Of Poseidon

The Syrena Legacy #1

by Anna Banks

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.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Mermaids, Paranormal, Mythology, Paranormal Romance

324 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

New York Times Bestselling author of The Syrena Legacy series.

Grew up in a town called Niceville. No, seriously. And yes, everyone from Niceville is generally nice.

Let's see, things about me....My writer's cat is a mini wiener dog named Puckdoo. I can't walk in high heels, but I'm amazing at standing still in them. I'm the only person in Florida without a tan. I stole a car when I was 12 years old and drove across three state lines with it. Yeah. That's about it.

My books:
Of Poseidon
Of Triton
Of Neptune

Joyride

How To Lose A Bachelor

Degrees of Wrong (Pen name Anna Scarlett)

Nemesis (Coming soon!)

Reviews

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's official. Mermaids are the new "angels" of the Paranormal Romance genre. The is the second mermaid book I've read and I'm less than impressed with these sea creatures. Incidentally, Of Poseidon happens to be worse for me than Lies Beneath .

Of Poseidon tells the story of Emma, a girl who possesses a few Syrena (mermaid) traits, and Galen, a Syrena prince, who attempts to unravel the secrets of Emma. It's discovered that she has the Gift of Poseidon (think Dr. Dolittle at the aquarium) and that she may be the key to pass on the Gift to future generations. The problem arises that Emma can't change into her Syrena form causing Galen to spend more time with her training her. You know what happens next: they fall deeply in love.

I was really looking forward to starting this book for two reasons: 1) The cover is stunning and 2) The blurb mentioned it was a mermaid tale told by both Emma and Galen's PoV. I usually like books that feature duel point of views, but in this case I didn't because it switched back and forth from 1st person (Emma) to 3rd person (Galen).  That stylistic choice felt choppy to me. But despite that, I did find the dialogue humorous at times.

"Maybe you can talk to donkeys, too," Dr. Milligan smiles. Emma nods. "I can. Sometimes Galen can be a jackass."

And that's about all I liked about this book. (See, I'm not that heartless!) Unfortunately, the bad REALLY outweighed any good this novel had and it all started with Chloe, Emma's best friend. Now the beginning of the novel opens up with Emma and Chloe in Florida on vacation before school starts and I was surprised to see that Chloe was black. I had a huge smile on my face and I thought, "Wow! Diversity!" That was until Chloe was described as having a weave and fake nails... and she dies in the 3rd chapter. D: The smile slid of my face and my happy cat died. I have a HUGE issue with how African Americans are portrayed in YA novels, if we even make it into a YA novel in the first place. This is the same issue I had with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, where they minority character was so heavily stereotyped I wanted him to die a slow painful death. Same with Chloe, whose only purpose was to create a sad and lonely heroine. Are there black girls who have weaves and wear fake nails? Sure. But that is the easiest cop out when it comes to creating a black female character. I half expected her to bust out and start "doin' the Dougie" on the beach.


I still have no idea how to do that dance.

Chloe wasn't the only character I had issue with. I also really disliked Galen. He's your typical YA male love interest. He's so good looking it hurts to glance at him, females tripping over their panties to give him their numbers, and if he smiles at you: instant orgasm. He was also a controlling douche bag slinging Emma around like she was a Raggedy Anne doll. He always tries to tell Emma what to do and where to go, giving her no choice. There is even a point where he tells her she is going with him to Florida and he already arranged everything including getting permission from her mother. He stalks her and threatens another guy she dates. And I was okay with giving this book 2 stars until he started thinking thoughts like these:

"He scours his memory for a sweet-natured Syrena who would take care of him, who would do whatever he asked, who would never argue with him."

But I really can't expect much for him given how poorly females are treated in this book. I'm not sure what the obsession is with women's uteruses these days. Please don't get me started on the US, but this is YA fiction. Can't I escape the madness in my fiction? No, apparently not. The female mermaids have almost no choice who they want to marry. When a male Syrena turns 18 he searches for a female "whose company he will enjoy and who will be suitable for producing offspring." Great. Just great. So, female Syrena are only worthy if they can produce offspring. Here that girls? Your worth is dependent on a working uterus! Otherwise you are unsuitable!

Galen's own sister, Rayna, spends half of the book angy because she was married off to a Syrena without her knowledge. Yes, that's right. She wasn't even present at the ceremony! Oh, but don't worry she had the option to break off the marriage. Unfortunately for her, the King would probably deny her, so no real rights at all! But what really irked me was when she saw him kiss another girl, she instantly decides she does love him and they go off to an island to mate. -_-

Emma is no exception to this "rule" either. Since she is so speshul and has the Gift of Poseidon, she is destined to marry Galen's brother and produce offspring. Galen conveniently keeps this from her the entire book because she really has no say in the matter. Women's rights over their marital status? Their bodies? Their children? Their futures? What's that?



Along with the issue of women, the book has a ton of other problems. For example, somehow Emma can talk underwater while she is holding her breath. That makes no sense. She has to hold her breath. How is it possible that she is talking?  Emma's mother was also a strange one. She is crazy overbearing and pesters Emma into admitting Emma and Galen are dating. But here is the thing: they weren't. She's very, very strict, but just allows Emma to go anywhere with Galen. That didn't match up for me. I would tell you why it makes zero sense, but it would spoil the entire book. Speaking of which, the plot twists are extremely predictable. I knew how the book would end in the second chapter. There's no anticipation, no mystery. Just incredibly slow characters. That is pathetic.

I was really looking forward to this book and was excited to get approved for the galley, but another mermaid tale bites the dust.

1 star for an interesting premise.
.5 star for the lulz it afforded me.

More reviews and fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t read many books that I would rate 1 star these days. I seem to have mas­tered my pref­er­ences and hit a stride of excel­lent books – or at least mostly read­able books.

Admit­tedly I only made it fifty-six pages into this book before I threw my hands up in dis­gust and tossed a pil­low at the wall – so I sug­gest you take that into account when decid­ing whether to buy this book.

Why did I stop reading?
First rea­son:

The death of a token character



We didn’t know her long enough, but I’m pretty sure she could play base.

Right off a POC char­ac­ter is killed and whilst that would be annoy­ing in its own right, since killing off POC char­ac­ters is a frus­trat­ing cliche in books, TV shows and films, this was even more annoy­ing. Firstly because her descrip­tion was extremely stereo­typ­i­cal – to the point that she was less of a char­ac­ter and more of a car­i­ca­ture. Per­haps even worse and more degrad­ing is that there was no real lament to her death. It was used as a story pro­gres­sion so that the male pro­tag­o­nist could wax lyri­cal about how beau­ti­ful and brave the female pro­tag­o­nist for try­ing to save the dying POC char­ac­ter. I kid you not. A girl is dying in a ter­ri­fy­ing, vio­lent, hor­ri­fy­ing way and this is what he’s thinking:

“It’s just that… she doesn’t look as though she needs help. Her pale face is con­torted with anger. Not fear. Not dis­tress. Just fury. Her white hair floats like an aura, jerk­ing in delayed reac­tion with each of her capa­ble movements.”



Like I said – a girl just died and he’s hav­ing a hard on for Emma. And even worse, we’re sup­posed to be hav­ing a hard on for how awe­some Emma is. The text is all about Emma.

In fact, Chloe’s death seems to be noth­ing but an agent for mak­ing us sym­pa­thetic for Emma. It felt cheap and dirty. Sure, tak­ing on a bull­shark is a seri­ously awe­some thing to do. Almost as awe­some as that time I wres­tled a croc­o­dile. But let’s not get off track here. When sit­ting down and plan­ning how to make a main char­ac­ter rock super hard, I could think of a hun­dred ways that didn’t involve cre­at­ing a token char­ac­ter, imme­di­ately killing her off and then using that death to wank about how awe­some the pro­tag­o­nist is.

I mean, first of all… gross from an imagery point of view. Sec­ond of all, holy flip­ping duck twat, Bat­man, way to be offensive!


Sec­ond reason:

The sex­ism.



There’s noth­ing wrong with cre­at­ing a sex­ist soci­ety. How­ever, there is some respon­si­bil­ity when doing so. That the writ­ing doesn’t actu­ally sup­port or roman­ti­cize or give tacit approval for the sex­ism is a good start. Of Posei­don fea­tures a heav­ily misog­y­nis­tic mer­maid soci­ety. And as such, the male char­ac­ters act like a bunch of misog­y­nis­tic dicks. Once again, com­pletely under­stand­able. But then it’s when every­one else just kind of goes along with that and doesn’t see a prob­lem that my eye started to twitch. And then when some pretty out­right pater­nal­is­tic bull­crap takes place, I started see­ing red. Like when a stalker mer­maid arrives for a female char­ac­ter, Rayna. They are mated against her will and her refusal and hatred of him is treated as a com­i­cal device in the story – just her being a fickle and child­ish girl – not actu­ally a woman rebelling against a sys­tem that doesn’t allow her to choose her mate or even requires her to be present for the cer­e­mony. She’s angry at him because they were child­hood friends and he’s always known that she never wanted to mate. He went behind her back, asked her Dad and orga­nized for them to be mated. She’s pissed at him. Nat­u­rally. Per­son­ally, I would have seduced him out onto an iso­lated locale and impaled him on a rock. Rayna’s anger and hatred toward him is just laughed off by every­one. Includ­ing her brother.

Excuse me? EXCUSE ME!? What the ever lov­ing fuck?! Oh, I see. Women in this world don’t know what they want until the smarter, bet­ter men come along and show them. Right. RIGHT.



Then there’s Gallen who is just sex­ist plain and sim­ple. He dis­misses his sis­ter, does not dis­cuss the infor­ma­tion he’s work­ing on with her – but will with her mate – another man. I am told that he takes over Emma’s life and treats her much like a bit of bag­gage in the name of tak­ing care of her. I didn’t see any pro­gres­sion toward a less sex­ist Galen hav­ing any kind of rev­e­la­tion that women weren’t all a bunch of objects to be ordered around like sheep.

You expect women to be unrea­son­able barn­yard ani­mals too busy mas­ti­cat­ing and going into heat to do any rea­son­able and log­i­cal thought, fine. But think like that and try to be a roman­tic inter­est in a YA novel I’m read­ing? No way. Sorry, Galen. You are the weak­est link. Goodbye.


Third rea­son:

The writ­ing.



I truly dis­liked the writ­ing. Not only was it incred­i­bly telling and flat but the story also jumped awk­wardly between the first per­son nar­ra­tive for Emma and the third per­son nar­ra­tive for Gallen. It did not feel pol­ished or fin­ished at all.

“Stop!” she yells.

Galen stops. But Emma’s not talk­ing to him. She’s talk­ing to the shark.

And the shark stops.

Emma wraps both arms around Chloe and hugs her to her chest, lean­ing her friend away from the attack. “You can’t have her! Leave her alone! Leave us both alone!”

The shark turns, saun­ters away as if sulking.

SHARKS CAN SAUNTER?! AND SULK!?

I know what she’s doing here and that’s being abrupt and edgy with a tense moment. But I just trip over those sen­tences every time I read them. And a lot of this book is like this. Part of me wants to take a red pen to it and just clean it up a bit. It’s not like Banks is nec­es­sar­ily a bad writer – but that her writ­ing isn’t smooth. There’s no poetry or rhythm to it. Just these jar­ring, awk­ward sen­tences that hurt my brain.

Fourth rea­son:

The char­ac­ter­i­za­tion



“Hi! My name is River Swan Desmonda Sparkle-Eyes!”

Emma was, in my opin­ion, a Mary Sue – and that is a term I don’t use often. Basi­cally, I felt she was an author insert. Rare com­pelling eyes, one of a kind in her species, ultra spe­cial, father AND friend died to cre­ate sym­pa­thy. Even Gallen, when not with Emma, only thinks about Emma. He can sense her on land when that’s sup­posed to be impos­si­ble. It’s always the same with Mary Sues. Impos­si­bil­ity sur­rounds them and they’re just so fuck­ing SPESHAL while being the most bor­ing, repet­i­tive, inof­fen­sive turds around. The prob­lem with Mary Sues is that, if you’ve read one you’ve read them all and the only thing that separates them is the degree to exactly HOW speshul and ewnique they are. And the more Mary Suish they are, the more the other char­ac­ters spend every fuck­ing moment talk­ing and think­ing about Mary Sue – which as far as I could see, was exactly what hap­pened in this book. The only char­ac­ter flaw the author has given her is that she’s clumsy. Clumsy is not a char­ac­ter flaw. I’m sorry, but it’s not. It’s a lazy way of try­ing to make a young, beau­ti­ful female char­ac­ter imme­di­ately adorable and relat­able to an audi­ence and writ­ers do it all the time. Stop. Just stop it, okay?

Even if the story telling explains the clum­si­ness (she’s not meant to be on land – she’s meant to be in the water) it still makes for a weaker char­ac­ter. Because if you can’t bare to give your MC a more intense flaw than ‘clumsy’ then that becomes ALL you can say about her. “What’s Emma like?” “Oh, she’s just this really clumsy, inse­cure teenage girl.” Clumsy and inse­cure? No! Never. That only mar­gin­ally ties her to like 95% of the YA MC population!



Basi­cally, I can deal with bad writ­ing – to a degree. And bad char­ac­ter­i­za­tion – to a degree. And sex­ism – to a degree. But throw them all in with the death of a token char­ac­ter and smoosh it into a ter­ri­ble mess? Then I can’t deal. Then I throw my hands up in dis­gust, delete the book off my ereader and try to scrub my bloody brain free.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS SO GREAT! HOLY MOLY, BATMAN!

I'm going to keep my review short, because I WILL be doing a video review of this series in my wrap up for #MermaidMay, but here are some of the reasons this book was awesome:

1) A light-hearted sunshine good time: this book didn't try to become something deeper than it is, it's a jolly good time! There ARE some darker moments, and they perfectly added intensity to the plot, but it never got bogged down - it remained a good time!

2) The mythology: It's fascinating! Sometimes mythologies can be too complex, too boring, and can drag a book down.. it brought this book up! I was genuinely interested to learn all about it!

3) The characters: We have such a fun cast here! I really enjoyed all of the characters and grew to love them all in a different way.

I really super duper recommend that you pick this up!

[Nafiza · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is going to be an incredibly difficult review to write for a multitude of reasons but especially because I hate giving a not so positive review to a debut author. However, I cannot, in good conscience, let these things pass me by so if you are reading this, keep in mind that the following are my opinions and ones you may not necessarily agree with but nevertheless, they are opinions I have a right to express.

Of Poseidon promises a lighthearted story dabbling in the mythology of mermaids and some faint Greek myths that, superficially, has all the elements of an entertaining YA novel. The dialogue exchange is rapid and there is a lot of wit and humour in the construction of the novel that is, ultimately, very readable.

However, there are some troublesome issues in this novel that, try as I might, I cannot overlook. Emma's best friend, Chloe, is black and she happens to be eaten by a shark. She's also a flirt and sabotages Emma's potential happiness before she was eaten by a shark. I don't see the purpose of the former as it has no consequence in the narrative and since I was left to draw my own conclusions on Chloe's actions, I drew them. However, Chloe being black by itself would not have mattered as much to me had it not been for the fact that Banks keeps on reiterating Emma's porcelain colour. Not once, not twice but many, many times. And I haven't been reading texts closely for the past few years without learning something about reading, ya know? Why the emphasis on colour? Why is Chloe black? If you think I'm being too sensitive to the issue, please. You should be aware that any time a non-African American writer writes an African American character, she or he has to be supremely aware that they are writing from a position of privilege and that yes, colonization, neo-colonization, years and years of history of slavery, everything is right there, observing their seemingly innocuous characters. The reiteration of colour may not have been intentional and in fact, I don't think it was but honestly? The emphasis of the porcelain skin tone on the main character who gets the happily ever after (I'm assuming) when juxtaposed with the dead black best friend speaks a lot. To me, anyway.

Now that I have spoken at length about the issue of colour, let me talk about how Of Poseidon does what Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick does: that is, both novels bring up murky issues in contemporary courtship particularly where the actions of the male love interest is concerned. Galen's sister has no say in who she wants to marry. In fact, she is quite adamant about the fact that she doesn't want to marry anyone. Does anyone listen to her? No. In fact, she is "married" against her will and WITHOUT her knowledge to a guy who insists that "no" means "yes." Um. As another reviewer (Katya, read her review, it's kinda awesome) stated, Toraf's actions are justified by the assertion that Rayna is just playing hard to get. Am I complaining too much? Okay, fine, you can think that.

Let's move on to Galen. There are several instances in the story that I found the love interest to be a supreme douchebag. He wasn't redeemed in any satisfactory manner and in fact, by the end of the novel, I was questioning Emma's sanity. I used to read a lot of romance novels. Harlequin or rather the Australian version: Mills and Boons. In those books, there was this trope of the overpowering and supermasculine oil tycoons who were possessive, rich and took care of the hapless heroines who just melted to putty in the face of their physical looks and domineering manner. I believe I've just described the actual romance in this novel. Apart from the oil tycoon part. Emma's opinions and outrage "amuses" Galen suggesting that her being offended or angry with Galen is not so much concerning as entertaining. She stomps her foot so I guess I can't blame him for being amused. But the point is, I had the overwhelming feeling that Emma was treated more like a child to be mollified rather than an adult to be taken seriously and you guys, serious ire at these instances. Not that Emma was such a wonderful character. Once and again, she goes on an internal monologue, listing the problems with her actions and with Galen's actions - for instance, Galen shows up on a date Emma is with a perfectly nice boy and makes "serial killer eyes," I'm not even lying, that is the exact term used and threatens to bodily harm the guy amongst other things if he doesn't realize that Emma belongs to him. And Emma well realizes the stupidity of her actions even as she is going along with Galen but, again as the other reviewer (Katya) said, all it takes is for Galen to confess his love before she forgets everything she had been objecting to.

Excuse me while the feminist in me throws up.

I wanted to like this novel. A lot. But I didn't. Though this novel may, superficially, hit the right spot, reading it closely and paying attention to the subtext brings up uncomfortable questions. Do I recommend this to you? I can't say. As I said, the novel is readable but the lack of the plot, the characterizations and the other issues make me unable to tell you either way. You may not be offended by the same things I am. So. Make up your own mind.

[shady boots · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review is also available over at my blog.

______________________

I made it about 130-something pages before I decided that I could not stand to suffer through this book anymore.

What bothered me right off the bat was the writing style. It alternates between Emma's and Galen's POVs, but get this: Emma's chapters are first person, while Galen's are third. I mean... WHY? Just, WHY? Why do there have to be both styles? Why can't Galen's chapters be first person or Emma's be third? And it's not like Galen's chapters had anyone else's POVs but his. It frustrated me to no end.

And then of course the token black best friend (who even has a weave) dies about three chapters later. Funny thing is, in the first chapter Emma was talking about Chloe's funeral. Jokingly, of course, because Chloe at the time was "embarrassing" Emma in front of the oh-so-hot Galen. What a coincidence that Chloe actually does die a few chapters later.

Emma is pathetic. She's a serial-blusher (seriously, in 100 pages she managed to blush about 352 billion times) and the epitome of a Mary Sue. She can never stand up for herself, always needing Galen to save her and give her "tingles".



Oh God, I haven't even started yet. There's so much fail in this book, it's overwhelming.

The mermaids are supposed to eat fish. Apparently if they don't, they're not mermaids. Or, pardon me, Syrena, as this book calls them. Can you say Cannibalism? What kind of logic is that?

The characters were all so cartoonish, they never felt like real people. Rayna's this bitter feminist, Rachel's this happy-go-lucky aunt or whatever who calls people "babe" and "sweetie" and "darling" and all that crap, and Toraf is just this smirks-a-lot funnyman. They were just so unrealistic that it was hard to take this book seriously.

Galen's your usual arrogant, controlling bastard. He even told Emma to "obey" him because he's Royal. And she didn't even seem to mind. The insta-love was painful. They feel tingles every time they're near, electric currents when they touch─

OH GOD MAKE IT STOP.

Ugh, I can't. I'm so mad again now. This book isn't the hilarious kind of bad, it's the kind of horrible that just makes you wanna pull all your fucking hair out. This is probably the biggest disappointment of the year for me, cause I was so looking forward to this the first time I saw the cover.

Those fails I just mentioned are only half the ones in the book. Literally. Who knows what else fails lie beyond the 130-something pages that I read?

I don't give a crap. I'm not staying around to see, thank you very much.

[Amelia, free market Puritan]

Sounds good, but I kind of wish the folks who write the synopsis for these books wouldn't broadcast the fact that there's going to be one of those "inexplicably attracted to" romances, where people are drawn to each other...without knowing why....because it makes me kind of hesitant to pick this up. I'm getting a wee bit tired of paranormal romances where girls are attracted to guys for no reason other than the fact that they're "hot."

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a beautiful cover like this it's hard to resist not checking out what Of Poseidon is all about. I haven't had the best of luck with mermaid books in the past, though I haven't read very many of them. Of Poseidon is, so far, one of the better ones I've had the experience of reading. It has an interesting premise with a beautiful underwater world, but I did have a few quirks with it that stopped me from truly loving it.

Almost immediately, I felt like something was off with the writing. It has a great flow with entertaining dialogue and a good amount of humor, so what was the problem? Finally I realized that when we switched from one POV to the other, the grammatical person changed as well. We get Emma's chapters in first person, and Galen's in third. With fairly short chapters, the need to readjust every few pages made me feel a bit detached and disoriented. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the book per se, it was rather a feeling that something was amiss.

For a book with such a strong character orientation, I was disappointed that almost every one of them didn't sit well with me. We've got Emma; I could have easily liked her, she's feisty and funny, but besides letting herself get treated like a child by Galen, her personality is very inconsistent. For example, she thinks herself the sweetest girl in her class, then she throws Galen's sister through a window with murderous intentions. It was hard for me to get a read on her. As for her bizarre relationship with Galen: When she's not complaining about him using her, she's secretly wishing he would kiss her. I mean, Galen is great at first sight. He's gorgeous with a knack for being charming. But in truth he's controlling and lacks respect for her. He mentions wanting a girl who will do whatever he asks and never argue with him. Anyone? Plus his "serial killer eyes"… His ordering her around, never taking Emma seriously - it got on my nerves. To spite his demands, Emma reacts by doing the opposite of what he wants. In my opinion, this all came off as very juvenile. I simply couldn't root for them, nor did I feel the thrill I expected from young love. However, they do have a few moments in the book that are amusing and cute. I also especially enjoyed the scenes where Toraf was involved. He's the one character that I found sweet with a genuine personality.

The mermaid lore in the story is very thorough with impressive details. I loved learning about the Syrena: Poseidon and Triton houses, their abilities, their past, their culture. Though I'm not sure where I stand on specifics such as the fact that all they eat is seafood, or how it's possible that they have been in contact with humans but stay ignorant on basic human knowledge - and then they know how to drive a car? These are pretty minor, though, and I was able to let it pass. No matter, there's definite originality with a fun take on a well known mythology. We even go into some biology details that I was fascinated by. It's obviously well thought out. As far as the plot goes, we don't have a great deal of development. The book has the feel of a big introduction. We learn about the political situations, and we're left with an interesting twist, but it's overall a fairly slow paced story with no substantial breakthroughs.

I can't fail to mention the Underwater scenes. Aquatic life can be very beautiful; filled with sea creatures, mysteries, and treasures - the parts where they visit the underwater world are easily my favorites. Galen takes Emma to one particular spot by which I was simply mesmerized. It's all magnificently picturesque.

To be honest, even with all the problems I had with this novel, in this end I still found myself to have quite enjoyed it. The promising plot line and elaborate lore kept my attention throughout. I'm certainly interested in reading the sequel which I think may be more to my liking with, I assume, a more settled relationship and further plot advancements.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Wendy Higgins]

SO GOOD. Galen....mmmmmmm.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review posted at Bewitched Bookworms


Epic Awesomeness!!!!
You know one of the best things about writing reviews and featuring books on your blog is when you have a book that literally blew you away! Of Poseidon is such a book and beware of my fangirly excitement which will follow in the next paragraphs.

Like with many other books Of Poseidon drew me initially in because of this gorgeous cover! I simply adore this girl in the water, I loooove the white and the green, it’s incredible! I can’t wait to have this piece of awesomeness on my shelf as a hardcover! But, this book has not just a gorgeous cover, Oh no! This book was a mind-blowing wonderment!

*Be Warned: Long Review full of fangirlyness!*

Starting with a BANG!
I believe you know it yourself. Some books start slow and some books start with a BANG! The opening scene in Of Poseidon drew me in immediately and I was right into this story and there was no way to put it down after this. Emma stumbles into Galen in the first minutes of the book and this scene set the tone of the whole book! It was the perfect opening! But, apart from this cute interaction in the beginning, there is even more happening in the first chapter that made me gasp. We get everything in the first pages, laughter, hotness (=Galen), cuteness(=Emma) and heartbreaking tears! Yes, it’s not just light and fun. But, this doesn’t matter! Seriously, what is better than a book that triggers the full range of emotion? Nothing!

Emma! Belongs to the hall-of-fame of awesomeness heroines!
Emma was incredibly cute but at the same time I loved loved loved her snarky retorts. She was awesome and I have such a big girl crush on her. I want to be her friend!!! In Of Poseidon, Emma has to discover that there is something else in the world, something that was hidden until now and that fairy tales with mermaids (please Galen, excuse this word!) are true! Moreover, she even seems to be part of this! Emma handles this all fantastically with spark and snark! Can I stress again how much I love Emma?

Galen – *dies* … uhmm *fans self*
Who would think a mermaid could be sex-on-fishtails? I didn’t, but then I met Galen! Prince of the Syrena (because we do not use the word mermaids from this moment forward, Galen would not be happy…) Galen is hotness personified. He’s an ambassador for his kind and keeps track on what the humans are up to, he takes care that the Syrena are not discovered. But, he has not much love for humankind which why it’s even more confusing when he feels so fascinated and captivated by Emma. This initial spark he felt when he meet Emma made him follow her to her school to figure out the mystery behind Emma.

I adore and love Galen insanely! He’s incredible hot (thank you for that) but since he’s a Prince he also is very bad-ass, dominant and possessive! Gosh, don’t we all love hot alpha males? Emma constantly annoys him because for once Emma does not treat him like the royal prince he is and she constantly talks back and does not take his crap! I loved loved loved their constant batter and their snarky and witty retorts! Those dialogues were one of the best aspects in Of Poseidon!

At the same time, Galen hasn’t truly lived among humans and some human rituals and behavior is foreign for him. It was incredibly funny when he was just confused by this ridiculous human behavior, which doesn’t fit this Prince all to well But this just added to the level of adoration I felt for Galen!

Emotionally invested?? Tears, Laughter, Heartbreak? Yep, all of this!
Oh yes, very much so! The plot in addition was mysterious enough to keep me on edge. The pace was perfect. I was just as eager to find out more about Emma than Emma and Galen themselves. But one of the best parts was the unfolding romance and the love! Gosh the Love was intense, hot and beautiful although it seemed doomed from the beginning! Be aware of serious heartbreak. I, myself had water in my eyes and also shed a few tears…

Bottom Line
Of Poseidon was epic and a pure wonderment! Anna Banks created a tale that was heart-melting, mysterious funny and just fanfreakingtastic! The characters were amazing with a heroine who was smart cute and snarky and Galen the boy who stole Emma’s heart but will also steal yours! Of Poseidon will get a place on my special-awesomeness shelf of epic tales and I hope it will get a place on yours!

[Mandy K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full Review

When I was younger, I wanted to be a dolphin. Once I realized that was unlikely, I settled for being a mermaid. I've been mildly obsessed ever since. Mermaids are my favorite mythical creature (right before dragons), and I devour every mermaid story, movie, or show I can get my hands on. This book was a bit ridiculous, unrealistic, and a bit too convenient at times, and I loved every second of it. I loved learning about the Syrena and their abilities, social structures, and history. Unlike our typical idea of mermaids, Syrena have smooth gray tails like a shark. And going on land is strictly prohibited by all but the select few with special permission. So when Galen, the human ambassador/ Triton Prince, hears of a Syrena living on land amongst the humans, he goes to investigate. Which is how he meets Emma, who has the unique violet eyes of a Syrena, but has white-blonde hair and pale skin instead of the tan skin and dark hair that all Syrena display.

The plot twist/cliffhanger at the end was incredibly predictable to me, from about 15% in I had already guessed what isn't revealed until the last sentence of the book. There were points where I groaned out loud because it was so obvious yet no one got it.

Almost all of the characters annoyed me at first but they started to grow on me. They all seemed to have this fiery temper, which apparently is a Syrena trait, and after awhile I started to find it entertaining. Especially when Emma develops an explosive temper as well. There's this scene where she literally throws herself and another through storm proof glass. It's like reality tv shows, way over dramatic, but you can't look away. Toraf was my favorite character in the book. He's just this big easy going goofball. He's the comedic relief, and without him the anger issues would have been overbearing.

If you're looking for a cute, if predictable, mermaid book, give Of Poseidon a shot.

[Nadhira Satria · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

So one day I was looking for some paranormal/urban fantasy read because mood lol. and i found this. I decided to go on amazon to read the first few pages and boi. The writing is so light and easy and kinda fun that i decided to buy the full ass physical copy and here I am.
I LOVED THIS. I ACTUALLY DID. IM SO SURPRISED????

✨What I liked ✨

1.Emma
My hate for YA MCs are legendary. and the fact that I actually liked Emma was a shocker.

2.Galen
tbh I felt like there's a random personality switch for him on the first half of the book and the second half. The first half was quiet and cold and the second was fun and cute. he's a whole lil puppy. a cute little fish boy. little squishy fishy baby. i want one.

3.Toraf
my man. that's all.

4. tbh idk man i just loved this book. oh it's also pretty funny.

✨What I didn't like ✨

1."Ohmysweetgoodness!
who the fuck says that?

✨Overall
I already bought the rest of the series lmao bye

[Summer · Rating 1 out of 5]

***Update July 22, 2013***
Upon reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton for my summer reading assignment, this specific quote has come to my attention:

"Triton was the trumpeter of the sea. His trumpet was a great shell. He was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite." (38)

Really, Anna Banks? Really? You couldn't even get the basic facts down? (For those who haven't read this, she claimed that Triton and Poseidon are brothers. Why? That's beyond me.) Now I for sure won't be reading the next book.
_____________________

Congratulations, Of Poseidon! You have been honored with a rating of 1 star from me, an honor I don't give lightly!

Admittedly, this is how I view mermaids Syrena:


Even after I read this book, I still view them like that, since it’s not like we were given a good, detailed description of Syrena.

Like other shitty paranormals, strip this book of its (minimal) paranormal elements, and you get an angst-ridden teenage stereotypical romance that is painful to read about. Of Poseidon didn't even execute the paranormal aspects well, which is why it was so easy to notice that it was merely a sexist, angsty-romance book disguised as a fantasy about mermaids Syrena.

The characters in this book were flat and irritating. Sorry, Anna Banks, it takes a lot more than describing how utterly hot Galen is; he has to have a personality other than being a total jerk. He has to be fleshed out. Got that? The only things I know about him is that he loves answering questions with questions and loves Emma’s lips.

Even worse, we had to endure through his point of view. Most of the time he was just lusting over Emma’s lips, and let me tell you, it was complete torture.

Emma was okay at some times, but at others, she was plain stupid and actually listened to idiot Galen. At first, she was against Reyna being forced to marry Toraf, but then, she started helping him, claiming Reyna was playing hard-to-get. And you know, the author made it seem like it was bad that Reyna was not submitting to Toraf like she was supposed to be, and she wasn't doing what her job was as a women and having kids. *eye roll* I probably wasn't meant to, but I was actually rooting for Reyna, until she, sadly, eventually ended up with Toraf. Sexist, much?

This is the kind of thing that makes me want to pull my hair out. According to this book, it’s a bad thing that Reyna wanted to choose her husband by herself, not forced to marry a man she didn't want. Grr!

The secondary characters were useless and I have no idea why they were even there.

Like I brought up earlier, the author didn't do a very good job of introducing us to the Syrena, except that they are one sexist species. They spent barely any time underwater, and we know very minimal about the world they live in.

I wish there was some sort of conflict between the descendants of Triton and Poseidon. They kept referring to some kind of ancient vendetta between the two, but they never actually had any fights. That would have made the story much better.

Who’s the antagonist? I've no clue. There was no major conflict whatsoever. The revelation at the end was very anticlimactic and didn't make much sense. It kind of just came out of the blue without much foreshadowing. I wasn't surprised, I wasn't flabbergasted, I was indifferent. I didn't care at all.

In short, this was a pointless read. You know it’s a horrible book when you find yourself questioning why you bothered to read a book, which is what happened to me with Of Poseidon. There wasn't any conflict, the plot was basically non-existent, and the only reason one would want to read this is if they want to read about “hot” Syrena. Not if you actually want to read an intriguing story on the nature of Syrena, because that is obviously too much to ask.

[Sarah (saz101) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, flirty, and unashamedly fun, Of Poseidon is bringing back mermaids. Angst? Nope. These teenage supernaturals eat fish, not blood, and no-one here is sprouting hair and claws. Fins, though? Well that’s a different story...

The Story:
When Galen, a Syrena (read: merman) prince watches a human girl single-handedly fight off a shark, and win, he knows she’s not what she seems. Perhaps not human at all. After all, the Syrena themselves can pass as human—growing legs, breathing air, and walking on land. But this is news to Emma, who thinks she’s as human as you and I. As is why, the albeit gorgeous, Galen, suddenly turns up at her school and won’t leave her alone. As the two fight a growing attraction, they must work together to uncover the mystery of Emma’s heritage, because while Galen cannot have Emma for his own, her rather singular gifts may just be the key to saving his kingdom.

My Thoughts:
Though it may seem strange calling a book which opens with the bloody death of a girl 'light', it’s precisely what Of Poseidon is. Jumping from death-by-shark-mauling to fun and playful, Of Poseidon never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously, and it frees Banks up to tell precisely the right story: a fun, effervescent romp offering laughs and romance in generous, decadent serves.

Emma, Galen, and Of Poseidon's cast of friends and family are fun, quirky, and compulsively readable. Emma’s chatty, funny and slightly neurotic first-person is a delight, and there’s a certain amusing naivety to Galen’s third person. His unfamiliarity with the human world and occasional bewilderment at Emma offer countless comic opportunities, and despite Emma’s description of Galen’s classic ‘Type A’ personality, he is not without a sense of humour about himself, allowing for playful, teasing banter between the couple. The split point of views work to excellent effect, not only lending greater depth in the book’s two leads, but to the world, and its delightful array of supporting characters who, rather than simply being ‘supporting’ characters are fleshed out, and as charming and entertaining as its leads.

The mystery of Emma’s Syrena heritage—do not call them mermaids, folks, especially not the guys—plays out over the book, and is the plot’s driving force, but Of Poseidon is all about the romance. And it’s fun. The chemistry between Emma and Galen is electric, sexy and intense, and when they’re not sharing a sweet, heart stopping moment—we’re talking girl meets boy, boy takes girl on date... to the Titanic—they’re bickering, or needling each other with charming, hilarious intensity.

The Verdict:
In a world of vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night, Of Poseidon brings something new, fun and funny to the table. Sharing a sensibility far more in common with Disney’s Ariel and Eric than Rose and Dimitri, it proves different doesn’t mean less. There’s a playful quality to Banks’ storytelling, giving Of Poseidon a refreshingly light, fun tone, while never lacking in substance. Banks doesn't miss the opportunity to make pointed barbs at overfishing and and environmental negligence, but she never comes across as preachy. Flirty, teasing, and enormously entertaining, Of Poseidon brings exactly what it promises: good, beachy fun, romance, and delicious deep-sea mysteries. But be prepared: this book will leave you screaming for more.

Originally posted at saz101 »

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally posted here.

I really, really would like to find a mermaid book that I like a lot, but that search will be continuing. Of Poseidon is a book that most readers are probably going to love or be entirely annoyed by. Banks has a definite style, one that will either amuse and enchant you, or that will make you roll your eyes vigorously over and over again. For me, it was the latter.

Problem one is the host of YA tropes in the characters and their relationship to one another. Emma, a card-carrying member of the Bella Swan school of heroines, is exceedingly clumsy: "I'm betting Cinderella didn't feel this foolish, but then again, Cinderella wasn't as clumsy as an intoxicated walrus" (2). Note, too, Banks' sense of humor. This pretty much captures it perfectly. Emma meets Galen, Syrena prince, by tripping and smashing her face into his chest. We are treated to these inner thoughts:

"Tripping is bad enough. Tripping into someone is much worse. But if that someone has a body that could make sculpted statues jealous—and thinks you've broken your nose on one of his pecs—well, that's when tripping runs a distant second to humane euthanasia." (5)

This girl seriously needs to sort out her priorities. Also, she spends way too long thinking about the awkwardness of the situation. While she's thinking, she remains plastered against him, because obviously that's less weird. Everyone trips sometimes. He would laugh and move on if it were the real world. It's not though, so no one's phased by how long she presses her face against his chest on first acquaintance. Here's one more quote to explain my distaste for Emma: "If stupid were a disease, I'd have died of it by now" (119). This attitude is so unhealthy. I encourage girls not to think of themselves this way, even as a joke.

Galen, of course, is drawn to her from first meeting, purportedly because his mermaid (sorry, Syrena) senses are tingling. Meant to be together, blah, blah, blah. They met while she was on vacation (during which time her best friend got eaten by a shark). She goes back to Jersey and he shows up in her school with an identical schedule. When she tries to avoid him after the first class let out, he grabbed her wrist and, when she tries to pull away, he grips harder (41). This is a primo sign of a controlling guy. I was not surprised to learn that he had 'serial-killer eyes' (290). Among his other charming qualities, he also bosses her around constantly and takes advantage of her memory loss to convince her to accompany him somewhere.

I would also like to point out that Emma completely forgets about Chloe's death and that she's supposed to be sad within a day of Galen's showing up at her school. Meanwhile, her mother hears that Emma tripped and hit her head, freaks out and accuses Emma of sleeping with Galen, her boyfriend. The two are not dating and she refuses to believe anything else. He was a transfer; it was his first damn day at that school. WHAT WHAT WHAT?

The other big problem I have is the inconsistency of what the Syrena know about humans. Galen is an ambassador to the humans, which basically means a spy. He is bewildered by: phone books, people having more than one name (first and last), lip gloss, and countries. At the same time, he is capable of using a phone (likely a fancy modern one) and driving a car (note: one with a manual transmission). He was also capable of passing all of the high school classes she was taking. Plausibility fail.

Of Poseidon had some seriously major flaws, as I've pointed out, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. I suspect many people will enjoy it more than I did.

[Grace A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read. I breezed through it, and enjoyed how seamless it was cruising from page to page.
Firery Emma McIntosh was relatively unaware of her hidden powers until an unfortunate accident claimed her best friend’s life, she dove into the ocean for longer than any human can to yank her friend’s lifeless body from the predator.
This move drew the attention of Galen an oceanic ambassador to the human realm. He made it his mission to confront and arrest Emma for knowingly exposing their race. What he thought was going to be a short mission morphed very quickly into something else. The fate of his entire race depends on his success, or is it?
It sounds juvenile that I am waiting for a happily ever after...going on to the next book to find out more.
4 stars!

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say I loved this series would be an understatement.

[Kassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.25*

Super cute and fun!
I loved the main characters, their relationship was addicting to read about and I loved how they interacted! The characters were also very funny and had very distinct personalities.
The side characters were also great and definitely added so much to the book.
I was a little confused about the world, but I think I figured everything out by the end. The plot is also pretty crazy with some plot twists thrown in there!
This book is just so enjoyable and I can't wait to read the next one!
This is also the PERFECT beach read :D

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5

As seen on: Bookosaur

I picked up Of Poseidon for one reason and one reason only: The Little Mermaid. I watched The Little Mermaid so much when I was little that every time I see a dinglehopper, err.. a fork, I'm tempted to comb my hair. Suffice it to say, when Of Poseidon made it onto my radar, I fell for the premise - hook, line and sinker. Of Poseidon is your average fish out of water story - literally. Galen, a Syrena prince, is sent to land in search of a girl who supposedly possesses the Gift of Poseidon, a gift that's extremely rare and allows her to communicate with fish. The sea is divided into two kingdoms: the House of Poseidon and the House of Triton, and the fish whisperer is the key to uniting these two kingdoms. Despite this kick-ass premise, however, Of Poseidon failed to deliver. It started out promising, but, like a fish out of water, it flopped around for a bit, making sad fishy faces, until, sooner rather than later, it came gill-to-gill with its maker.

So, what didn't work? I've read a lot of young adult novels, covering a lot of different genres and supernatural beings. Vampires? Obviously. Werewolves? You betcha. Angels? Regretfully Admittedly, yes. Fairies? Witches? Magicians? Check, check, triple check. The only supernatural protagonist I hadn't come across before is merfolk, or Syrena, as they are called in Of Poseidon. After reading Of Poseidon, I think I now realize why this is: An underwater story is hard to do, for a number of reasons:

1. Female Association: Call them what you like, but if they have a human upper body, a fin for a lower body, and live under the sea, they are merpeople, and referring to them as Syrena is not going to change that fact. Blame it on society, on Disney, or on whatever or whomever you like, but merpeople are typically associated with females. Despite the numerous references to Galen's defined muscles, the width of his shoulders, and the strength of his arms, all of his manly qualities instantly went out the window with the flick of his fin.

2. World-Building: For the underwater scenes, I expected to be blown away. About 70% of the planet is covered in ocean, and "more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored." I think I need to reiterate this fact: Ninety-five percent of the underwater world is unexplored. Do you know what that means? For an author, that's basically a free pass to create any world that they so desire. This is an author's chance to unleash their imagination. To go wild - and, more importantly, to get away with it. Who am I to argue with the world the author creates, when absolutely anything is possible? I was expecting my mind to be blown by the underwater world in Of Poseidon - I wanted fantastical landscapes and bizarre and unique creatures, but instead all I got was a boring cave and the Titanic.

3. Merman/mermaid lore opens up a whole smorgasbord of questions that I really don't want answered, let alone even want to think about. Like what, exactly, do they eat? In Of Poseidon, this question is answered, but I'm not sure if I particularly like the answer. Also, where do they go to the washroom? And how, technically speaking, do they perform this necessity? What do you call a group of mermaids? A pod? A school? A mermish club? Lastly, the most disturbing question of all, since the Syrena in Of Poseidon are able to change back and forth between their fish form and a human body, where does the male's "eel" and the female's "clam" go when in fish form?

But that's not all. The non-underwater-related stuff is lacking too, ranging from the language to relationships to faulty logic:

1. Language:

(1) If I never hear someone say "Ohmysweetgoodness" again, it will be too soon. In total, there's 324 pages in my ARC of Of Poseidon, and I counted 12 Ohmysweetgoodnesses throughout the book, which averages out to be exactly one Ohmysweetgoodness for every 27 pages. If this were a drinking game, and I had to take a shot every time Emma said "Ohmysweetgoodness", I'd have passed out before I got a third of the way through (eight of these instances happened in the first 100 pages). Throw in a few variations of "freaking" - yeah-freaking-right, unfreakingbelievable, fanfreakingtastic - and it's enough to drive someone mad. I can't tell you what these numbers mean statistically speaking, but it really puts a damper on a reader's enjoyment, linguistically speaking.

(2) Projectile vomit is mentioned, not once, not twice, but three times. There are three references to explosive vomit! My brain can't even fathom this right now. I can maybe handle one instance, possibly two, but I draw the line at the third. Here's a little sample from my copy: "...vomit explodes everywhere. The drain can't handle the volume" (p. 208 of ARC). Vomiting, especially of the explosive variety, is something that should be done behind closed doors, in private. It's not something that I should read about in the pages of my young adult novel. I can deal with the I-can't-be-with-you love story, the platonic love interest, the unreasonable logic that seems to plague teenagers, but I cannot, will not, deal with nasty bodily fluids, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with the story line.

2. Relationships: Believe it or not, there is not one healthy relationship in the entire novel. Galen and Emma's relationship is based on one big lie, and Emma is constantly playing games with Galen and Galen is constantly telling Emma what she can and cannot do. As for the secondary characters, it's bad enough that Rayna is wed to Toraf without her consent, but she wasn't even present at their mating ceremony. But the weirdest relationship of them all is between Emma and her mother. Emma's mother plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so well that even Robert Louis Stevenson would be impressed. One minute, she's the good cop, doting lovingly on her daughter, and within the next minute she's the bad cop, accusing Emma of sleeping with Galen and asking her if he beats her (ummm what? This lady is totally out to lunch).

3. This novel also suffers from convenience, faulty logic, and absentee parents. Let's pretend we're dating, because otherwise no one would understand why we are spending so much time together. Oh, also, let's make sure we kiss in front of our parents, otherwise they will seriously doubt our dating status and we wouldn't be able to hang out anymore. I don't know about you, but when I was a teenager, kissing my boyfriend in front of my parents pretty well had the opposite effect. It didn't warm the cockles of my mom's heart to see her little girl making out with her hormone-infested, think-with-the-other-head boyfriend. No, such an act pretty well guarantees three things: for the mother, a mental image of 16 and pregnant; for the offending daughter, a stern talking to and a no closing your bedroom door policy; and for the father, inspiration to clean the gun collection. When you're a teenager, the last thing you want is for your parents to catch you making out, which is why the gods created high school dances and house parties. But none of this even matters, anyway, because Emma's mom is conveniently never home.

I apologize for the long-winded rant, I didn't think that's where this review was headed when I started it, but I should have had an idea since I wrote six pages of notes while reading Of Poseidon and the majority of my bullet points end in these characters: !?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!? Despite my obvious qualms with this book, there were some aspects that I did enjoy; after all, I did rate it a 2.5. So, where did those two and a half stars come from, exactly?

Things I liked:

1. The humour: The humour in this novel is really what kept me reading until the end. The Syrena's descriptions of human activity is particularly notable.

2. The premise: It's really very unique and unlike anything I've read.

3. The insults: You can't go wrong with insults like slithering eel, minnow, and tadpole.

4. The setting: Emma is from the Jersey Shore and for the life of me I couldn't help but picture a bunch of mermaids fist pumping the shit out of Under the Sea.

Bottom line is this: With the influx of underwater stories, I'd recommend tossing this one back - there's plenty of other fish in the sea.

[Bonnie Shores · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for all three books—Of Poseidon, Of Triton and Of Neptune—because I read them in quick succession, because I didn't want to stop to write a review. 🤩



This is the "tale" of Emma, a high school senior, who learns that she is half Syrena (it's a mermaid/merman, but don't say that to their face) after meeting Galen, a gorgeous Syrena prince, who is allowed to visit land in order to study humans. Emma literally bumped into Galen on a beach in Florida where she and her best friend were vacationing before school started. Shortly after that, something horrible happens and Emma is distraught.

Fast forward to the first day of school back in New Jersey. Emma is sitting morosely in class when guess who walks in? If you said Galen, you'd be right! He realized upon meeting her over the summer, after seeing her lavender eyes and feeling "the pull", that she was Syrena, and he needed to investigate further.

Things don't go smoothly between them at first. Galen isn't human and he never seems to know the right thing to say or do. Plus, he's in all her classes (on purpose) and he comes off like a stalker. Things are different under the sea.



Needless to say, after several misunderstandings, they start hanging out, and Galen reveals her secret. Since she's only half Syrena, she can't form a tail, so, at first, she doesn't believe him. AND she's more than a little freaked out when she sees his.



But as she spends more and more time in the water, realizing that she can breathe and talk, she accepts what she is. Much of the first book is spent trying to discover who Emma's real parents are, since she figures it couldn't possibly be the only mom and dad she ever knew. We're also introduced to Galen's twin sister, Rayna, and her mate, Toraf (LOVE him 😍), as well as Rachel, the human woman whom Galen saved from drowning when he was a "fingerling". She used to work for The Mob and has an abundance of talents which she uses to assist Galen. This includes selling underwater treasures that Galen brings her, which makes him a ton of money. She plays his mom and does all the necessary human things for him, including purchasing his house and car, enrolling him in school, etc.

The second book picks up where the cliffhanger ending from the first book leaves off. Emma finds out who her mother is (her father had died when she was 15) and misunderstandings abound. When Galen and his older brother, Grom, the king, and the rest of the crew finally catch up with Emma and her mom, the truth of everything is revealed. But just when you anticipate a happy ending, things back in the underwater kingdom go awry. The future looks dim for the royals, as treacherous plots come to light, and Emma's half-breed existence is forcibly revealed.



The final book in the trilogy brings Emma and Galen to Neptune, a small town in Tennessee, where full-bloods and half-breeds coexist peacefully on land (next to lots of fresh water lakes and rivers), unbeknownst to their salt water brethren. The first person they meet is Reed, a friendly half-breed who has obvious eyes for Emma. After being invited (and going) to Reed's family's home for dinner, Galen is unhappy about being in Nepture. Later that evening, Galen and Emma have an argument, he leaves, and the adventure begins.

I really loved this series and highly recommend it to anyone who loves sweet and innocent YA romance. All the characters were well-written and the author gives you the chance to get to know each of them pretty well (relative to their importance in the story). This was my first mermaid book and I thought the author did a great job of making that world believable.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review also appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

This is what happens when I don’t heed the advice of my most trusted book buddies. A book like Of Poseidon comes along and many hours are wasted on its torturous and infuriating pages. The start was really promising, with Emma and her friend Chloe literally stumbling into a super attractive guy called Galen. Galen happens to be a royal Syrena (or merman) from the House of Triton, and he believes that Emma is a Syrena with her characteristic violet eyes and gift of Poseidon, where she can talk to sea creatures.

In preparation of this review, I have earmarked 16 pages throughout the book.

What I enjoyed about Of Poseidon



- The mermaid mythology. Mermaids seem to be the next big thing, and this one was my first. I quite enjoyed the details about Syrena, how they sift and find their next mate to ensure the continuity of their species. Having the Triton and the Poseidon as rival houses with different powers was interesting too (although I’m not quite sure how they are rivals but also perfect mates)

- The cute ocean references. The syrena have really cute terms of endearment scattered throughout the book, like angelfish, swearing by Triton’s trident, minnow, and the dreaded stonefish.

- Evocative oceanic scenes. Of Poseidon features some great underwater scenes of interacting with the aquatic creatures that are there and even diving deep below to the bowels of the ocean. I loved the part where they explored the Titanic and discovered Emma’s power with prolonged time under the ocean.

What I didn’t enjoy about Of Poseidon

Warning: spoilers and ranting ahead.



- Interchanging third and first person perspectives. This made the book really hard to get into, with Emma’s perspective in first person and Galen’s perspective in third person. The flow of the book was somewhat interrupted and sometimes when you are reading about one person, the plot jumps when it goes into the next person’s perspective.

- Emma’s constant temper tantrums. For a girl who is supposedly known to be sweet in class, she has a huge temper and throws unreasonable tantrums throughout the book. She throws Rayna, Galen’s sister through a glass door with murderous intentions, and after fighting she’s whimpering within seconds. Emma is quick to judge and go off at other people, especially Galen, and can’t even stick to her beliefs either. One second, she blows up about Rayna being forced into marriage, and the next second she’s helping the husband Toraf with making her jealous. Whhhattt?!

- Emma’s absolute denseness. Throughout the book, her sheer stupidity was evident. When Galen suggests that she might be adopted due to her Syrena traits, she believes him over her own mother, even when she produces photographic evidence of her birth with both parents present, and her birth certificate. WHY? Not to mention this:

You’d think they’d notice my heart is on the opposite side of my chest. I mean are you sure you’re reading this right? You’re not a human doctor, you’re basically a veterinarian right? You could be wrong.

Because according to Emma, vets don’t know which side a humans’ heart is.

- Galen’s possessiveness. Besides being obsessed with her red lips and Syrena heritage, the only reason Galen is sticking around is to find out whether she really is Of Poseidon and I’m just saving her for my brother. When Emma breaks up with him, he stalks her, blows up her phone, beats up the guy she’s with and makes serial-killer eyes. Not to mention his sexist philosophy:

He scours his memory for a sweet-natured Syrena who would take care of him, who would do whatever he asked, who would never argue with him.

- Eye-rolling goodness. Emma constantly uses the phrase Ohmysweetgoodness and constantly blushes at every thought of Galen. As soon as the two break up, Galen literally gets hoarded by “a hurricane of teenage females” girls texting him, propositioning him, “touching him, giggling at him, smiling at him for no reason, and distracting him…”

- Way ahead of the plot reveal. How come Emma can’t summon her fin but she can breath underwater? Why does she have the traits of a human but have the Gift of Poseidon? I don’t know, maybe because she’s a half-breed? After Xrays, testing of Emma’s gift, checking of the heart rate and the pulse, they finally come to this conclusion, and it’s dragged over two chapters, like it wasn’t already half obvious.

- Completing brushing over the best friend’s death. Instead of mourning her friend who got eaten by a shark, Emma quickly transitions into daydreaming about dating Galen and thinking of ways to get him to kiss her. Not to mention the mother encouraging her thoughts towards Galen. Since when is a hot guy more important than a close friend’s death??

Suffice to say, I can’t really recommend Of Poseidon. I’ve suffered through way too many Bella Swans and annoying main characters and Emma was possibly one of the worst. There were many scenes that seemed to be really immature with Galen, Emma and even Emma’s mum doing or saying things that were rash, juvenile and self-centered. That being said, I know some people really loved the mermaid mythology and oceanic scenes. Unfortunately, I have the next book on my shelf waiting to be reviewed, so I’ll have to read it sometime.

Thank you to Hardie Grant Egmont for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Rachel (APCB Reviews) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the full non-spoilery review @A Perfection Called Books



The Concept:

I was a bit hesitant to read this book because whenever I think of mermaids, wait, I don't think of mermaids! That's just it. It seems like such a childish idea/fantasy, it's something I haven't though about since the days of watching The Little Mermaid. I didn't think I'd like this book because it focuses on mermaids, but I did end up liking it! The mer-people in this book are called Syrena. There's forbidden romance, mystery, snark, and more! And that's all I'm saying. Go read ;)

The Writing:

I was a bit confused and put-off by the dual POV because Emma's side is told in first person while Galen's is told in third person. Either have them both in first person or both in third person. It made Galen seem so impersonal, and it was harder to connect with him than Emma. It was easier to deduce more of the story from Galen's POV though. The writing was simple and plain and good. There were some really hilarious and witty moments so I commend Banks for that. I wish that Banks explored more of the Syrena world, but I guess this book was more about Emma discovering her gift. Next book perhaps?

The Plot:

To me it seemed that the plot was dragging in parts. Sometimes I felt that this book focused too much on the romance and less on developing characters and an actual plot/storyline. The plot was a bit predictable but still enjoyable. Overall though a plot did eventually form. It was fascinating learning more about the Syrena race and their story.

The Characters:

Emma - This girl had a 180 personality change within the first 20 pages. She went from sweet and innocent to feisty and stubborn. I find that HIGHLY unrealistic. But besides that, I do like Emma. She gets a bit on my nerves sometimes, but overall I like the girl. She's not weak like some other protagonists. *cough* NORA GREY *cough* She's strong and although she gets all weak in the knees near Galen, she knows how to snap out of it and call him out when he's being too controlling.

Galen - Whoa this guy is hot. That was my first thought. I really like Galen. He's protective and thoughtful and smart. He's clear-headed and sweet. He's not afraid to say what he feels. I HATE how sometimes his overprotectiveness turns him into a domineering person. Chill out, dude.

The Romance:



The romance in this book was really cute, but I felt that it happened way too quickly. Emma and Galen are an adorable couple, and I think they complement each other well. It's a bit hypocritical of me, but gosh it took forever for them to kiss!! All that sexual tension. I was like "Just kiss already!!"

The Ending:

Things got crazy near the end!! It all happened so fast. The ending isn't exactly a cliffhanger, but it's really good.

This book is light and fun, so if you're looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump, this is the book for you.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re up for a good plot idea but odd and unflattering execution that manages to insult the female race with it’s promotion of patriarchalism, then this is your book.

If, like me, all you’ve ever asked for is a mildly engaging plot, simple (I’m not asking for anyone to spew the dictionary) but fluid and concise writing with a sprinkling of tastefully used metaphors, a good grasp on tense and POV, characterisation that is either relatable or satirical and a little bit of common sense then turn away and don’t look back.

Honestly, the little checklist above is very much achievable. Hundreds, thousands, of stories fall within that scope. So I don’t get it. Am I, and others like me, being too demanding? Are we asking for Pulitzer quality literature? I don’t think so. I just think we’re out there for an enjoyable read. Personally, enjoyable ceases to be an emotion for me when a book looses track of certain elements from that checklist. Of Poseidon allows all of said elements to slither away. It doesn’t even attempt to beg for them to come back.

Of Poseidon tackles the mermaids, something quite rare in YA. Well isn’t that just the first clue. It’s rare because it’s, to be honest, a little hard to wrap the mind around. Half fishes are what you’re telling everyone to fall in love with (I’m making a generalised statement, in that every YA seems to sneak in that love interest that the protagonist, and the reader, is technically meant to “fall head over heels” for—I’m not buying it). I can’t wrap my head around that. But I love me some mythology. Poseidon, Triton, opposing, feuding families, an ancient mystery—what more could you want? Well everything and anything, that’s what.

Lovely average (but really, a Mary Sue) Emma hits Miami for a vacay with her best friend for life, Chloe. There she runs into hunky spunky Gallen (or the merman in question) who happens to be running a diplomatic errand for the people of Syrena (oh gee, he’s looking for Emma but he just doesn’t know it yet). As fate might have it, they find one another, get their bloody lives tangled up and lo and behold, there’s a generation of mystery, lost loves, arranged marriages. The works, really.

Let’s start off with the most dominant problem: Point of View and Tense.

For those missing out on the fun that is I, I’m a fan of third person POV. I see no wrong with it. Third person is a nurturing POV for the imagination. You can take your book places with third; you’re not limited. The world is your oyster. But then I see those that butcher my baby and I just cry out “How?!” (Dare you…—that bit is implied) Because honestly, how? You literally have the world at your feet. It’s an impersonal, detached narrator who is, without bias, recounting the scenes. With third person, you can have greater room for SHOWING rather than TELLING. It’s the bloody golden rule of writing. It’s beautiful, third (I’m going to stop my ode to this POV soon). Point is, I was shocked because Of Poseidon violently destroys my favourite POV bit by bit, mercilessly and without care to my heart. Unbelievable.

This is written in two ALTERNATING POVs. Emma’s POV is 1st person. Gallen’s is in 3rd person. And wait for it: This book is written in PRESENT TENSE.

Someone hold my heart because I did not think there could ever again be a combination of POV and tense that I will hate more in the world. Why would you even do such a thing?! Here’s the thing: 1st person in present tense is normal. No qualms. But 3rd person in present tense does this thing where it DOESN’T WORK. Do you know what present tense does to 3rd person? Wait, let me rehash that. DO YOU KNOW WHAT PRESENT TENSE DOES TO 3RD PERSON WRITTEN WITH TOO MANY SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH “He this…”, “She that…”? No? Well let me give you a clue: It dips my favourite tense into a pot of blood and takes it out into the middle of the bloody ocean, drops it in the sea and says “Good luck with life, but you’re most probably, in fact definitely, am going to become a scrumptious meal for the killer sharks who peruse this part of the sea”. You don’t do that to a point of view, you just don’t (especially not to my favourite one either. It gets personal then.)

I think I’ve exhausted all that I can say on this issue. Alternating POVs—you know how I feel. I don’t like them. They complicate things, take away from the complexity of the story because then you’re struggling to remember what happens in each POV, if they detail separate situations, or often the narrators meld together into one voice (hardly happens in this one because 3rd person, but hey, that obviously has other issues going on), or it just juts the story all together. It all applies here. Alternating POVs don’t work in favour of Of Poseidon. But then again, don’t feel insulted. It hardly ever works anyway.

We also get a return episode of my favourite show in the world: “How to write teenage slang that, in reality, is an insult to our the teenager's intelligence”. Thank you. Just when I thought I couldn’t get enough of that show.

Here’s the thing, people, authors, have just got to stop overestimating the amount of “slang” that the average teenager uses. We are not a generation of senseless bubbleheads. We’ve got intelligence, ambition, a vocabulary that isn’t exclusive to the urban dictionary. And I most certainly do not say:

Ohmysweetgoodness

That’s a favourite of Emma’s. A personal concoction too, I would believe. My teacher of a mother would be insulted if she ever heard such a phrase come out of my mouth.

But my biggest, overshadowing criticism would have to be the revolting, completely obsessive and shocking secondary romance.

I don’t want to speak on anybody else’s behalf, but when I was extremely young, I liked to peruse the fanfiction archives. Back in the day, fanfiction had this trope that everyone and their mother’s overused: the arranged marriage. And boy did it sell like hotcakes. I’m saddened to say that the ignorant young me did read a fair few in her fanfiction course of life (but only a few because I had the pickiest criteria in the world which pretty much eliminated most stories unless they were worthy of a literary prize haha). But I’ve grown so much since then and I’m now extremely hyperaware of how demeaning this trope is.

No matter how you paint it, Toraf and Rayna are not in a normal, healthy, supportive relationship.

If Toraf did to me any of what he did to Rayna, I’d leg it straight across the Indian Ocean (and running on water isn’t even possible so please, that’s saying something) just so I could get away from that creep. He goes behind her back, crawling to her brother, who just happens to be the RULING PATRIARCH (URGH THAT’S ANGER FOR ANOTHER DAY) and arranges his own mating (the equivalent of marriage), behind her back, without her consent, just because he FEELS A BLOODY CONNECTION and insists that she does too, EVEN WHEN SHE HAS BLATANTLY STATED THAT SHE DOES NOT. Her brother happily agrees because HE DECIDES that she’s past the normal mating age (BY TWO YEARS ONLY. I’M SO INSULTED) and so naturally she must be rejected goods and they might as well pair her up before her ovaries shrivel up and drop out.

“I’ve been waiting for the day I could make Rayna someone else’s problem,” Grom says.

Shut the front door. My mouth is hanging open in utter disgust. How dare he?! Here’s a fact of life, Grom: Women are not hot pieces of property that you’ve got to sell it while the price is high because once it regresses, you’re doomed. WOMEN DO NOT BELONG TO MEN. Unbelievable, this book. Unbelievable.

And just when we think certain character’s like Emma protest such an idea, we then have it counteracted because apparently, obsessive or not, Toraf and Rayna are kind of “cute”/made for each other (let’s not quote me on this. I know Emma says a line like this. In fact, I’m 100% positive. I just can’t be bothered to find the exact quote). And so, pardon the french but, fucked up or not, this relationship can suddenly be condoned.

What a disgusting move that just regresses all progress with equality back to the damn middle ages.

And here’s where I just become plain nit-picky:

“Ah, we have a history buff. Very nice, Ms. McIntosh.”

Um how about no. All she did was know the year the Titantic sunk. POP CULTURE has ensured that we all know when the Titantic sunk. If that’s the criteria for a history buff then I’ll be damned, I’m a bloody history professor then.

Ψ

Emma lives in a beachside town so, as the stereotype goes, she’s all about the flip flop. Those who have read my review of Compulsion would know that I HATE FLIP FLOP STORIES. I’ve got this little aversion to feet. And all accessories concerning them. It’s a personal thing.

“The only thing you know about me is that I’m life threatening in flip-flops.”

Well don’t wear them, Einstein. Emma loves her flip-flops. They cause her much danger. To that I say, “I told you so.”

Ψ

“…Us girls are tricky creatures”

This book singlehandedly destroys all we’ve worked for to gain equality. How peachy brilliant. I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that FEMALES, WOMEN, WERE CREATURES. I’m fuming. Really.

Ψ

Midway through, there is a chapter (Number 11 ) that is written, for more than half the duration, in RHETORICAL QUESTIONS. Why would you do that? (Har. Hardy har, har. Do you see what I did. I amuse myself) Rhetorical questions are the type of things that you’ve got to use carefully, tastefully and mindfully. I get that they’re the perfect means of posing all these questions that you want the audience to ask themselves, but mother of all things on earth, I don’t need a boatload of it dumped on my head.

Ψ

Emma is as Mary Sue as you can get. She’s practically the poster child.

“You said I’m special. How special am I?”
He takes in a breath and lets it out slowly. “Very.”

Oh wow. You’ve told me so much. Basically, if you’ve got no time for Mary then let this one go.

Ψ

And lastly, because I’ve got no patience to get any angrier than I already am (and because it’s hitting 1 am) let me end it with this insult:

“…He never acts like this.” Except that time he beat Toraf like a stepchild on the beach when he kissed me.

If my mouth could hang any lower, it would probably dislocate. I said I wanted a good simile. I DIDN’T ASK FOR AN INSULTING STEREOTYPE THAT HAS ME EVEN MORE DISGUSTED THAN I ALREADY AM. How dare anyone insinuate that stepchildren are beaten? HOW DARE ANYONE?!

Ψ

There is pretty much one pro to this story and it would be the great snark. Emma’s a snarky character. I like that. It adds a bit of humour in between my sandwich of insulted and revulsion. Thanks for the variation, I guess.

ΨΨ

Point is, if you’re extremely socially conscious then SKIP THIS BOOK because you will die of shock and even I couldn’t resurrect you (because I’ll most probably be gone as well). I’ve been left insulted, both my intelligence and my beliefs, and cannot believe that this book went there.

The plot was going to go somewhere but boy, did this book miss the mark. Don’t read it for the patriarchal themes. They’re vulgar.

[Carlie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars
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This review is originally posted on The Bookish Girl
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You can get this book on Bookdepository
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I first picked up this series because I thought it had something to do with Greek Mythology, which I’m obsessed with. As it turned out, there was nothing “Greeky” about it. However, I can ensure you that this book is not a disappointment, but rather a surprise.

Our heroine, Emma, grows up thinking she is just another ordinary girl, except with a pair of violet eyes. One day, she meets Galen, a boy who shares the same purple eyes as hers. After a blood-filled accident and with the help of Galen, Emma finally starts seeing the truth, about herself and her family.

The book starts off really well. It is funny and gripping. I was so into the book just like I was water being absorbed into a sponge. Miss Banks clearly knows how to work her magic to keep readers’ attention. Then when it comes to the middle, it lacks a good climax. There isn’t a single event that makes you feel excited or hold your breath because you’re nervous about how it goes. However, I did really enjoy the ending because it was kinda unexpected, since the book had been misleading me the whole time (ha ha).

Now onto the characters. I liked Emma okay. She is like Tris, who keeps doing things people tell her not to do. But besides that, she is normally likable. Then it comes to Galen, whom I loved very much. He is gorgeous, funny and protective. Miss Banks did a great job to build up this character. I love to read about his psychology, how he is torn between his loyalty and duty towards his kingdom, and his feelings towards Emma. This makes Galen a very real character.

Of Poseidon is an entertaining and fast-paced story filled with humor and surprises. It is a book that serves best as an enjoyable pick-me-up.

[Megres. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Emma è una ragazza assolutamente normale ed insignificante, o almeno così cerca di farci credere lei. Dice che nel suo liceo nessuno la nota e quindi tutti si aspettano una ragazza senza niente di fisicamente non dico attraente ma appariscente almeno ed invece? Emma ha i capelli biondi ma non un biondo normale, biondi praticamente bianchi e gli occhi viola, com'è possibile che nessuno la guardi?? Come? anche solo per curiosità!
Va in vacanza con la sua amica Chloe ed ovviamente sbatte subito sul più figo della spiaggia, un certo Galen Forza che non ha solo il cognome italiano ma viene descritto da lei come bello come un modello italiano (?). Galen e sua sorella Rayna ovviamente non sono umani ( ma per fortuna nemmeno vampiri ) sono syrena ( si, quelli con le pinne ) e hanno anche loro gli occhi viola così come tutte le sirene ma hanno i capelli scuri come TUTTE le sirene tranne emma perché emma non poteva non fare la Mary Sue.
Il pezzo in cui Galen spiega a Emma che syrena si pronuncia con la Y e non con la I fa molto ridere, visto che in originale aveva un senso, ma da noi quel senso di perde del tutto visto che a sentirlo parlato non si noterebbe proprio la differenza tra le tue parole.
Ovviamente Emma e Galem si innamorano ed ovviamente viene fuori che c'è anche la storia romantica (come no!) dietro.
Ridicola la parte in qui spiegano che Galen e Emma non sono semplici fidanzatini che pomiciano nel garage ma Emma è la sua "compagna" << E non una compagna qualunque, la tua compagna speciale>> vi prego, siamo tornati alle scuole elementari? Servono anche i bigliettini con "ti piaccio S/N? ti piaccio tanto? " pietà! Stiamo scadendo nel ridicolo.



La storia di Tritone e Poseidone e dei discendenti non ha senso. Se ogni tre generazioni sono costretti a sposarsi alla fine dovrebbero essere tutti parenti no? La prima generazione è quella dei figli, la seconda sono cugini c'è poco da fare ed io sono pessima con le parentele ragazzi.

Il libro è scritto MALE ma così male che da fastidio leggerlo. Non so se si colpa di chi lo ha tradotto (non credo proprio) ma alcuni pezzi non hanno senso, tipo:

"Prendo una boccetta e spalmo la porcellana su tutto il viso" la cosa? vi siete mai spalmati la porcellana in faccia voi? Io penso che faccia male.
Oltretutto l'autrice è ossessionata con l'essere pallida, ha qualche complesso per caso? E poi questa storia della pelle di porcellana che ha solo Emma urla talmente tanto di Mary Sue! Continua poi a dire che le labbra di Emma arrossiscono. Io sono abbastanza sicura che le labbra non possano proprio arrossire, ma comunque suona come una cosa folle.

Parliamo di Rayna che è forse l'unico personaggio un minimo interessante di tutto il libro, gestito però veramente veramente male. E' la sorella gemella di Galen ed ovviamente essendo la sorella bella del protagonista maschile deve essere per forza ostile alla protagonista femminile e fare la stronzetta, se no lo Young Adult non può andare avanti! ( originalità, dove sei?).E' promessa ad uno della sua razza che però lei non vuole, e come viene trattata questa cosa? sembra che sia colpa di lei, tutti si schierano apertamente contro la decisione di Rayna di non "accoppiarsi" con lui ( perfino suo fratello ) e ad un certo punto il suo promesso le dice perfino che la conosce da sempre da quando erano piccoli, chi la amerebbe più di lui? tanto con qualcuno deve finire.. COSA? lei precisa che non vuole accoppiarsi e il riassunto finale è "sei una donna, che altro vorresti fare?" eppure il fratello ha la sua stessa età ma nessuno gli dice che si deve accoppiare eh no lui deve aspettare la mary sue!
Tra l'altro sono i maschi che "scelgono" la femmina dopo aver passato del tempo con ognuna di loro ?????? che cosa significa questa cosa??
Le donne hanno un tempo limite per trovare un compagno ( accettare anzi, perché sono gli uomini che "vagliano" le candidate, le donne sono soltanto merce in esposizione ) se non lo fanno e non si accoppiano basta che un uomo vada dal tutore e chieda di sposarla e puff! sposati! Infatti Rayna viene data via così dal fratello e lei nemmeno lo sa, lo scopre da Galen che fa passare la cosa come un cosa da niente tipo "si, sei sposata e nemmeno lo sapevi, ora legalmente ci devi anche fare figli" scherzate, vero? e lui ha la sua stessa età ma dice che ancora non ha mai vagliato nessuna "femmina" di syrena e per lui va benissimo, a lui nessuno mette pressione. Perfino Emma appena lo scopre ci rimane male, forse perché capisce che una volta dentro quel mondo finirebbe anche lei tra quella da "vagliare".

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and unexpected read! I thought the idea sounded interesting but I was worried what the execution would be like. I had absolutely nothing to worry about though because it was great. I loved the whole idea and concept, it drew me in right from the start and was incredibly interesting. My only minor complaint is that I didn’t really LOVE the characters, I only liked them and it took away from my enjoyment a teeny bit. Other than that, it was great!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg this was super cute and hilarious.

[Noha Badawi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, it's been a very long time since I finished a book in that record-of-a-time.

I really enjoyed this book, awesome debut to the series and the way it ended; kinda of a i-knew-it moment, but I couldn't put my hands on it before,, I like how Anna Banks left to be unraveled until the very last pages.
The Mythology in the story is awesome, I'm obsessed with all things Poseidon so ... *cheers*
I loved how easy it was to get into this book, how simple the story started off and very interesting to keep reading yet not so brainy.
The characters were a bit two dimensional for me, which adds up to light-reading-thing, enjoyable-at-the-same-time thing I was just talking about.
I expect we'll see more and more with the next installment and I'm getting to it as soon as possible.

[Sabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice YA read with mermaids as central plot. Better than expected.



Things I liked:

🧡 The writing: It's fun and humorous at parts which I didn't expected it to be.

🧡 The story: Not the biggest fan of sirens but still, didn't got bored at all.

[Grüffeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Warum sagst du nie mein Prinz zu mir?"
"Halt dein Maul, mein Prinz. Besser?"

4,5 Sterne
Endlich mal ein Buch über Meereswesen, dass sich nicht nur auf den ersten Blick gut anhört!
Emma ist eine tolle Figur, Galen ist... nicht immer einfach. Geschrieben ist das Buch auch gut (aber nicht sehr gut), die Geschichte ist mitreißend und obwohl ich die Enthüllung am Ende geahnt hatte, hat sie mich doch eiskalt erwischt.
Sehr schön.

[Macarena Yannelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jajaja tan estúpido sin embargo tan entretenido.