Ice Massacre

By: Tiana Warner

Narrated by: Sarah Beth Goer

A mermaid's supernatural beauty serves one purpose: to lure a sailor to his death.

The Massacre is supposed to bring peace to Eriana Kwai. Every year, the island sends its warriors to battle these hostile sea demons. Every year, the warriors fail to return. Desperate for survival, the island must decide on a new strategy. Now, the fate of Eriana Kwai lies in the hands of 20 battle-trained girls and their resistance to a mermaid's allure.

Eighteen-year-old Meela has already lost her brother to the Massacre, and she has lived with a secret that's haunted her since childhood. For any hope of survival, she must overcome the demons of her past and become a ruthless mermaid killer.

For the first time, Eriana Kwai's Massacre warriors are female, and Meela must fight for her people's freedom on the Pacific Ocean's deadliest battleground.

©2014 Tiana Warner (P)2017 Tiana Warner

Pretty bleak, but a good story

So, thoughts as I'm just about finishing the book:
- It's all pretty bleak and dark for most of the book, **lots** of combat and drama without all that many points of light in there, which is not my favourite. I prefer a bit more hopeful myself
- The tech level is WEIRD, there's TV and helicopters and they get relief goods from Canada, but then they fight with crossbows and sail a barquentine (if I recall correctly), an age-of-sail tallship. It seems weird that there's no modern firearms and stuff, seems kind of like a copout to keep it interesting without ever giving it in-story reasoning.
- I really like the MC, and the themes around what it means to be human/a person, what indoctrination into an army/warrior situation does to dehumanize the opposition, and all that.

Overall not an easy "page-turner" type of book for me but it was cool and I like having read it. I don't think I'm going straight for the sequel though, maybe in a few months.

So good!

This is such an interesting take on the idea of mermaids. All the characters are so complex and this series is so underrated. Can’t wait for the third book to come out on Audible!

good love story bad war story (spoiler alert)

I loved the fight scenes but the way the main girl reacts to the first fight scene after 5 years of training didnt sit with me as realistic after that much training even if you are scared your body will go threw the motions almost without thought. As for the rest of the story it was great I really got emotionaly envolved but the writing is on the wall almost from the begining stop giving that poor boy hope its cruel.

Mermaids. Badass Warrior Women. Lesbian Love.

If you could sum up Ice Massacre in three words, what would they be?

Brutal. Action-packed. Heartwarming.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Meela. She knows she must fight the mermaids for her people, but she also has a soft spot for them since her best friend is a mermaid. Her struggle is real and while she will do anything to protect her crew, she will also do anything to protect Lysi, even if it means being called a traitor.

What about Sarah Beth Goer’s performance did you like?

I love how Sarah gives each girl their own voice. She's talented with voice work and she's calm and easy to listen to. I would definitely listen to more books she narrates.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I love the very end when Meela realizes that her feelings for Lysi is more than that of friendship.

Any additional comments?

Let me start off by saying that I bought this book (the paperback) back in 2015 and I loved it! I listen to Audible at work and I yearned for the day that Ice Massacre would be on Audible and I'm so happy that it's finally here!

Ice Massacre is about the people of Eriana Kwai struggling to live because of a mermaid infestation in the Gulf of Alaska. The people of Eriana Kwai are unable to fish because the mermaids kill their people and without fish (their primary source of food and their export to the main land) the economy of Eriana Kwai is going to hell. Every year Eriana Kwai sends men out to sea for a month to battle these sea demons and every year it's a lost cause. This year, though, Eriana Kwai is sending battle-trained women. The allure of the mermaid has no affect on women and as long as they can't be affected, they stand a better chance at winning the battle and removing the infestation.

The story is centered around Meela, our protagonist. When she was a child she had a mermaid as a friend named Lysi. Meela and Lysi were inseparable, but their friendship was a secret. Then, when something happens Meela is forced to grow up and see the mermaids for what they really are: ravenous sea demons who hunger for human flesh. At the age of 18, Meela is set to battle these mermaids with 19 other battle-trained, 18 year-old women. It doesn't take long for shit to hit the fan!

Ice Massacre is filled with brutal, heart-pounding action and a story of discovery that will you have rooting for Meela and Lysi as they come to better understand one another out at sea. Mermaids may be a threat to Eriana Kwai, but with 20 young women all trapped on a small boat out at sea, mermaids aren't the only threat to everyone's survival. Twists and betrayals will leave you dying to listen to each chapter until you get to the very end.

Sarah Beth Goer does an amazing job at giving each girl their own voice. She's an excellent reader and her smooth, calm voice is pleasant on the ears. I hope she reads Ice Crypt whenever it becomes available on Audible and Ice Kingdom when it's released.

Tiana Warner is an author I highly admire. I love her work and I look forward to Ice Kingdom and whatever she decides to do after the Mermaids of Eriana Kwai trilogy is complete. Do yourself a favor and listen to Ice Massacre!

Worthy read

Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games meets mermaids. Totally worth it. I haven't sped through an audiobook nearly this fast before.

better than I expected

the first three chapters bugged me due to all the pov changes and time skips, but once that settled down this book left little left to be desired

I liked it for the most part

I liked the characters and the flow for the most part. there were a couple of issues I had however. there are two tropes that kinda get under my skin when they are used to the degree they are here. Tunnel vision is a pretty typical character flaw in first person narratives and yet it still makes me face palm when it becomes pervasive and obvious. the second is a story telling device that is so overused in fantasy novels that the few that don't use or use it only to thumb their nose at it are the welcome exceptions. The Devil's bargain. whenever the big bad makes the hero a proposition and everyone knows how it'll turn out and yet they do it. because someone is in danger or because they think they can twist the situation to their advantage. it doesn't matter what they hope to gain from it it always ends the same way with the same dire situation. it makes the next book too easy to predict and thus less anticipated. I will pick up the next one but I'll probably wait for my next credit instead of buying it outright.

An Exciting Tale of a Tail, and a Whale

Get this book: If you like LGBTQIA+ romance, action, adventure… and mermaids, you won't regret it.

Ice Massacre, book one of the Mermaids of Eriana Kwai trilogy, is an exciting series that will lead the reader in a far different direction from most mermaid books. While the story is LGBTQIA+ and involves a human and a mermaid, the similarities with other stories end there. Ice Massacre is filled with action from start to finish, and the intensity only increases. Far from a blissful romance in the gentle surf, we find our protagonist fighting for her life on the high seas, battling Sea Demons at every moment. Will she be drowned, impaled, or eaten alive? The book was hard to put down from start to finish, an ever-growing rollercoaster of action. There were many sad and horrible moments, but the story felt satisfying.

[Spoilers]
A human girl and a mermaid girl play in the surf, each forbidden to speak to the other but unwilling to be apart… We meet Meela, now a young woman who, along with nineteen other young women, must sail far into the northern Pacific Ocean on a sailing ship to battle mermaids, something her people do yearly. It is seen as a culling, a means to reduce the population of deadly mermaids who threaten the very existence of her people, the People of Eriana Kwai. Unfortunately for these young warriors, mermaids are fast, strong, impervious to most weapons, and deadly. As a result, what is supposed to be a massacre is really more of a sacrifice, with few expecting to return. Can Meela survive against thousands of mermaid warriors? What will she do when she encounters the mermaid of her youth? Can love survive a war between humanity and merfolk?
[/Spoilers]

The Romance
Romance in Ice Massacre builds more slowly than is common in purely romance novels. The romance is key to the plot, making it a Romance Genre novel, yet the novel is not centered around romantic interaction. Rather, the plot involves fleeting romance, expectation, and what could be. The physical romance isn't intensely graphic, mostly alluded to. This means the book is suitable for young adult readers, at least concerning sexually adult themes. This continues through the series. The romance is deep yet more emotional than physical. Readers interested in relationship dynamics and a less graphic experience will find this refreshing.

The Action
From crossbows to clubs made from coral, there are weapons, fights, and blood throughout the story. While the book is quite violent, the violence never feels gratuitous or pointless. It serves a purpose through the story – a coming of age adventure where the protagonist must fight her way through a sea of monsters to protect those she loves. While she faces antagonists from her people, Sea Demons, her own self-doubts and fears, perhaps her greatest antagonist is her prejudice and the truth of the "monsters." It can be so inconvenient when the enemy is someone you care for.

The Story
The novel is well written with a stable plot, well-formed characters, and plenty of foreshadowing. The perspective varies but is usually first-person, from alternating perspectives, though usually the protagonists'. The plot is mostly linear, though there are entire flashback chapters. These feel natural within the progression and fill in vital information.

Worst book I've ever read. AVOID

Stay clear of this crap! I suffered through this garbage and my only consolation is that I might warn other people to not do the same.