The Holy Terror

Hannah is the story of one of three mermaid sisters who were separated at birth at the end of the 19th century. The story starts out with her living in an orphanage in Boston. Once the orphans turn 14 they have to work, most often as servants for wealthy families. Hannah is found to be unsuitable for living in one of these homes because she is outspoken and smarter than the average girl, so she's stuck on an orphan train destined for Kansas to work on a farm. On the train she develops a rash and her face swells up. Since she looks diseased, only a pastor and his wife are willing to take her on as hired help. Hannah quickly comes to realize though that she can't be so far from the ocean and she gets sicker and sicker until she convinces them to let her go back to Boston.Back in Boston she manages to get a job as a scullery girl for the very wealthy Hawley family. She learns how to live life as a servant while also trying to come to terms with the strange things her body is doing. We already know what Hannah is from the description of the book, but she has no idea what's going on. The Hawley family has three daughters, and one of them, Lila, is pretty much evil. Lila and her equally evil cat Jade dislike Hannah. Things are made especially worse when the handsome painter that comes to paint the daughters' portrait seems to take a liking to Hannah. So Lila is quickly set up as the villain of the story and proceeds to wreak havoc on the household. The bulk of this book is mostly about Hannah's life as a servant, and I think I would have been fine with that if the mermaid part didn't feel so tacked on at the end. This could have been a nice historical fiction novel otherwise. I could have easily rated this book 4 stars if it wasn't for the way it ended. This book is part of a trilogy but it also doesn't seem to stand on its own. It doesn't end in a cliffhanger leaving you wanting more though, it just ends. I honestly thought they forgot to print part of it! And this is doubly frustrating without a date anywhere on the horizon for the next book.I enjoyed the characters and the world imagined for this story but the fact that it didn't have a solid ending really bothered me. I will read the next book to find out what happens, but I'm hoping it doesn't end the same.