Review: Son of a Mermaid by Katie O'Sullivan

Son of a Mermaid by Katie O'Sullivan
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Released: May 15th 2013
Format: Ebook
Source: Review copy provided by author

Shea MacNamara's life just got complicated. After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan is whisked away to Cape Cod. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he's trying hard to deal with feelings of abandonment... and the emotions stirred by a girl he meets along the shore.

Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. But two things stand in the way of lasting peace: the ambitions of the foreign King's regent, and rumors of the Princess's bastard child. Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?

Son of a Mermaid is such an adorable book. When Katie approached me for a review, I immediately agreed (because, as you know, I am such a mer-freak).

How interesting can a son of a mermaid be? Not many mermaid books have guys as main characters, but Son of a Mermaid does fairly well with one. Katie proves this by filling her book with likeable characters, especially Shea. A boy with unique traits, one of which is a brilliant memory (thanks to his mer-heritage), Shea's POVs start off in a most amusing way by featuring the different kinds of trash he remembers clearing off from the beach. Even though Shea's upset about his missing father, he doesn't stay angry or miserable at his situation and tries his best to get used to Cape Cod. The longer he stays there, the more his curiosity about his mother, whom he never knew much about, grows. He also takes to his merman transformation pretty well and is quick to adapt.

Kae is a character I grew to love just a teeny bit more than Shea! I find that Kae's character has a little more depth than Shea and I connected with her really quickly. Her speech is occasionally peppered with bits of mermaid slang like "I'm such a jellyfish!" and "... you clownfish". It was so cute and wasn't too overwhelming. Her unfamiliarity with the human world is very charming as well. I admire how Kae's bravery slowly emerges as she seeks out the answers to her questions. She's a believable character who's got her own insecurities, especially those concerning her growing attraction to Shea.

The supporting characters do not pale in comparison, either. Hailey is quite amusing, what with grading everyday things using A pluses and B minuses with her brother. I soon viewed her as an annoyance in Shea and Kae's relationship, which was great as it meant that Katie was doing her job in making me feel something towards Hailey, who didn't fade into the background. Mr Guenther is pretty amazing as well, though I wish he had dropped more hints earlier. I think it would have been better if Brynneliana (can't say I like her name very much, it's such a mouthful) had been a more prominent character and had her own POV, as she's rather an important person mermaid to Shea. Shea's granddad is the funniest granddad I've read about in a while. As for the villain, Demyan is really convincing and we haven't seen the last of him yet!

Katie paints a beautiful picture of Cape Cod and Kae's watery world beneath the surface. Both were easy for me to visualise, and I particularly love the portrayal of the merfolk and their underwater world. Who knew mer-politics could be so interesting? The third-person POVs of Shea and Kae are simple and clear, while showing how the mer-royals are formal in language with each other.

The conflict is strong and the plot is brilliantly woven. The romance between Shea and Kae isn't the highlight of the story, which is a nice change, but it came off a tad strong in the last part of the book though. The ending is not bad at all, with the promise of even more adventures for Shea and Kae.

I was totally entertained by this novel and am absolutely looking forward to the release of the sequel, Blood of a Mermaid! Son of a Mermaid is perfect for younger teens as well as older ones, especially if you're looking for a light and enjoyable afternoon read. It'll take you on an amazing underwater adventure and leave you gasping for more, so dive in!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust.

She writes YA and romantic suspense novels, as well as working as an editor. For the last four years, she’s worked as the Editor of CapeWomenOnline.com magazine and writes “The Write Way” column for the magazine.

She hopes her debut YA novel, SON OF A MERMAID, will make a big splash this summer, engaging young readers with a Cape Cod tale of a boy who discovers both his roots and his destiny far below the waters of Nantucket Sound.

Connect with Katie: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Get your copy of Son of a Mermaid!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

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Review: My Name Is Rapunzel by K. C. Hilton

My Name Is Rapunzel by K. C. Hilton
Publisher: Createspace
Released: November 22nd 2013
Format: Ebook
Source: Review copy from author

My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did.

My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.

This book has a beautiful cover and a beautiful synopsis, but left me floundering when I was barely a quarter in. I had expected much more of My Name Is Rapunzel. I did not have the easiest time writing this review; I’ll section it so that it’ll be easier for everyone to process.

Undefined goals. It's extremely frustrating to have a main character and villain who both do not have defined goals. In the traditional fairy tale, Rapunzel is held captive in a tower by a witch. Gretta is the witch in this story. However, Gretta's ulterior motive for keeping Rapunzel captive is not clear until the 80% mark in the story. I was constantly distracted by what Gretta wanted exactly from Rapunzel, as nothing more was given except for a rough idea. I was reading page after page and hoping that Gretta's motive would be stated clearly, but it wasn't stated for most of the novel until I was 89% through with the book.

Rapunzel's father places her in Gretta's care in the hopes that Gretta would one day reverse the curse on his daughter. Doesn't sound like a good plan. Gretta doesn't stand to lose anything by not removing the curse. If I were cursed with immortality and lost the love of my life, I would have committed suicide or tried ways to kill Gretta instead of living for 250 years in a castle with her (which is exactly what Rapunzel did). Rapunzel wasn't actively searching or trying all means and ways to escape from Gretta. All she did was grumble about having to live with “that witch” for 250 years without any fierce struggle, based purely on her father's hopes that Gretta would remove the curse one day. In the eyes of any villain, one day is the equivalent of fat hope. The logic doesn't make sense at all. And most times, Gretta just disappears into the background.

Characters and writing style. The tension created in the prologue was pretty awesome. However, the first chapter didn’t build up much personality in Rapunzel for me to connect with her. The chapter starts off with Rapunzel panicking about her first kiss with Henry and whether he would dump her if he found out that "no man had ever before found [her] worthy of affection". The writing was exaggerated in Rapunzel's POV and didn't give me a likeable impression of her. It was totally absurd because Rapunzel actually thought that her true love would be shallow enough to judge her based on a single kiss.

As I read on, I got more and more annoyed by the writing style of Rapunzel’s POV. She asks too many unnecessary questions which comes off as very childish. There’s an average of 4 to 5 questions on every page within the first chapter, and I counted 8 of these questions on a page in Chapter 2. The questions consist of things like "What did that mean?", "Why now?", "Who was that?", "What now?". One paragraph even had 4 questions in it:

Should I go to Henry's parents? Or to my home? Where would I find help? Even as I asked myself, I knew the truth. There was no help to be found. I was on my own. After all, who could help against forces such as these?

It was a major turnoff for me, hearing the voice in my head read out so many questions like an annoying child. Rapunzel runs around like a headless chicken whenever something bad happens. I couldn't feel for her or Henry at all even when disaster struck. Henry didn't have any depth to his character and I felt like I should feel bad for Rapunzel, but I didn't. The first time I felt for a character was in Chapter 5 – for Rapunzel's mother. It's not a good sign if I'm actually feeling more for a supporting character than the main character.

Gretta doesn't seem like a complete villain. Her villainous side appeared when she first cursed Rapunzel, then it disappeared during the 250 years with Rapunzel. Gretta is totally un-villainy after that until the last 15% of the book, and hardly poses a real threat to Rapunzel (I’ll discuss this further in the plot holes section).

Jenkins. Ah, Jenkins, the skeptical reporter. He wrote a newspaper article scoffing at fairy tales and also ridicules Rapunzel's famous hair. Rapunzel reads it, gets hopping mad and decides to write him her autobiography, letter-style. The flashback-like writing style of the letters is very poor. The letters don't sound like letters, they sound like a novel within this novel. It's ridiculous how Rapunzel bothers so much about what a stranger thinks of her. At this point, it's almost half the story and Rapunzel's goal is still undefined. Even if her goal is to make Jenkins realise she's real, the stakes are not high enough. When they meet, Jenkins' character suddenly undergoes a 180° change overnight and they both take to each other a lot. It was not believable at all, given how skeptical Jenkins is and how Rapunzel detests him. All seems to be forgiven just because Jenkins is handsome.

Also, I cannot feel anything for Luke. He's a useless character who lets his wife push him around.

Major plot holes. There's a dragon which has lived 250 years with them. Up till the last quarter of the novel, it isn’t clear whether Gretta controls the dragon or vice versa. Rapunzel's convinced that the dragon "protects" her and wants her "safe" when all it does is fly around and roar. Unless a nightly candle is lit in her tower, the dragon cannot rest as that is the only way it knows she is “safe”. On one occasion Rapunzel tries to run from the castle, but the dragon “caught her” just by roaring, because it hadn’t seen the candlelight. The dragon doesn't seem to actually be able to stop her, so Rapunzel could still have left. Jenkins gives Rapunzel an electric candle and that’s it, problem solved. It's so absurd. Rapunzel would have been able to acquire an electric candle without Jenkins’ help as she knows how to use the Internet on a laptop to go online shopping.

Gretta is not a real threat at all to Rapunzel, being easy to kill (Rapunzel did not kill her). Rapunzel could've set herself free if she had a weapon and a moment alone with Gretta. And Rapunzel had plenty of those opportunities to kill Gretta throughout the 250 years!

HUGE SPOILER ALERT
(FURTHER PLOT HOLE EXAMPLE)

I don’t like to include major spoilers in my reviews, but for My Name Is Rapunzel, I simply have to in order to show you how flawed the plot is.

Henry is the dragon. And he’s been that dragon flying around and roaring and supposedly keeping Rapunzel “safe”, when he doesn’t really do anything at all. We find out that Gretta cursed him so he would be a dragon for all time except for “mere moments of time” as a man. If Henry should lay eyes on Rapunzel’s face, he will turn back into dragon form.

Now, we only find this out at the 83% mark of the book. At 85%, Henry reveals himself to Rapunzel in a manner that would have been possible at the very start of his curse, but he chose to do that only at the end of the book. The solution to his problem was very simple and the stakes had not been high enough. Also, other solutions would have been simple, such as writing a letter and sending it to Rapunzel when he was in human form. He needn’t have waited 250 years. The whole thing was incredibly ridiculous.

~ END OF SPOILER ~

BOTTOM LINE: The synopsis of My Name Is Rapunzel sells the supposed true story of Rapunzel, and so I felt that this novel had a lot of potential. However, the characters really lacked depth and the plot was full of holes so laughable, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The story did not flow or move forward well. Seriously, don't waste your time on this one. Not worth it.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois I spent my childhood climbing trees and playing street games with the neighbourhood kids. I was a proud tomboy, until the day I didn’t want to hike the land to an old graveyard. From that point forward I was considered a “girl”. At the age of seventeen I moved to Kentucky and eventually began to raise a family of my own. Having worn several “hats” my life has been an adventure all on its own. Still, to this day, I yearn to be a mechanic and own a pink toolbox with pink tools. I can usually be found updating my website, reading great books, watching awesome movies or creating videos for my YouTube channel. Most days I crave Diet Coke, pizza and chocolate, in no particular order. I don’t read scary books or watch horror movies… I’m way too scared! Lol.

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In My Mailbox #1: Library Loot & more!

Welcome to my very first post for In My Mailbox (IMM)! IMM is a weekly meme created by Kristi @ The Story Siren which features books bought/received in the mail, borrowed from the library as well as other awesome book-related goodies in your mailbox.

Note: IMM is probably not going to be a weekly thing for me, what with school and other stuff. I'll do my best though!

LIBRARY LOOT

The Small Blue Thing trilogy by S. C. Ransom. I read Small Blue Thing about two or three years ago and loved it very much. I could never find Perfectly Reflected (the second book) in the library after it was released, and subsequently, the series fell off my radar. I'm so pleased to have found the whole trilogy now!

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. I loved Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, and though I'm not big on sci-fi, I borrowed this because – oh come on, it's by Garth Nix!!

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama. I'd seen this on a few mermaid book lists but never quite prioritised it on my to-read list. My search for other mermaid novels proved to be futile today, so this shall suffice (: 

Starling by Lesley Livingston. This book had me at the mention of Norse gods and is supposedly action-packed, with fencing in the mix. 

The White Rabbit Chronicles (Book 1 & 2) by Gena Showalter. Alice in Wonderland has always intrigued me, and Tim Burton's movie of the same name was simply astounding. I've heard rave reviews about Alice in Zombieland and can't wait to start on this series!

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. I know, I know – I should've read this sooner and all, but better late than never! This book has fallen angels and bad boys in it.

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray. Being a fan of the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins, I had to borrow this. Spellcaster's synopsis screams witches and curses, and I do love a witchy book every now and then!

MY MAIL

I received a signed sampler and bookmark of Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett, which I won in a giveaway hosted by Carly @ Lis Les Livres. Thanks Carly! (: 

Aaaaaand that's a wrap for my first IMM! What did you receive this week? Leave a link to your IMM post below so I can visit your blog!

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Micah finally received his copy of Love At First Slight!

Last month, I held my first ever giveaway (exclusive to my blog) offering a paperback and ebook copy of J. Marie Croft's Love At First Slight, kindly sponsored by Meryton Press. The winner of the paperback copy was Micah Ketchens, and he's finally received his prize!

I asked Micah to send me a photo of him and his copy of LaFS when he got it, and here's what he sent me:

Fantastic, isn't it? I can totally feel his excitement!

Congratulations for winning the giveaway, Micah, and thank you for sending me this awesome photo! I hope you enjoy J. Marie Croft's twist on Pride & Prejudice, and please do return for future giveaways!

P.S. Micah runs a blog too! You can find him at Mad Man in a Blog (:

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Blog Tour: Review of Dangerous Depths by Karen Hooper + Excerpt + Music Playlist

I'm excited to be part of the Dangerous Depths blog tour! Today, I'll be bringing you my review of author Karen Hooper's second book in the Sea Monster memoirs series, Dangerous Depths, including an excerpt and music playlist!

Dangerous Depths (The Sea Monster Memoirs, #2) by Karen Hooper
Publisher: Starry Sky Publishing
Released: November 20th 2013
Format: Ebook
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Blog tour hosted by: Enticing Journey Book Promotions

Hell hath no fury like a selkie separated from his true love.

The gate to the sea creature realm is finally open. Rownan assumes the worst is behind him when he returns home after years of waiting to be reunited with his wife, Vienna. Only to find out that Vienna didn’t wait for him. She traveled to the evil realm of Harte years ago, hoping the legend of another gateway to Earth’s realm was real, but she was never heard from again. Rownan claimed he’d go through hell to be with Vienna, and now he must prove it.

Yara wanted to bask in the glow of her happily ever after in the magical realm of Rathe. She planned to explore Medusa and Poseidon’s world and dive deeper into her relationship with Treygan, but as the new leader of Rathe, her powers are needed to save more than one member of her own kind. Treygan vowed to always be Yara’s guardian, but long ago he also swore to go any lengths to protect his brother Rownan. Now, he must fulfill his promise to both of them.

Rownan, Yara, and Treygan are about to put their lives and souls at risk by traveling to the most dangerous realm of the worlds. Love should conquer all, but no one has ever conquered Harte.

This book simply blew my mind. On the surface (excuse the pun), the premise of Dangerous Depths sounds simple enough:  Rownan's wife is in human equivalent of Hell. Must make plans to save Rownan's wife. Get into Hell. Find Rownan's wife. Get out of Hell with Rownan's wife. Easy.

Whoa, hold up there. Harte isn't just any old Hell. Hooper's version of hell is so twisted you can't even tell fantasy apart from reality. Vienna, Rownan's wife, has been stuck in Harte for sixteen years trying to find a way back to Rownan on Earth. Everyone believes Vienna is long dead – if not, already demented, soulless and beyond salvation. The only merman who'd ever been to Harte committed suicide after returning because Harte made him lose himself. Yara, Treygan and Rownan are risking everything to bring Vienna back, including their own lives.

The descriptions of Rathe and Harte are extraordinary. I wonder what inspired Forbidden Apple Lagoon, and really hope someone with adequate art skills will be able to do an artist's impression of it one day! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to visualise Harte properly as I had a bit of a problem with that in the beginning, when Yara, Treygan and Rownan enter the Devil's Triangle. Harte seemed like a very abstract place, but I slowly got used to it. Hooper's writing style is simple, yet gives enough detail and is pleasant to absorb. Some of Harte's horrors include all kinds of mind tricks and hallucinations, not to mention crazy creatures like soul suckers. I find that poor Yara suffered the most from the mind tricks. They will blow your mind, especially the great epiphany Yara has toward the end of their time in Harte and what ensues afterwards.

Oh, Nixie – what a personality that siren has! Nixie is so fleshed out that I'd hardly classify her as a mere supporting character. I'm so glad Hooper gave her a voice in Dangerous Depths. We get to see the conflicting sides of Nixie and what made her the way she is today. Her backstory is told with the first appearance of her sprite family, contrasted with Mariza and Otabia, her current siren sisters. Nixie is passionate, fiery and stubborn. She's an extremely strong character, full of depth and ready to take on the world with Yara. Nixie's soft, vulnerable side is seen when she's with the sprites (whose roles in the story are not as tiny as they seem) and I saw how her childishness gradually blossomed into maturity. She had so much faith in herself even when others told her what she wanted to accomplish would be impossible. My heart went out to her every time she experienced Yara's pain in Harte. She's a character I definitely won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Just as you think Yara, Treygan and Rownan's journey in Harte is over, Hooper raises the stakes by throwing curveball after curveball upon the trio – it seems like they'll never be able to get out of Harte! Like I said, the story is more than just about getting out of hell.

Even though Dangerous Depths is supposedly Rownan's story, there's no shortage of Yara-and-Treygan time. The pacing of the entire novel was just right; there wasn't too much or too little of Harte. I love how both of them are growing closer to each other, and how every time Yara wants to give up, Treygan's always there for her. Yara isn't the perfect heroine, and that's what makes her loveable. Dangerous Depths features not only one love story, but two. Yara and Treygan's bond is just as mesmerising as the one between Rownan and Vienna, both which transcend the horrors of Harte and prove how strong love can be.

Full of action, adventure, romance, a healthy mix of Greek myths, selkies and mermaids as well as a bunch of other awesome stuff which makes Hooper another of my favourite mer-authors (phew that was a long sentence), Dangerous Depths is a must-read for anyone looking for a great book to snuggle up to. Five starfish!

(Oh, and I totally realised how Earth, Rathe and Harte were anagrams after finishing Dangerous Depths. *smirks at accomplishment*)

EXCERPT

Yara’s POV

The star-flowers blossomed everywhere. I glided toward a thick, curved branch that dipped below the surface. “Can I touch them?”

“Sure. The stardust in the center is warm, but not enough to burn.” He plucked one and held it between us.

I touched its silky petals while inhaling. “They smell so good.”

“I pictured this place every time I smelled you.” He tucked the flower behind my ear and it warmed the side of my head. “You always reminded me of here—of home, and star-flowers that smell like heaven.”

He looked gorgeous, with his wet hair all slicked back and his intense eyes staring at me with a million beautiful twinkling flowers behind him. I wanted to tell him how deeply in love with him I had fallen, how I couldn’t stand the thought of ever being without him, and how scared I was about what might happen to us in Harte. But those thoughts felt too heavy for such a magical place. Instead, I teased him.

“You’ve become a total sap.”

He laughed. “It’s disturbing. I toss and turn every night, wondering how I let myself get this bad. I finally understand what it’s like to lose sleep because you can’t stop thinking about someone.”

I mocked the words he had told me just weeks ago when I first became a mermaid. “Merfolk don’t sleep.”

“Touché.” He pulled me against him. “But we do rest, and even when I’m resting, I never stop thinking about you.”

MUSIC PLAYLIST

Song list in chronological order of when they take place in the story. WARNING: Some vague spoilers! 

1.) Waves of You – Eric Turner (Rownan to Vienna beginning of book) 

2.) Sail – AWOLNation  (drunk Rownan in his dark place on the beach) 

3.) Drifting – Plumb feat. Dan Haseltine (Yara & Nixie to Rownan--another way) 

4.) If I Lose Myself – One Republic (Treygan to Yara the morning of their trip) 

5.) The Sea — Morcheeba (Traveling and arriving) 

6.) Storm – Lifehouse (Rownan to Vienna when he’s alone in Harte) 

7.) I Want You Here – Plumb (Vienna on her beach with the driftwood) 

8.) Waves – Blondefire  (Yara and/or Vienna) 

9.) Little Talks — Of Monsters and Men (Yara & Treygan in the last half of the book) 

10.) Together Again — Evanescence (Yara when she becomes separated from Treygan) 

11.) Hazy — Rosi Golan feat. William Fitzsimmons (Vienna & Rownan duet) 

12.) Down — Jason Walker feat. Molly Reed (Karen: This one tugs at my heartstrings. I picture each character: Rownan, Yara, Treygan, and Nixie, on their own singing this song. It flashes between each of them during seemingly hopeless times during their fight to get out.) 

13.) My Last Breath — Evanescence (Nixie & Yara) 

*BONUS SONG: Hero — David Crosby & Phil Collins (Karen: This was a song from my TANGLED TIDES playlist. It’s an oldie, but it was so perfect as a song that Rownan would sing about Treygan. Right down to the “when the hero kills the maiden with his kiss” line. This song still gives me goose bumps when I listen to it.) 

Don't forget to enter the Dangerous Depths Release Day giveaway here to win a prize pack of Tangled Tides and Dangerous Depths (both signed), as well as some nail polish and yummy treats!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple of years, and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her two beloved dogs. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate, and complicated happily-ever-afters.

Karen has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. Due to her strong Disney upbringing, she still believes in fairy tales and will forever sprinkle magic throughout all of her novels.

Connect with Karen: Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Website

Get your copy of Dangerous Depths!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Barnes & Noble

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Release Day: Dangerous Depths by Karen Hooper + Giveaway!

Today is the release day of Karen Hooper's Dangerous Depths, the second book in The Sea Monster Memoirs! I'm flippin' over the sheer awesomeness of the cover. Check out the synopsis and teaser, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below to win a prize pack including signed books, yummy treats, and sparkling beach-worthy nail polish!

Dangerous Depths (The Sea Monster Memoirs, #2) by Karen Hooper

Publisher: Starry Sky Publishing

Release Date: November 20, 2013

Hosted by: Enticing Journey Book Promotions 

Hell hath no fury like a selkie separated from his true love.

The gate to the sea creature realm is finally open. Rownan assumes the worst is behind him when he returns home after years of waiting to be reunited with his wife, Vienna. Only to find out that Vienna didn’t wait for him. She traveled to the evil realm of Harte years ago, hoping the legend of another gateway to Earth’s realm was real, but she was never heard from again. Rownan claimed he’d go through hell to be with Vienna, and now he must prove it.

Yara wanted to bask in the glow of her happily ever after in the magical realm of Rathe. She planned to explore Medusa and Poseidon’s world and dive deeper into her relationship with Treygan, but as the new leader of Rathe, her powers are needed to save more than one member of her own kind. Treygan vowed to always be Yara’s guardian, but long ago he also swore to go any lengths to protect his brother Rownan. Now, he must fulfill his promise to both of them.

Rownan, Yara, and Treygan are about to put their lives and souls at risk by traveling to the most dangerous realm of the worlds. Love should conquer all, but no one has ever conquered Harte.

Here's a small teaser:



*squee*

GIVEAWAY

~ Signed paperbacks of Tangled Tides & Dangerous Depths

~ Two beautiful bottles of Disney nail polish

(Ocean Mist – sparkly green, and Diva of the Deep – sparkly purple)

~ A box of assorted yummy "sprite" treats from Fairy Tale Brownies

(in honour of the new sprite characters who star in Dangerous Depths)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Stay tuned for the upcoming blog tour for Dangerous Depths from 21st to 27th November (yes, it starts tomorrow!). My stop and review for the tour will be on the 24th, but do check out the other blog hosts before then!

Get your copy of Dangerous Depths!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple of years, and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her two beloved dogs. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate, and complicated happily-ever-afters.

Karen has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. Due to her strong Disney upbringing, she still believes in fairy tales and will forever sprinkle magic throughout all of her novels.

Connect with Karen: Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Website

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Review: The Twice Lost (Lost Voices, #3) by Sarah Porter

The Twice Lost (Lost Voices, #3) by Sarah Porter
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Released: July 2nd 2013
Format: Hardcover (480 pages)
Source: My local library

Mermaids have been sinking ships and drowning humans for centuries, and now the government is determined to put an end to the mermaid problem—by slaughtering all of them. Luce, a mermaid with exceptionally threatening abilities, becomes their number-one target, hunted as she flees down the coast toward San Francisco.

There she finds hundreds of mermaids living in exile under the docks of the bay. These are the Twice Lost: once-human girls lost first when a trauma turned them into mermaids, and lost a second time when they broke mermaid law and were rejected by their tribes. Luce is stunned when they elect her as their leader. But she won’t be their queen. She’ll be their general. And they will become the Twice Lost Army—because this is war.

The sequel to Waking Storms and the last book in the Lost Voices Trilogy, author Sarah Porter brings us a stunning conclusion to Luce's tale in The Twice Lost. It's a story of mermaids, humans and most of all, war.

***WARNING: THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Giveaway: Love at First Slight by J. Marie Croft

Jane Austen fans! I'm proud to host a giveaway for a new take on Pride & Prejudice — Love At First Slight by author J. Marie Croft. Scroll down to learn more about the book and enter the giveaway! There is an ARC and a Kindle ebook copy of LaFS to be won (you can download the free Kindle reading app from Amazon here to read it). Two winners will be picked.

Love At First Slight by J. Marie Croft
Publisher: Meryton Press
Release date: November 1st 2013

“It may not be universally acknowledged, but the unvarnished truth is that a young widow in possession of a good fortune is not necessarily in want of another husband.”

In this humorous, topsy-turvy Pride & Prejudice variation, all the gender roles are reversed. It is Mr. Bennet’s greatest wish to see his five sons advantageously married. When the haughty Miss Elizabeth Darcy comes to Netherfield with the Widow Devonport nee Bingley, speculation—and prejudice—runs rampant.

William Bennet, a reluctant and irreverent future reverend, catches Miss Darcy’s eye even though he is beneath her station. However, his opinion of her was fixed when she slighted him at the Meryton Assembly. As her ardour grows, so does his disdain, and when she fully expects to receive an offer of marriage, he gives her something else entirely ….

GIVEAWAY

(this giveaway is international)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


GIVEAWAY RULES

• This giveaway is international. 
• You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
• Winners will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If prizes are not claimed within 48 hours, another winner will be picked. 
• If you have not met the requirements for the entry, that entry will be void.
• If you are caught cheating (Rafflecopter tracks IP addresses) you will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen.
• Prizes will be sent out by the publisher.
• I am not responsible for any prizes lost in the mail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Marie Croft, a Nova Scotia resident and avid reader all her life, discovered Jane Austen's works later than others but made up for lost time by devouring the six novels and as many adaptations and sequels as she could find. In the midst of reading prodigious amounts of Austen-based fan-fiction, she realized, "Hey, I can do that." In her spare time, when not working at a music school or on a wooded trail enjoying her geocaching hobby, she listens to the voices in her head and captures their thoughts and words in writing. Her stories are light-hearted; and her motto is Miss Austen's own quote, "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery." J. Marie Croft is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (Canada)
and admits to being "excessively attentive" to the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. She can be contacted at jmariecroft[at]gmail[dot]com.

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Review: Waking Storms (Lost Voices, #2) by Sarah Porter

Waking Storms (Lost Voices, #2) by Sarah Porter
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Released: July 3rd 2012
Format: Hardcover (400 pages)
Source: My local library

After parting ways with her troubled mermaid tribe, Luce just wants to live peacefully on her own. But her tranquility doesn’t last long: she receives news that the tribe is on the verge of collapse and desperately needs her leadership. The tribe’s cruel queen wants Luce dead. Dorian, the boy Luce broke mermaid law to save, is determined to make her pay for her part in the murder of his family. And while the mermaids cling to the idea that humans never suspect their existence, there are suddenly ominous signs to the contrary.

But when Luce and Dorian meet, they start to wonder if love can overpower the hatred they know they should feel for each other. Can Luce fulfill her rightful role as queen of the mermaids without sacrificing her forbidden romance with Dorian?

Waking Storms is the second instalment of the Lost Voices trilogy, and I have to say this was better than the first book, Lost Voices (you can read my review of it here). Waking Storms essentially revolves around Luce's relationship with Dorian and humans being on the verge of finding out the mermaids' existence, while introducing new characters and some mermaid history.

***WARNING: THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Blog Tour: Guest Post by J. Marie Croft, author of LOVE AT FIRST SLIGHT

Today brings us a guest post by LOVE AT FIRST SLIGHT author J. Marie Croft! 

Love At First Slight by J. Marie Croft
Publisher: Meryton Press
Expected release date: November 1st 2013

“It may not be universally acknowledged, but the unvarnished truth is that a young widow in possession of a good fortune is not necessarily in want of another husband.”

In this humorous, topsy-turvy Pride & Prejudice variation, all the gender roles are reversed. It is Mr. Bennet’s greatest wish to see his five sons advantageously married. When the haughty Miss Elizabeth Darcy comes to Netherfield with the Widow Devonport nee Bingley, speculation—and prejudice—runs rampant.

William Bennet, a reluctant and irreverent future reverend, catches Miss Darcy’s eye even though he is beneath her station. However, his opinion of her was fixed when she slighted him at the Meryton Assembly. As her ardour grows, so does his disdain, and when she fully expects to receive an offer of marriage, he gives her something else entirely ….

For those of you who don't know this yet, Rhemalda Publishing closed its doors in September 2013, shortly after the cover of LaFS was revealed by many book bloggers on 30th August. However, Meryton Press came to the rescue and picked up LaFS.

Isn't that worth celebrating? ;D

I'll hand it over to Ms Croft who has so kindly written up the most interesting guest post ever!

GUEST POST: J. MARIE CROFT, AUTHOR OF LOVE AT FIRST SLIGHT

Invited to write a guest post for ‘Mermaid with a Book’, I was determined to make it especially pertinent to Sherlyn’s blog. Alas, my book features neither mermaids nor sea creatures – only fictional, not mythical, characters.

I thought my own connection with the sea might be relevant. Nova Scotia – known as Canada’s Ocean Playground – has always been my home.

No, I needed a different angle.

They say a drowning man will clutch at a straw, and I’ll grasp at any tenuous thematic thread … and will probably end up hanging by it.  But stay with me. I discovered there is, after all, a link between my book and a mythical sea creature. So, I now leave you with a mermaid tale.

Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Colonel Fitzwilliam – while walking along a pebbly beach In Llandudno, Wales – espied a beautiful mermaid sunning on a rock.  The awestruck young men befriended the magical creature; and, before swimming away, she kindly offered to grant the fine fellows one wish each.

Colonel Fitzwilliam (heroic army officer but not sharpest tool in the shed) wished that his mental capacity be doubled.  The mermaid slapped her tail in the surf, splashing him with seawater.  The sopping soldier immediately began quoting scripture, Socrates, and Shakespeare.

Not to be outdone, the amiable but somewhat addlepated Charles Bingley requested that she triple his reasoning ability.  With another supple tail smack, the mermaid gave him not only a soaking but the ability to perform complex Pythagorean calculations.

The innately intuitive Fitzwilliam Darcy was so impressed, he asked the mermaid to quadruple his intelligence quotient.

"Are you quite certain, sir?” asked the lovely sea creature.  “Your whole life will be changed forever if I grant such a wish."

An emphatic nod communicated the gentleman’s acceptance of his fate.

The mermaid swished her tail, showered him with brine, and the deed was done.  Mr. Darcy was instantly turned into a woman.


Ergo, one of Jane Austen’s beloved characters underwent a gender swap. But Mr. Darcy is not alone. Almost all Pride and Prejudice roles are reversed in Love at First Slight (available November 1 from Meryton Press).


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Marie Croft, a Nova Scotia resident and avid reader all her life, discovered Jane Austen's works later than others but made up for lost time by devouring the six novels and as many adaptations and sequels as she could find. In the midst of reading prodigious amounts of Austen-based fan-fiction, she realized, "Hey, I can do that." In her spare time, when not working at a music school or on a wooded trail enjoying her geocaching hobby, she listens to the voices in her head and captures their thoughts and words in writing. Her stories are light-hearted; and her motto is Miss Austen's own quote, "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery." J. Marie Croft is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (Canada)
and admits to being "excessively attentive" to the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. She can be contacted at jmariecroft[at]gmail[dot]com.

(Thank you so much for your time, Ms Croft! It's a delight to have you here on Mermaid with a Book!)

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Review: Lost Voices (Lost Voices, #1) by Sarah Porter

Lost Voices (Lost Voices, #1) by Sarah Porter
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Released: June 13th 2011
Format: Hardcover (291 pages)
Source: My local library

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.

A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?

The first book in a trilogy, Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

Sarah Porter twists the mermaid and siren lore into something filled with depth and humanity - or should I say, inhumanity?

The mermaids in Lost Voices are vastly different from your usual part-girl, part-fish creatures. Lucette - known as Luce for short - our main character, is one of those 'lost girls' - girls who have been abused, abandoned and mistreated by adults they once trusted and loved. These girls have given up their humanity in their darkest hour, and now dedicate their mermaid lives to drowning seafarers with their beautiful, haunting voices. 

I found the pacing of the story just right. Porter's writing is descriptive without being overwhelming, especially when describing the mermaids' songs. I find this a remarkable feat, for it is much harder to describe sound as compared to visual things. This is how well Porter does it for Luce: 

She could lead her voice through soft, flowing formations as complex and airy as clouds, make it spread like feathers, divide it so that she was singing several interwoven melodies at once...

She spread her voice out in a single deep note as flat as a sheet of paper, then let it start to curl in on itself, wrapping into a slow aching chord at the edges. 

You can't ever tire of the descriptions. Porter's mermaids are otherworldly singers and she manages to bring this across by using remarkably apt phrases. 

There is more focus on morals, humanity (or the lack thereof) and of how Luce assimilates into the already-existing mermaid tribe with its queen, Catarina. While these mermaids claim to care and look out for each other, there are strong parallels to a high school girl clique. There is backstabbing, competition, temporary friendships, trust issues and basically this 'hierarchy' most cliques have. Luce has to work her way through this mess with a discerning mind. The fact that she can sing better than Catarina does not help her popularity in the tribe for the long run.

The watery world Porter creates is extremely interesting and she does a great job conveying Luce's dilemma of being torn between the desire to sing and drown humans, or to stop singing due to that spark of humanity left inside her. Seeing Luce morph into a stronger person mermaid is simply amazing. On the whole, there is less plot as to what the mermaids eventually want to achieve and all that. It's more of Luce's arrival in the tribe and how the entire tribe evolves because of her. The ending leaves us hanging - there's definitely more to come in the sequel, Waking Storms!

Despite Lost Voices being a less plot-driven novel, I'd say it's still totally worth taking the time to read. It gives great insight as to how cliques work and discusses humanity through Luce's character. Are mermaids that different from humans? Or are they really just as vicious? This story will strike a chord with anyone who reads it.

For a debut novel, Porter has managed to interweave her words and siren lore very skilfully into a haunting tale of what it truly means to be human... Four starfish!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I'm a writer, artist, and freelance teacher. I teach creative writing workshops in the New York public schools via Teachers and Writers Collaborative; I've worked with kids in grades K-10, but I've focused on junior high and high school for the last several years. I don't think I would have written a YA novel if it weren't for that experience! Reading my students' intense, passionate poetry and stories recalled my own emotions at that age. Lost Voices was my attempt to write the book I most needed as a twelve-year-old struggling with what it means to be human: a book I never really found.

I live in Brooklyn with my wonderful husband Todd, an artist and fabricator of electronic art, and our cats Jub Jub and Delphine. I have an M.F.A. from City College.

Visit Sarah at her website!

Get your copy of Lost Voices!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

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