Fishy Reads!

Fishy Reads! 

Okay, so I promised some mermaid tales this week! We have already reviewed some mermaid shenanigans, but here's a few more to flip your fins to!

These three books are a selection of different tastes. From mature content, teenage lurrrrve, and belly laughing fun, they've all be chosen to suit certain readers. For anyone looking for recommendations, just keep an open mind with these three. They're all different, but all about love, mermaids and of course, those damn amazing heroines! 

My Mermaid Reading List: 

Goddess of the Sea, by P.C Cast. 

Paitkus Cover

On the night of her twenty-fifth birthday, alone in her apartment, Air Force Sergeant Christine Canady wished for one thing: a little magic in her life. After drinking way too much champagne, she performed, of all crazy things, a goddess-summoning ritual, hoping that it would somehow make her life a little less ordinary...but she never believed the spell would actually work.

When her military plane crashes into the ocean, CC's mission overseas takes an unexpected turn. She awakens to find herself in a legendary time and place where magic rules the land—occupying the body of the mythic mermaid Undine. But there is danger in the waters and the goddess Gaea turns this modern, military gal into a beautiful damsel so that she can seek shelter on land.

CC is soon rescued (literally) by a knight in shining armor. She should be falling in love with this dream-come-true, but instead she aches for the sea and Dylan, the sexy merman who has stolen her heart.

Rating: Mature for content, whole lotta flapping around in the water, annoying knights, sly monks. 

                                                                       

Of Poseidon, (The Syrena Legacy #1) by Anna Banks.

Square Fish, 2013

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.     

Rating: T for Tweeny love, cute mer-boys, fun and engaging characters, no-fuss reading!

Sleeping with the Fishes, (Fred the Mermaid, #1), by Mary Janice Davidson. 

Paitkus Books, 2011. 

Fred is not your ordinary mermaid. She's not blonde. She's not buxom. And she's definitely not perky. In fact, Fred can be downright cranky. And it doesn't help matters that her hair is blue. While volunteering at the New England Aquarium, Fred learns that there are weird levels of toxins in the local seawater. A gorgeous marine biologist wants her help investigating. So does her merperson ruler, the High Prince of the Black Sea. You'd think it would be easy for a mermaid to get to the bottom of things. Think again. 

Rating: M for language, chic-lit, Witty and lovable characters, chortling belly laugh read, all about da mermaids, love triangle (but actually a good one!) 

Mer Out! 

Mermaid Week!

This week is Mermaid Week on the Confessions site! 

"A Race with Mermaids and Tritons" - Collier Smithers, 1895

I mean, who doesn't like mermaids? Seriously, if some sea-witch (who may or may not have been part of a Disney franchise) came up to you and said, "I'll make you a mermaid for day... if you give me your voice!" would you not immediately accept? I sure as hell would. And then I would also star in my own animation and sing with all the little sea creatures and....okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's think of the perks of being a mermaid or mer-person:

1) You can breathe under water!

2) Your fingers will not go soggy after being in the bath for ten minutes.

3) You can probably communicate with sea creatures and possibly get a job as a private, underwater detective and help out finding lost clownfish. 

4) You can chill on land if you want to. You might have to make a pact with some dastardly, sassy villain but, hey, you might just stumble across a charming human who may or may not live in a castle. 

5) Imagine the money you would save on transport! Those fins can take you anywhere you wanna go - the world is your oyster!

6) You'll obviously get a kick ass education - singing, life lessons and probably some self-defense thrown in there when a rowdy shark has snacked on one to many seals... 

7) You won't need to worry about snacking on that kale too much! Mer-people by nature don't wear any trousers... so no worrying about that damn pesky top button nonsense. Let those fins all hang out!

8) One word. Hair. Unrealistic hair expectations are a thing of the past. As a mermaid you're biologically programmed to have amazing hair. Science. 

9) Bras are a thing of the past. No one cares under the sea if you let those girls roam free or if you collect that coupon and get a free clam bra! The possibilities are endless. 

10) As a supernatural being, you have special abilities. One notable power - luring men to their deaths. Set the scene: you're just chilling in the ocean, waiting for the boyfriend to show up. You get a text on your clam phone - "Sorry bae, can't make it. Just bought the new FIFA." A simple hum of the tune and he's in the water by your side, it's up to you what happens next! Guess he didn't get the memo about your dark side! Oops. 

So this week, I'm dedicating this blog to all you beautiful sirens, selkies and of course, mers out there! If you have any specific book you want me to blog about, give me a heads up in the comments and I'll do my best! If not, I'm gonna be flagging up some of my favourite mermaid stories so please keep tuning in :)

"The Fisherman and the Siren" - Lord Frederick Leighton, 1858

Mer out! 

Mermaids, Mermaids and Mermaids

Mermaids, Mermaids, and More Mermaids...

Can I tell you a secret?

I have an obsession.

Mermaids.

I absolutely adore mermaids. Specifically mermaids who own lighthouses. Honestly, its my dream to be a mermaid, living on a remote island managing a lighthouse and occasionally dipping in the nippy ocean to get my fins wet. Ah, the life.

Signet Eclipse Books, 2010

  Why am I talking about this you might ask? I'm mentioning my love of mermaids because after a drought of weeks without reading anything sea-related, I was in the mood for some mermaid shenanigans of the deep-sea rarity - if you get my meaning. So I plundered the depths of both Amazon and Goodreads, in search of a brooding lighthouse keeper and fin-inclined friends when I stumbled across the out of print Siren's Call by Devyn Quinn. After reading the blurb, fangirling over the beautiful cover and then tracking down UK sellers, I bought the entire trilogy.

Blurb:

A new paranormal romance series that follows desire into the depths of the ocean 

Lighthouse keeper Tessa Lonike savors her solitude on Little Mer, an island off the coast of Maine, guarding her true identity as a mermaid. But when Tessa spots a man thrashing around in the ice cold waters during a storm, she must use her ability as a mermaid to pull him to shore. And a year later, when Kenneth meets her again, he's determined not to let Tessa slip away. But when Tessa'a archaeologist ex-lover comes back to town with a clue to her heritage, she may be forced to leave her happiness behind...

Now, I have to point out one thing. I'm studying Archaeology. Some would call me an archaeologist. Some would not. But one thing is certain: Tessa Lonike's ex-bae is not an archaeologist. He's a crack pot. If he was real, he'd be one of those select few that like to call themselves 'archaeologists' but actually are those khaki wearing, whip wielding, treasure-hunting nighthawks chasing the dream of finding Atlantis or the colony of lizardmen in mainstream society. Then they cry out in rage because they're not being recognized by the community. For good reason. 

In this instance, I hope to the goddess that Devyn Quinn knew what she was doing when writing Jake (the fanatic). Whenever I pick up a book and blurb describes a protagonist or secondary character as an 'archaeologist' and the writer has never studied said profession, a cold shiver runs through me. Another Indiana Jones-esque take on the archaeological record. Of course, sometimes I'm utterly wrong and sometimes, the stories are fun and exciting. However, I have to admit for Siren's Call I did not enjoy this take. In fact it had me shouting most of the time. Specifically the bit when they opened a supposed tomb without recording it first! Come on guys, rule one! 

Another thing this book praised was the typical gender roles. Now, of course in some romance novels fantasy overwhelms us and we get caught up in the typical hero/heroine dynamic. However, this one just went too far for me. One of the main character's reasons for not getting into a relationship was that she could not cook sufficiently enough for a man to want her! Blerrrrgh. Unfortunately that was a complete mind-numbing moment for me. One in which I grunted loudly and closed the book immediately. Suffice to say, I took break from reading on.

Also, the love triangle between Tessa, Kenneth and Jake was also something that needed some work. At times I felt like it was utterly forced. I didn't see any character development that allowed Jake to get a look in again. Instead, there was a jump forward of a six weeks and then one line:

'As the expedition had come together, she'd found Jake's company more tolerable."

Hmm. Well, that settles it right?!

It really didn't flow well with the story in some ways. Jake was more of a plot device than anything and you really knew it from the beginning. He doesn't really arrive until the last 3/4 of the book and then it's not even a subtle plot movement. It's like a sledge hammer driving its way through the pages; "Move outta the way, everyone! MAJOR PLOT TWIST COMING! Shoo!"

On a lighter note, there were some elements of the story I did like. I liked the cool scaly tattoos the mer-sisters had which were a physical representation of their tails on land. That was pretty bad-ass. I also liked the idea of the mermaids being created alongside male humans to breed - although they didn't really give a reason for the creation of females... they're obviously not important! I mean, we're taking mermaids here, right? The creation of an elite unknown society of mermaids that humans had no idea about was pretty original and somewhat exciting. Rebellions are always a good part of a plot, however, it was over within the gap between two chapters and nothing along the lines of fighting actually happened. I swear, three 'good' mermaids died in the process and nothing was mentioned about them expect their carcasses were bloodied on the floor. Poof! Like that, insignificant.

I think my main issue with this first book is that I didn't feel anything for the characters. Zero feels. Which is very unusual for me. They mostly just got on my nerves. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it as a good introduction into the land or sea of mermaids. I've read countless mermaid fictions which I would recommend to you in a heartbeat over Siren's Call. I think if it wasn't for that beautiful cover, I probably wouldn't remember the story at all! I'll probably read the next two and maybe review them, depending on how much they wind me up or not, so I'll keep you guys posted!

With that massive come-down, I'm going to leave my verdict here:

Rating: M - for adult context, sex, sea-frolicking and crappy archaeologist-wannabes.

Post Feels: Thank god for that!