The Abyss Surrounds Us

This YA book contains genetically engineered sea monsters, morally grey situations, and a same sex love interest. In other words, it is awesome.Cassandra Leung’s entire family is involved in the industry that creates and trains gigantic sea monsters, Reckoners, to escort ships and provide protection from pirates. Cas is a trainer who has just been given her first solo mission when everything goes terribly wrong. Her Reckoner is killed, and Cas herself is captured by pirates led by pirate queen Santa Elena. And Santa Elena has a plan. Somehow, she’s gotten a hold of a Reckoner pup, and she’s going to use it and Cas to change the balance of power on the high seas.The Abyss Surrounds Us is set sometime in the future, when rising sea levels have drowned cities and coastal lands, leading to huge numbers of stateless people who live on ships and floating cities. Almost their only means of survival is piracy. But does that justify the theft and murder? And are the corporations who have sea monsters created to protect their ships justified in utterly annihilating the pirate ships? It’s a complex issue and the book doesn’t present any easy answers.The writing wasn’t gorgeous or anything, but it wasn’t overly simplistic either, a problem I’ve had with some other YA new releases. There were no plot holes that I noticed, character motivations made sense… Basically, everything worked like it should, and there were no problems that jolted me out of my enjoyment of the story.If you can’t tell from what I’ve said about the book so far, it’s very diverse. Cas is Chinese and a lesbian, with a love interest who’s another teenage girl. The supporting cast is similarly diverse, which makes utter sense given that the book’s set primarily in the Pacific Ocean.I also liked how the romantic relationship played out. I actually cared about it, which is pretty unusual for me. Cas’s and Swift’s relationship wasn’t insta love and grew naturally through the book. I was a bit worried about the possible power dynamics of Cas being a prisoner on the ship and Swift being one of Elena’s lackies, but it was actually handled fairly well.My biggest quibble would be that The Abyss Surrounds Us was so short. What with that and the fast pace, I blew through it in under a day. Luckily, there is a planned sequel so I’ll get more of Cas and the sea monsters eventually.The Abyss Surrounds Us is one of the best new YA novels that I’ve read. I can’t wait until it comes out in February 2016 so I can start shoving it on all my friends.This a free and honest review written in exchange for a ARC copy obtained through Netgalley.

The Abyss Surrounds Us is a book that I have been trying to get to for a long time. I thought it was a perfect book to read and review for #RRSciFiMonth. When it first came out, I remember a lot of bloggers talking it up and I did my normal, "yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get to it." thing and again this is another book that I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read! Why do I continue to not listen to my fellow book bloggers? You usually are right, especially my sci-fi buddies!I LOVED the world building in this novel, because it seems like it could be so real. The setting is in the future that seems to be not that distant, where water levels have risen so much that a lot of cities have drowned. To the point that most people live on ships or floating cities. Due to that there are a lot of people on the fringes of society that have to become pirates to survive. So the ruling society starts engineering seas monsters to protect ships from pirates. Our main character Cassandra has grown up training these monsters called Reckoners, and she's on her first job when of course the ship gets ambushed by pirates. They take her captive and force her to train a baby Reckoner to fight for them.Another thing I really liked about this novel was the relationship. It's a frustratingly slow burn of a relationship. I also liked that because Cas doesn't want to have a relationship with something who is her captor. They are not on "equal footing" and I think it's really smart that Cas and Swift make the decision together that nothing can happen between them because of it. Oh,did I also mention it was a F/F romance? Oh no, well, it is! I don't read a lot of girls loving girls books, so it was definitely a nice change of pace.Some things that didn't work for me in this book is that I feel like Cas' flip gets switched way too easily. Yes, it's sad that people like Elena have to resort to piracy, but it felt like Cas believed so strongly in her society and it felt like she flipped on it way too suddenly. It seems like she only really sees their way of life as being okay is because she finds out about corruption happening in the Reckoner trade. To me that seems like the only reason and it's not a big enough one. If she didn't know there was corruption in the industry, she's kind of dumb.I liked this one a lot, but I have to admit I wasn't 100% satisfied with the end. I'm not sure if I agree with Cas' decision in the end of the novel. I'm not sure what else she would do, but the ending just didn't sit well with me. I did still enjoy the ride a lot.

I know this book has had some mixed reviews, but I've come down on the side of enjoying it. I held off buying the sequel, but I went ahead and picked it up last night after finishing this first instalment.I enjoyed the world building on this novel. It's easy to understand - Sea level rise has led to a new age. It is still technological, but based on a completely different power dynamic. Ocean piracy is the new threat to life and economic stability. Vessels are protected by giant genetically engineered sea creatures (Reckoners) handled and trained by humans.Cassandra is a young trainer about to come into her time after a life of learning and head off on her first solo mission - protecting a luxury liner. It's supposed to be easy. But her Reckoner is a touch unwell on the eve of departure. She gambles, not wanting to fail, and decides everything is good to go. It's not, her Reckoner is falling apart from the inside and pirates attack the vessel. She is captured and fails to take her suicide pill.And so begins Cassandra's journey in the hands of pirates with an abominable plan for her. It is a roller coaster ride of fear and action with a good dose of heartache thrown in. In the most unlikely of circumstances, she finds herself drawn to one of her captors (this is the bit some people don't like). What is she willing to risk for her old life? Is her old life even what she thought it was? In the Neopacific, Cass learns not everything is black and white, especially when it comes down to the reasons people do the things they do.Yes, Cass is a victim, yet she is also a catalyst for change, and a survivor. When I finally settled down to a decent chunk of reading time, I got through this in a single session, breaking only to have a meal with family. In fact, I made sure I kept my dinner drinks to a minimum so I could finish off the last forty pages before bed. My family thought I was weird and kept trying to ply me with more gin, but I was resolute!If you enjoy scifi / spec fic with apocalyptic overtones, you will enjoy this. It is well written and relatively fast paced. There is the beginning of an impossible romance. The conclusion sets things up nicely for the sequel and drops a bit of a bomb to pique your interest. Go for it!

Set in a future where the United States are no longer united and so much of what happens in the world is ruled by what happens on the sea, The Abyss Surrounds Us follows reckoner trainer Cassandra Leung on her first job as a fully-fledged trainer. In this future piracy has become a real problem again, so families like Cassandra's breed and train reckoners: sea monsters.The reckoners come in various breeds and imprint on ships, such as cruiser ships, and accompany them on voyages to protect them from pirates should any kind of attack occur. Reckoner training is all Cassandra has ever wanted to do, it's what she's been raised to do, and at the beginning of the novel she's finally ready to go on her first solo mission. And it's a disaster. Her reckoner is killed and Cas is taken hostage by the vicious pirate queen Santa Elena, who has somehow got her hands on a reckoner pup of her own, to even the playing field on the seven seas, and she wants Cas to train it to attack the very people Cas has spent her entire life training to protect.This is one of those books that got better as I was reading it. This is something we hope happens with most books, but with this book in particular I started it a little unsure that I would like it while desperately hoping that I would because we need more leading f/f romances in SFF. Initially Cas seemed to get over being kidnapped a lot quicker than I thought she would - we don't learn that much about her individual family members, or even much about her family as a whole - and Santa Elena wasn't quite the fearsome villain I was expecting her to be at the beginning of the novel.Soon enough, though, the novel evened out into a fun, fast-paced and at times a rather sinister read. Cas adapts to life aboard Santa Elena's ship rather quickly because she needs to adapt to survive, and her relationship with the pirate queen was an interesting one; there's a begrudging respect there between the two of them that makes the scenes they share tense but intriguing. Even Santa Elena herself went from the one-dimensional villain I was initially afraid she would be to a fleshed out and incredibly compelling character. In a way she evolved as a villain the more Cas got to know her, helping Cas to realise that while she's been raised to believe her family are doing the right thing they still train their sea monsters to mount vicious attacks on many people who've turned to piracy because it's their only option - and if this society has forced them into piracy, is it really moral at all to punish them for it?By far my favourite character, though, was Cas's love interest Swift. Again she was another character I wasn't sure I was going to get along with at first, but I adored that Skrutskie played around with the typical YA male love interest - the brooding bad boy with a secret heart of gold - and translated it into a woman. Swift and Cas both misunderstand one another, they both have pre-conceived prejudices about each other because of their upbringings, but there's genuine growth in their relationship. What I loved most, though, was how healthy their relationship was considering Cas is a captive and Swift is one of her captors. Cas is adamant (and rightly so) that however she might feel about Swift, while she's a captive on Santa Elena's ship the two of them can never be on equal footing, and they can't pursue a romantic relationship when they're not on equal footing. I loved Cas's insistence on this matter as well Swift's complete understanding.It was also refreshing to read a story about two LGBT+ girls whose story didn't revolve around them being LGBT+. Those stories are still relevant and they're still stories I love to read, but it was a real joy to read a book about two girls who like girls and nobody thinks anything of it - it's treated just like any other relationship, because it is. Minus the kidnapping and the piracy the sea monsters...The future Skrutskie has imagined is a brutal but undoubtedly fun one. It's impossible not to feel like you're off on an adventure when you're reading a story about pirates, and her worldbuilding is excellent. So much of the book focuses on Cas training Santa Elena's reckoner pup - another favourite character, he's adorable and Skrutskie writes animals so well - and what goes into training a creature like that for these pirate-infested waters, and I enjoyed learning about what Cas's job entailed.So if you're in the mood for a pirate book, and even if you're not, I recommend picking this one up! I had a great time reading it, and I'd love to see it being widely read by YA and sci-fi fans alike - especially as f/f SFF simply isn't talked about enough.

I mean... Morally grey lesbian pirates. Enemies to lovers. HEALTHY, angsty love interests. Epic females. Found family. Sea monsters. Forced Proximity. There's only one bed!!!!Where has THIS book been my entire life!?I polished this off in 24 hours and regret nothing - this was a fast-paced adventure filled to the brim with unique characters, brilliant world-building and a creative twist on a future world. I loved Cas & Swift's dynamic, loved the pirate captain and loooooooved the sea monsters. I fell in love with that giant turtle, dammit! I just didn't want this to end.So why not five stars? I needed more. I wanted more Cas/ Swift time, deeper character development, more battles, more everything - and with it being a relatively short book, I feel we could have had it. But that's the only thing holding this back - the fact that it made me crazy for more and then didn't quite deliver... until I spotted there was a sequel. ;)

FINALLY a lesbian story that isn’t all about coming out or having an affair. The romance is a sub plot and the main plot is pretty good! There could definitely be a lot more to this book, and there is a sequel, it’s a good book but I think it needed more world building. Definitely can’t complain however because where else am I gonna find post apocalyptic lesbian pirates?

I defy you not to love this romp which has PIRATES, HUMONGOUS SEA-MONSTERS and LASERS all in one fun package. Oh, and an adorable, tentative-yet-hot, gxg romance.The premise is the most irresistible of any book I've picked up this year: In a future where all high-value shipping is protected by boat-bonded genetically engineered sea beasts, one monster-pup falls into the hands of pirates ... who kidnap a young trainer to raise it. Add to that the fantastic title and cover design, and I had no hope of not buying this. But I was thrilled to find that it lived up to all its promises.Technically 4.5 stars rather than 5, because I kept thinking Cas should have died of the bends several times over. Also, I would have liked to see more of the world Skrutskie has created around her characters. But I'm hoping that's what Book 2 is for! I only buy sequels in maybe 1 out of 5 cases after reading a first instalment, but I will be impatiently awaiting the followup to THE ABYSS SURROUNDS US.