The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

****

The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d’Abreau was destined for stardom—until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can’t sing. She can’t even speak.

Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend’s invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse’s home in the Caribbean isn’t: An ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry—except for one.

Christian Kane is a notorious playboy—insolent, arrogant, and completely charming. He’s also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn’t treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid come to life. 

When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove’s high-stakes Pirate Regatta, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves, though—swept up in Christian’s seductive tide and entranced by the Cove’s charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn’t what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who’s best known for breaking them . . .

Review:

Elyse d’Abreau is content to collect sea glass, work in her Aunt Lemon’s gift shop, and haunt an abandoned boat at the dock.   But as the summer crowd begins to arrive at Atargatis Cove, Elyse is slowly pulled out of her shell which in turn forces her to face the demons and fears that brought her there in the first place. 

 

When Christian Kane finds Elyse hiding on his boat and writing her thoughts all over the walls and ceiling, he seems surprised and amused.  His reaction is a far cry from the arrogant playboy attitude Elyse’s cousin has led her to expect.  Elyse finds him to be even more interesting when she witnesses his reaction to a bet that the mayor publicly makes with Christian’s father.   A bet that pits Christian against his best friend in the annual Pirate Regatta.   A bet that puts the livelihood of many locals at stake.

Elyse is no stranger around sailboats.  Her role and jobs at her family’s resort in Tobago makes her a bit of an expert.  But since losing her voice in an accident at sea, she hasn’t been in the water let alone on a boat.  With a bit of prodding from her Aunt and cousin, Kirby, Elyse agrees to help Christian make his boat seaworthy and be his first mate in the competition.  Despite her fears. 

With the help of Kirby, Christian and their friend Vanessa, Elyse begins to actually live and make connections and a life at Atargatis Cove.   As she begins to come back to life, she is forced to face the loss of her voice which meant the loss of the thing she loved most – singing.  And she slowly learns to forgive her twin sister.  The sister that shares her soul.  The sister that is responsible for Elyse’s loss.

This is a beautiful and complex story.  The way Sarah Ockler weaves Elyse’s journey with the legend of the mermaid, Atargatis is smart and frightening.   Frightening because it made me question Elyse’s connection with reality at times.   Smart because it was the perfect device to show Elyse’s struggle with her loss, insecurities and fears of the sea.

Even though this story is told in first person I felt connected to all the characters.  Christian’s struggle with his father’s expectation and his parent’s relationship was heartbreaking.  Christian’s little brother, Sebastian, stole my heart from the get go.  His determination to be himself and indulge in his obsession with mermaids put a huge smile on my face.  Christian is his little brother’s biggest fan and more than a few characters rallied around both of them as they struggled with their father’s idea of respectability.  Then there is Aunt Lemmon and Kirby.  The way they both silently hold Elyse up and give her the space to heal was absolutely beautiful.  Let’s not forget Christian’s best friend, Noah, who refuses to let the bet that pits them against each other ruin their friendship.  And then my favorite, Vanessa, a friend of both Kirby and Christian, really holds everyone together with her honesty, determination and willingness to fight for what is right.

As always, Sarah Ockler proves to be an amazing writer.  I love how all her stories are so different from each other yet always focus on a heroine that successfully overcome obstacles in a way that makes her an even better person.   If you are looking for a great contemporary teen read, I can’t recommend this one enough.

Nat

Deep Betrayal (Lies Beneath #2) by Anne Greenwood Brown

* * * 1/2

It's been thirty days, two hours, and seventeen minutes since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she's counting. And when Calder does return, it's not quite the reunion Lily hoped for. Especially after she lets her father in on a huge secret: he, like Calder, is a merman. Obsessed with his new identity, Lily's dad monopolizes Calder's time as the two of them spend every day in the water, leaving Lily behind.

Then dead bodies start washing ashore. Calder blames his mermaid sisters, but Lily fears her father has embraced the merman's natural need to kill. As the body count grows, everyone is pointing fingers. Lily doesn't know what to believe—only that whoever's responsible is sure to strike again. . . .

After the impressive debut of Lies Beneath, I was very much hoping its sequel would continue to carry that sinister sense of foreboding.  Deep Betrayal features complicated family dynamics, a menacing threat to the Bayfield community and a deepening mystery of mermaid mythology.

Once Lily exposes the truth to her father, he becomes obsessed with embracing his merman side. His many long absences take a toll on the family. Lily is still concerned for his safety as Calder’s sisters’ whereabouts and motives are unknown. Her mother’s physical condition appears to be getting worse and her younger sister, Sophie seems to be keeping her own secrets.  As these things unfold around her, Lily also begins discovers some startling abilities of her own.

Deep Betrayal has some intense, creepy moments which I appreciated. It has the same dark undertone as Lies Beneath but with more at stake this time.  The dead bodies washing ashore have brought unwanted attention to Bayfield and the publicity could mean danger for Calder, his sisters and Lily’s dad. Lily’s friend Jack, is unstable and is threatening to expose the mermaids and all the events which previously unfolded, Lily and Calder doing plenty of damage control.

If you enjoyed Lies Beneath, Deep Betrayal will be welcome addition to your “to be read” pile – its alluring plot will keep you well hooked!

~ Bel

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

* * *

Available June 12, 2012

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters must prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually they select their victims at random, but this time around the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother’s death.


It’s going to take the whole family to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder’s job is to gain Hancock’s trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love – just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between family and the girl he loves. One thing’s for sure, whatever Calder decides, the outcome won’t be pretty.


I picked Lies Beneath simply because the title's double meaning appealed to me. And I can now add mermaids and mermen to my list of paranormal love stories. 


As described above, Calder and his sisters are looking to avenge the death of their mother.  They lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Hancock family and they will not be appeased until they have succeeded. Calder goes along with this out of family loyalty and also because his eldest sister Maris has promised him his freedom should he help them succeed in getting Jason Hancock. Calder does his best to ingratiate himself into the family. And because he's literally a fish out of water, he's often awkward. He decides that Hancock's older daughter, Lily will be the way to get to him. 


Lily, however, is no dainty little thing. She has a pretty strong mind and can’t be easily swayed. She's attracted to Calder but also deeply suspicious and can sense that there's something off about him. So while the story begins with Lily being the prey, it’s Calder who ends up being backed into a corner. Since he's not generally among humans a lot, Calder can be rough around the edges and gets more uncomfortable as he becomes more drawn to Lily. 


Calder’s sisters add a lot of tension to the plot – in particular Maris, who as head of the clan is hell bent on revenge. She’s the loose canon that Calder must always pacify and keep in check. Calder is also facing a crisis of his own. He craves human emotions as much as his body craves the water. But he has refused to feed off humans for months, staying “dry” and pushing himself further just to see how far he can take it. To give in to temptation would draw unwanted attention to him and his sisters and potentially ruin all their plans. Add to that Lily’s growing suspicions, the mounting lies and Calder is caught in one tangled web.


I liked Lies Beneath. I admit that I’m not familiar with mermaid lore but I found this story interesting and well paced. I liked that Lily wasn’t an easy mark for Calder and that he wasn’t this perfect suave guy. Calder’s internal battle to fight his nature was very compelling and provided a sinister undercurrent to the story. There's enough going on that keeps up the suspense delivering a surprising and turbulent climax.


~ Bel


*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing us the ARC.

Giveaway & Guest Post - Zoraida Cordova Top 10 Books To Read When Stranded on a Desert Island

Zoraida Cordova, author of the novel, Vicious Deep is our guest blogger today!  Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador.   Vicious Deep is Zoraida's debut novel, which features some very beautiful and very terrifying mermaids.  Today she is telling us what ten books she would want with her to read if she was stranded on a desert island.  Take it away Zoraida:

Top Ten Books to Read when Stranded on a Desert Island: If you are going to be stranded, may as well find something to pass the time. Just make sure you plan ahead…

#1 would have to be HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERT ISLAND. Because, really, if I don't survive, I won't get to read #2-10. 

#2 Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, obvi. 

#3 A collection of fairy tales from around the world.

#4 The Harry Potter series, because I'll need a little hope to keep me going. 

#5 Montana Sky by Nora Roberts. Don't you roll your eyes at me. Deserted islands get lonely.

#6 Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins because every word is beauty. 

#7 Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. Partly because I'd like the company of merpeople. Partly because I'd like to read it before I get stranded. But also because I can't say I want to get stranded with my own mermaids ;) 

#8 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 8 graphic novels. When facing the forces of darkness (strike that), nature, I'd ask myself, What Would Buffy Do? 

#9 The Essential Neruda. Pablo Neruda was exiled to an island where he fell in love and wrote poetry. Maybe I'd get the same inspiration. 

#10 A blank notebook, to write my own stories.

To celebrate the release of Vicious Deep, Sourcebooks Fire has graciously donated a copy for a giveaway!  Enter using the rafflecopter form below.  The giveaway will run from 5/15/12 through 5/19/12.  See the fineprint in the rafflecopter form for the legal mumbo-jumbo.  Thanks for stopping by and a huge thank you to Zoraida Cordova and Sourcebooks Fire!  

~Shel

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

From HarperCollins Childrens:

Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but for Lily Sanderson, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily has a secret, and it’s not her huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid—she’s a Thalassinian princess. When she discovered three years ago that her mother was actually a human, Lily finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been going to Seaview High ever since. Living on land has its problems—like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher—but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type—when they bond, it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

I had read and enjoyed the Oh My Gods! series by Tera Lynn Childs, so I picked up this book, despite my mermaid reservations.  The underwater descriptions are vivid and lovely, making me want to vacation in Thalassinia.  The antagonistic relationship between Lily and Quince is hilarious.  Quince seems like the quintessential bad boy (my favorite) in the beginning, but as he learns who Lily really is and the two spend more time together, you see that he really is a sweetheart (Nat's favorite).  Lily is a fun heroine and perhaps true to form for a "normal" teenager, she makes all the wrong decisions without a thought to the ramifications.  I really did not like the ending; however, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book.  I reserve judgment on the ending though, since book 2, Fins Are Forever released June 28, 2011 (review coming soon), so this ending set up the story in Forever.  

All in all, I give Forgive My Fins 4 stars - you should definitely read it!  

~ Shel