Tag «Mermaids»

Series Review: Syrena Legacy by Anna Banks

Series Review: Syrena Legacy by Anna Banks

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

booksynopsis

Synopsis for Of Poseidon (from Goodreads):

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom…

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

breakdown

Series: Syrena Legacy; Of Poseidon
Author: Anna Banks
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological

There are numerous novellas and short stories.

Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Mythology, Non-Contemporary, Paranormal Romance, Mermaids
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First & Third Person
Publication Dates: May 2012 – May 2014
Source & Format: Public Library–Audiobook

thoughts

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I’ve had Of Poseidon on my TBR for YEARS. It escaped numerous declutterings of my TBR because there was just something about it that made me want to read it, even years later. I think part of it is that I just never really read a lot of mermaid books. The other part was that this book seemed to be everywhere when I first started blogging and I think I felt like I was missing out on something.

When the trilogy became available on audio at my library, I knew it was the next one for me to binge!

The Concept / The World:

The whole world is really intriguing. It’s a fun play on mythology and other mermaid tales.

The Plot:

Even as I get older, I still enjoy YA reads. I just get a little chooser about what I read because I know what I like and what I don’t like.

This is one of those series I might have enjoyed a little more 10 years ago when it first came out.
I craved a little more excited but perhaps that was because I could see the plot twists a mile away. However, I did think the pacing was good and these books were always moving so they never felt like they dragged on. They’re very basic in their approach and I feel like with the politics of the world, more things could have been going on to give the story an edge.

The Characters:

Emma is the classic “special snowflake” heroine with a massive chip on her shoulder to make her (unnecessarily) angsty. I wasn’t a fan. Her rationale for some of her decisions made me roll my eyes considering she is supposed to be 18 and “mature”.

Galen won’t be winning my teenaged heart but he was a nice hero and I appreciated that he wasn’t displaying a ton of “alpha” maleness.

The Romance:

It’s your standard girl falls for boy with paranormal abilities/genetics.

When to Read the Novellas & Short Stories:

I never read any but I think the order listed on Goodreads would be accurate.

My Audiobook Experience:

The audio production was good. I think Galen’s chapters (in third person) could have been read with a different narrator or had Emma’s chapters (first person) start with “Emma” so that you know there is an apparent shift. I also thought Rayna’s voice really changed (and not just because of the plot) in Of Triton (#2). She seemed more childish than before, which in turn seemed slightly out of character.

Series Rating: 3/5

Of Poseiden 3/5 | Of Triton 3/5 | Of Neptune 3/5

overall

I think for young YA fans or YA fans who want to dip their toes into the world of the paranormal, this is a good started series for you. It has just enough going on to keep things interesting but there are a lot better reads out there.

Read if You Like: mermaids, paranormal romances
Avoid if You: want more plot twists, dislike YA

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Single Sundays: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Single Sundays: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Single Sundays: While this blog may be focused on reviewing book series as a whole, we can’t forget about the good ole’ standalone novel! On Sundays, I will review a novel that is considered to be a standalone novel. Here is this week’s offering:

Synopsis for To Kill a Kingdom (from Goodreads):

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

breakdown

Author: Alexandra Christo
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Pirates, Mermaids, Fairy Tale Retelling
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

thoughts

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I saw this book everywhere prior to its release but it was a review I read by Alyssa @ The Eater of Books that convinced me to give this book a try. I love pirate/mermaid/siren stories; especially ones with promises of forbidden love so I was eager to read this and so I quickly added it as a 2018 pick for my 2019 5 Year 5 Book Challenge.

The Concept / The World:

I really loved the hierarchy of the sea world. It was nice to have the distinction between sirens, merman and mermaids. And the pirate crew is everything you want them to be.

I suppose you could say that this is a loose adaption of The Little Mermaid since there are a lot of parallels. But it really isn’t the light-hearted tale you expect if you only know the Disney version. I think this story manages to carve out its own distinct voice.

The Plot:

I found the plot to be terribly slow. Truthfully, I would have DNF’d it but I was enraptured by Elian’s crew and the promise of a good pirate heist. And the book does pick up in the last third, but I was also a little over it by then. It takes a long time to get things in motion and I felt like, at times, there was more describing and travelling than doing (if that makes any sense).

The Characters:

Lira’s character development is great. I think part of the reason for that is that we spend so much time watching her in her own kingdom fighting with her mother’s rule over her. She definitely isn’t the same character at the end of the story.

Elian is the charming pirate through and through. But I didn’t find anything new to his character that I haven’t seen before. Truthfully, I enjoyed the scenes with his crew a lot more than his scenes with Lira. There was just better chemistry there.

The Romance:

The romance was probably the most disappointing aspect for me. Perhaps I read too much into it in the synopsis but it just fell flat to me. A forbidden romance between enemies (even if one person doesn’t know that’s what it is) should be charged and brimming with tension. Not so much here. I didn’t get many romantic vibes from them at all. It’s a shame because they did have some moments of good banter between them but it just didn’t get built upon enough.

My Rating: 3/5

overall

I think those who enjoy adventure novels with a larger focus on character redemption stories will enjoy this. But if you’re looking for an action packed pirate romance (a la Daughter of the Pirate King), you might want to look elsewhere.

Read if You Like: loose adaptions of fairy tales, adventure, pirates
Avoid if You: want more action, dislike darker stories

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Blog Tour: Between the Sea and Stars (Lena #1) by Chantal Gadoury

Synopsis for Between the Sea and Stars (from Goodreads):

A Legend,
A Magical Shell
A Girl Who Dreamed Of Something More…

Lena, a Merrow girl, lives in the Skagerrak sea with her father, Carrick and her brother, Javelin who tells her of the legend of the Merrow Queen murdered by her human lover when greed takes over. But what’s worth spilling the queen’s blood? Gifted from Poseidon, himself, a magic shell gives any human the ability to control both land and sea.

When Javelin is called to join a clan of Merrow soldiers bent on protecting their waters from human invasion, Lena resists Merrow law and ventures to the shore with no choice but to swim to land.

With newfound legs, Lena is whisked away on a new adventure with new friends and new trouble. Everyone seems to want something from her as intrigue lurks around every corner.

Trying her best to hide who she is and remain safe from the dangers of the human world, will Lena finally find where she belongs, or will she be swept into a strong and stormy current by lust, greed, and jealousy?

Other books in the series:

breakdown

Series: Lena
Author: Chantal Gadoury
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: No, Book 2 to be released
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Coming of Age, Romance
Heat Rating: Cool
Point of View: Third Person, Single
Publication Date: June 2018 – ongoing
Source & Format: Audiobookworm–Audiobook via Audible (6hrs & 53mins)

Add: Goodreads | Buy: Amazon / Audible

thoughts

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I read Chantal’s novel The Songs in Our Hearts a few years ago and really enjoyed it (it was super cute!). So when I saw that there was an opportunity to read a non-contemporary (MERMAIDS!!!!) novel by her, I couldn’t wait to see what she could do in a different genre.

What I Liked:

–The Romance–

This surprised me in a really good way. I thought I had a good idea of where the romance would be going early on but I was so dead wrong. I love when that happens!

It isn’t a huge focus but it’s there enough to keep the story going when it needs too.

–Lena’s Character Growth–

Lena’s character story is literally one of “fish out of the water” but it provides an interesting backdrop to her character growth and development. This is very much a coming of age story for her except she has the added complications of being a mermaid now on land. I enjoyed her evolution from naive mermaid to independent young lady.

What I Didn’t Like:

–More Drama–

Like most coming of age stories, I find you kinda go through the everyday motions of life so it can become a little monotonous. But let me be clear that I never got bored with this story! It has a great flow to it and you get these little inklings of the bigger story to come along the way so it builds as you read. What I’m trying to say is that I wish the “whoa!” moment came a touch earlier so we could get into it a little more…but I guess that’s what sequels are for 😉

My Audiobook Experience:

This was such a fabulous audio listen! Right when it started to play I was fully immersed into the story and the characters. The narrator here is Dollcie Webb and she does a great job of giving all the characters their own voices so it is super easy to follow along. She has the perfect cadence for an audiobook narrator–seriously, it was such a nice read to listen to that I was finished the novel before I knew it!

My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:

This book had a few surprises at that end that has me eager to see what will happen next!

My Rating: 3.5/5

Between the Sea and Stars 3.5/5 | Book 2 TBP

overall
If you love mermaids or want a different twist to your usual coming of age stories, pick this up!

Read if You Like: mermaids, coming of age
Avoid if You: want action

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Chantal Gadoury

Amazon Bestselling Author, Chantal Gadoury, is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published The Songs in Our Hearts, and The Songs We Remember, with 48Fourteen Publishing. Allerleirauh, Between the Sea and Stars, Blinding Night and WinterDream with the Parliament House Press. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues with that love of writing today. For Chantal, writing novels has become a lifelong dream come true! When she’s not typing away at her next project, she enjoys painting, drinking lots of Iced Coffee, and watching Disney Classics. Chantal lives in Muncy, Pennsylvania with her Mom, sister and furry-‘brother’ Taran.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | Pintrest

 

Dollcie Webb (Narrator)

“Daydreams and whimsy with with a touch of pixie charm.”

A long-time daydreamer, Dollcie Webb has always carried a special fondness for Young Adult Fantasy literature. The poetic imagery and enticing otherworldliness call to her sense of curiosity, satisfying a deep desire to explore the world around her. A graduate of Michigan Technological University with a Bachelor’s in Theatre and Electronic Media Performance, she’s taken her experience in audio and theatrical performance and has melded the two into a career as an audiobook producer and narrator.

Narrator Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

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Series Review: Broken Tides by Catherine Jones Payne

Series Review: Broken Tides by Catherine Jones Payne

Synopsis for Breakwater (from Goodreads):

A red tide is rising.

As the daughter of one of the mer-king’s trusted advisors, seventeen-year-old Jade has great responsibilities. When her fiancé murders a naiad, plunging the underwater city of Thessalonike into uproar, tensions surge between the mer and the naiads. Jade learns too late that the choices she makes ripple further than she’d ever imagined. And as she fights against the tide of anger in a city that lives for scandal, she discovers danger lurking in every canal, imperiling her family and shattering the ocean’s fragile peace.

Can the city’s divisions be mended before the upwelling of hate rips apart everything Jade loves?

breakdown

SERIESous’ Top Picks: Cover Love
Series: Breakwater, Broken Tides
Author: Catherine Jones Payne
# of Books: 3 (Full Series Order Here)

There are prequel novellas.


Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mermaids
Heat Rating: cold
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Date: May 30, 2017 – December 2018
Source & Format: YA Bound Book Tours–eARC (#1); Public Library–Audiobook (#2); Own–Kindle (#0.5)

Add: Goodreads | Buy: Amazon  /  Barnes & Noble  /  Kobo

disclaimerYAbound
Review copy only provided for #1, Breakwater

thoughts

**This post was originally published as a Blog Tour Stop review of the first book of the series. It has now been updated to include the newest publications in the series.**

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I’ve been going through a bit of a mermaid withdrawal since I finished Jennifer Donnelly’s Waterfire Saga last year. I particularly liked that series because it had strong female characters and the world was fantastic. So I was eager to find another story to get lost in and this one looked promising!

The World:

One of my favourite aspects of an underwater world is when the author uses our everyday expressions and “water-ize” them. It’s the little things like “What the Depths!” (instead of “What the Hell!”) or “I’m not going to float here all day” that get you integrated into the world as a reader. It also shows all the effort the author puts into creating their world by looking at those “tiny” details. This one does this flawlessly and I loved watching it come to life as I read.

The Plot:

This book definitely has a slower plot line to it than I was anticipating and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

This story is all about doing the right thing even when other’s tell you not to. It’s more talking and reasoning than physically kicking bum, like so many other stories out there that have the clash between races/social hierarchy as their main plot. Most of the time, those stories require actually fighting back to make a change. So I found it really refreshing here that Jade tries to create a positive impact by speaking the truth and fighting for ideals through actions.

As a reader, you get caught up in the flow of the novel and it is easy to read even if it isn’t your typical action packed fantasy novel.

The Characters:

Jade lives in a bubble at the start of the book so it was nice when it burst and she got a dose of the real world. Once that bubble burst, she’s able to grow as a character…but not as much as I wanted. See, the problem is that Jade is a classic case of “Lead Heroine Sacrifice Syndrome“–meaning she thinks she alone can save the world by sacrificing herself. Like I said above, I can appreciate her efforts to change her world but I can’t believe how dense she is to the situation at hand. Her naivety (which is understandable given the fact that she is treated special by practically everyone) is a little tiring to read.

The Romance:

While I liked that this wasn’t a huge part of the story, I can’t help but think that it was bit of a missed opportunity. You are kind of told that there is this connection  instead of being shown it. So I didn’t really get behind the romance as much as I had hoped.

My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:

The last 15% of this book does a lot to set up a sequel and I’m eager to see what is in store.

When to Read #0.5 A Gathering Tempest:

You can definitely read this book before you start the series since it does chronologically take place before the events of the first book. It doesn’t give anything away that you don’t learn within the first few chapters of Breakwater anyways. I read it in the middle of reading Crosscurrent since I didn’t have my audiobook player on hand. I actually liked this because it gave me more insight into Alexander’s character and helped me understand his motives of the first novel a little better. So I would almost recommend reading it after you finish book #1.

When to Read the Other Broken Tide Stories:

The only other novella story I read besides the prequel was Daughter of the Rivers. But all of these novellas basically enhance the worldbuilding of the main series. So you can truly read them at any time.

updates

–June 20, 2019– Book #2: Crosscurrent

When I saw that my library had recently acquired the audiobook version of book 2, I was pretty excited. I was curious about this series and what would happen next but I never found the time to go out and get the sequel.

This was a great follow-up to the first novel. Everything I wished would happen did to some capacity. I really enjoy the diplomacy of this series and how most of it is done through talking and debate. It isn’t about a special snowflake warrior fighting battles but a girl who is slowly realizing that there is more to life outside of her bubble. I also loved how Jade realized she suffers from being a martyr when the time comes. I was really impressed with her character development in this novel.

As for the audiobook itself, I thought the delivery was a little stiff at times but is was still a super easy, enjoyable listen.

–February 16, 2020– Book #3: Maelstrom

I had been holding out for the hopes that my library would get the audiobook for this installment but no luck. Thankfully, I noticed this series is available on Kindle Unlimited so I made sure it was a priority.

Perhaps I waited too long to read this because I struggled a bit to get into it. I think the start was slower than I’d have liked. But everything I like about this series is here again. I love that it’s more political strategy through words than battle. And I like how we see that there is no clear solution, just the lesser of two evils so to speak. So it was refreshing, even if it felt slower at times.

My Rating: 3/5

[A Gathering Tempest 3/5] | Breakwater 3/5 | Crosscurrent 4/5 | Maelstorm 3/5

overall
If you want a fantasy novel that isn’t action based, this is a great one for you! Especially if you love mermaids.

Read if You Like: mermaids, slower stories
Avoid if You: want more physical action

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Catherine Jones Payne
Author Links: Goodreads | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

 

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Series Review: Waterfire Saga by Jennifer Donnelly

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

book3 book4

breakdown

Series: Waterfire Saga
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
# of Books: 4 (Deep Blue, Rogue Wave, Dark Tide, Sea Spell)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mythological, Adventure
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: Third Person, Multiple
Publication Dates:
Source: Public Library–Hardcover & eBook

thoughts

Why I Picked It Up/My Expectations:

Jennifer Donnelly is one of those critically acclaimed authors that I haven’t read too many books by. I only read her standalone, Revolution, which was fantastic, but since reading that years ago, I haven’t read anything else by her. I randomly stumbled upon this series, and when I read the synopsis I wanted to read it. It seems to me mermaids are a new trend in YA fiction but I’ve only read a few books about them so I was willing to give this series a shot.

But the biggest reason I wanted to read this was this line in the synopsis “Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas” — to me that means girl power. For once the heroine isn’t relying on a man or just herself but a group of other girls to accomplish something. Sure, most paranormal novels have the BFF female sidekick but there is something about having a whole troop of girls working together that is refreshing to me.

The World:

Deep Blue is a bit of a subdued novel and part of that reason, I think, is that it is building up the world. When I started reading Deep Blue, I easily got sucked into the world. I love how Donnelly changed common, everyday idioms and modified them for a “water world”–it really added to the world that she was building.

The world itself is pretty straightforward but I found the various Latin names/terms were hard to keep track of. I found out when I had 50 pages left in the book that there is a glossary with people and terms at the back of the book so that helped keep everything fresh when I was reading. When an author adds a glossary, you can tell that they have really thought everything out for their story and Donnelly is no exception because the world of Deep Blue features a rich history for these characters and their kingdoms.

The Plot:

Which is why I say the plot was subdued in Deep Blue: because it consisted of smaller dramatic moments and not the epic events I expected. I thought finding the other heroines would have been a major affair, taking up most of the book but it isn’t. This book is more about setting everything up for the sequel novels, allowing the reader to get their bearings with respect to what is actually going on in the grand scheme of things.

And that sets the scene beautifully for Rogue Wave to sweep every expectation away. While Rogue Wave keeps with this smaller plot event scale, it throws in massive twists that I never saw coming. I also think it helps that we have more than Serafina’s POV to read. Serafina is an alright heroine, and her character growth is great, but she follows your typical “thrust into greatness” heroine role so it isn’t anything new. She never annoyed me but she definitely isn’t my favourite of the heroines we get in this series. She really has grown on me though after two books.

These books kinda took all my expectations and whirled them all around so that I didn’t know where this series was going. It doesn’t seem to follow any basic series formula (like you know how trilogies all build up but the second book is almost always a sleeper) and I find that refreshingly exciting.

The Romance:

One thing that really surprised me about this series is the lack of romance. As a romance fan by trade, it’s weird for me to not read about a romance but I think it goes back to what I said earlier about “girl power” and watching 6 heroines do a quest on their own. Still, I expected a dash of romance here and there but that really didn’t happen—though there is one dash for sure. In the end, its A-OK but just be warned that it isn’t very strong or a major plot point in this series.

updates

–September 28, 2016– Book #3: Dark Tide

This was EXACTLY what I wanted this 3rd book to be!

It keeps the momentum of Rogue Wave going, creating a faster paced sequel with lots and lots of plot development. And even though it is definitely a bridging novel in terms of the plot, I never got bored with what was happening.

Everything is amplified just that little bit. The focus shifts further from Sera and shines on the other girls, developing their characters a little more which I greatly appreciated. We also get a touch more romance which is always a bonus–but I like that it never takes away from the focus of the story which is restoring the kingdoms.

All the foundations for a kick-ass finale are there and I can’t wait to read it!

–December 8, 2016– Book #4: Sea Spell

While this novel started a bit on the slower side (more talking than doing), it was still the perfect conclusion for this series!

Once you get reacquainted with the world, there are twists aplenty! This story is always moving and building, keeping your attention the entire time. I just loved how everything came together.

And girl power! We don’t get enough of that in the YA genre if you ask me!

In short: while the cover might be subpar compared to the rest of the series, this novel isn’t! A perfect way to end a fantastic series!

Series Rating: 4/5

Deep Blue 4/5 | Rogue Wave 4/5 | Dark Tide 4/5 | Sea Spell 4/5

overall

Deep Blue is a slow but necessary book as everything really picks up in Rogue Wave; that’s because everything was set up beautifully in Deep Blue. So don’t be discouraged when you aren’t immediately sucked into this series. If you like adventure stories rich with mythology/ancient history featuring an all-girl cast this is a great series for you to pick up.

Read if You Like: girl power, world-building, mermaids
Avoid if You: dislike slow stories, want more romance

similarreads

  • The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova (The Vicious Deep Trilogy #1)
  • The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter (The Goddess Test Trilogy #1)

booksynopsis

Synopsis for Deep Blue (from Goodreads):
The first in a series of four epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.

Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin’s arrow poisons Sera’s mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin’s master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world’s very existence.

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