Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie RyanAlice's Rating: 2.5 Stars
Yiling's Rating: 3 Stars
Version: Hardcover
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Goodreads synopsis:
I’m the daughter of murdered parents.I’m the friend of a dead girl.I’m the lover of my enemy.And I will have my revenge.
In the wake of the devastating destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, just three souls remain to tell its story—and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace knows the terrifying truth, and she’ll stop at nothing to avenge the murders of everyone she held dear. Even if it means taking down the boy she loves and possibly losing herself in the process.
Sharp and incisive, Daughter of Deep Silence by bestselling author Carrie Ryan is a deliciously smart revenge thriller that examines perceptions of identity, love, and the lengths to which one girl is willing to go when she thinks she has nothing to lose.
I haven't read a mystery in a while and have mainly been reading fantasy, so this was quite a change in my reading pattern and I didn't know what to expect. I didn't really have any expectations going in this book since I haven't read many reviews about it or heard anything that leans to either extremes.
I was very curious of why the Persephone was actually attacked and the Senator's role in it, and Ryan did a great job building up suspense. However, once its revealed why the ship was attacked, I just found it to be pretty unbelievable and it was a bit of a let down. The reveal wasn't really an "oh my gosh" moment and all the buildup should have led to something more.
The main problem I had is the romance; I didn't believe it for a second. Throughout the book, we see Frances talking about her relationship with Grey on the cruise and their "love" for each other. Problem? They were ON A CRUISE. Which meant they probably knew each other for a week or less and barely knew each other, so how can they be in such deep love? Second, they were 14.. I mean, we've all had childhood and teenage crushes but it's doubtful that these crushes equate to true love.
The last few chapters were definitely some of the most interesting in the story. I liked the direction Ryan went with the ending and it definitely contributed positively to Frances's character. By the end, Shepherd had come out as my favorite character and he served as a major plus throughout the book.
Overall, this book isn't without problems, but I wouldn't say I was disappointed as I didn't know what to expect when I started this.
Yiling's Review
One of my favorite themes is revenge, so I've read/watched a lot of different stories about it. From The Count of Monte Cristo to the TV show Revenge, there are a lot of revenge focused stories so I was so excited to read Daughter of Deep Silence and see the direction that revenge took in this book.
The beginning of the book was the best part for me. Frances has just been rescued and she's seemingly determined in her quest for revenge. She becomes her friend Libby and has parts of a plan to expose the Senator and Grey, who have lied about their experiences of the attack on the cruise ship. However, from this point on, the book kinda went downhill for me.
Frances's characterization was all over the place. She would convey over and over by saying that she was dedicated to revenge and achieving it for Libby and her family . However, her actions didn't seem to reflect this. From the very start she messed up her identity and accidentally called Libby's dad (or her pretend dad) Cecil. She also seemed to be way too fixated on Grey, the main love interest. It got extremely frustrating, because every time she stared into his eyes, her revenge scheme, the whole point that she was there, would take a backseat. She was still in love with him even though she believed that he had a hand in her family and friend dying. She was so frustrating as a character.
The pacing of the book was all over the place. The beginning of the book contained a lot of setting up which I thought would lead up to a bigger reveal for Francis. Carrie Ryan did a really great job on building up the suspense and that was why I liked the beginning so much more than the ending. I was so curious about Libby's revenge scheme and what had actually happened on the cruise ship with the senator. When the reason why the ship was attacked was revealed, the suspense kind of just fizzled out. For this reason, the ending was disappointing and kind of sudden to me. Frances as Libby had the setup for a good revenge plot. She took on a different identity for years, for God's sake, but that's all there was.
I was disappointed with the direction that the book took. There was so much set up for this grand revenge but the book didn't deliver the grand revenge for me, which kind of defeated the whole point of the book. Frances did seem to grow as a character but by the end of the book, she was still way too infatuated with a boy that she knew for a couple of days when she was a teenager.
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