Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn

Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn
"The sirens are back, but Vanessa may be the biggest threat of all. . . .

Nothing has been normal since Vanessa Sands learned that her sister was murdered by sirens—femme fatales of the watery depths—and that everything she believed about her family was a lie.

Her boyfriend Simon’s been the only person Vanessa feels she can really trust. But now there are some secrets she can’t tell even him. And when Vanessa finds herself in the sights of Parker, Hawthorne Prep’s resident charmer, she needs someone to confide in more than ever. Doubting her relationship with Simon, unsure of Parker’s intentions—and of her own—and terrified by what she’s learned about herself, Vanessa has never felt so alone.

But personal problems must be put aside, because the Winter Harbor sirens are back for revenge. Now, Vanessa must face her past and accept that she is just like her enemies—every bit as alluring, every bit as dangerous."- summary from Amazon

I was really excited to read this sequel because I loved the first book, Siren. However, upon starting the book, it was pretty slow and not a lot happened. There's the occasional event that would pique my interest and keep me reading but it was mainly about Vanessa's day-to-day life and her romantic life. It wasn't until about halfway through the book that it all got more intense and there were some twists and turns as Vanessa learned more about her birth mother and was dealing with the siren threat. Once that occurred, the pages seriously flew by and I finished about 150+ pages in 2 hours.

Vanessa falls prey to the Second Book Syndrome (would link to a post about it but can't seem to find it!) though I would say she has more of a reason to do so than other paranormal heroines but it still wouldn't hurt for some communication to happen. Second Book Syndrome is all about breaking up the couple that got together in Book 1 and keeping them apart for the majority of Book 2 and bringing them back together at the end after a big climax. But the upside is that Vanessa isn't 100% mopey about it because new interest Parker is on the scene and livens things up.

Overall, though I don't usually do stars, this would come in at 3.5 stars. The second half really saves this book as the first half doesn't do a good job of pacing things well. I do also still enjoy these characters and the world that Rayburn has built, which gets expanded in this book as Vanessa finds out more about her past and her powers as a siren. The ending is a bit vague though the end result seems to indicate that there shouldn't be anything else going on, but there is another book in the series coming, so I don't know. But if you're into sirens or have already read the first book and liked it, definitely pick this up.

FTC: Received ARC at BEA signing. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.