Being someone who loves the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, I was a little ashamed of myself for only having one mermaid story before this one. That's right, this was only my second mermaid book. And I really enjoyed it. One of the things that I love most about books that have different paranormals or creatures or anything, is the fact that the author has so much room for creative license. They can choose to go with something more traditional, or they can totally mix it up. I know some people are traditionalists when it comes to supernaturals, but I personally like it when author's do things their own. It makes everything more interesting. :D 
 In Monstrous Beauty, Elizabeth Fama takes mermaid folklore to a dark place. She weaves in curses, and dark secrets of mermaids. These mermaids are seductive, and very similar to Syren's in that way, which made me chuckle when I first read Syrenka's name. :P Along with being seductive, they live long lives, and are not supposed to be seen by humans...the latter being a similar trait among mermaids and tends to explain away why we never see them in real life...you know, if we were to try and claim that they were real and all. :P 
 Another thing that made Monstrous Beauty so interesting was the main narrator, Hester. She wasn't very easy to connect with...but the story itself was still completely compelling. Parts of the story are also narrated by Ezra...which gave the reader a bit of an inside view on things that Hester hadn't quite figured out yet. Both Hester and Ezra weren't really characters that you clicked with. I liked them well enough, but I just didn't "connect" with them. They're extremely detached, but somehow their story still manages to keep you hooked. I think that in a way it has to do with the way that Elizabeth Fama has crafted the story. She has some detached characters who are mysteriously linked, and are not only detached from the reader, but are detached from every day life. While reading, it's like you're trying to make a connection between Hester and Ezra, and you're hoping that whatever it is will finally help Hester open up to other people in her life (most notably Peter...who I loved :D). I found this form of storytelling really addictive, quick, and I also found it extremely easy to get caught up in the story. 
 I read this one with my friend, Zoe, and I absolutely loved it! :D I didn't want to put it down, and it made me want to check out some of the other mermaid books that I've heard of, but haven't gotten around to yet! I'd recommend this one to mermaid fans who like it when author's create a unique twist on supernaturals, and for people who like to be wrapped up in a story. I will caution that if you absolutely can't stand stories that have narrators who you don't connect with, then you might not like this one, but then again, I usually only read stories with main characters I click with...yet I loved this one, so you might wanna give it a shot. ;D