Of Triton by Anna Banks

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Of Poseidon, Stop! I don’t want to ruin a great story for you.

Of Triton picks up immediately where Of Poseidon left off with that nasty little cliffhanger.

When Emma’s mother is confronted about her true identity, everyone in the kitchen is shocked. Emma has some of her answers but Galen is left with many more questions. Unwilling to return to Triton territory, Nalia tells Galen to bring Grom to her. He leaves Nalia and Emma under his sister Rayna’s watch while he goes in an attempt to bring Grom to the Jersey shore. Believed to have been killed in a mine explosion before they could be mated, Grom has grieved ever since. Now the trackers have sensed Nalia’s pulse and Grom knows that Galen is speaking the truth. Arriving at Nalia’s house, Galen, Grom and Toraf find Rayna bound and gagged. Nalia knocked her unconscious and fled with Emma. Grom is deeply hurt by Nalia’s deception.

Nalia truly believes she killed Grom in the mine explosion. She fled because she thought Galen and Toraf were bringing back a party to arrest her. Emma is a half breed, an abomination in the Syrena world and her mother fears for their lives. Nalia thinks that Galen used Emma to get close to her. While on the run, Emma learns the truth about her mother’s life on land and her unique relationship with Emma’s father. When Galen’s assistant Rachel finds them, she tricks Nalia into getting close to her. Rachel handcuffs herself to Nalia and they must wait for Galen to arrive.

Disbelieving, shock and then elation describes the scene when Grom and Nalia reunite after seventy years. Later at a hotel room, Emma is fuming over her mother’s fawning over Grom. She feels as if her father’s memory is being betrayed, even though they really didn’t love one another. Galen keeps her in his arms to both restrain and rejoice in being back together. Emma is hurt when her mother decides to return to the Syrena world. What about me? Where do I belong? Emma laments. “With me” her mother and Galen both state. Galen goes further to state that he wants Emma to be his mate even though she is a half breed. Galen is determined but Grom warily reminds them of the law. Nalia joins in by reminding him that she is her daughter. The law hasn’t been changed. Leave Emma behind until Nalia corrects her transgressions in Syrena. Galen agrees but then Grom drops his bombshell. He is already mated to Paca. It was completed just before they came to retrieve him. No one told him the truth about Nalia. Only that Paca was faking the gift Of Poseidon. Galen tells him that Emma has the gift for real. He has seen her in action. No matter but with his mating it now means that Galen is the next in line to become Nalia’s mate. “Ohmysweetgoodness!”

What happens when Nalia returns to the world of the Syrena? Will Grom and Nalia find a way to finally be together? What of Paca and her mating to Grom? What really happened when the mine exploded seventy years earlier? Can Galen and Emma find a way to be together or is he destined to be with her mother? And will Emma be allowed to live once the truth about her existence is discovered?

The trilogy wraps up with Of Neptune in 2014.

Legacy Lost is a short story about Grom and Nalia finally accepting one another and the tragedy that tore them apart. It is a free eBook as part of The Fierce Reads Anthology, Volume 1. The story is a great, quick read just before starting Of Triton.

Visit Anna Banks’ website.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

“I SMACK into him as is shoved from behind. He doesn’t budge, not an inch. Just holds my shoulders and waits. Maybe he’s waiting for me to find my balance. Maybe he’s waiting for me to gather my pride. I hope he’s got all day.”
Emma McIntosh chooses option four when she peels he cheek fro Galen Forza’s chest and attempts to apologize. Emma is spending the last days of summer in Florida with her best friend Chloe. Chloe thoroughly embarrasses the clumsy Emma in front of the gorgeous Galen. His sister Rayna shows up and Chloe remarks how the three of them share the same unusual eye color, violet, but it ends there. Emma is pasty white with blonde hair, whereas Galen and Rayna have dark hair and olive skin. Galen notices that they are carrying a surfboard and that the Florida waves are woefully inadequate. Emma agrees by telling him that they are from Jersey and are just going to float in the water.

Emma and Chloe are splashing in the water and chatting about Galen and how he keeps staring at Emma. Emma thinks Chloe is joking around but soon realizes that she is being attacked by a bull shark when she goes underwater and doesn’t resurface. Galen notices but thinks Emma will have the situation under control. He eventually shifts to help with the rescue but he is too late. When Emma isn’t drowning and orders the shark to leave, Galen realizes that he is right about Emma even if she doesn’t know what she is.

After the rescue, Galen and Rayna argue over whether Emma is truly a Syrena. He knows what he saw during the shark attack but wonders if he just isn’t attracted to her. Deep down, Galen knows what he felt when they touched. He calls Rachel, his human assistant, to make plans to move to New Jersey and start high school. Rayna decides to tag along.

Just over two weeks later, Emma starts her senior year at Middle Point High School. Her first period class, World History, is with Mr. Pinned. While listening to the class rules, Emma hears someone whisper “gorgeous” and looks up to see that Galen has entered the classroom, the same Galen who has haunted her nightmares about Chloe every night since her death. He takes the desk besides of hers. She notices that she gets all tinglely around Galen until it feels like her body is on fire. Emma notices that he is staring at her and she blushes.

It turns out that they have duplicate schedules when Galen asks Emma for help finding his next class. The two begin a conversation that eventually turns to the day of Chloe’s death. Galen says that if Emma cooperates, he could get her some leniency. She insists bumping into him was an accident. Realizing that they are talking about two different things, Galen tries to get her attention again. Unfortunately, Emma begins screaming that Chloe is dead and runs down the hallway, knocking herself out on the cafeteria door.

In talking with Rayna and their friend, Toraf, Galen believes that Emma may actually be Nalia, the sole heir of the Poseidon king who was believed to be killed during a human war. Nalia had argued with her future mate, Grom the Triton heir and Galen’s older brother. Grom was badly injured in the incident. If Emma is actually Nalia of Poseidon, then with Grom now king if the Triton, by laws, the first born of the third generation, must become mates. What Galen cannot figure out is why Emma is living as and with humans? When he tells Toraf, a Syrena tracker, of his attraction to Emma, Toraf believes it is really a signal that she is Galen’s special mate. He tells Galen it seems as if he is chasing Emma when she still needs time to mourn Chloe. If he takes things slow, maybe she will open up to him.

If Emma really is a Syrena, why is she living as a human? Who would have kept the secret from her and why? Is she really Nalia and Grom’s intended mate or is she destined for Galen?

Ohmysweetgoodness! (This is a favorite phrase of Emma’s) What a book! It sucked me in and wouldn’t let go until the end. I just loved all of the banter between Emma and Galen. And the ending! I saw it coming but the way it played out caught me off guard. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Visit Anna Banks website.