OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks

YAY! Mermaid novels! Okay, here's the book blurb on Amazon:

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.

OF POSEIDON will be released May 22nd, tomorrow. And on Good Reads it has a rating of 4.39 stars. Sounds good to me.

I read through Anna Banks' blog and if you too want to read through her process of publication and the very crazy story of signing with an agent, go here to read her blog. And so you don't have to scroll back through her previous posts, here's the exact post on how she signed with her agent.

Want to buy the book? Go here. And don't forget to post a review when you're done with it. :)

What do you think? Does this book sound interesting? What do you think about the cover?

SEA CHANGE by Aimee Friedman

SEA CHANGE was released almost two years ago, so of course I've read it. But, here's what Amazon has to say about it: 


Bestselling author Aimee Friedman is back, with her signature combination of warmth and humor. And with this book, she adds a touch of fantasy. . .

Sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science. . .and not so great with boys. After major drama with her boyfriend and (now ex) best friend, she's happy to spend the summer on small, mysterious Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother's estate.

There, Miranda finds new friends and an island with a mysterious, mystical history, presenting her with facts her logical, scientific mind can't make sense of. She also meets Leo, who challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship. . .and reality.

This is the review I wrote after I finished reading it:

I love mermaids. Everything mermaid, so the book already had that going for it in my mind. The story begins strongly and then it seems to lull. All the while, you're waiting to find out if in fact he is a merman. And then you wait, and you wait, and then the book is over. Huh? 

I agree with other reviewers; if this is the beginning of a series I can understand why she doesn't divulge the ever important information as to what species Leo is. But, if it's a single book, I think too much time was spent on going back and forth between boys and not enough of their relationship. I wanted to know more about Leo. 

All in all though, it was a fun read. It was a quick read too! I would recommend it. I really enjoyed it. I also hope there is a #2!

Now, onto the sad news. From what I could find online, Aimee Friedman has changed her pen name and started writing a different series. There is no longer whispers that there will be a sequel to Sea Change. I wonder why. But, just because I'm not finding whispers of a sequel doesn't mean there wont be one. I'm still holding out hope. :)

Want o buy it? Go here.

What do you think? Does the story sound interesting? How about the cover?

BREATHLESS by Cole Gibson

I really like this cover. She's underwater, wearing blood red and it looks like she's struggling for air. Thus, breathless.

Here's the blurb on Amazon:

Obituary-reading emo girl Edith Small is broken - the end result of forcing herself inside a mold that doesn't fit. All she wants is to conform to her strict sergeant stepfather's rules long enough to make it to graduation day. But a boat accident threatens to unravel the life Edith has worked so hard to keep. After waking up in a hospital with a lacerated shoulder, Edith fakes amnesia. Because admitting she received her injuries from a blue-haired girl who breathes underwater is all the reason Sir needs to send Edith on the first bus to military school. Safe at home, Edith struggles to put the nightmare behind her. But the mysterious creatures that live in the ocean aren't about to let her forget. After meeting Bastin - a strange boy with silver hair and black eyes - on a secluded dock, Edith learns about the war raging undersea to end human existence. A war that Edith, unwittingly, has become the key to winning. In a world where death is an ever-present shadow and motives are as dark as the bottom of the ocean, Edith must decide if her life is worth risking for a love that can't survive past the shore.

Breathless was released about a week ago, so I'm a little late in getting the news out. Sorry. But, you want to see the latest stats on it? So far, on Good Reads, Breathless has a rating of 4.6 stars our of 5. Pretty impressive.

Want to check it out for yourself? Go here to buy it on Amazon. And make sure to leave a review when you're done reading it. I know I plan to. :)

What do you think? What do you like about the cover or premise or both?

Mermaid Novels

As you know, I like mermaids. And like is an understatement.

When I heard mermaid novels would be the next big thing in the YA literary world, I was more than a little elated. Especially because I had finished a novel about mermaid-type creatures and was in the process of editing it. Fast forward to now, and I'm hearing that the supposed next big thing was actually more of a burst and then a fizzle. Meaning publishing houses bought mermaid novels and are releasing them this year and then that's it. They don't want anymore. Now, this doesn't mean I'm giving up hope, because like I said, my characters are mermaid-type. They aren't even called mermaids in the book (or sirens) and the word "mermaid" to them is offensive.

But I still LOVE stories about mermaids. So, I'm hoping this mermaid book thing doesn't fizzle out and end completely with the few releases this year. In an effort to spread the word on such novels, I plan on blogging about the upcoming books right before their release dates. And seeing as I have yet to receive an ARC for one of these lovelies, I wont be adding a review to these release blogs. Of course, you know me and as soon as I get my hands on these books there will definitely be reviews. :)

Sound good?

Okay, so when you think of mermaids, what comes to mind?

It's funny because as I'm writing this post, my daughter is sitting beside me watching H20. Yeah, it's in her blood.    

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper Book Review

For Christmas I received a particular book that happened to be at the top of my "I Want" list. See, there's plenty of great looking mermaid books coming out (see list), but at Christmas time, Tangled Tides sat at the top as the book I had to have.

Did I wait this long to read it? Heck no! I plunged right into that mass of goodness the moment I tore the snowman paper from its binding. But...for some reason, I DID wait this long to review it. Well, at least on my blog. So lets get to it shall we?

From Amazon:
Yara Jones doesn't believe in sea monsters-until she becomes one. When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take  her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Tregan, the story-eyed merman who tuned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people-until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process-or she might open the gateway to a love that's deeper than the oceans.

My thoughts:
This story is fantastic and very imaginative to say the least. It goes beyond happy, glittery mermaids swimming around, or girls shocked to have fins and wondering how they'll change that fact. No, there is a ton of story here about mermaids, sirens, selkies, etc. and I love the author's mythology of these creatures. Her world building is beautiful as well. I had a hard time putting this book down because the story just doesn't stop. Action, drama...they just keep coming at you!

I wouldn't say this is completely young adult though. As I read it, I thought maybe this was more for an adult or new adult audience. And on a nit-picky side note, there were a few things that could have been taken out for a tighter story and more fluid flow.

All-in-all though, I gave this book high scores and am glad I own it. I was curious what others thought, so before I sat down to write this review, I checked out the reviews. On Goodreads, Tangled Tides received an average of 4.28 stars out of 5 by 225 ratings and 84 reviews. Yeah. So then I went to Amazon, and you know what? Basically the same thing. It had an average of 5 stars from 29 customer reviews. The numbers don't lie.

Check It Out:
If you want to buy your own copy, go here. And if you want to check out Amanda's blog go here. And if you're a serious mermaid nut like myself, scan your eyes over to the right side of this blog and look for the mermaid label where you will find more posts about mermaids. :) And if YOU'RE REALLY into mermaids...check out my writing tab and read what my mermaid-type book is all about. :)

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It's our chance to scream to the world how excited we are to get our hands on an upcoming book.

Now, this book I'm about to show you is one that I am literally jumping up and down for. I have had to stop myself on numerous occasions from emailing the author and gushing over how much I love her for writing this book. And I haven't even read it yet! It just sounds SO GOOD! Check it out:

It's expected to hit the shelves June 12, 2012

Good Reads Summery:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

RIPPLE by Mandy Hubbard

A few months ago, I was searching the internet for new and soon-to-be-released YA books when I stumbled upon Ripple by Mandy Hubbard. It was one of the soon-to-be-released and once I read the story description, I started counting down the days till I could hold it in my hot little hands. 

Then that glorious day came and as I studied the front cover, I noticed that there were scales on the back of the main character's calves! No Tail? Immediately I knew this mermaid book would not be like the others. So, imagine my delight when I opened the book and on the very first page she explains her first love and then that he was also her first victim! 

HOOKED!

Here's the description from Amazon:

Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without? 

I naturally gravitate toward mermaid novels, and this one hooked me from page one because it's a different take on the whole mermaid tale. One in which mermaids are not sweet, innocent maidens. I liked how Mandy Hubbard broke some of the normal assumptions of mermaids such as giving her mermaid legs, and other twists you'll have to read the book to learn about. 

If you like paranormal, urban fantasy or just mermaid stories, you should check this book out. Lets just say I never found myself wanting to put the book down. And the end seems to wrap everything up beautifully, but from the author's website, it looks like she's doing another, making this a two part series. So I'm interested to see where she takes the second book.

Plus, the author, Mandy Hubbard is from the Pacific Northwest which is my neck of the woods (literally, lots of fir trees). And the fact that she sets the story in Oregon just puts the cherry on top for me. :)

Have you heard of this book or read it? What did you think?