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The Siren Chronicles, Book 1
FROM THE WRITER PRODUCER OF DREAMWORKS DRAGONS AND MIGHTY MORPHIN POWR RANGERS, COMES THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF EXCITING NEW ACTION ADVENTURE NOVELS.
Here's what some of your favorite stars are Tweeting about "The Siren Chronicles"!
"This is the only book you should be reading." - CHRIS MELONI-ACTOR/DIRECTOR (UNDERGROUND, LAW & ORDER SVU)
"Check this one out!" - CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE-ACTOR (SUPERBAD, THE GREAT INDOORS)
"Awesome" - KYM DOUGLAS-TV HOST (ELLEN, HOME AND FAMILY)
While leading the clean up of the worst oil spill in California history, Marine Biologist Elias Courtney stumbles upon the unthinkable. The beautiful young woman, washed up on the desecrated beach, tangled in the black seaweed, is still alive, but barely. What would possess someone to enter these black poisonous waters, the cause of so many innocent creatures’ demise?!! For that matter, how IS she still alive? How long has she been under the water? As Courtney would soon find out -- her entire life. In fact, this was the young mermaid’s first time on land.
Lorelei with companions, Seanne and Millisine, has travelled a long way to walk these scarred shores. Now separated by the horrific oily mess that only humans could have caused, the three sirens must struggle to stay alive as they attempt to navigate this strange new world. They must reunite and begin the “Earthquest” that is their reason for being on land. Their underwater home is sick, dying off at an alarming rate. And whatever is causing the near extinction of the last remaining mermaid colony, clearly originated from exactly where they find themselves.
Edward Titan had waited decades for this moment. All three have arrived, hopeful and innocent, completely unsuspecting. Soon the ocean’s strongest, smartest and most intuitive sirens will find themselves up against years of festering anger and hatred. Titan’s retribution will be swift and brutal. And it will mean the end of an entire civilization. The Sirens’ Song will soon be no more.
THE SIREN CHRONICLES: BOOK ONE, is the exciting first installment in a series of SIRENS books that will follow these miraculous young heroines across the globe, both above and beneath the ocean. As they try desperately to stave off a psychotic creature bent on destroying the planet, they discover new species, battle old enemies and face challenges they never could have imagined.
Here's what some of your favorite stars are Tweeting about "The Siren Chronicles"!
"This is the only book you should be reading." - CHRIS MELONI-ACTOR/DIRECTOR (UNDERGROUND, LAW & ORDER SVU)
"Check this one out!" - CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE-ACTOR (SUPERBAD, THE GREAT INDOORS)
"Awesome" - KYM DOUGLAS-TV HOST (ELLEN, HOME AND FAMILY)
While leading the clean up of the worst oil spill in California history, Marine Biologist Elias Courtney stumbles upon the unthinkable. The beautiful young woman, washed up on the desecrated beach, tangled in the black seaweed, is still alive, but barely. What would possess someone to enter these black poisonous waters, the cause of so many innocent creatures’ demise?!! For that matter, how IS she still alive? How long has she been under the water? As Courtney would soon find out -- her entire life. In fact, this was the young mermaid’s first time on land.
Lorelei with companions, Seanne and Millisine, has travelled a long way to walk these scarred shores. Now separated by the horrific oily mess that only humans could have caused, the three sirens must struggle to stay alive as they attempt to navigate this strange new world. They must reunite and begin the “Earthquest” that is their reason for being on land. Their underwater home is sick, dying off at an alarming rate. And whatever is causing the near extinction of the last remaining mermaid colony, clearly originated from exactly where they find themselves.
Edward Titan had waited decades for this moment. All three have arrived, hopeful and innocent, completely unsuspecting. Soon the ocean’s strongest, smartest and most intuitive sirens will find themselves up against years of festering anger and hatred. Titan’s retribution will be swift and brutal. And it will mean the end of an entire civilization. The Sirens’ Song will soon be no more.
THE SIREN CHRONICLES: BOOK ONE, is the exciting first installment in a series of SIRENS books that will follow these miraculous young heroines across the globe, both above and beneath the ocean. As they try desperately to stave off a psychotic creature bent on destroying the planet, they discover new species, battle old enemies and face challenges they never could have imagined.
- GenresFantasyYoung Adult
197 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2017
About the author
Douglas J. Sloan
1 book18 followersDouglas J. Sloan has been a world-renowned storyteller for over 25 years and the Writer, Director and Executive Producer of some of the most successful children’s programs in history.
Starting with the multi-billion dollar MIGHTY MORPHIN’ POWER RANGERS, Douglas wrote, directed and/or produced close to 200 episodes of the mega-franchise for FOX Kids and then again for The Disney Channel. Over the next several years, Douglas concentrated on long-form TV programs, starting with the beloved Disney Channel Movie, JOHNNY TSUNAMI. What followed was a string of highly successful “DCOMs,” including MOTOCROSSED, MINUTEMEN and THE PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM starring Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Most recently, Sloan has been the Executive Producer and Head Writer for the wildly successful DREAMWORKS DRAGONS: RIDERS OF BERK, the 109 episode TV series based on the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON film franchise. Throughout his career, Douglas J. Sloan has either won or been nominated for nearly every possible Television award, including the Emmy, The WGA Award, the Humanitas Prize and the Kid Screen Award.
In 2017, Douglas published his first novel, THE SIREN CHRONICLES, BOOK 1, for teen readers and older. He is currently working on BOOK 2 of the series, along with additional books for readers of all ages.
Douglas J. Sloan lives in Glendale, CA with his wife, Mindy and their three dogs, Cocoa, George and Betty.
Starting with the multi-billion dollar MIGHTY MORPHIN’ POWER RANGERS, Douglas wrote, directed and/or produced close to 200 episodes of the mega-franchise for FOX Kids and then again for The Disney Channel. Over the next several years, Douglas concentrated on long-form TV programs, starting with the beloved Disney Channel Movie, JOHNNY TSUNAMI. What followed was a string of highly successful “DCOMs,” including MOTOCROSSED, MINUTEMEN and THE PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM starring Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Most recently, Sloan has been the Executive Producer and Head Writer for the wildly successful DREAMWORKS DRAGONS: RIDERS OF BERK, the 109 episode TV series based on the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON film franchise. Throughout his career, Douglas J. Sloan has either won or been nominated for nearly every possible Television award, including the Emmy, The WGA Award, the Humanitas Prize and the Kid Screen Award.
In 2017, Douglas published his first novel, THE SIREN CHRONICLES, BOOK 1, for teen readers and older. He is currently working on BOOK 2 of the series, along with additional books for readers of all ages.
Douglas J. Sloan lives in Glendale, CA with his wife, Mindy and their three dogs, Cocoa, George and Betty.
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September 16, 2017
Story ⭐️⭐️
Three sirens are send above to the human world to fulfill a quest they got from their queen. When they swim to the surface they are surprised to see oil and the three of them are separated.
I didn't like the story, it was kind of predictable and flat. I probably won't continue to read this series.
Characters ⭐️⭐️
This was the description of the female: "All were beautiful beyond what earthly humans are capable of comprehending. All three were intelligent and at the top of their school. All were wildly athletic and impossibly strong."
And the description of Dr. Elias Courtney: "his contemporaries had dubbed him the "muscle-bound Mensan" referring to his genius as well as the many hours he spent on the weight room, curling, squatting and pressing his way to what could be considered, by most, the body of Adonis." Oh, and he's rich.
Seriously? They all are super intelligent and good looking? Kind of boring.
Relationships ⭐️⭐️
So Lorelei and her soulmate met before she went away for a year to go to the human world above and what does he say to her? "You're a Part of my soul." Surely this is super romantic (at least I think it should be), but I still didn't like the too cliche romance there. Later on it won't get better, trust me.
Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm not even sure if I like the writing or not, but it was okay so a solid 2-3 stars. The writing sometimes started with one characters view just to change in the middle to another and then maybe again to another. It was sometimes a little confusing to know who thought and saw what.
Three sirens are send above to the human world to fulfill a quest they got from their queen. When they swim to the surface they are surprised to see oil and the three of them are separated.
I didn't like the story, it was kind of predictable and flat. I probably won't continue to read this series.
Characters ⭐️⭐️
This was the description of the female: "All were beautiful beyond what earthly humans are capable of comprehending. All three were intelligent and at the top of their school. All were wildly athletic and impossibly strong."
And the description of Dr. Elias Courtney: "his contemporaries had dubbed him the "muscle-bound Mensan" referring to his genius as well as the many hours he spent on the weight room, curling, squatting and pressing his way to what could be considered, by most, the body of Adonis." Oh, and he's rich.
Seriously? They all are super intelligent and good looking? Kind of boring.
Relationships ⭐️⭐️
So Lorelei and her soulmate met before she went away for a year to go to the human world above and what does he say to her? "You're a Part of my soul." Surely this is super romantic (at least I think it should be), but I still didn't like the too cliche romance there. Later on it won't get better, trust me.
Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm not even sure if I like the writing or not, but it was okay so a solid 2-3 stars. The writing sometimes started with one characters view just to change in the middle to another and then maybe again to another. It was sometimes a little confusing to know who thought and saw what.
March 20, 2018
https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....
The prologue was an attention grabber, but the first few chapters started off slow and are pretty heavy with information dumping. Rather than relaying past events some things could be shown with flashbacks later in the book. Despite the rough beginning the book quickly recaptured the readers attention as the 3 sirens each wind up on land for the first time in different scenarios.
I was glad to have a description of what it looked like when a tail of a mermaid transfromed from human legs. The description was magical and beautiful, making it easy for me to visualise. In any type of mystical transformation it can be hard to picture, so I was glad that this aspect was done well.
I also really was fond of the relationship between Lorelai and the child Ashley. As I was once a little girl with a very vivid imagination (I mostly believed in witches) I was thrilled that the mermaid indulged the little girl and made her experience with meeting a mermaid truly magical. This is one of my first mermaid/siren books that I have read and in so many aspects it was incredibly magically descriptive which made the read so enjoyable. This is mystical world building at its finest.
The adventures of the three mermaids were thrilling and fun to read, especially because each mermaid had their own unique personality. These characters were developed pretty well. I can certainly see this being an interesting series and I would come back to read the rest of it.
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
October 1, 2017
I picked this book from netgalley as I wasdrawn to the mermaid angle. I was a bit disappointed with it. It's a fairly short book and with three female leads and the points of view of several other characters the book ended up losing a lot of description. The mermaids are washed up on the Hollywood shores and are split up. Lorelei ends up befriending a supermodel, Milissine a marine biologist son of a recording-mogul and poor Seanne is arrested and thrown in an asylum.
This is the character where the book confused me most. The book opens with a prologue of her being on land and along with her parents fleeing some bad people (this is then ignored until quite near the end of the book) but despite being the initial focus the story then ignores the entire set up and as mentioned she shares time with so many others.
I did finish the book and it's fairly quick but I found it hard to have any connection to the characters without descriptions beyond they were beautiful. The premise has been done before but unfortunately for this book, done in a better way
Not for me.
This is the character where the book confused me most. The book opens with a prologue of her being on land and along with her parents fleeing some bad people (this is then ignored until quite near the end of the book) but despite being the initial focus the story then ignores the entire set up and as mentioned she shares time with so many others.
I did finish the book and it's fairly quick but I found it hard to have any connection to the characters without descriptions beyond they were beautiful. The premise has been done before but unfortunately for this book, done in a better way
Not for me.
September 28, 2017
I received this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I can't help but DNF it.
The writing is very "in your face", no subtlety whatsoever.
Everything is a superlative, grandiose, gorgeous, a masterpiece.
The character descriptions are very superficial, there is no nuance, everyone just has a "hot bod" and whatever exaggerated trait the author thought would sound sexy.
The world building is cheesy and puerile.
This book made me cringe at almost every sentence, so I don't want to put myself through it for its entirety. I am not sure who would enjoy this book, but if you have a high tolerance for cheesiness you can give it a go. It's just not for me.
Unfortunately, I can't help but DNF it.
The writing is very "in your face", no subtlety whatsoever.
Everything is a superlative, grandiose, gorgeous, a masterpiece.
The character descriptions are very superficial, there is no nuance, everyone just has a "hot bod" and whatever exaggerated trait the author thought would sound sexy.
The world building is cheesy and puerile.
This book made me cringe at almost every sentence, so I don't want to put myself through it for its entirety. I am not sure who would enjoy this book, but if you have a high tolerance for cheesiness you can give it a go. It's just not for me.
October 1, 2017
It took me forever to finish this book because I couldn't get into it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous but the story is all over the place. The prologue is great and draws you in showing that this author actually has the potential to write an amazing novel but instead they took a shortcut and used "filler" instead til the last couple chapters and epilogue. The scene talked about in the prologue doesn't even show up again til the end of the book. It had a lot of promise but I found myself falling asleep on multiple occasions.
Three young mermaid sirens are of a certain age where their queen requires that they go on an earth quest. No explanation of what the quest is just that they had to do it. Their kind had been getting sick and dying mysteriously. The sirens believe their quest has something to do with this when they swim into a massive oil spill and each find themselves on different parts of the shore in Hollywood. Each of the sirens have unique talents. Lorelei is compassionate and a gifted artist in many spectrums of the arts. Millisine is level headed and highly intelligent. Seanne is hot headed and a true warrior even though they all have been trained to be warriors.
Millisine is found by a wealthy marine biologist. Lorelei is found by the daughter of a model married to an abusive famous musician. Seanne is found by frat boys and finds herself fighting police and winds up in a mental ward under the supervision of a nasty famous doctor.
The majority of the book is about how these three girls keep winding up in the same place and not seeing each other while being unaware of the majority of human customs even though it is explained they studied all about humans in multiple different classes that should have beyond prepared them. A little confusion would have been fine but the author over did this one. They come off as ditsy and are only described by each having different hair color and being more beautiful than human comprehension. Very boring.
The wealthy marine biologist Elias Courtney (their protector of their secret) holds a benefit gala and the three finally find each other and finally decide to start their earth quest. A creepy man (obviously the villain) at the party comes up to each of the girls and basically introduces himself. They all have bad feelings about him and then when the book is almost over the prologue picks back up.
Another thing that made this book so frustrating was that every few sentences was a chapter giving this book 50 something chapters when it should have only had about 20 something. Take the prologue, give two chapters to their backstory, getting their quest and the oil incident. Two more chapters to the girls reuniting and go straight to the last couple chapters and epilogue and keep writing from there. Would have made this book enjoyable and cut out the "filler".
In the end I'm very disappointed.
Copy given by NetGalley and the publisher for a fair and honest review.
Three young mermaid sirens are of a certain age where their queen requires that they go on an earth quest. No explanation of what the quest is just that they had to do it. Their kind had been getting sick and dying mysteriously. The sirens believe their quest has something to do with this when they swim into a massive oil spill and each find themselves on different parts of the shore in Hollywood. Each of the sirens have unique talents. Lorelei is compassionate and a gifted artist in many spectrums of the arts. Millisine is level headed and highly intelligent. Seanne is hot headed and a true warrior even though they all have been trained to be warriors.
Millisine is found by a wealthy marine biologist. Lorelei is found by the daughter of a model married to an abusive famous musician. Seanne is found by frat boys and finds herself fighting police and winds up in a mental ward under the supervision of a nasty famous doctor.
The majority of the book is about how these three girls keep winding up in the same place and not seeing each other while being unaware of the majority of human customs even though it is explained they studied all about humans in multiple different classes that should have beyond prepared them. A little confusion would have been fine but the author over did this one. They come off as ditsy and are only described by each having different hair color and being more beautiful than human comprehension. Very boring.
The wealthy marine biologist Elias Courtney (their protector of their secret) holds a benefit gala and the three finally find each other and finally decide to start their earth quest. A creepy man (obviously the villain) at the party comes up to each of the girls and basically introduces himself. They all have bad feelings about him and then when the book is almost over the prologue picks back up.
Another thing that made this book so frustrating was that every few sentences was a chapter giving this book 50 something chapters when it should have only had about 20 something. Take the prologue, give two chapters to their backstory, getting their quest and the oil incident. Two more chapters to the girls reuniting and go straight to the last couple chapters and epilogue and keep writing from there. Would have made this book enjoyable and cut out the "filler".
In the end I'm very disappointed.
Copy given by NetGalley and the publisher for a fair and honest review.
September 17, 2017
I want to thank NetGalley and Gruh Entertainment, Inc. for providing me with a review copy to read and review. I was drawn in by the cover and the subject matter of mermaids. I love a good mermaid tale.
Mermaid/Siren books are always fun for me to read. They bring back my childhood memories of watching Disney's The Little Mermaid, which had some similarities to The Siren Chronicles. We've got Mermaids coming to land, not knowing what to do, and trying to navigate human life. We also had some danger and evil, which made for some fun.
This author, Douglas J. Sloan, has written for a lot of TV Shows, a heavy emphasis on kids' shows, which I can see. I think this book would have worked really well as a show. The way it was written was good, but maybe a tad flat. I think being able to see what was happening would have had more impact, more oomph, than just reading it.
I wish the characters would have felt more real to me. They all felt very flat. Maybe it was because there were three Mermaids to follow. Maybe they would have felt more real on screen. I also thought the other Mermaids weren't very fair to Seanne, always making out like she was the bad one, the mean one. In my opinion, Seanne had a harder time then the other two. Did I like Seanne all the time? No, but the other Mermaids should have cut her some slack.
A reason this book didn't grip me was that I didn't feel the intensity of the Quest the three Sirens were sent on. They didn't even know what their Quest was, which was just odd.
I did think the ending was interesting. The villain and his lackeys added a bit of spice. It didn't wrap up at the end, it just raised many more questions, questions that I am curious about.
All in all, I thought this book was all right. I'm happy that I got the chance to review it, and be on a Blog Tour for it. Thanks again to NetGalley and Gruh Entertainment, Inc. I say, if you really like mermaids, give it a shot!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Darling it's better Under Da Sea!
Mermaid/Siren books are always fun for me to read. They bring back my childhood memories of watching Disney's The Little Mermaid, which had some similarities to The Siren Chronicles. We've got Mermaids coming to land, not knowing what to do, and trying to navigate human life. We also had some danger and evil, which made for some fun.
This author, Douglas J. Sloan, has written for a lot of TV Shows, a heavy emphasis on kids' shows, which I can see. I think this book would have worked really well as a show. The way it was written was good, but maybe a tad flat. I think being able to see what was happening would have had more impact, more oomph, than just reading it.
I wish the characters would have felt more real to me. They all felt very flat. Maybe it was because there were three Mermaids to follow. Maybe they would have felt more real on screen. I also thought the other Mermaids weren't very fair to Seanne, always making out like she was the bad one, the mean one. In my opinion, Seanne had a harder time then the other two. Did I like Seanne all the time? No, but the other Mermaids should have cut her some slack.
A reason this book didn't grip me was that I didn't feel the intensity of the Quest the three Sirens were sent on. They didn't even know what their Quest was, which was just odd.
I did think the ending was interesting. The villain and his lackeys added a bit of spice. It didn't wrap up at the end, it just raised many more questions, questions that I am curious about.
All in all, I thought this book was all right. I'm happy that I got the chance to review it, and be on a Blog Tour for it. Thanks again to NetGalley and Gruh Entertainment, Inc. I say, if you really like mermaids, give it a shot!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Darling it's better Under Da Sea!
September 26, 2017
Complete review at the following link (and there is also a giveaway currently running on my blog) ---> http://meandbooks.altervista.org/blog...
Our three protagonists are Lorelei, Seanne and Millisine who are sent on a mission on land to find out what is the cause of the diseases that are spreading in their world.
They are three very courageous mermaids and each one with a talent to themselves, but at some point on their voyage, not far from the coast, meet a puddle of oil polluting the water. Not knowing what it is, they end up in, and from here their journey divides.
Our three protagonists are Lorelei, Seanne and Millisine who are sent on a mission on land to find out what is the cause of the diseases that are spreading in their world.
They are three very courageous mermaids and each one with a talent to themselves, but at some point on their voyage, not far from the coast, meet a puddle of oil polluting the water. Not knowing what it is, they end up in, and from here their journey divides.
November 7, 2017
1 why did I read this star.
This book was an erratic, sporadic, frustrating mess. I would constantly be asking myself “what is happening!?” and “what is the purpose of this!?” The first several chapters were poorly detailed and did not give me an idea to what the plot was, a clear setting or relatable characters. I felt as if I was thrown into the story with no lifeboat, no direction or sense. There was no character development. The introduction to the plotline occurred 77% into the book, which left me majority of the time assuming what was going on. There were numerous times within the story that many things were not convincing and so wholly unbelievable. I can’t count the number of times I rolled my eyes throughout this book.
This author repetitively mentioned how exceedingly “beautiful” and “intelligent” and “strong” these mermaids were. It was a lot of talk and absolutely NO delivery. As the top students of their classes and the fiercest of their kind, they were extremely naïve, juvenile and uninformed when they finally went ashore. They were more naive than Ariel!
Character development is important and so is the plot, there MUST be a balance between the two. Fantasy books rely heavily on world building and the characters within the created world, it has to be convincing. We get to know who these characters are on the inside rather than focusing on the outside. For readers to connect or relate with the characters they have to be more than a beautiful exterior.
All in all I felt this book was a D-grade soap opera.
This book was an erratic, sporadic, frustrating mess. I would constantly be asking myself “what is happening!?” and “what is the purpose of this!?” The first several chapters were poorly detailed and did not give me an idea to what the plot was, a clear setting or relatable characters. I felt as if I was thrown into the story with no lifeboat, no direction or sense. There was no character development. The introduction to the plotline occurred 77% into the book, which left me majority of the time assuming what was going on. There were numerous times within the story that many things were not convincing and so wholly unbelievable. I can’t count the number of times I rolled my eyes throughout this book.
This author repetitively mentioned how exceedingly “beautiful” and “intelligent” and “strong” these mermaids were. It was a lot of talk and absolutely NO delivery. As the top students of their classes and the fiercest of their kind, they were extremely naïve, juvenile and uninformed when they finally went ashore. They were more naive than Ariel!
Character development is important and so is the plot, there MUST be a balance between the two. Fantasy books rely heavily on world building and the characters within the created world, it has to be convincing. We get to know who these characters are on the inside rather than focusing on the outside. For readers to connect or relate with the characters they have to be more than a beautiful exterior.
All in all I felt this book was a D-grade soap opera.
August 14, 2023
All three mermaids had different experiences during their time on Earth and it was life changing for each of them. In addition, they managed to uncover a plot so sinister that it took their breath away as well as answered some lifelong questions for one mermaid in particular. There were parts of the story that made me laugh but I felt that the characters were pretty flat. I think the third person narrative with multiple narratives made it difficult to develop character depth. Overall though, The Siren Chronicles would be an excellent read for those readers who enjoy clean creative tales.
This review is based on a complimentary book I received from Author, Douglas J. Sloan. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.
This review is based on a complimentary book I received from Author, Douglas J. Sloan. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.
October 7, 2017
I received this ebook ARC from Net Galley and Gruh Entertainment Incorperated in exchange for an honest review. What can I say? I'm fascinated with all things mermaid/merman. This is obviously going to be a series. Not only is it called Sirens with Book One after it, but the story ends in a cliffhanger. I did enjoy reading this, as it was thorouhly engaging. Three stars means "I liked it". Four stars means that "I really liked it". I couldn't give The Siren Chronicles another star because even though I enjoyed it, the superficial perfection of the main characters was bothersome. The main guy excelled at everything and I mean EVERYTHING. In addition he was rich. Soap opera character anyone? The author made it so that anything he wasn't doing was because he chose not to. He basically would be perfect at any activity, but abstains. This was beyond annoying. I felt myself rolling my eyes several times as I was reading About Elias' perfection.
The leading ladies(three mermaids)were entertaining yet seemed more like charicatures at times. Two of the gals are actually rather prudish and snobby towards the third, Seanne. Their impatience with Seanne, and Elias' wariness of her is extremely unfair considering everything she goes through.
I would have liked the villainous monster Titanous to have been featured much more, however I am assuming he will be in future books in the series.
In summary, I liked the book, and believe others will too. Unfortunately, certain aspects kept it from a four star rating.
The leading ladies(three mermaids)were entertaining yet seemed more like charicatures at times. Two of the gals are actually rather prudish and snobby towards the third, Seanne. Their impatience with Seanne, and Elias' wariness of her is extremely unfair considering everything she goes through.
I would have liked the villainous monster Titanous to have been featured much more, however I am assuming he will be in future books in the series.
In summary, I liked the book, and believe others will too. Unfortunately, certain aspects kept it from a four star rating.
August 30, 2017
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review and was excited about getting to read it since I absolutely love mermaids.
Seanne, Millisine, and Lorelei are tasked with an "earth quest" to find out what is making the mermaids who venture outside of their home sick. They've been training for it their whole lives and are elated to be able to finally prove themselves great warriors and to put to use all of the knowledge that they've learned about humans.
But something goes wrong and they end up washing ashore during an oil spill and are separated. Each one meets their own human and, in a way, changes their lives for the better along the way. But evil never sleeps and they soon discover who the bad guy is, only he has an unimaginable reach and power. The book ends on a cliffhanger with the three young mermaids unsure of how they will proceed without the help they need.
The story is intriguing and touches on a lot of environmental issues, which is great, but the writing style just wasn't for me. Their was more "story telling" about the characters than interactions. I felt like I would have enjoyed it more if the story had "shown" more emotion instead of "telling". This definitely has a middle grade book feel and I would have no problems with my eleven year old reading it. The beginning of the book talks about how technologically advanced the mermaids are and how they've surpassed humans in technology and medicine, but I found it odd that the three mermaids were so intrigued by a television. I wasn't sure what to make of that. All in all, the story itself was good and I would recommend it to children.
Seanne, Millisine, and Lorelei are tasked with an "earth quest" to find out what is making the mermaids who venture outside of their home sick. They've been training for it their whole lives and are elated to be able to finally prove themselves great warriors and to put to use all of the knowledge that they've learned about humans.
But something goes wrong and they end up washing ashore during an oil spill and are separated. Each one meets their own human and, in a way, changes their lives for the better along the way. But evil never sleeps and they soon discover who the bad guy is, only he has an unimaginable reach and power. The book ends on a cliffhanger with the three young mermaids unsure of how they will proceed without the help they need.
The story is intriguing and touches on a lot of environmental issues, which is great, but the writing style just wasn't for me. Their was more "story telling" about the characters than interactions. I felt like I would have enjoyed it more if the story had "shown" more emotion instead of "telling". This definitely has a middle grade book feel and I would have no problems with my eleven year old reading it. The beginning of the book talks about how technologically advanced the mermaids are and how they've surpassed humans in technology and medicine, but I found it odd that the three mermaids were so intrigued by a television. I wasn't sure what to make of that. All in all, the story itself was good and I would recommend it to children.
October 27, 2017
Link to my blog: https://thatreadhead1.wordpress.com/2...
I was lucky enough to be able to read this book thanks to Netgalley.
Well holy moly I am so pleased this book was what I was expecting! I loved this book! The writing style, the multiple POV, the realism of it all. Well, apart from but hey, we needed some evil bad guys right! I loved the character development, the way each character adapted to their situations and dealt with the human relationships and the strange new life after being mermaids. I also both loved and hated the way I definitely cannot wait to get to the next book, just such a bummer that it is a long way away :( I'll be keeping my eyes out!
I was lucky enough to be able to read this book thanks to Netgalley.
Well holy moly I am so pleased this book was what I was expecting! I loved this book! The writing style, the multiple POV, the realism of it all. Well, apart from but hey, we needed some evil bad guys right! I loved the character development, the way each character adapted to their situations and dealt with the human relationships and the strange new life after being mermaids. I also both loved and hated the way I definitely cannot wait to get to the next book, just such a bummer that it is a long way away :( I'll be keeping my eyes out!
November 27, 2017
Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC of this book through NetGalley.
This follows three mermaids as they set off to fulfil a quest given to them by their Queen. The book follows them as they are separated, and you follow all three of them during their separation. The prologue and the first few chapters were great, but after that it just went very boring and predictable. It felt like the plot paused between 10% and 80% so we could look at the three mermaids to understand that Seanne is an angry mermaid, Lorelai is a sympathetic mermaid and Milissine has a really bad case of instalove. All three main characters are developed badly, with their only attributes being that they can sing and they’re beautiful. It was quite disappointing as the plot was pretty much non-existent until around the 80% point, and by that point, I just wanted it to end.
This follows three mermaids as they set off to fulfil a quest given to them by their Queen. The book follows them as they are separated, and you follow all three of them during their separation. The prologue and the first few chapters were great, but after that it just went very boring and predictable. It felt like the plot paused between 10% and 80% so we could look at the three mermaids to understand that Seanne is an angry mermaid, Lorelai is a sympathetic mermaid and Milissine has a really bad case of instalove. All three main characters are developed badly, with their only attributes being that they can sing and they’re beautiful. It was quite disappointing as the plot was pretty much non-existent until around the 80% point, and by that point, I just wanted it to end.
November 8, 2017
I've read alot of mermaid books, so when I saw this on netgalley, I just had to read it..... little did I know I was about to get into this...... book. It was slow. It didn't catch my attention. I am surprised I could finish it. The mermaids weren't even interesting. This is a book that could be subject to personal opinion. So may love it, it just wasn't for me
September 1, 2017
Goodreads Synopsis:
While leading the clean up of the worst oil spill in California history, Marine Biologist Elias Courtney stumbles upon the unthinkable. The beautiful young woman, washed up on the desecrated beach, tangled in the black seaweed, is still alive, but barely. What would possess someone to enter these black poisonous waters, the cause of so many innocent creatures’ demise?!! For that matter, how IS she still alive? How long has she been under the water? As Courtney would soon find out -- her entire life. In fact, this was the young mermaid’s first time on land.
Lorelei with companions, Seanne and Millisine, has travelled a long way to walk these scarred shores. Now separated by the horrific oily mess that only humans could have caused, the three sirens must struggle to stay alive as they attempt to navigate this strange new world. They must reunite and begin the “Earthquest” that is their reason for being on land. Their underwater home is sick, dying off at an alarming rate. And whatever is causing the near extinction of the last remaining mermaid colony, clearly originated from exactly where they find themselves.
Edward Titan had waited decades for this moment. All three have arrived, hopeful and innocent, completely unsuspecting. Soon the ocean’s strongest, smartest and most intuitive sirens will find themselves up against years of festering anger and hatred. Titan’s retribution will be swift and brutal. And it will mean the end of an entire civilization. The Sirens’ Song will soon be no more.
THE SIREN CHRONICLES: BOOK ONE, is the exciting first installment in a series of SIRENS books that will follow these miraculous young heroines across the globe, both above and beneath the ocean. As they try desperately to stave off a psychotic creature bent on destroying the planet, they discover new species, battle old enemies and face challenges they never could have imagined.
My Review:
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
Sirens are intelligent, strong, and beautiful beyond human comprehension. Seanne, the most beautiful of the three, has a fin that changes colour with her moods, and is a fierce warrior. She's also very passionate about her homeland. Lorelei, although plain looking in comparison of Seanne, has a beautiful singing voice and writes captivating songs she's a perfectly pitched soprano. Millisine, the youngest of the three by almost a year, but also the most brilliant.
The story follows the three mermaids as the world around them crumbles due to an oil spill among other things. It also follows Dr. Elias Courtney, an environmentalist cleaning up the spill. His life has been pretty normal up until the day he came home from university one day and found that his father had shot his mother six times.
The thing is, the mermaids got separated on their way to the surface to start their quest on dry land. Lorelie finding refuge with a mother and daughter duo who live with an abusive husband, Seanne getting first picked up by a frat house and then arrested by the cops, finding herself in a mental hospital, and Millisine living with Dr. Elias Courtney in his home. They don't actually get to start their journey together until about 70% of the way through the book.
I really enjoyed reading it, and from the beginning I was hooked. Not many books are about mermaids lately, and the few I have read seemed childish but not this one, I've never read anything like this. Although just the beginning of their quest, I definitely want to check out part two. The characters are all different but they seem realistic personality wise, despite them being mythical creatures of the sea. The story is exciting and the world although like our own is a nice change of pace. Definitely check it out if you get the chance!
Here's a link to buy the book on amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/Siren-Chronicle...
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com
While leading the clean up of the worst oil spill in California history, Marine Biologist Elias Courtney stumbles upon the unthinkable. The beautiful young woman, washed up on the desecrated beach, tangled in the black seaweed, is still alive, but barely. What would possess someone to enter these black poisonous waters, the cause of so many innocent creatures’ demise?!! For that matter, how IS she still alive? How long has she been under the water? As Courtney would soon find out -- her entire life. In fact, this was the young mermaid’s first time on land.
Lorelei with companions, Seanne and Millisine, has travelled a long way to walk these scarred shores. Now separated by the horrific oily mess that only humans could have caused, the three sirens must struggle to stay alive as they attempt to navigate this strange new world. They must reunite and begin the “Earthquest” that is their reason for being on land. Their underwater home is sick, dying off at an alarming rate. And whatever is causing the near extinction of the last remaining mermaid colony, clearly originated from exactly where they find themselves.
Edward Titan had waited decades for this moment. All three have arrived, hopeful and innocent, completely unsuspecting. Soon the ocean’s strongest, smartest and most intuitive sirens will find themselves up against years of festering anger and hatred. Titan’s retribution will be swift and brutal. And it will mean the end of an entire civilization. The Sirens’ Song will soon be no more.
THE SIREN CHRONICLES: BOOK ONE, is the exciting first installment in a series of SIRENS books that will follow these miraculous young heroines across the globe, both above and beneath the ocean. As they try desperately to stave off a psychotic creature bent on destroying the planet, they discover new species, battle old enemies and face challenges they never could have imagined.
My Review:
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
Sirens are intelligent, strong, and beautiful beyond human comprehension. Seanne, the most beautiful of the three, has a fin that changes colour with her moods, and is a fierce warrior. She's also very passionate about her homeland. Lorelei, although plain looking in comparison of Seanne, has a beautiful singing voice and writes captivating songs she's a perfectly pitched soprano. Millisine, the youngest of the three by almost a year, but also the most brilliant.
The story follows the three mermaids as the world around them crumbles due to an oil spill among other things. It also follows Dr. Elias Courtney, an environmentalist cleaning up the spill. His life has been pretty normal up until the day he came home from university one day and found that his father had shot his mother six times.
The thing is, the mermaids got separated on their way to the surface to start their quest on dry land. Lorelie finding refuge with a mother and daughter duo who live with an abusive husband, Seanne getting first picked up by a frat house and then arrested by the cops, finding herself in a mental hospital, and Millisine living with Dr. Elias Courtney in his home. They don't actually get to start their journey together until about 70% of the way through the book.
I really enjoyed reading it, and from the beginning I was hooked. Not many books are about mermaids lately, and the few I have read seemed childish but not this one, I've never read anything like this. Although just the beginning of their quest, I definitely want to check out part two. The characters are all different but they seem realistic personality wise, despite them being mythical creatures of the sea. The story is exciting and the world although like our own is a nice change of pace. Definitely check it out if you get the chance!
Here's a link to buy the book on amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/Siren-Chronicle...
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com
September 22, 2017
My Thoughts:
This was a quick and easy read. It was also an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend this book to mermaid fans.
Rating: 3.5/5
Characters:
The mermaids:
I had a tough time distinguishing between the different mermaids. I had to go back to the initial descriptions of them to remember their features and connect them to their names. They are all described as incredibly beautiful, highly intelligent, and very athletic. I thought this basic description made them a little bit boring. I find characters that are flawed, whether it is mentally, physically or emotionally, makes for better story writing and for a more character driven plot.
The Humans:
The humans in this book were either gorgeous female models or described as having the “body of Adonis”. It was hard to connect with any of the characters in this book because of these more than perfect descriptions. The generic character descriptions didn’t help in creating uniqueness to the characters.
The Villains:
This brought a little bit of action and adventure to the novel, but the characters need to be more dynamic. Morally ambiguous villains are more exciting to read about, even though they are bad, you can’t help liking them.
Plot:
The mermaids were sent on to land on a quest. But they didn’t even know what the quest was for. This made is extremely hard to follow the story. It felt like there was not final goal which is motivating the characters’ actions. Also confusing was that there were 3 mermaids to follow throughout the novel.
One thing I really liked about this novel was how the story focused on environmental issues. I think this made the setting more realistic. This book can help introduce younger readers to the problems of the real world.
Writing Style:
It was easy to read, but I think this type of writing is better for a TV show. There were lots of telling about what happened instead of just showing what happened. There are explanations and descriptions of the mermaid world and of their advanced technology, but I wish it was described in a way that less like talking about it, and more like showing it.
I also felt that the dialogue and descriptions didn’t really match. Every time there was switch for a description to a character’s dialogue, it was very jarring. I felt like this book could have been written with less sudden shifts. The shifting was a little distracting at times.
Final Decision:
3.5/5
I read this book in about a day. I was very quick and easy. I would recommend this book for any mermaid fans. The novel ended with many unanswered questions. I hope to see more of the mermaid adventures in the next installment.
This was a quick and easy read. It was also an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend this book to mermaid fans.
Rating: 3.5/5
Characters:
The mermaids:
I had a tough time distinguishing between the different mermaids. I had to go back to the initial descriptions of them to remember their features and connect them to their names. They are all described as incredibly beautiful, highly intelligent, and very athletic. I thought this basic description made them a little bit boring. I find characters that are flawed, whether it is mentally, physically or emotionally, makes for better story writing and for a more character driven plot.
The Humans:
The humans in this book were either gorgeous female models or described as having the “body of Adonis”. It was hard to connect with any of the characters in this book because of these more than perfect descriptions. The generic character descriptions didn’t help in creating uniqueness to the characters.
The Villains:
This brought a little bit of action and adventure to the novel, but the characters need to be more dynamic. Morally ambiguous villains are more exciting to read about, even though they are bad, you can’t help liking them.
Plot:
The mermaids were sent on to land on a quest. But they didn’t even know what the quest was for. This made is extremely hard to follow the story. It felt like there was not final goal which is motivating the characters’ actions. Also confusing was that there were 3 mermaids to follow throughout the novel.
One thing I really liked about this novel was how the story focused on environmental issues. I think this made the setting more realistic. This book can help introduce younger readers to the problems of the real world.
Writing Style:
It was easy to read, but I think this type of writing is better for a TV show. There were lots of telling about what happened instead of just showing what happened. There are explanations and descriptions of the mermaid world and of their advanced technology, but I wish it was described in a way that less like talking about it, and more like showing it.
I also felt that the dialogue and descriptions didn’t really match. Every time there was switch for a description to a character’s dialogue, it was very jarring. I felt like this book could have been written with less sudden shifts. The shifting was a little distracting at times.
Final Decision:
3.5/5
I read this book in about a day. I was very quick and easy. I would recommend this book for any mermaid fans. The novel ended with many unanswered questions. I hope to see more of the mermaid adventures in the next installment.
September 25, 2017
Ok, let me start off by saying I am incredibly honoured to be participating in this book tour!.
On with the review. The sirens or mermaids, however, you wish to call them are on a mission and along the way they acquire human friends. The topics this book deals with and touches on are oil spills, domestic abuse, love and the myth on mermaids. Sloan's writing style is for middle school children so I found it odd that it was talking about domestic abuse and love because you usually find this in young adult books and I guess that is the beauty of collaborating both into one. The characters weren't as well developed as I would have liked, although if I was still in primary school I think I would have enjoyed it more because it was such an easy read and it wasn't something that you had to de-code to understand. I loved the characters though and the different people you got to meet as it told through 3 different perspectives and so when I was adjusted to that I really enjoyed how each siren dealed with their own struggle of being alone in a scary world.
I also would have wanted more world building especially since this book is mainly set on land and not in the ocean. The backstory wasn't fully developed and it kinda dropped off in the middle of the book because the main characters goals shifted and I feel as if it took away what the book was trying to convey. The storyline was a bit muddled for me and the goal at the beginning of the book only reappeared again at the end. Despite this I found it quiet satisfying ing to know that it was a good vs evil book and it takes older readers back to their childhood and the younger generation hope that good should trump evil.
The book tackles with oil spills and taking care of the environment and how that affects the ocean, therefore resulting in harmful effects inflicted on the mermaids. The Siren Chronicles also mention the book The Odessy and it makes me want to read it as the origin of the sirens comes from that book.
Overall I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 and I can't wait to see what the sequel has in store! I recommend this book for 10+ because it was such an easy reading level but also very enjoyable.
Thank you to Smith Publicity for letting me review this book.
October 21, 2017
Mermaids are a fantasy angle that is far less popular than werewolves, vampires and other changelings, making it a realm which needs much investigating. Thankfully, I am not alone in that thought.
This is a very simply written and rather short dip into the realm, but that really isn’t surprising as it is the first of a series. It opens with a rather sinister scene, which sets the stage for a phenomenal book and has the reader looking forward to more, so very much more. However, the entire prelude is tossed to the waves until beyond the halfway mark.
Three ‘super’ mermaid maidens are sent to the land to fulfill their queen’s quest: Lorelei, Millisinne and Seanne (the power trio). Sadly predictable, they are all described as beautiful beyond human belief and highly intelligent. Oddly enough, none of them has any real idea what the quest really is, beyond saving their race from the dreaded illness invading Oceanna. Things go sideways almost immediately when the power trio are separated by a deadly oil slick polluting their waters.
Dr. Elias Courtney, handsome, rich, and described as an Adonis, saves Millisinne and becomes involved in the mermaids’ quest. There’s a set up for romance there, though thankfully the author didn’t seem preoccupied with building too heavily on that. Seriously though, we don’t need the main characters to be superhuman and utter perfection in order to like them. That can tend to throw it the other way, and in a YA book may have children striving for what is unattainable and feeling like crap because of it. Hmm...
I’m torn, really. There are some good things and some really awful clichéd things... The author has been involved with the Disney Channel for many years, as director and executive producer, Fox Kids and tv shows and movies. So the plot and writing style is not surprising.
The best thing about this novel in my honest opinion, is that all of the profits will be going to “Marine Preservation Charities” to support and aid in saving underwater eco-systems. That alone is worth the purchase of the book.
This is a very simply written and rather short dip into the realm, but that really isn’t surprising as it is the first of a series. It opens with a rather sinister scene, which sets the stage for a phenomenal book and has the reader looking forward to more, so very much more. However, the entire prelude is tossed to the waves until beyond the halfway mark.
Three ‘super’ mermaid maidens are sent to the land to fulfill their queen’s quest: Lorelei, Millisinne and Seanne (the power trio). Sadly predictable, they are all described as beautiful beyond human belief and highly intelligent. Oddly enough, none of them has any real idea what the quest really is, beyond saving their race from the dreaded illness invading Oceanna. Things go sideways almost immediately when the power trio are separated by a deadly oil slick polluting their waters.
Dr. Elias Courtney, handsome, rich, and described as an Adonis, saves Millisinne and becomes involved in the mermaids’ quest. There’s a set up for romance there, though thankfully the author didn’t seem preoccupied with building too heavily on that. Seriously though, we don’t need the main characters to be superhuman and utter perfection in order to like them. That can tend to throw it the other way, and in a YA book may have children striving for what is unattainable and feeling like crap because of it. Hmm...
I’m torn, really. There are some good things and some really awful clichéd things... The author has been involved with the Disney Channel for many years, as director and executive producer, Fox Kids and tv shows and movies. So the plot and writing style is not surprising.
The best thing about this novel in my honest opinion, is that all of the profits will be going to “Marine Preservation Charities” to support and aid in saving underwater eco-systems. That alone is worth the purchase of the book.
September 12, 2017
The Siren Chronicles
By
Douglas J. Sloan
What it's all about...
Mermaids Seanne, Millisine and Lorelei must leave their ocean home...by the way...their home is literally downsized to a clamshell...and try to save their world and the human world. They leave the ocean together but due to a massive oil spill in LA...they are separated and land in three separate places...with a young oceanographer, a famous model and her young daughter and in a fraternity house! They need to find their way back to each other in order to complete their mission. The interesting thing is that each girl/mermaid has her own unique circumstances to overcome. And...these circumstances also involve dangerous situations...that are both worldly and other worldly. Now that has your head spinning...doesn't it?
Why I wanted to read it...
The cover of this book drew me in totally and once you really get into each mermaid's situation...the pages literally fly. It's a unique mix of reality and fantasy with a little bit of dysfunction thrown in...well maybe more than a little bit of dysfunction. And near the end it gets crazy out of control with freaky and scary creatures. Plus...the way it ended had me thinking Book 2...
What made me truly enjoy this book...
I loved the under the sea parts of this book. I loved the wonder the mermaids had about life out of the water. And I actually enjoyed the weird situations. The "girls" were always battling some form of evil!
Why you should read it, too...
I am honestly not sure about who will make up the readers for this book. It could be just me but it seemed a bit too much to be called YA...so maybe readers would be older YA's...mature Youngish Readers? That's not to say that adults who love strange fiction wouldn't enjoy this book. It was a unique under the sea story...forget all about the little mermaid but think powerful under the sea forces.
My thank you to the publisher for sending me my copy!
By
Douglas J. Sloan
What it's all about...
Mermaids Seanne, Millisine and Lorelei must leave their ocean home...by the way...their home is literally downsized to a clamshell...and try to save their world and the human world. They leave the ocean together but due to a massive oil spill in LA...they are separated and land in three separate places...with a young oceanographer, a famous model and her young daughter and in a fraternity house! They need to find their way back to each other in order to complete their mission. The interesting thing is that each girl/mermaid has her own unique circumstances to overcome. And...these circumstances also involve dangerous situations...that are both worldly and other worldly. Now that has your head spinning...doesn't it?
Why I wanted to read it...
The cover of this book drew me in totally and once you really get into each mermaid's situation...the pages literally fly. It's a unique mix of reality and fantasy with a little bit of dysfunction thrown in...well maybe more than a little bit of dysfunction. And near the end it gets crazy out of control with freaky and scary creatures. Plus...the way it ended had me thinking Book 2...
What made me truly enjoy this book...
I loved the under the sea parts of this book. I loved the wonder the mermaids had about life out of the water. And I actually enjoyed the weird situations. The "girls" were always battling some form of evil!
Why you should read it, too...
I am honestly not sure about who will make up the readers for this book. It could be just me but it seemed a bit too much to be called YA...so maybe readers would be older YA's...mature Youngish Readers? That's not to say that adults who love strange fiction wouldn't enjoy this book. It was a unique under the sea story...forget all about the little mermaid but think powerful under the sea forces.
My thank you to the publisher for sending me my copy!
September 1, 2017
“He smiled, knowing that Lorelei responded first with her heart, then allowed her mind to catch up.” -Douglas J. Sloan, The Siren Chronicles
Three stunning Sirens on a quest to save their oceans and its inhabitants walk on land for the first time. The Siren Chronicles, written by Douglas J. Sloan, is a story split three ways by three very diverse Sirens and the journey they make individually and together that could save their watery world and ours. Although this book was an easy read and quick to get through, I had some difficulty with it as it didn’t fully reach my expectations.
Seanne the warrior, Lorelei the singer, and Millisine the intellectual, all Sirens but all very different, are sent on a mission that will help them save the world of Oceanna. The only problem is they will not know what it is they are seeking until they find it. When they first come upon a horrible oil spill and get split up, this is only the beginning of their problems. Facing each of her own difficulties, the three Sirens must find each other and discover their quest or return home and suffer the consequences of the deaths of the merfolk. Can they each survive their trials and find each other in time?
I am hesitant to give this book 3 stars, so maybe I would give it 2.5 stars instead. Don’t get me wrong, this book did have some good moments; I enjoyed all three of the Sirens’ personalities and their points of view as it switched throughout the book. The biggest issue I had with it is that the climax was so short and not very big or exciting. I feel like I could have missed it if I wasn’t paying attention or waiting for it. I hope that the following books in the series make up for what was lacking in this book and make it all worth the wait.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To see more reviews written by me, go to my blog at InkTeller.com!
Three stunning Sirens on a quest to save their oceans and its inhabitants walk on land for the first time. The Siren Chronicles, written by Douglas J. Sloan, is a story split three ways by three very diverse Sirens and the journey they make individually and together that could save their watery world and ours. Although this book was an easy read and quick to get through, I had some difficulty with it as it didn’t fully reach my expectations.
Seanne the warrior, Lorelei the singer, and Millisine the intellectual, all Sirens but all very different, are sent on a mission that will help them save the world of Oceanna. The only problem is they will not know what it is they are seeking until they find it. When they first come upon a horrible oil spill and get split up, this is only the beginning of their problems. Facing each of her own difficulties, the three Sirens must find each other and discover their quest or return home and suffer the consequences of the deaths of the merfolk. Can they each survive their trials and find each other in time?
I am hesitant to give this book 3 stars, so maybe I would give it 2.5 stars instead. Don’t get me wrong, this book did have some good moments; I enjoyed all three of the Sirens’ personalities and their points of view as it switched throughout the book. The biggest issue I had with it is that the climax was so short and not very big or exciting. I feel like I could have missed it if I wasn’t paying attention or waiting for it. I hope that the following books in the series make up for what was lacking in this book and make it all worth the wait.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To see more reviews written by me, go to my blog at InkTeller.com!
September 23, 2017
The story follows three mermaids sent on an earth quest. Lorelei, Millisine and Seanne end up separated and most of the story is about them finding each other again.
While I enjoyed the story and found the premise intriguing I had a few issues with the writing style. I felt there was an over use of describing words and especially at the beginning the author told us a lot of things instead of showed them to us. We were constantly being told how stunning the tree mermaids were and how intelligent they were however they never seemed to use much of this intelligence. We were constantly told how Lorelei was the artistic one but never saw her do anything that justified being described in that way.
I found it hard to conect with the characters. They lacked depth. Seanne was my favourite. She seemed to be the most developed and had reasons behind why she acted the way she did. She didn’t luck out in her companions the way the other two did. I feel like the other mermaids she cut her more slack and she isn’t as horrible as they make her out to be. I felt the romance was a bit miss matched. The story followed all three mermaids individually and Dr Elias a marine biologist that ends up helping the mermaids. It was confusing at times who point of view we were following as it jumped around a lot. For me Seanne’s story was the most interesting and the story should have focused on her as the main character.
About half way through I was sucked in and couldn’t put it down wanting to know what happened next. Would thy find each other? What was there quest? Would they succeed? The story was short and a easy read. So if you love mermaids and want a quick read this book would be perfect. This is the first in a series and I would be interested in seeing how th rest of the story unfolds.
While I enjoyed the story and found the premise intriguing I had a few issues with the writing style. I felt there was an over use of describing words and especially at the beginning the author told us a lot of things instead of showed them to us. We were constantly being told how stunning the tree mermaids were and how intelligent they were however they never seemed to use much of this intelligence. We were constantly told how Lorelei was the artistic one but never saw her do anything that justified being described in that way.
I found it hard to conect with the characters. They lacked depth. Seanne was my favourite. She seemed to be the most developed and had reasons behind why she acted the way she did. She didn’t luck out in her companions the way the other two did. I feel like the other mermaids she cut her more slack and she isn’t as horrible as they make her out to be. I felt the romance was a bit miss matched. The story followed all three mermaids individually and Dr Elias a marine biologist that ends up helping the mermaids. It was confusing at times who point of view we were following as it jumped around a lot. For me Seanne’s story was the most interesting and the story should have focused on her as the main character.
About half way through I was sucked in and couldn’t put it down wanting to know what happened next. Would thy find each other? What was there quest? Would they succeed? The story was short and a easy read. So if you love mermaids and want a quick read this book would be perfect. This is the first in a series and I would be interested in seeing how th rest of the story unfolds.
September 26, 2017
I requested this book for review but this won’t impact how I feel about the story. Lately I’ve been dying for some pirate and mermaid stories so I was beyond excited to start this one. Many concepts in this book are fantastic but there are also some things that could use a bit of work. In the beginning of the story the reader is bombarded with information on each of the three main characters. Their strengths and weaknesses as well as their pasts, things they like and don’t like, etc. Personally I feel like it would have been nice to get to know these things about the mermaids as the story went on vs having an info dump. I liked how the author, Sloan, explained some details on mermaids though because small things like that really pull the story together! I wish that the characters were a bit more rounded out though. More specifically just Seanne. Seanne stays angry, rude and reckless the whole time which really bothered me since Lorelei and Millisine seemed to develop more. I understand that her character was supposed to be the fierce warrior who does whatever she wants, but I feel like typically after getting into more and more trouble, one would start to be wary and consider her team mates well being, especially if she cares about them. Still, this book is enjoyable if you crave a book on mermaids and strange quests! I would definitely recommend this as a future read!
November 3, 2017
The Siren Chronicles follows three sirens or mermaids as they journey from their familiar undersea world to the surface for the right of passage known as the "Earthquest." During this journey, they get separated and encounter different types of humans, some nicer than others. The book goes all over the place. It opens up with a scene in the prologue that isn't even revisited until the end of story. One of the primary purposes for the sirens making this journey was to figure out why their undersea world is changing and bringing about sickness in their population of normally healthy sirens. I felt like there wasn't much emphasis on this matter. Too many different storylines going on at the same time, which is distracting and leaves little time for good story development. There was very little to no character development, which could be a result of it being a story that features three females in addition to all the other characters. I felt like the book would have one much better if it was a bit more focused.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 10, 2017
The Siren Chronicles Book 1
Seanne, Lorelei, and Millisine are three mermaids sent by the Empress of Oceanna to find what has been sickening the mermaid colony. As the mermaids are about to enter the human world, they are separated by a horrible oil spill off the coast of California. They spend the book trying to find each other.
This is the first installment of what will be a series of stories that will chronicle the mermaid world and their interaction with humans.
Unfortunately, the book is poorly written. The characters are two dimensional and almost caricatures. I did not identify with any of them. Part of the problem is that the manuscript is narrated from a universal point of view, alternating with some third person point of views. It's a mess. The writer should have worked on the script more because the story is interesting. The book is very short and it's supposed to set the next one. This creates another problem: the book is not a stand alone book. I would have found a better place to stop.
I do not recommend it.
Seanne, Lorelei, and Millisine are three mermaids sent by the Empress of Oceanna to find what has been sickening the mermaid colony. As the mermaids are about to enter the human world, they are separated by a horrible oil spill off the coast of California. They spend the book trying to find each other.
This is the first installment of what will be a series of stories that will chronicle the mermaid world and their interaction with humans.
Unfortunately, the book is poorly written. The characters are two dimensional and almost caricatures. I did not identify with any of them. Part of the problem is that the manuscript is narrated from a universal point of view, alternating with some third person point of views. It's a mess. The writer should have worked on the script more because the story is interesting. The book is very short and it's supposed to set the next one. This creates another problem: the book is not a stand alone book. I would have found a better place to stop.
I do not recommend it.
September 21, 2018
Imagine being ordered away as you see someone devouring your parents. Or, walking along the beach and finding someone practically on death’s door, covered in seaweed. Or, waking up in a frat house with people staring at and pawing on you. Or, crying in a cave.
Imagine a whole lot more than that! The Siren Chronicles by Douglas J. Sloan offers a great deal of excitement as three mermaids embark on their earth quest. Each one faces challenges as they learn to maneuver themselves on land and deal with humans.
One of them gets the answer to something that has haunted her since childhood.
All three get a taste of evil that will take every ounce of their strength to defeat. Can they do it? They have to. Their underwater world depends on it.
I enjoyed The Siren Chronicles immensely. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to read Book 2!
We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.
We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
Imagine a whole lot more than that! The Siren Chronicles by Douglas J. Sloan offers a great deal of excitement as three mermaids embark on their earth quest. Each one faces challenges as they learn to maneuver themselves on land and deal with humans.
One of them gets the answer to something that has haunted her since childhood.
All three get a taste of evil that will take every ounce of their strength to defeat. Can they do it? They have to. Their underwater world depends on it.
I enjoyed The Siren Chronicles immensely. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to read Book 2!
We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.
We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
September 27, 2017
Original review is from here
When Marine Biologist Elias Courtney is cleaning up. What is the worst oil spill in California History, he stumbles up on the unthinkable. A beautiful young woman is washed up on the desecrated beach. She is tangled in the black seaweed. She is still alive, but won’t survive for long without any help. Why would someone jump in disgusting black oily water? Without air? As Elias Courtney will find out, she has been living her entire life underwater. Actually, this is the first time she is on land.
Seanne, Millisine and Lorelei have travelled a long way. Thanks to the oil spill the girls have been separated. The sirens have to struggle to stay alive while navigating in the human realm. They have to find each other to start their “Earthquest”, which is the main reason they’re on land in the first place. They have to find a cure to those wo are sick or dying at their home. Normally their people never get sick, until recently…
Will the girls be able to find a cure in time?
The first thing you’ll notice, when starting this book, is the level of detail it uses for descriptions. Because it is high, like really high. And normally, the books I read don’t go in that level of detail, so I definitely had to get used to that. This also slowed down my reading process big time, and it felt like I barely made any progress each time I read it. But this does make it a book you have to sit down for and pay full attention to, because if you don’t you’re going to miss out. Big time.
All three sirens, or mermaids (in this book it is like they are both the same mythical creatures, which they actually aren’t, and was a bit of a downside) were all very different regarding their character. Which was very pleasant, since this book changes between their POV’s. So it was very easy to know which character’s POV you were reading.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I had some major struggles, like getting in to the book itself (tiny disclaimer: I was getting into a reading slump even before I started the book, but I kinda ignored it). I had quite some struggle reading it, even though I did enjoy what I was reading at that moment. The last 50 pages were highly fast paced, for which I was very glad. Because I struggled so much with getting into the story, the book felt just huge, wordy and somewhat boring after a while, which sucked. But once again, I was getting into a bit of a slump even before I read it, so I guess that played a major thing in the end!
But thanks to the end (and the plottwist) I am planning to keeping an eye out for the sequel. Because it got me excited!
Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re into mermaid/siren books and can handle detailed descriptions!
I ended up giving it 3,5 out of 5 stars.
When Marine Biologist Elias Courtney is cleaning up. What is the worst oil spill in California History, he stumbles up on the unthinkable. A beautiful young woman is washed up on the desecrated beach. She is tangled in the black seaweed. She is still alive, but won’t survive for long without any help. Why would someone jump in disgusting black oily water? Without air? As Elias Courtney will find out, she has been living her entire life underwater. Actually, this is the first time she is on land.
Seanne, Millisine and Lorelei have travelled a long way. Thanks to the oil spill the girls have been separated. The sirens have to struggle to stay alive while navigating in the human realm. They have to find each other to start their “Earthquest”, which is the main reason they’re on land in the first place. They have to find a cure to those wo are sick or dying at their home. Normally their people never get sick, until recently…
Will the girls be able to find a cure in time?
The first thing you’ll notice, when starting this book, is the level of detail it uses for descriptions. Because it is high, like really high. And normally, the books I read don’t go in that level of detail, so I definitely had to get used to that. This also slowed down my reading process big time, and it felt like I barely made any progress each time I read it. But this does make it a book you have to sit down for and pay full attention to, because if you don’t you’re going to miss out. Big time.
All three sirens, or mermaids (in this book it is like they are both the same mythical creatures, which they actually aren’t, and was a bit of a downside) were all very different regarding their character. Which was very pleasant, since this book changes between their POV’s. So it was very easy to know which character’s POV you were reading.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I had some major struggles, like getting in to the book itself (tiny disclaimer: I was getting into a reading slump even before I started the book, but I kinda ignored it). I had quite some struggle reading it, even though I did enjoy what I was reading at that moment. The last 50 pages were highly fast paced, for which I was very glad. Because I struggled so much with getting into the story, the book felt just huge, wordy and somewhat boring after a while, which sucked. But once again, I was getting into a bit of a slump even before I read it, so I guess that played a major thing in the end!
But thanks to the end (and the plottwist) I am planning to keeping an eye out for the sequel. Because it got me excited!
Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re into mermaid/siren books and can handle detailed descriptions!
I ended up giving it 3,5 out of 5 stars.
October 11, 2017
Siren Chronicles follows three young mermaids through their coming of age quest to walk on land. As mermaids have started to get sick and die much too soon, Lorelie, Millisine, and Seanne set out to Help the survival of their people. Right away the journey starts off terrible and all 3 get separated and have to try to reunite. Millisine seems to be the only lucky one and ends up in the home of a young marine biologist with ties to their cause. Nothing can go right for the trio as they face the horrors that are threatening their home.
I had a very hard time finishing this book. I had to start it 3 times to get past the first few chapters. And felt absolutely no connection to the characters. I was excited about the premise but I don't think I would continue with the series. I also was confused by Seanne's story with her parents. It was such a horrifying experience for the young mermaid but then was so glossed over when she started to get answers. Overall just not a book for me.
I had a very hard time finishing this book. I had to start it 3 times to get past the first few chapters. And felt absolutely no connection to the characters. I was excited about the premise but I don't think I would continue with the series. I also was confused by Seanne's story with her parents. It was such a horrifying experience for the young mermaid but then was so glossed over when she started to get answers. Overall just not a book for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2019
The premise of this book is fantastic. I LOVE mermaids and try to read whatever I can find on them. That being said, there were a few things I took issue with. The descriptions for everyone in the books are. . . well too good to be true. I am fine with the mermaids being better looking, smarter, stronger. .etc. .they Aren't Human. But the human characters being dream like, rich, perfect? its a bit too much having the entire book essentially being about supermodels. .
That aside, there were tons of things I did love about this book. I loved the description of their home. I loved that they are so easily hidden from humans because their technology makes it so they can shrink their home. I love the way that the author has them transform from mermaid to human and back.
so. . setting. . fantastic. . .theme. . .fantastic. . .characters. . . they fell a bit flat. . They didnt have much depth and everyone in the book was TOO perfect. it was a bit too much.
That aside, there were tons of things I did love about this book. I loved the description of their home. I loved that they are so easily hidden from humans because their technology makes it so they can shrink their home. I love the way that the author has them transform from mermaid to human and back.
so. . setting. . fantastic. . .theme. . .fantastic. . .characters. . . they fell a bit flat. . They didnt have much depth and everyone in the book was TOO perfect. it was a bit too much.
September 6, 2017
Ok I'll be honest I was a little skeptical at first only because when you think of mermaids and magic you either end up with Ariel or the crazy evil ones from Harry Potter. I was pleasantly surprised and loved this new epic adventure twist on what we are usually presented. The introductory to the book was set on tortoise speed for longer than I would have liked however once you pass through it the book really picks up and becomes quite addicting. I would describe this as epic fairy tale meets Thor and has a love child with shape shifters. All of the three realms were beautifully written and the characters were well developed in themselves. My only complaint with the characters was Halen's curiosity being squashed everywhere she went. If I had odd things happening to me making me think I was nuts I would want some answers to.
August 24, 2017
NetGalley Review
This book, by far, failed to even reach my expectations.
Firstly, I had the impression that I was reading a young adult series, not a middle grade or children's book. The vocabulary was juvenile and weak. It was more tell than show. The writing could've been much stronger if the sentences weren't so dry and choppy.
Secondly, the characters fell flat. Besides a few physical descriptions, we don't really know that much about them. The story was told in the third person, which is where I think the author went wrong. Third person is great and all, but it just did not work in the characters favor with this book.
Overall, I disliked this book. However, I would recommend it to a much younger audience.
This book, by far, failed to even reach my expectations.
Firstly, I had the impression that I was reading a young adult series, not a middle grade or children's book. The vocabulary was juvenile and weak. It was more tell than show. The writing could've been much stronger if the sentences weren't so dry and choppy.
Secondly, the characters fell flat. Besides a few physical descriptions, we don't really know that much about them. The story was told in the third person, which is where I think the author went wrong. Third person is great and all, but it just did not work in the characters favor with this book.
Overall, I disliked this book. However, I would recommend it to a much younger audience.
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