Pardon the pun, but this book was a breath of fresh air. I just recently finished reading through the first volume of Geoff Johns' Aquaman run, and while I think it holds up well, the depiction of Mera in the story was an apparent flaw. Mera's origin is largely the same in Tidebreaker, but we get lots of additional context into Mera's upbringing, her character, and why she would take on the role of an assassin for her people, but ultimately choose to stay her hand.

Because Mera's origin is so intrinsically tied to Aquaman, Arthur Curry is a main character and we see his origin play out here as well, but Paige never takes the spotlight away from Mera and that's something I really appreciate. Their blooming romance was handled really well (as it should be, as it's her opinion of Arthur that compels Mera to go from assassin to defender). Paige dedicates a lot of time to Mera and Arthur getting to know each other, starting out as friends and gradually turning up the heat. What really sold me on their relationship was that unlike a lot of superhero romances I've read, which have the individuals practically swooning over each other's looks, Paige never has Mera or Arthur directly say anything about the other's physical attractiveness. Their friendship and relationship starts from the two admiring and being inspired by the other's character qualities. So when Paige turns up the heat it feels completely natural that Mera and Arthur would fall for each other and pursue a romantic relationship.

Another thing I really love about this book is the small amount of housekeeping it does to explain why Mera wouldn't just immediately try to kill Arthur the moment she saw him. It helped make everything more believable for me and allowed me to focus on the story and relationships instead of nitpicking plot-holes.

In my mind, this is Mera's definitive origin story. She's not only a really well rounded, inspirational character like the rest of DC's pantheon of heroes, but the story features the most believable, well-written romance I've read in all of DC's YA books. This is right up there for me with Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Give this a read if you haven't already.