermaid retelling! The way it deals with a toxic relationship for young readers is incredible. You don't get to see it that often and it's so important because so many young women do not even realize they're in a toxic/abusive relationship until it's too late, plus the magical twist was really compelling and had me hooked in the story.

(4.5)

content warnings (provided by author): emotional and physical abuse, toxic relationship, gaslighting

the girls in malaya’s family are cursed to have tragic first love stories. malaya is sure her first love isn’t monstrous, but then finds out the curse is real and has been tricking her. desperate, malaya goes to the sea witch and trades her voice for a new life where she never met her abusive boyfriend. when she realizes she swapped places with a malaya from an alternate timeline, she wants to undo the switch. the sea witch has used her voice to release monsters, though, which makes everything more challenging.

i love retellings, so i was very interested in reading this one. i backed the kickstarter for the audiobook, and its production was great, so if you can get your hands on that version, i’d really recommend it!

this book was definitely a heavy one, but a good one. i loved the connection of malaya fighting off actual monsters (which came from filipino mythology, which i found interesting) to fighting off her internal monsters. at first, escaping into a world in which she was never hurt seemed perfect. however, when she realized she was subjecting another malaya to the aftermath of her own mistakes, she realized she needed to confront her feelings. this was a hard task, but she did it. i also loved that she found a new love because this is such an important message to send abuse victims, who are often manipulated into thinking nobody besides their abuser could love them.

overall, this was a powerful book, and i highly recommend it as long as you’re comfortable with the content.

I liked this book but many things fell short for me.

3.5 stars ⭐️

What I particularly enjoyed was the Philippine mythology and the magic system. However it wasn’t an easy read for me with the mentioned abuse. Many portions of the book was just to fast paced where I felt I missed out on real character development.

I really wanted to love the characters with the thought of a retelling of Little Mermaid. Plus the book cover was so beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity of the audiobook since I have a paper book version.

The idea was solid, the execution a bit less so. I love stories based on mythology, especially when I get to learn about a new mythos (Philippine Mythology in this case) Robin did a great job with sharing the Philippine Mythology throughout the story, very intriguing. I also love fairy tale retellings, this was a very interesting take on Little Mermaid, I enjoyed the very unique and fresh take which kept enough allusion to its source story to make it feel familiar. I love stories with magic and science fiction; this one had great magical moments, the multiple realities and how they interact and affect each other, was all very cool. This story takes on difficult and yet important truths we must face in our daily lives and relationships; hard things to be open about but that need to be shared more often not less, like discrimination, racism, self-worth, relationships, mental health, and abuse in its many forms. The difficulty came for me when they all of these things were mashed together into one YA novel. It just felt like it was trying to do too much. I struggled to get as much out of any of these wonderful aspects of this story, because they were all fighting for importance and attention.

Beautifully written little mermaid fairytale retelling with modern sentiment and magical elements intimately woven into the story line. The story is told in single pov in the perspective of the FMC, Malaya. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. It was well narrated with good pacing. I enjoyed Malaya’s journey and her determination to overcome the obstacles that she encountered. I also enjoyed to inclusion of Filipino folklore. This provided unique plots points within the story line. The action scenes and alternate world descriptors were vividly written providing a vibrant reading experience. Despite my hate for the FMC’s boyfriend and his torturous gas lighting, manipulation, and abusive antics, I was pleased with the direction of the story line and satisfied with the ending. Moral of the story, guard your heart and leave f**k boys in 2023. Please CHECK trigger warnings. Overall liked this read!

This book was a really good retelling of a classic children’s story, the little mermaid, with a compelling twist of filipino mythology. This book is about a girl who is cursed ,through a long family history, to fall in love with a toxic guy and the only way out is to die. But after finding a way out of her situation, she quickly realises that she has unleashed a mass of filipino monsters that she must take down while also falling for the guy she was never supposed to meet. I thought this book was a fun and gripping read and was very easy to listen to on audiobook. I will definitely be picking up another one of Alvarez’s books in the future!

"Malaya, you are the captain of your life. You decide which oceans to sail. You don't wait for the ocean to take you."

A great debut novel from Robin Alvarez! She uses a Little Mermaid retelling to capture the story of a high school girl who finds herself in an abusive relationship. Full of intense emotion, action-filled adventure, beautiful personal growth, and complex family dynamics, this book took me by surprise and was so unique. I enjoyed the introduction to Filipino mythology and how it was used to foster a connection between the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️ No on-page spice
Content warning: Short scenes of on-page physical violence and emotional abuse

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio copy of this book!

Absolutely loved the narrator and loved the story. (Check triggers)

Robin tells an excellent and heart-wrenching story

I had looked at this audio book a few times before I actually decided to select it for a listen, and I’m glad I did. Fantasy audio listen for older teenagers and YA. This has all the parts expected of an enjoyable audio fantasy book. A curse, a quest, monsters, battles, friendship/romance, villains. A story of choices and alternatives. Set around Filipino Gods and Spirits, touches a little on maybe unintended racism. But also a story line that touches on the control others can have on us, asking the question why do people sometimes put up with emotional and physical abuse? Why can’t they escape? The lead character Malaya has many strengths, but struggles with this problem. Can she find inner strength after all. Thank you to Tides Collide Publishing and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

When Oceans Rise by Robin Alvarez is a wonderful young adult ethnic fairy tale with the inclusion of Filipino folklore. Malaya is young girl experiencing first love. However her boyfriend isn't tye perfect guy she first thought him to be. After a year of being gaslit and hum cheating and manipulating her she is desperate to escape but isn't capable on her own. She ends up going to the sea witch expecting a reset but instead discovers she has switched lives with another version of herself and the sea witch is using her to release mythological creatures into the world. Can she defeat the sea witch and return to her old life?
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and it was amazing. The narrator Jennifer Aquino does a phenomenal job with distinct voices and authentic accents. She does a great job conveying emotions adding to the experience.
This book brought out all the feels as we follow Malaya through her first love and the experience of discovering the reality that her boyfriend is abusive and gaslighting her, yet she can't seem to let go. The world-building is amazing as we join Malaya into an alternate timeline and Filipino folklore becomes reality as mythological creatures wreak havoc through the city. There is a brutal reality to this story as Malaya has to travel to an alternate timeline and then struggles to leave her abusive boyfriend behind.
I rated When Oceans Rise 5 out of 5 stars. The characters are well written. The story itself is exciting, filled with action and suspense. I loved the inclusion of Filipino folklore and the ethnic reimagined version of the little mermaid. If you enjoy fairy tales and folklore the you'll love When Oceans Rise by Robin Alvarez.