Skin to the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Skin to the Sea book 1)

 

“A way to survive.

A way to serve.

A way to save.

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata--a mermaid--collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.

But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable--she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it.

To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There's the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . .

Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn't, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.” - taken from Goodreads.com

This is a unique but dark twist on The Little Mermaid fairy tale that takes place in West Africa in the mid-1400s. During this time, the Portuguese began buying and abducting people to be sold into slavery. Simi is a Mami Wata and when she rescues Kola instead of passing on his soul when he is thrown overboard from a slave ship, our story begins. Having defied the gods, Simi must attempt to right her wrongs while trying not to doom herself by falling in love. 

Simi’s story will conclude in a second book that has not yet been announced.

Visit Natasha Bowen’s website.

Sea Witch duology by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch - book one

"Before she took the mermaid's voice, she have up her own heart."

“Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.” - taken from Goodreads.com

So all I really knew about the Little Mermaid fairy tale I learned from Ariel and Disney. I loved how the story was told between two different POVs of the past and the present. I really wasn't sure where the story was going in relation to the original fairy tale but was pleasantly surprised but how the story ended. Now on to the next part of Evie’s story.

Sea Witch Rising - book two

SPOILER ALERT! Please don’t read any further if you don’t want to ruin the rest of the story.

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love.

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds?

I found the beginning of this second book a bit slow but for me, the action really picked up in the second half. Without spoiling any details, I enjoyed this unique twist in the Little Mermaid fairy tale.

Visit Sarah Henning’s website.

 

Of Neptune by Anna Banks (The Syrena Legacy book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the series, Of Poseidon and Of Triton, Stop! I don't want to ruin the series for you.

All Emma and Galen want is a break from everything that has happened over the past summer. They just want to escape to the mountains for some time alone but Grom doesn't want them to since the agreement with the Archives is still new. Antonia, Emma's grandfather and the Poseidon King, tells Emma of a place near Chattanooga, Tennessee that the discovered while searching for her mother after she disappeared. He believes that she should visit a town called Neptune but doesn't tell her why. While it's not the Rocky Mountains, she and Galen head off for some alone time.

While traveling, the two of them stop by the side of the highway. The situation heats quickly but is extinguished when someone knocks on the window to see if they need help. Pulling themselves together and not wanting to break any Syrena rules, Galen suggests that they stop since he doesn't want to drive in any bad weather. Emma looks online and sees that there are some caves and springs nearby. They decide to explore one.

Upon finding a spring, the two of them go swimming. Galen finds it odd that no birds are feeding on the school of minnows just below the Warner's surface. He assures Emma that they will be safe from the lightening underwater. Below, they find the entrance to a cave. No fish are around and. Galen wants Emma to stay behind him but eventually they go in side by side. Galen notices that the water feels different to him. Emma kisses his concern away but then he feels it. The pulse in the water isn't lightning strikes nor is it Syrena. Emma finally notices what he is talking about. Galen has a look of panic on his face and realizes that something is ahead of them. A school of fish swims out and Emma tries to question them. She notices that Galen is still staring in front of them. Then, Emma sees a boy swimming without any gear or equipment. He comments that she has the gift of Poseidon and introduces himself as Reed.

Emma quickly realizes the Reed is also a half breed like her. She asks him where he came from and he tells her Neptune. It turns out that Neptune is home not only to half breeds but full Syrena and human who keep their secret. Since half breeds are illegal, Emma wonders how they have evaded detection for so long. With Reed unable to keep his attraction to Emma a secret, Galen becomes possessive. They take Reed back to Neptune and discover that it looks and functions like any other small town except for the mermaid connection. The only "human" in town is a botanist, Mr. Kennedy, who for the past month has been looking for new plant specimens. Against Galen's better judgment, the two check into the B&B to learn about Neptune.

Why did Antonis want Emma to go to Neptune? What do they discover there? Is Mr. Kennedy really a botanist? How has the community gone undetected for so long? Will Emma and Galen be able to weather this latest complication to their relationship?

Visit Anna Banks’ website.

Promise Bound by Anne Greenwood Brown (Lies Beneath book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first two books in the trilogy, Lies Beneath and Deep Betrayal, Stop! I don't want to ruin Calder and Lily's story for you.

Lily continues to struggle with her newfound family identity, being part mermaid. Her father took to the water naturally, but the change is still physically difficult for her. Calder loves being accepted as a part of the Hancock family but with Jason Hancock teaching college and his family, he and Lily have decided to stay north with them rather than head to the warm waters of the Bahamas for the winter months. With the entire Hancock family coping with their new family dynamics, Calder beings to wonder what the spring migration will bring to his family, both new and old when Maris and Pavati come back to Lake Michigan.

Lily wears the sea glass pendant that once belonged to her grandmother. She has dreams in which she is reliving important moments in Nadia's life. Calder believes it is just stress but Lily insists that they are real and it drives them apart. When Maris and Pavati arrive back at the lake, Lily and Calder worst fears are realized. Daniel was able to father a child with Pavati, a boy. Initially, he is not willing to accept the possibility of raising a child for a year and then giving him back to Pavati, but Daniel becomes instantly smitten with his son. Pavati is heartbroken to have to leave him behind. Lily and Calder fear that history may repeat itself when Jason Hancock wasn't returned to his mother, Nadia, by his father. Before diving back into the lake, Pavati whispers to Lily if she got her letter. She acknowledges that she did but fears that Calder has overheard their conversation.

Why is Lily seeing Nadia's past through her dreams? Is Lily's sister, Sophie, also able to transform into a mermaid? Will Daniel be able to return their son to Pavati? And if not, what would it mean for everyone? What was in Pavati's letter to Lily? Will Lily ever be able to change her form without the physical pain? Can all of the menfolk coexist peacefully? Do Calder and Lily have their happily ever after?

Visit Anne Greenwood Brown’s website.

Deep Betrayl by Anne Greenwood Brown (Lies Beneath book 2)

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

“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.”

Lily Hancock isn’t counting until her high school graduation but the time since she last saw Calder White. She was sent back to Minneapolis to finish high school after the tragic events at the family’s house on Laker Superior. Reunited with both her family and Calder at her graduation, Lily is determined to let her father know about his true identity. Trying to talk her out of it, Calder thinks it is a bad idea. Shocked and confused, Calder agrees to show Jason Hancock the ways of being a merman.

With her father monopolizing all of Calder’s time, Lily finds the draw to the water too irresistible to ignore. Seeing if she has any mermaid characteristics, Lily spends time in the lake and discovers she can hold her breath for longer than normal periods of time and hear voices under the water. Not heeding Calder’s warnings to stay out of the water, her continued existence is soon discovered by Maris and Pavati. When they learn of Talluah’s death, Maris is devastated. With his sisters grieving, Calder fears not only for the Hancock family’s safety, but for anyone that enters the water.

Jason Hancock spends most of his time now in the water and begins to ignore his family. Maris and Pavati seem to be in hiding. Jack Pettit is telling everyone that there are mermaids in the lake. No one really believes him and thinks he is crazy. The reports of boaters and swimmers encountering rip currents begin to surface. Calder and Lily suspect a mermaid is behind it. Soon bodies are found in the area. The race to stop the killings is on before someone begins to believe Jack’s ramblings and begins searching the lake.

Who is behind the killings; Maris and Pavati, Jason Hancock or someone else? Is Lily beginning to transform into a mermaid? Can Jason Hancock find his way back to his family? What will happen if someone begins to take Jack Pettit seriously?

Lily and Calder’s story will conclude in Promise Bound in 2014.

Visit Anne Greenwood Brown’s website.

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Years earlier, Tom Hancock almost succumbed to a boating accident on Lake Superior but was saved by a mermaid. Needing his life force to sustain herself, she agrees to trade Tom’s life for that of his infant son, Jason. The townsfolk thought Tom’s mermaid tale was just crazy talk and the Hancock family soon splintered and abandoned their lakeside home. Now years later and the recent death of Tom, Jason decides to move back to the Lake Superior house with his wife and two daughters for a less stressful life. It turns out Tom wasn’t crazy and danger lurks for the Hancock family in the form of the mermaid’s vengeful children.

Calder White has been tied to his “sisters” since he fell from his parents’ sailboat on Lake Superior when he was three years old. With their mother’s death, Calder can only be set free from the bonds of his murderous merfolk family by his “sister” Maris, now head of the family. If Calder helps them collect the long standing debt of Jason Hancock’s life, Maris will set him free. All Calder needs to do is use one of Jason’s daughters to lure him to the water where he will meet Calder’s sisters. What Calder doesn’t count on is falling for Lily Hancock or the fact that she doesn’t fall for his mermaid charms. It seems that Lily may believe her grandfather’s crazy talk about killer mermaids after all.

Will Calder’s sisters finally get the revenge for their mother’s death they have been seeking? Can Calder fulfill his part of the plan and earn his freedom? Does Calder convince Lily that there are no monsters in Lake Superior? And what happens when Calder falls for Lily Hancock?

It seems that mermaids may be the new vampires. I adored the rom-com Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, but I was completely surprised by the ending of Lies Beneath. I cannot wait to see how Calder’s story plays out with Deep Betrayal in 2013.

Visit Anne Greenwood Brown’s website.