Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Showing posts with label Mermaid Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mermaid Challenge. Show all posts
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Close of Mermaid Challenge + Follow Friday
So the Summer Mermaid Reading Challenge is officially over! Below is the last of the mermaid reviews for me! In 14 weeks I read 15 mermaid books. They are listed below along with their reviews. I had the impression that lots of mermaid books were very badly written, but either I just got lucky or that's not true. Don't get me wrong: there were a few that didn't impress me, but overall I really loved all the mermaid books I read. I got to read lots of great books and was introduced to tons of new, amazing authors! Among my favorites were Jackson Pearce's Fathomless, Jenn Reese's Above World and Anna Bank's Of Poseidon. Some I wasn't as impressed with were Elizabeth Fama's Monstrous Beauty and Brenda Pandos's Everblue.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Mermaid Challenge Reviews, Week 13 + Follow Friday
Welcome to Week 13 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
Only two more weeks of mermaid challenge to go! It ends on August 15th!
This week, I read two mermaid books, though one of them was so short as to be considered a short story, or perhaps a novella. They were Sea Change by Aimee Friedman and Madly by M. Leighton.
Only two more weeks of mermaid challenge to go! It ends on August 15th!
This week, I read two mermaid books, though one of them was so short as to be considered a short story, or perhaps a novella. They were Sea Change by Aimee Friedman and Madly by M. Leighton.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Follow Friday + Week 12 Mermaid Reviews
Welcome to Week 12 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
For this week's review, I read Fins are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs. I read the first book in this series, Forgive my Fins, a few weeks ago and loved it! So I couldn't wait to pick up the sequel.
Childs has a writing style that's just delightful. There's plenty of angst still going on in Lily Sanderson's life, but it's all so hysterical that you just can't stop turning the pages.
*Spoiler for book 1* She and Quince are together now, *end of spoiler, but that doesn't mean life's going to get any easier. Lily plans to renounce her claim to the throne of Thalassinia in order to live on land with Quince, but she hasn't actually told him that being with him means she'll lose her position in the merekingdom.
In addition, she never planned on a future on land, which means she hasn't paid much attention to grades. Now, if she wants to help her kingdom from above--her idea is to become a marine biologist--she needs a decent SAT score and to get into a good college. Stress!
To make things worse, her horrible, bratty cousin shows up needing help. Apparently Dossinia has done something that's made Lily's father, the sea King, banish her from the kingdom, and as her last duty as royal daughter, he wants Lily to help Doe grow a conscience and sense of responsibility. Not like that'll be hard or anything.
As disaster piles upon disaster, hilarity ensues and Lily thinks she might just go crazy. Or, you know, at least miss her college interview. I totally loved this book. According to goodreads, there's a third book. I was thinking it wasn't out yet, but it is. I don't know if my library has it, but I'm about to check! You all know I'm not huge on YA or high school drama, and that's exactly what these books are. But for me, they're the exception. Totally love them. Would recommend them to anyone who wants a light, fun, hysterical but also very romantic read. You can't go wrong with Tera Lynn Childs! :D
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
How do you handle a book you don't like? Do you DNF or do you power through?
It really depends with me. I have DNF'd before, but I have a bit of a finishing complex, so unless I'm really crunched for time or I really, really, REALLY hate it, I usually power through. Of course, there are always exceptions.
The really, really REALLY hatred is rare because I generally don't pick up a book unless I'm reasonable sure I'll enjoy it. For example, I might DNF a cheesy erotica, but I wouldn't pick one of those up in the first place, so the chances are low that I would hate a book enough to DNF it.
How about you? Do you DNF?
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Childs has a writing style that's just delightful. There's plenty of angst still going on in Lily Sanderson's life, but it's all so hysterical that you just can't stop turning the pages.
*Spoiler for book 1* She and Quince are together now, *end of spoiler, but that doesn't mean life's going to get any easier. Lily plans to renounce her claim to the throne of Thalassinia in order to live on land with Quince, but she hasn't actually told him that being with him means she'll lose her position in the merekingdom.
In addition, she never planned on a future on land, which means she hasn't paid much attention to grades. Now, if she wants to help her kingdom from above--her idea is to become a marine biologist--she needs a decent SAT score and to get into a good college. Stress!
To make things worse, her horrible, bratty cousin shows up needing help. Apparently Dossinia has done something that's made Lily's father, the sea King, banish her from the kingdom, and as her last duty as royal daughter, he wants Lily to help Doe grow a conscience and sense of responsibility. Not like that'll be hard or anything.
As disaster piles upon disaster, hilarity ensues and Lily thinks she might just go crazy. Or, you know, at least miss her college interview. I totally loved this book. According to goodreads, there's a third book. I was thinking it wasn't out yet, but it is. I don't know if my library has it, but I'm about to check! You all know I'm not huge on YA or high school drama, and that's exactly what these books are. But for me, they're the exception. Totally love them. Would recommend them to anyone who wants a light, fun, hysterical but also very romantic read. You can't go wrong with Tera Lynn Childs! :D
Follow Friday
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
How do you handle a book you don't like? Do you DNF or do you power through?
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The really, really REALLY hatred is rare because I generally don't pick up a book unless I'm reasonable sure I'll enjoy it. For example, I might DNF a cheesy erotica, but I wouldn't pick one of those up in the first place, so the chances are low that I would hate a book enough to DNF it.
How about you? Do you DNF?
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Mermaid Lit Reviews, Week 10 + Follow Friday
Welcome to Week 10 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Mermaid Challenge Reviews, Week 8 + Follow Friday
I hope everyone had a great Independence Day! To view Patriotic stories I've been posting all week, view earlier posts on both my blogs!
Welcome to Week 8 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
This week, I read Mirage by Jenn Reese. I read Above World a few weeks ago and so when I saw that my library had the sequel, I jumped at the chance to read it. :D
First of all, I should note that this really isn't much of a mermaid book. The kids in it are merekids, but in book 1 they got the chance to come Above World (get it?) and have an adventure on land. Mirage continues that adventure, but there's really no part of it that takes place under the ocean.
The only real mermaid element we deal with is the fact that Aluna *mild spoilers from book 1* swallowed a seed that perpetuates the growing of her mermaid tail fin and is trying to keep it from slowing her down the entire novel. *end of spoilers*
That said, it's still a great read! It continues the adventures of Hoki and Aluna, but we get to see a lot of Dash's homeland while the kids try to get their three peoples (Merepeople, Fliers, and Equians) to forge an alliance.
Welcome to Week 8 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
First of all, I should note that this really isn't much of a mermaid book. The kids in it are merekids, but in book 1 they got the chance to come Above World (get it?) and have an adventure on land. Mirage continues that adventure, but there's really no part of it that takes place under the ocean.
The only real mermaid element we deal with is the fact that Aluna *mild spoilers from book 1* swallowed a seed that perpetuates the growing of her mermaid tail fin and is trying to keep it from slowing her down the entire novel. *end of spoilers*
That said, it's still a great read! It continues the adventures of Hoki and Aluna, but we get to see a lot of Dash's homeland while the kids try to get their three peoples (Merepeople, Fliers, and Equians) to forge an alliance.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Mermaid Challenge Review, Week 7 + Follow Friday
Welcome to Week 7 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
For the challenge this week, I read The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler.
I chose this one this week, at least in part, because I knew I was going to have a busy week and this was a quick, light read.
It's actually the kind of book I usually don't enjoy because it's very juvenile. The stakes aren't high, the problems aren't adult, etc. But, that said, for a middle-grade book, I actually did enjoy it. I found it to be funny and a very touching story.
Emily is twelve-years old and never knew her father. Her mother is deathly afraid of the water and they live on a houseboat that doesn't have a bathtub, so Emily has never been fully submerged in water. Finally she talks her mother into letting her take swimming lessons. To her horror, when she gets into the pool, her legs stick together and become a fin! Learning about her mer-heritage may be not only the key to who her father was, but who she may become.
As I said, the book was pretty good, even if it was in an after-school-special kind of way. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mermaids, middle-grade, family-centered mysteries, or just wants a light, fun beach read.
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
What is your preferred reading format? Hardcover, eBooks, paperback etc?
I don't think I have a preferred format. I've always loved books, but reading in e-book format is super convenient, and because e-readers have lighting behind them, it's more easily done in the dark than with regular books. So, I do a mixture of both print books and e-books. I definitely am not a fan of hard-covers, though. They are more difficult to keep open while reading and more difficult to cart around. So I guess my answer is that I read a mix of e-reads and paperbacks, unless it's a library book or something. :D (Sorry. Total spaz over here. :D)
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I chose this one this week, at least in part, because I knew I was going to have a busy week and this was a quick, light read.
It's actually the kind of book I usually don't enjoy because it's very juvenile. The stakes aren't high, the problems aren't adult, etc. But, that said, for a middle-grade book, I actually did enjoy it. I found it to be funny and a very touching story.
Emily is twelve-years old and never knew her father. Her mother is deathly afraid of the water and they live on a houseboat that doesn't have a bathtub, so Emily has never been fully submerged in water. Finally she talks her mother into letting her take swimming lessons. To her horror, when she gets into the pool, her legs stick together and become a fin! Learning about her mer-heritage may be not only the key to who her father was, but who she may become.
As I said, the book was pretty good, even if it was in an after-school-special kind of way. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mermaids, middle-grade, family-centered mysteries, or just wants a light, fun beach read.
Follow Friday
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
What is your preferred reading format? Hardcover, eBooks, paperback etc?
I don't think I have a preferred format. I've always loved books, but reading in e-book format is super convenient, and because e-readers have lighting behind them, it's more easily done in the dark than with regular books. So, I do a mixture of both print books and e-books. I definitely am not a fan of hard-covers, though. They are more difficult to keep open while reading and more difficult to cart around. So I guess my answer is that I read a mix of e-reads and paperbacks, unless it's a library book or something. :D (Sorry. Total spaz over here. :D)
So, which format do YOU prefer?
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Follow Friday + Mermaid Challenge Reviews, Week 6
I've added Bloglovin' to those who prefer it. Also remember, there's a free copy of my short story, The Hatching, to anyone who follows via email!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Welcome to Week 5 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
This week's mermaid-themed book was Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs. It was fabulous!
It's kind of funny because, in terms of genre, this book is everything I generally say I don't like in a book. The characters are teenagers, it's based around high school and boyfriend drama, and the stakes are, well, love, which is big, but not exactly life and death. Especially not when it's of the teenaged variety.
That said, the protagonist in this book, Lily, is great! She manages to be a teenager, but extremely likable. She's hysterical! Totally self-centered, whiny, doesn't see the hot, sweet guy that's right in front of her, but you totally want to root for her anyway. She says things like:
"I mean, he has a special gifft for pushing my buttons. Too bad it's not a marketable skill." (pg. 148) and "Lord love a lobster, he has a beautiful chest. He's not body builder muscular, but clearly he's built enough to life whatever comes along." (pg. 82)
She uses a lot of fish/ocean/mere lingo. It would be over-the-top, except that it's so completely, endearingly incorporated into the character, that it works. In fact, it's charming.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a story of great originality and depth. It's really not much of a spoiler to say that this is a girl-likes-boy-that's-wrong-for-her-while-the-right-guy-fights-to-get-noticed-by-her story. Just one of those. A fun read that kept me turning pages and smiling the whole time.
If I had one complaint it's that it takes her sooooo long to clue into reality over the whole situation. I was fifty pages from the end and she was still sure she'd end up with the shallow guy she'd been crushing on for three years. And as far as reality goes, any sane girl would have left guy#1 for guy#2 after like, chapter 3. (I guess that was kind of two complaints, wasn't. it? Oh well.)
Overall, I really loved this book and want to read the sequel. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun, delightfully romantic summer read. It's all kinds of fishy fun.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Welcome to Week 5 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
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It's kind of funny because, in terms of genre, this book is everything I generally say I don't like in a book. The characters are teenagers, it's based around high school and boyfriend drama, and the stakes are, well, love, which is big, but not exactly life and death. Especially not when it's of the teenaged variety.
That said, the protagonist in this book, Lily, is great! She manages to be a teenager, but extremely likable. She's hysterical! Totally self-centered, whiny, doesn't see the hot, sweet guy that's right in front of her, but you totally want to root for her anyway. She says things like:
"I mean, he has a special gifft for pushing my buttons. Too bad it's not a marketable skill." (pg. 148) and "Lord love a lobster, he has a beautiful chest. He's not body builder muscular, but clearly he's built enough to life whatever comes along." (pg. 82)
She uses a lot of fish/ocean/mere lingo. It would be over-the-top, except that it's so completely, endearingly incorporated into the character, that it works. In fact, it's charming.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a story of great originality and depth. It's really not much of a spoiler to say that this is a girl-likes-boy-that's-wrong-for-her-while-the-right-guy-fights-to-get-noticed-by-her story. Just one of those. A fun read that kept me turning pages and smiling the whole time.
If I had one complaint it's that it takes her sooooo long to clue into reality over the whole situation. I was fifty pages from the end and she was still sure she'd end up with the shallow guy she'd been crushing on for three years. And as far as reality goes, any sane girl would have left guy#1 for guy#2 after like, chapter 3. (I guess that was kind of two complaints, wasn't. it? Oh well.)
Overall, I really loved this book and want to read the sequel. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun, delightfully romantic summer read. It's all kinds of fishy fun.
Has anyone else read Forgive My Fins? What did you think?
Follow Friday
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Share your favorite literary quote! (There are too many great quotes from books to choose just one, so I went with one about literacy instead.I was lazy and used the same one on both my blogs, FYI)
What's your favorite literary quote?
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Share your favorite literary quote! (There are too many great quotes from books to choose just one, so I went with one about literacy instead.I was lazy and used the same one on both my blogs, FYI)
Literacy is vital to democracy. For if the governed can neither understand their leaders nor distinguish truth from lies, then a democracy descends into oligarchy, a government by and for the elite few. --John Stauffer
What's your favorite literary quote?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Summer Mermaid Lit Challenge, Week 5 + Follow Friday
Welcome to Week 5 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
The mermaid book I read this week is called Fathomless by Jackson Pearce. This is the first book I've ever read by Pearce, though I have her other two fairy tale retellings on my TBR list.
And I gotta say, I LOVED this book!
I've been so impressed with the mermaid books I've read lately. So far they've all been creative, well-written takes on the legend. I've also been impressed at how well the authors incorporate aspects of the true mermaid legend that those who are only familiar with the Disney version wouldn't know, like that mermaids are supposed to get a human man to fall in love with them in order to win themselves a soul.
Well, this book went above and beyond. Pearce has a style of writing that is full of emotion. She hooks you right around the heart and makes you feel for the characters. More than any of the other mermaid books I've read, I was so invested in this story! Once I got to 2/3 of the way through it, I simply couldn't stop reading, and my heart really hurt for the characters.
This is written in a unique way as well. We get POVs from three characters, though its really only two people. I'm not gonna tell you why. It's a unique take on the mermaid legend that I couldn't even begin to explain, but whatever you're thinking from what I just said, I guarantee its more complicated than that.
And the climax of the story was so epic! Not only was plot and the action and the emotion at a high point, but there was a hurricane happening. The wind was blowing, people were shouting to be heard, there were monsters. It was fabulous!
Anyway, can't wait to get my hands on Pearce's other novels now because if they're all as good as this one, she may just be my new favorite author of fairy tale retellings.
Has anyone else read Pearce? What do you think of her? (Remember to link up below if you have a mermaid review this week. :D)
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And I gotta say, I LOVED this book!
I've been so impressed with the mermaid books I've read lately. So far they've all been creative, well-written takes on the legend. I've also been impressed at how well the authors incorporate aspects of the true mermaid legend that those who are only familiar with the Disney version wouldn't know, like that mermaids are supposed to get a human man to fall in love with them in order to win themselves a soul.
Well, this book went above and beyond. Pearce has a style of writing that is full of emotion. She hooks you right around the heart and makes you feel for the characters. More than any of the other mermaid books I've read, I was so invested in this story! Once I got to 2/3 of the way through it, I simply couldn't stop reading, and my heart really hurt for the characters.
This is written in a unique way as well. We get POVs from three characters, though its really only two people. I'm not gonna tell you why. It's a unique take on the mermaid legend that I couldn't even begin to explain, but whatever you're thinking from what I just said, I guarantee its more complicated than that.
And the climax of the story was so epic! Not only was plot and the action and the emotion at a high point, but there was a hurricane happening. The wind was blowing, people were shouting to be heard, there were monsters. It was fabulous!
Anyway, can't wait to get my hands on Pearce's other novels now because if they're all as good as this one, she may just be my new favorite author of fairy tale retellings.
Has anyone else read Pearce? What do you think of her? (Remember to link up below if you have a mermaid review this week. :D)
***Hey Everyone, I have a new email form for those who would like to follow via email. Those who follow via email will get my short story, The Hatching, which usually sells on Amazon for $0.99 for FREE! If you are currently following via GFC, will you follow via Linky, Networked Blogs or email anyway? Thanks a ton! Happy Friday!***
Follow Friday
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.
For this one, I just looked at a bunch that were on my kindle and clicked a picture. I also added a couple of small articles so it would (kind of) make more sense. (Disclaimer: I've never claimed to have poetry talent. :D) Here goes nothing:
Brood of bones,
Carnival of Souls.
Divergent, Beautiful Chaos.
Driven to Kill.
Undeniable Insight the Eve of The Frey
The Golden Chord or Overkill?
Hush, Hush.
How did everyone else do on their title poems?
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Mermaid Challenge, Week 4 + Follow Friday
***Hey Everyone, I have a new email form for those who would like to follow via email. Those who follow via email will get my short story, The Hatching, which usually sells on Amazon for $0.99 for FREE! If you are currently following via GFC, will you follow via Linky, Networked Blogs or email anyway? Thanks a ton! Happy Friday!***
Welcome to Week 4 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
This week I read The Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Neilson. And once again, I am simply floored by how well-written a lot of these books are! I LOVED Forbidden Sea! It was delightful!
So Adrianne is a fourteen-year-old girl who pretty much supports her entire, destitute family. Her father was killed several years ago in a tragic accident, and ever since then, she's been running the household. She looks after her broken soul of a mother, her sweet--if a bit spoiled at times--younger sister, and her mean-tempered Auntie who she can never seem to please.
Meanwhile, she's crushing hard on the boy who's been her best friend since they were both teeny-boppers, but who sees her as a friend and sister. At the beginning, her younger sister Cecily, after learning that the family can no longer afford to feed their dog and must sell the animal, runs away to the sea to cry and gets herself caught on some dangerous rocks in a storm. Adrianne is the only one who knows her sister well enough to find her, and when she does, she is attacked by a beautiful mermaid that leaves a scar on Adrianne's wrist.
The rest of the novel is her hearing the mermaid call to her from the sea and avoiding her fate with terror. Something similar happened to a young woman of legend a hundred years before, and she was never seen again. Adrianne has no plan to share that woman's fate. Meanwhile, she's picked on by the rich of the island who look down on her for her poverty, all while fighting to feed her family and keep her Auntie's constant ire from coming down on her. Denn, her crush, often stands up to her, but never in a way that spells romance.
I found this story to be refreshing. It totally kept my attention. I empathized so much with Adrianne. Hers is the plight of any young woman struggling to shoulder a burden too heavy for her shoulders, all while feeling worse than invisible--like the ugly duckling that people can't help but notice. In a bad way. Meanwhile, her young girl heart still dreams of the boy she likes. And now she's got a mermaid after her!
I pretty much read this in one sitting. I started reading it one day, but only got about twenty pages through it. The next day, I sat down to read...and finished it. Just totally loved this book. It was so touching and well-written that I even got misty-eyed a few times. It's especially surprising that I connected with the main character so much because generally I prefer adult characters to YA ones, but I loved this girl!
Overall, I totally loved this book. I would recommend it absolutely anyone who is looking for a great read.
*Remember to put your URL in the linky if you did a mermaid review this week!
Has anyone else read The Forbidden Sea? What did you think of it? What other mermaid novels have you read lately?
Welcome to Week 4 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! You may join the challenge anytime you like. See rules HERE. (Follow Friday below!)
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So Adrianne is a fourteen-year-old girl who pretty much supports her entire, destitute family. Her father was killed several years ago in a tragic accident, and ever since then, she's been running the household. She looks after her broken soul of a mother, her sweet--if a bit spoiled at times--younger sister, and her mean-tempered Auntie who she can never seem to please.
Meanwhile, she's crushing hard on the boy who's been her best friend since they were both teeny-boppers, but who sees her as a friend and sister. At the beginning, her younger sister Cecily, after learning that the family can no longer afford to feed their dog and must sell the animal, runs away to the sea to cry and gets herself caught on some dangerous rocks in a storm. Adrianne is the only one who knows her sister well enough to find her, and when she does, she is attacked by a beautiful mermaid that leaves a scar on Adrianne's wrist.
The rest of the novel is her hearing the mermaid call to her from the sea and avoiding her fate with terror. Something similar happened to a young woman of legend a hundred years before, and she was never seen again. Adrianne has no plan to share that woman's fate. Meanwhile, she's picked on by the rich of the island who look down on her for her poverty, all while fighting to feed her family and keep her Auntie's constant ire from coming down on her. Denn, her crush, often stands up to her, but never in a way that spells romance.
I found this story to be refreshing. It totally kept my attention. I empathized so much with Adrianne. Hers is the plight of any young woman struggling to shoulder a burden too heavy for her shoulders, all while feeling worse than invisible--like the ugly duckling that people can't help but notice. In a bad way. Meanwhile, her young girl heart still dreams of the boy she likes. And now she's got a mermaid after her!
I pretty much read this in one sitting. I started reading it one day, but only got about twenty pages through it. The next day, I sat down to read...and finished it. Just totally loved this book. It was so touching and well-written that I even got misty-eyed a few times. It's especially surprising that I connected with the main character so much because generally I prefer adult characters to YA ones, but I loved this girl!
Overall, I totally loved this book. I would recommend it absolutely anyone who is looking for a great read.
*Remember to put your URL in the linky if you did a mermaid review this week!
Has anyone else read The Forbidden Sea? What did you think of it? What other mermaid novels have you read lately?
Follow Friday
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Q: Have you broken up with a series? If so which one and why.
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You know, I can't think of one. I know when I was in high school and got really into high fantasy, I picked up a few off the shelf, and didn't even finish them because they turned out to be thinly disguised porn. But I don't remember what they were.
Other than that, I don't think I have. Not lately, anyway. I have a bit of a completion complex. If I like the first book in a series enough to finish it, I'll probably end up reading the entire series sooner or later. Neurotic? Yeah, probably. But it's okay. I don't mind. :D
(After writing the above, I thought of one. I'm not sure it counts just because I actually read the entire trilogy, but I freaking hated the Millenium trilogy (i.e. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). I enjoyed the whodunit of book 1, and read the 2nd and 3rd books hoping it would get better. I was immensely disappointed in the end of book 3. I felt like the author set us up for something and then changed his mind twenty pages before the end. So, if you can break up with a series after having read the whole thing, I'd go with that one. (Yet another example of my completion complex.) :D)
(After writing the above, I thought of one. I'm not sure it counts just because I actually read the entire trilogy, but I freaking hated the Millenium trilogy (i.e. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). I enjoyed the whodunit of book 1, and read the 2nd and 3rd books hoping it would get better. I was immensely disappointed in the end of book 3. I felt like the author set us up for something and then changed his mind twenty pages before the end. So, if you can break up with a series after having read the whole thing, I'd go with that one. (Yet another example of my completion complex.) :D)
How about you? What series have YOU broken up with lately?
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Follow Friday + Week 3 of Mermaid Lit Challenge
Here's to two weeks of mermaid lit! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week! (Follow Friday below!)
This week I read Above World by Jenn Reese. I'd heard great things about this book, but I confess the beginning was a bit slow for me. It took me a while to figure out why. First and foremost, I think it was just me. The book was well-written, the characters and setting are great, the stakes of the major conflict were high enough. The main characters are only about thirteen--a bit younger than I prefer--but even that didn't really bother me. In short, there was no reason for me not to like it. But I had just come off vacation. I was trying to catch up on everything plus trying to get back in the swing of things. On top of that, I'm still recovering from a head cold, which just makes me sleepy all the time. I think I just had a hard time getting into the book. But that would have been the case with anything I picked up this week.
The other thing that would have helped draw me in quicker, but given the structure of the story, really couldn't be helped, was the fact that, while the conflict was introduced at an appropriate time in the story, and, for the characters, it was really important, they didn't know the full extent of that conflict. This is a quest story, at it's core, and as they went along, they discovered that the problem went higher and higher and became bigger and bigger. While the stakes were definitely high enough for the characters at the beginning, I don't think they were high enough for me to care. By the end, they were huge and I really cared. Believe me! But had there been more of hint at the beginning what the end game would be, I think I would have been drawn in much more.
Once I got going, though, and got more into the my regular momentum, I really enjoyed the book. By the end, I couldn't put it down. The action really picked up the last third of the book. Oh, and this book has one of the best villains I've come across in a long time! Totally loved him! If there's a second book (and I think there will be) I'll definitely be reading it!
Aluna and Hoki are very well-drawn characters, and many things--such as their relationships with their respective love interests) have been left open-ended, so this will be a fun series to follow. It's a quick, easy read, with lots of fun and adventure. The world-building is quite unique as well. The world itself is almost post-apocalyptic, but to overcome the apocalypse, the human race took charge of itself, giving itself either mermaid tales, wings, or an array of other animal parts so they could survive. It feels almost stone-aged, except that they have electronic gadgets--called "Tek" to survive. Sounds weird, I know, and it's the kind of thing that's hard to pull off, but Reese does it just...ahem, swimmingly.
I'd recommend Above World to lovers of YA and middle-grade alike (though it really is a YA) and anyone who likes adventures, both on land and under sea, kids who are wiser than their elders, fierce heroins, sweet heroes, awesome villains, and fun hybrid species. This is definitely a fun summer read!
Click on the icons below to add to goodreads or check it out from Amazon or B&N! :D Happy Friday!
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The other thing that would have helped draw me in quicker, but given the structure of the story, really couldn't be helped, was the fact that, while the conflict was introduced at an appropriate time in the story, and, for the characters, it was really important, they didn't know the full extent of that conflict. This is a quest story, at it's core, and as they went along, they discovered that the problem went higher and higher and became bigger and bigger. While the stakes were definitely high enough for the characters at the beginning, I don't think they were high enough for me to care. By the end, they were huge and I really cared. Believe me! But had there been more of hint at the beginning what the end game would be, I think I would have been drawn in much more.
Once I got going, though, and got more into the my regular momentum, I really enjoyed the book. By the end, I couldn't put it down. The action really picked up the last third of the book. Oh, and this book has one of the best villains I've come across in a long time! Totally loved him! If there's a second book (and I think there will be) I'll definitely be reading it!
Aluna and Hoki are very well-drawn characters, and many things--such as their relationships with their respective love interests) have been left open-ended, so this will be a fun series to follow. It's a quick, easy read, with lots of fun and adventure. The world-building is quite unique as well. The world itself is almost post-apocalyptic, but to overcome the apocalypse, the human race took charge of itself, giving itself either mermaid tales, wings, or an array of other animal parts so they could survive. It feels almost stone-aged, except that they have electronic gadgets--called "Tek" to survive. Sounds weird, I know, and it's the kind of thing that's hard to pull off, but Reese does it just...ahem, swimmingly.
I'd recommend Above World to lovers of YA and middle-grade alike (though it really is a YA) and anyone who likes adventures, both on land and under sea, kids who are wiser than their elders, fierce heroins, sweet heroes, awesome villains, and fun hybrid species. This is definitely a fun summer read!
Click on the icons below to add to goodreads or check it out from Amazon or B&N! :D Happy Friday!
Follow Friday Blog Hop
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Q: What blogger would you most like to meet in real life? Tell us about him or her.
I'm going to cheat and go with two different bloggers here: Alex Cavanaugh and Maurice Mitchell of The Geek Twins. I haven't met either of these guys but they're both awesome bloggers and very friendly. I visit their blogs regularly and love to geek out with them about all things scifi! I'd love to meet them both someday. Cheers, guys! :D
How about you? What blogger would you like to meet most?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Mermaid Lit Challenge Reviews, Week 2 + Follow Friday
(Follow Friday down below)
Here's to two weeks of mermaid lit! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week!
The book I read this week for the mermaid challenge (while I was vacationing at Bear Lake in Northern Utah, no less!) was Florence by Ciye Cho.
I was very uncertain about this book. First off, the author is a man but the main character is a teenage girl. I wasn't sure those two things would mix. Plus, it's a very cheap book in the Kindle store, and I'm always a bit wary of that. But, it had great reviews. Lots of people gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.com, so I decided to try it.
And I'm so glad I did!
Florence is a wonderful mermaid story. Florence is an introverted, uncertain teenage girl who is used to being invisible. During a class field to the coast, she goes snorkeling by herself (no real friends) and is pulled under the waves by a merman, who takes her to his prince. The ways in which she can breathe and talk underwater are...well, I won't say realistic, but believable. And Florence begins an underwater adventure, not just to help iron out the troubles of the mer-world, but to find herself and her place in it.
I really admire the way Cho does the back story. At the beginning, we learn that Flo is introverted and has low self-esteem, with few friends, but we can tell all that just by interaction between her and her classmates. The author doesn't info-dump about her dry-land situation or her family. We learn that as it becomes relevant to the unraveling story.
There are also two princes underwater that Florence may or may not end up in a relationship with. It's not really a love triangle, for those who are bothered by that, but rather her trying to decide which one is being honest and which one is using her. Both are equally good-looking and confusing as to their motivations. Trying to figure out the two brothers made the story fun and engaging.
We meet plenty of interesting underwater creatures--totally in love with her little octopus buddy!--including some wicked-scary monsters that I greatly enjoyed.
Complaints? A few, but negligible. There were a few stylistic things that probably on a writer would pick up on. And I would have liked a little more description about how things were done underwater as opposed to as they would have been done on land. There were some things that I couldn't quite picture. But, these were minor problems that didn't really take away from the story.
Overall, I really liked this book and will be reading book 2. I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA romance, adventure, mermaid-themed stories, or hot mermen!
What mermaid-themed books have you read?
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
Here's to two weeks of mermaid lit! Below is my review for this week. If you have one of your own, feel free to link up with us and be sure to visit the others to see what they thought of their reads for this week!
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I was very uncertain about this book. First off, the author is a man but the main character is a teenage girl. I wasn't sure those two things would mix. Plus, it's a very cheap book in the Kindle store, and I'm always a bit wary of that. But, it had great reviews. Lots of people gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.com, so I decided to try it.
And I'm so glad I did!
Florence is a wonderful mermaid story. Florence is an introverted, uncertain teenage girl who is used to being invisible. During a class field to the coast, she goes snorkeling by herself (no real friends) and is pulled under the waves by a merman, who takes her to his prince. The ways in which she can breathe and talk underwater are...well, I won't say realistic, but believable. And Florence begins an underwater adventure, not just to help iron out the troubles of the mer-world, but to find herself and her place in it.
I really admire the way Cho does the back story. At the beginning, we learn that Flo is introverted and has low self-esteem, with few friends, but we can tell all that just by interaction between her and her classmates. The author doesn't info-dump about her dry-land situation or her family. We learn that as it becomes relevant to the unraveling story.
There are also two princes underwater that Florence may or may not end up in a relationship with. It's not really a love triangle, for those who are bothered by that, but rather her trying to decide which one is being honest and which one is using her. Both are equally good-looking and confusing as to their motivations. Trying to figure out the two brothers made the story fun and engaging.
We meet plenty of interesting underwater creatures--totally in love with her little octopus buddy!--including some wicked-scary monsters that I greatly enjoyed.
Complaints? A few, but negligible. There were a few stylistic things that probably on a writer would pick up on. And I would have liked a little more description about how things were done underwater as opposed to as they would have been done on land. There were some things that I couldn't quite picture. But, these were minor problems that didn't really take away from the story.
Overall, I really liked this book and will be reading book 2. I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA romance, adventure, mermaid-themed stories, or hot mermen!
What mermaid-themed books have you read?
Follow Friday
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Q: The #FF is 150 weeks old! And we want to hear from you! What would you change about the hop? What do you like about it? Or just suggest a question to be used for next week!
Hmm. Okay, totally selfish change, but I'd love to be featured so more people will follow me! ;D Other than that, I think it's awesome! Keep up the good work! :D
What would YOUR suggestion be?
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Mermaid Challenge Reviews, Week 1 + Follow Friday!
We've made it through week 1 of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! Okay, I know it didn't officially start until the 15th (even though a few people, like yours truly, started this past Monday) and so not everyone will have read an entire book yet. But, I have! Every Friday for the next twelve weeks (basically the entire summer) I'll be putting up a Mermaid Lit Review post with a Linky list. Anyone who's read a mermaid or ocean-themed book and wishes to link it to the list, feel free!
Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid is the classic that pretty much started the entire sub-culture of mer-people. It's classic and very fairytale-ish, if also very simplistic. I think I read the Anderson version as a kid, but it's been so long I've mostly forgotten it. I was surprised both by how much the Disney version managed to keep in, as well as by how tragic the ending wasn't.
The little mermaid spends months in the prince's company as a human. He comes to have great affection for her, but it's of the sisterly variety. When she saved him and left him on the beach, another beautiful young woman found him and nursed him back to health. It is that woman that the prince falls for and marries. On the morning after they marry, the little mermaid prepares to die, but her sisters show up with a knife, and all their hair shaved off. They say they gave their hair to the Sea Witch in exchange for saving Ariel. If she kills the prince with the knife, the blood will spatter her legs and turn them back to fins, and she can live out her 300 years with her family. The little mermaid can't do it, though. She loves him to much, and instead casts herself into the sea.
As a ten year old child, Gwen lived on the sea with her parents. One night sleepwalking, she saw a young man walking into a turbulent ocean, and feared he would drown. She tried to help him, but nearly drowned herself. He saved her. Of course he was sort of...naked. And when neighbors saw a naked man standing over a young girl, they assumed the worst. Eventually Gwen's parents moved her away to escape the rumors.
Follow Friday!
Also, if you aren't part of the Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge, but want to be, you can join any time! Check out THIS POST for details.
Okay, so this week I read two mermaid-themed book. Well, really 1 1/2. The first is Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid. (Not exactly a full-length novel.) The other was Seven Tears into the Sea by Terri Farley.
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*Warning: I would assume everyone's familiar with this tale, and being a classic fairy tale, it's kind of public domain. But if you're weird about that, know that I'm about to give SPOILERS. Totally gonna tell you the ending. I won't do this with the other books I review, just this fairy tale because it's the mythology that every mer-tale (not tail) unavoidably draws from. Just sayin'.
So in this version, the little mermaid (who isn't given a name, by the way) is the youngest of all her sisters, and has a wonderful singing voice. She's obsessed with the human world and saves the prince when his ship goes under at sea. (There are even fireworks!) The Sea Witch is much the same--if a bit ickier than Disney's version--complete with sea snakes and polyps making grabs at people. I actually think Disney did a great job keeping quite a few of the original elements.
Of course, it's much more tragic than the dumbed-down kiddie-friendly version. The little mermaid isn't given a time-frame to make the prince fall for her (like 3 days) but she has to get him to marry her eventually. If he marries another, she doesn't just turn back into a mermaid, but rather she dies, her body turning to sea foam. Another facet of this I didn't remember is the talk of immortal souls. The little mermaid asks her grandmother about humans and whether they die. The grandmother answers that they do, but they live much shorter lives than mer-people, who live about 300 years. Yet, human have immortal souls that ascend to heaven, while mer-people simply turn into sea foam, their bodies recycling into the sea. The mermaid want not only to marry the prince because she loves him, but she wants to win an immortal soul. Her grandmother says if she can get a human to love her, his immortality will extend around her and she'll win a soul. But of course that never happens because humans would think fins were gross and of course mer-people can never leave the ocean. So you see, she'll turn to sea foam anyway, but if doesn't get the prince to marry her, she won't get her immortal soul and she'll die now, forfeiting her 300 year life with her family. Also, when she's given legs, she is beautiful and graceful, but every step she takes feels like her feet are being stabbed by knives. It's part of the price she pays. And the Sea Witch does also take her beautiful voice.
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Now, most non-Disney versions end right there. I know! All kinds of tragic, but actually my buddy Hans adds something hopeful at the end. Her body turns to sea foam, but she looks up to see beings called Daughters of the Air. These are basically spirits that float around on the wind, watching over people and doing good deeds. They've seen her toil and take pity on her, bringing her into their ranks. They explain that if she hangs (no pun intended) with them and does lots of good deeds, she can still win herself an immortal soul. The little mermaid, unseen, kisses the prince and his bride, wishing them every happiness.
Okay, I know, still way sad, but it had more hope than I expected. Other sad elements: the prince loved singing, so if she'd had her voice, she could have won him over, no problem. Also, her sisters visited her often when she was human. At one point she saw her father and grandmother, but they were far off shore. She waves to them, but they won't come close enough to speak to her. they just look sad then disappear into the waves. So, lots of sad times.
Still, I enjoyed reading the fairy tale overall and thought it was a good way to kick off the challenge. Okay, here it comes. You knew I was gonna do it. Just can't help myself.
Doesn't everyone just feel better with that ending? (The Little Mermaid was totally my princess movie when I was like...four? five? Something like that. So I totally had to geek out for a minute. :D)
Okay, next book.
Seven Tears into the Sea by Terri Farley was a very enjoyable read. It actually wasn't about mermaids so much as selkie, but both are under-da-sea creatures, so I think it still counts.
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Seven years later, Gwen returns for the summer to help her grandmother--who still lives there--run her inn after taking a nasty fall. And, you guessed it, our favorite naked beach guy returns. The problem is, he may not be entirely human, and the rhyme he whispered to her as a child about seven tears and seven years may have a meaning that is both tragic and inescapable.
As I said, a very enjoyable read. Gwen was funny and down-to-earth, yet just teenaged-girl enough to be believable. I really loved her spunky grandmother as well, and Thelma. In terms of complaints, I had a few but they were mild. There were some things that weren't fully explained. For example, a big deal is made about the fact that Thelma was the one who called the police that night when Gwen was a child, but Thelma lied about where she'd seen Gwen to the police. I didn't think the answer to that was explained well enough. Also, this is a very YA novel. Not in a bad way, but I would have liked higher stakes. I'm sure you've all heard me rant about how YA lit isn't my fave because I like more drama, more earth-shattering problems, etc. and I thought this could have used a bit more of that. Yet, despite my feelings on the subject, I actually really enjoyed this book. The end was a bit melancholy--not in a tragic, someone dies way or anything. I promise!--but in a way that okay too. While I would have liked a slightly happier ending, I think mermaid stories are always melancholy by nature, so this fit well.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a light, fun, quick summer read with a hot guy and a little bit of ocean mysticism. If you have a review, put it in the Linky below. Then hop around to see what mermaid lit others are reading! Have fun! :D
Today's Quote: Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time.--H.P. Lovecraft
Follow Friday!
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
Q: School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book?
I don't know that I have a specific summer reading book, but as you can see above, I 'm doing a Mermaid Summer Reading Challenge right now which allows me to read mermaid/ocean/beach-themed books. If anyone wants to join, see above. I've only read a couple books so far, but they definitely do put me in the mood for summer! :D
**FYI: I'm out of town this week so while my posts are going up automatically, I won't be doing as much commenting/ communicating this week. I probably won't get around to many emails until after memorial day. Sorry for any inconvenience.**
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