BOOK REVIEW: MERMINIA by Emm Cole

I made a point in my post, I am a Word Farmer, to support my fellow authors. I’m staying true to that.

But with a disclaimer: I will not review another indie author unless I enjoy their book. To take the time to slam a fellow writer is just plain ugly. So, if the book is indie, and I review it here, it means my socks were successfully knocked off my body when I read it.

Let it be known, that despite appearances, I do not seek out mermaid fiction. I dig mermaids, but not to the extent of a super-mer-fan. That’s not me. I was skeptical before I read MERMINIA. Would I like it? Would I want to return to my GAME OF THRONES reading marathon to escape it? The answer was a distinct, NO. I stuck with it because I was entertained by the world building, committed to the characters, and intrigued by the flow of the story.
Ms. Cole crafts a world in which several species of mermaids coexist beneath the sea.

The book begins with an overview of the story within her story—a myth that explains the creation and subsequent division of land-dwellers/sea-dwellers through the creation of a ring. At first, I thought: a little too Tolkein—ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL! But no, it leaves the notion of Middle Earth behind in a hurry.

Operating on a territorial clan-system, the mers in her story are physically different in their appearance, behavior, abilities, and beliefs. As in most stories that have a rudimentary feudal system at its core, there is always one bastard who wants to wield power and dominate those around him/her.
Enter Merconius, a Litiant mer and the ultimate crappy father who seeks world domination. 

Guess what he’s searching for? Yes! One ring to… BUT before the story is over in fifteen pages, his young son, Gabriel has a soul and a conscious and throws a sea-monkey (I couldn’t resist!) wrench into Merconius’ plans. I'm not spoiling a thing...you'll see the mechanics of the "how" yourself.
Meanwhile, years later, the quest for pan-oceanic domination continues. Merconious is still hell-bent on using his army to find the ring. This is bad news for the peaceful, but not sissy, Merminians who’s turf needs to be scoured for said ring.

This is where we find our main character, Selinne. 

She’s a Merminian and she has an independent spirit similar to Brave’s Merida. In other word’s, she’s of important birth, but she’s female and therefore expected to behave a certain feminine way which she rebukes. This causes all sorts of problems including her subsequent capture by Litiant soldiers. The novel takes off from there. 
Expect underwater dragons, psychic bitchy mermaids, a love triangle, awesome battle scenes, another creepy mer-species, and a cliff-hanger ending that has me waiting to read more.
Emm has a wonderful way of describing her world, allowing the reader to slip beneath the waves effortlessly and enjoy the nautical scenery. The creatures are unique, frightening, and interesting. The book did indeed pique this reader’s interest and successfully prevented me from renewing my Dysfuntional relationship with George R.R. Martin.
That’s hard to do…I love that big man.
You can get your own copy of Emm Cole’s MERMINIA on Amazon.com and be sure to stop by her author blog, EmmCole.com . You can also find her on Twitter, @byEmmCole