The first time that I attempted to read this book, I DNF'd it after the first chapter or so because I just wasn't feeling it.  After having actually read the full thing, I think I should have stuck with that instinct.

There are a few plotlines balanced during this book: Miren's arranged marriage and her running away, what happened to her parents, and the storyline that concerns her family's bargain with the merfolk.  The plot was extremely disjointed - none of the plotlines seemed to connect to each other meaningfully, and the amount of magic in the story adds so little to the overall story that it makes me ask why the author even bothered to include it.  I genuinely felt as though the author had forgotten about the mer plotline for the entire middle section of the book.  The beats of the story were fairly predictable, and there were some plot points that really disappointed me -

I disliked the killing of the assassin as he was up to that point, the most interesting character, as well as the double suicide of the caretaker and his sister.  Why even save the old woman from the poisoned blanket or whatever it was if we're just going to kill her off later. 

  Additionally, I did not connect to the main character whatsoever.  She was irritating.

The writing is extremely uneven - it swings back and forth from dialogue that's written almost like a script with little to no description, to pages upon pages of introspection and description.  If you go into this book expecting an incredible atmosphere, prepare to be disappointed.  The cover is the best part of the atmosphere for this book.