The pacing in the first 1/3rd of the book wasn't great for me. Pretty early on it's clear that the book is about deadly mermaids, so to have a few attack scenes but then have to wait 100+ pages to get into the present-day action felt like an odd choice. The portrayal of Olivia as someone on the spectrum also seemed off - at first it just seemed like she was a young woman with anxiety, but that portrayal changed once it was revealed that she was on the spectrum. It did make me wonder if that choice was made part way through the book, and the early portrayal of the character wasn't changed to reflect that.

Overall it was a good book and I did appreciate the story.