Descending by Holly Kelly is book two of the Rising Series and picks up not too long after the end of book one. Xanthus has been given permission to continue his work on land by Triton, but because Sara is his daughter he requires that Xanthus have bodyguards for her. So he asks his best friend Kyros and a few others to take on the task. Kyros was raised a true Dagonian, he loathes mermaids and humans killed his sister so he hates them too. Now his best friend has asked him to do two things he finds revolting: protect a mermaid and walk on land with the humans. Only because he fears Xanthus is under a mermaid spell does he accept, but when Gretchen, Sara’s best friend, arrives and is nearly killed, he finds that maybe humans aren’t so bad after all.

So I loved this installment even more than book one! This book is the story of Kyros and Gretchen. Kyros has no love lost when it comes to humans, they brutally killed his twin sister. And mermaids! He’s a Dagonian, all mermaids should be dead. But Xanthus is his best friend and he owes him a favor, so when he is asked to help protect Sara on dry land, he accepts, but only so he can break the spell the mermaid has over his friend (or at least that’s how he thinks). Gretchen is Sara’s spunky best friend that we met in book one, but she’s not so spunky anymore. She’s lost her intern job with an attorney after telling a client to basically kill himself, and then he does. Distraught she goes to Sara for cheering up. But Sara doesn’t know Gretchen’s secret. She was adopted and well her true mother is a mystery she will tell no one about. When Sara takes a bullet for Gretchen (and is miraculously walking instead of in a wheelchair), she begins questioning why she is harboring this secret.

I loved both main characters and of course the alternating POV was awesome! Gretchen is spunky, a fighter, who doesn’t take no for an answer. Kyros is a warrior, an old-fashioned male who finds it very confusing when he is attracted to this loud mouthed female human. It makes for an ironically funny read.

The plot revolves around Gretchen and her past, but also why someone is trying to kill her. I had figured out the big plot twist early on, despite that I still found it an excellent read. The suspense was page-turning (I read the book in one sitting!), and the romance was sweet. If you enjoy a good fantasy with lots of suspense/action and a little romance, I highly recommend you check out this series. A little note, even if you have not read book one, this book can easily be picked up and read as a standalone novel.