This is definitely a mixed bag kind of story. The world building is intriguing but feels like it fell short. The sea critters/trainer aspect is neat and would have liked to see more to it there. I find the Pirate Queen to be rather meh on the evil scale even if she did feed someone to a monster in front of everyone. Someone who leads with fear isn't usually one who inspires loyalty, so for Cas to suddenly want to sign on to the same crew that murdered her critter? I cannot see where that would be likely especially with the lackluster romance with Swift. I'm curious to see where book two goes.... but not enough to actually read it, I think. Definitely a YA book. ( )

So not only have I been captured by pirates - I've had the misfortune of being taken in by theatrical ones

I loved this book. Actually, more than that, I have been WAITING for this book. YA sci-fi/fantasy books are chock full of brave teenage narrators but almost all of them are achingly, depressingly heterosexual.

Not here. Cassandra Leung, our protagonist, has dated girls in high school and has feelings for a young pirate girl named Swift. That's a major part of the book, not the main plot, but their relationship weaves itself through the narrative.

The Abyss Surrounds Us is a bit like Naomi Novik's [b:His Majesty's Dragon|28876|His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1)|Naomi Novik|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1376392909s/28876.jpg|726205] meets Waterworld, except it vastly improves upon both by having the main character be an Asian teenage lesbian rather than the dull, dime-a-dozen straight white man.

I found the conflict between the pirate captain, Santa Elena, and Cassandra to be far more interesting than the portions of the book dedicated to Bao, the titanic creature bred to attack ships. The lack of emotional connection between Bao and anyone else just made it hard to connect. Especially when compared to the machinations of the women.

Bao sees the hurricane behind Santa Elena, and he respects it. He sees no storm in me.
Not yet

The end definitely left me excited to read the second part; I want to find out what happens between Cassandra, Swift and Santa Elena.
( )

CW: Trainer carry a lethal pill to take if they get captured to protect the trainer secrets. ( )

The author has a knack for description--the imagery of the settings and the characters' descriptions came alive for me. Sadly, I knew how the story would progress and end by page fifty. Content like this is important, though. I continued reading until my attention flickered away enough times. ( )

yessssss, girls falling in love and sea monsters and pirates!!!!! where is book two!!? ( )