I decided to post my review of @robiiehood books WHEN OCEANS RISE here to convince you all to pick this amazing read up!! ____________________________________ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 4.75 stars When Oceans Rise is a story about Malaya, who is stuck in a toxic relationship and wants out. She ends up trading her voice to undo her choice, but ends up in an alternate world which Filipino mythological creatures attacking everywhere. “You gave up a whole life to have this one. Don’t you think you should be living it?” I learned about this book from The Nest, Owlcrate’s app and fell in love with the cover and the synopsis. I could not wait to dive into this tale! First thing that I noticed, which I really liked, was the progression of the story. It was adding that we saw the creation of the toxic relationship and its progression from good to bad. It made me really connect with Malaya and her situation. I also really loved the sort of twist on the story of The Little Mermaid that was in this story! In the original story, Ariel trades her voice to be with the one she loves, while Malaya does the same to get away. This was an interesting take on the story! I loved the Filipino mythology that this book had! It is a culture I haven’t read much about, so I have to say that the names didn’t ring a bell. Some were explained in the story, but not all. I would’ve liked them to be explained a bit better so I could picture them better, since I won’t look it up while reading hahaha. I discovered in the end that a glossary is added at the back, maybe that could’ve been moved to the start of the book. The characters were so good! I loved Malaya and especially the growth she went through, learning to trust and love again, learning from her mistakes and not taking her life for granted! Gabriella was also such a sweet person, I loved how supportive she was despite her own struggles. Salvador was just the sweetest and super understanding of the situation, which was amazing and such a nice contrast with Ian!! Who can drown for all I care! The romance, between Malaya and Salvador, was honestly everything and super sweet! Knowing she had such a toxic relationship it was super nice to see that contrast and the good between theirs! Also, I do believe the best relationships that were written were those between the family members! The good, the bad, the ugly, all was shown and that made it so real and believable! The ending was really all I wanted! I love the extended “epilogue” or the part after the big battle. I also loved seeing the aftermath of what happened and Malaya herself righting her wrongs and everything. Overall, When Oceans Rise is an amazingly strong story about taking faith into your own hands and owning your faults and mistakes! It is honest and real!

Posted by lisa.spanu at 2023-05-30 09:20:19 UTC