Blog Tour: The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons

The Deep End of the Sea 

by 

Heather Lyons 

Pub February 13th 2014 

by Cerulean Books

ARC for Review 

Synopsis

What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.

But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again.

Lindy's Thoughts:

The Deep End of the Sea, by Heather Lyons, is a story that touched my heart, and never let go.  It dealt with characters in Greek Mythology, and wove a beautiful, creative, and imaginative tale of Medusa and Hermes falling in love.  Along the way, we get to know Hermes, Hades, Persephone, and Aphrodite really well.  We get a tale that includes, friendship, jealousy, envy, hatred, and unconditional love.  As a reader, I was swept away by this fast-paced, action packed, "never a dull moment," story filled with twists, turns, and surprises that I never saw coming.  However, my favorite aspect, was the beautiful, tender, and romantic love story that unfolded between Medusa and Hermes.

Medusa's character came to life for me, and I found myself caring and connecting with her.  I was angry at the injustices that had been thrust upon her, and could feel her hurt, guilt, and devastating loneliness.  I literally cried as I read about how sad her life was, how she only had two friends, (Hermes and Mikko), and how she shouldered a huge amount of guilt for the accidental deaths, that she had caused over the years.

I fell in love with Hermes character.  He was a gentle, patient, compassionate, caring, sensitive, and loyal friend to Medusa.  He saw past her appearance, and fell in love with who she was as a person.  Hermes had a beautiful heart, was fiercely loyal to those he loved, most of all Medusa, and would do anything in his power to protect her from the jealous and vindictive Athena, as well as the obsessed and delusional, Poseidon.    

What ensues is an imaginative, creative, and  complex story, with characters that you will come to love and relate to.  The Deep End of the Sea is full of surprises, and will constantly keep you guessing.  The love scenes are very romantic, and tastefully done.  The main characters had such a strong connection, that developed from the foundation of a strong, and long lasting friendship, which was the perfect recipe for an epic love story.

My Rating:

The Deep End of the Sea, by Heather Lyons, is a story that I will always treasure and remember.  It was imaginative, creative, alluring, and beautiful.  The deep love that Medusa and Hermes shared was magically brought to life as  each page was turned, and I was desperate for more.  The story had a unique and colorful cast of secondary characters that were brought to life by there own distinct personalities, and I grew to love or despise, each and every one of them.  I give, The Deep End of the Sea, 5 Sensational, Romantic, Breath Taking, "I'm Madly in Love with this Story," Sparkling Stars!

My Favorite Quotes:

"...the mere gentle act of skin on skin nourishes the soul like no thoughts or words ever could."  (eARC, Loc. 531)

~Medusa

"Love makes every misery, every struggle, every moment of life worth it."  (eARC, Loc. 3122)

~Medusa

"Mortal, monster, or goddess," he says quietly, seriously, "or any combination there in between, I love you all the same."  (eARC, Loc. 3595)

~Hermes

The Ria Sees It 

Hey y’all *waves* OKAY SO…This is my FIRST Heather Lyons book and I must say I’m pretty blown away by her writing and her imagination. I love the way she combined Mythology with our modern day world and plights. I thought Medusa’s story was well executed and I enjoyed all facets of her development as a character. If you know Medusa’s story, let’s just say “this” is why it’s called fiction ladies and gents. This is definitely almost a fantasy favorite for me. 

*Disclaimer…The following is a bit of a rant. The views and expressions displayed are my own and my opinion is biased due to my lifelong love and respect of Homers Odyssey, Iliad, basically all things Greek Mythology and its affiliations. Please skip to my Acrostic Review to bypass my blah, blah, blah, moment. 

I cut my rant out during edits it was long (not mean though, never that)…If you wanna see it email me RiaJay13@hellokitty.com lol no seriously its Gmail ;0) running joke I have w/ one of my tech friends. Here’s the “Readers Digest” version of my rant. Mythology deals with gods that people worshiped. Messing with the stories is cool and mixing them w/ modern day is awesome. Fairytales are cool too and, mixing the two would be fantastic!! But! Putting “the label” of one on top of the other is a bit silly. Like me going back in time and calling their religion a fairytale, or saying our bible is full of fairytales. It would be like me trying to start the church of Cinderella. I would get laughed at. Aces in their places people ;) 

Okay! Okay! I’m sorry I had to get that out if it weren’t for those teeny tiny almost moot and meaningless references this would have been a 5 star read for me EVERYTHING else was AMAZING!!! Call me crazy (it’s cool cause I am, ask anyone that knows me) but that kind of made my mouth drop and a tiny piece of my heart to break. Thee ol’ face slap! As I said everything else was amazing!! So yea pick this book up. Deep and heartfelt, Lyons touches on a painful subject that affects too many people. My heart and prayers go out them. 

T-urmoil, in the face of agony a girl is punished. 

H-eavens, though mighty they’ve also proven to be petty. 

E-ternity, cast away in solitude for a perverse act that Medusa had nothing to do with. 

D-espair, the souls that have been lost cause her agony. 

E-yes, cloudy with disease and age, but filled with adoration belong to half of the company Medusa Keeps. 

E-mbody, Hermes is the light that will fight the darkness of Dusa’s life. 

P-etition, the Assembly’s decision is one that will undo a wrong. 

E-lation, new surroundings will give Dusa pause. Trusting those that have wronged so many is a difficult thing. 

N-ymph, vows are broken and a life is placed in great danger. 

D-oting, when a god falls in Love there will never be another. 

O-bstacle, blinded by Obsession many will be at the peril of a mighty god. 

F-ierce, what seemed like a punishment will result in growth of mind body and soul. 

T-enacious, and determined though she was once a monster, Medusa will begin restitution for her mistakes. 

H-ades, the truth is out everyone will be affected. 

E-thereal, Persephone more than a friend will make sure no harm will come to those she loves. 

S-howdown, everyone is present the lines have been drawn, and Athena’s reasoning will be revealed. 

E-scape, thousands of lives will be safe, and two lovers reunited. 

A-mour, French for love more specifically Paris France the “city” of love holds the promise of happiness. 

I feel like I shouldn’t have mentioned the whole fairytale thing but I was pretty passionate about it so there ya go. I loved all of the characters they played a key role in this awesome story. I hope Ms. Lyons will write another like this. Perhaps Echo or dare I say it Rea lol she’s my fav titan. I enjoyed this read and recommend it to anyone over 17 due to the graphic nature of some of the scenes. Other than that this was pretty killer, applause, applause, bravo, bravo! 

My Fav’s 

Hermes 

Okay not only does he have awesome hair and alluring eyes but he is larger than life. Yes, yes he is a god and he’s supposed to be larger than life what I mean is his character really stands out. I can feel his emotions emanating from the pages. He has known Medusa for thousands of years and they have formed a bond that is unbreakable. His feelings for her are palpable even in the beginning of the book. I expected great things from his character and he does not disappoint. The big reveal is pretty shocking but amaze-balls!! I felt like the stars above destined these two to be together. 

Medusa 

My heart broke for her she was truly victimized and then punished unjustly. In the end we learn why the punishment along with the hatred ran so deep. The thing I loved the most about this character is her growth. The person at the end is a far stretch from the person we meet in the beginning. “Granny” had a lot to do with that I believe but it was great to see. When the book starts out we see a victim mid book we see someone going through the motions, by the end we see a thriving survivor. I could not be happier. Medusa was beautiful inside and out, watching her development was amazing. 

My Fav Quote 

I run. I kick. I punch. I listen. I write. I give. I Live.

~Maddy (kindle LOC 3170)

Explained 

This is a major turning point in the book. It’s that eye of the tiger moment and this sentence was a punch in the face! So I had to mention it because it’s simple yet complex. It was to the point but deep at the same time. 

My Rating 

4.0 Gorgon, Old Friend, Tunics, Assembly, Kitty, Nymph, Treadmill, Shopping, Stolen Kiss, Birthday Party, Jackson, Animal Shelter, Group Meetings, Granny, Death, Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Persephone, Blood Oath, Truths and Promises, Everlasting Love filled stars! This was a great read with a great message I highly recommend it!

Casting

Purchase Through

Amazon | B&N

About The Author

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

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