Mera: Tidebreaker Graphic Novel Book Review

Title: Mera: Tidebreaker
Author: Danielle Paige
Illustrator: Stephen Bryne
Publication Date: 2nd April 2019
Genres: Graphic novel, YA, Fantasy
Number of pages: 192

Mera: Tidebreaker is part of a new line of graphic novels, under the publishing name of DC Ink. Mera is a princess of an underwater kingdom called Xebel which has been under the rule of Atlantis for many years. Mera wants to rule alone and defeat the Atlanteans. However, she is due to be married to Larken, who will rule by her side. She doesn't want to marry Larken and when she hears her father telling Larken that to gain the throne he needs to kill the heir of Atlantis, Mera decides to take it into her own hands. However, killing a man who does not even know he is a Merman turns out to be harder than she expected...

Firstly, I have to say that the illustrations in this book are beautiful and reflect the underwater theme so well. This graphic novel reads like a superhero movie. There is a quest, a romance and obstacles. There is a woman learning to develop her powers and learning who she really is. Mera is a strong female character, in one incident, she is thanked for rescuing a man and in the realm of superheroes that has been mainly dominated by men, this was so great to see. 

The characters in this book were well developed. It featured friendship, family, romantic relationships and loss. Around a quarter of the way through, I got hooked and kept reading to the last page. I was actually disappointed when it finished because I wanted more. I hope that a sequel is in the works!

The issue I had with this book, however, was the love story. The characters seemed to fall in love way too quickly, even defying their whole belief systems after having only known each other a few days. I felt like the love story should have been stretched out for longer, it would have been nice to see it develop more slowly throughout the course of the book.

Overall, I really liked this graphic novel, it was a fun read and it did evoke some emotions. I want to read more of Mera and Arthur's story and see what happens next. If you like superheroes I would definitely recommend this book.

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

*This book was kindly sent to me to review, however, all opinions are my own.