Category: Romance
Water So Deep by Nichole Giles
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Seventeen-year-old Emma Harris is drowning on dry land.
No one knows what’s happening to her, and she’d like to keep her evolution from human to mermaid a secret, but the truth is getting harder and harder to hide. From her adoptive family, from her friends, and especially from the irresistible James Phelps.
Her time in the ocean is spent dodging a possessive merman, while her time on land is split between caring for her special-needs brother and squeezing in every last possible moment of human life. She soon realizes falling for James is unavoidable when he constantly comes to Emma’s rescue and somehow manages to see through her carefully constructed icy facade to the vulnerability she lives with every day. Everything about James makes Emma yearn for a life on land she just can’t have.
When Emma’s brother disappears on her watch, James is the only person she trusts to help her save him. But even if they can save her brother, nothing can prevent her return to the sea. Whether she likes it or not, Emma is changing—unable to breathe without yielding to the tide—and it’s only a matter of time before she’s forced to surrender forever.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received an ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that was the most striking about Water So Deep was the world-building. I haven’t read a lot of mermaid books but the way Nichole Giles portrays her mermaids makes a lot of sense to me. Emma, our main character, is a changeling, meaning she appears human now but she’s been gradually shifting into her natural mermaid form. Unfortunately for her, this means that it’s getting harder and harder to breathe just air; she has to go swim underwater for hours at a time with growing frequency. In the past, she could last a week without swimming and by the time our story starts, she has to go swimming for a couple of hours every other day or so. Like I said, this is one of the more ‘believable’ human-to-mermaid stories (inasmuch as a fantasy creature can be believable) and it’s also one of the more enjoyable because it adds just another complicated layer onto Emma’s already complicated life.
The characters were both good and bad. Emma herself is a great character as are James, her love interest, and Keith, her developmentally disabled brother. She was nearly raped and beat up a year previously by one of the popular jocks at school so when she starts her senior year she’s a complete outcast. James, being the new guy, knows nothing of her history and is quite taken with her. This starts a push-and-pull dynamic between the two, with Emma feeling very conflicted about her growing feelings for James and the knowledge that she’ll have to leave him at the end of the school year because she’ll be a full mermaid. We also get to see things from James’ point of view as he falls in love with Emma and tries to understand and help her with her problems. Will he be able to succeed where Gran (who knows the truth about Emma) has failed?
But while those two were awesome characters, my actual favourite was Keith. Keith is moderately developmentally disabled; he’s quite innocent and sweet and has a bit of trouble with his grade level work but at the same time he’s quite capable of doing things on his own. What struck me the most about Nichole Giles’ characterization of him was that she doesn’t make him out to be a Magical Disabled Person capable of things above what normal people can do and she doesn’t make him into a Pitiable Disabled Person, someone who can’t do anything for themselves and needs to be helped constantly. He has his strengths and he certainly has his struggles; it’s a very nuanced human portrayal of an intellectual disability, one that is really quite rare in YA, let alone ‘adult’ fiction.
The only character that was not very good was Merrick, the possessive merman mentioned in the blurb. Throughout the novel Giles’ portrayal of him is quite good: he sees Emma as a prize, a reward for being the guard to Atlantis as well as one of the very few merfolk that can assume a human form. And because he feels entitled to her, he also treats her like an object at times, infuriating Emma to no end. Without delving too deeply into my own experiences, the way she describes Merrick’s gaze, that mixture of entitlement, lust and a bit of anger is so realistic it makes me shiver. So why did I say Merrick wasn’t a very good character? I can’t tell you precisely because that would spoil the ending but let’s just say that his character does a total 180 at the end of the novel with no lead up to it and it really doesn’t fit with his earlier characterization. It just feels odd, like he’s the Deus ex Machina for Emma instead of the antagonist.
And that leads right into the problem with Water So Deep: the plot. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is absolutely amazing for about 90% of the novel. It’s slower than your average YA novel because it’s very largely character driven but you never really get bored because we switch between Emma and James to see both of their sides of the story. That keeps the pacing consistent, if slow and because Nichole Giles has such a beautiful writing style it didn’t bother me in the least. She is excellent at making you feel the characters’ emotions and sympathize with their struggles, more so than you would with your average YA author. However, the problem with this novel was in the ending. Again I can’t say much without spoiling things but the events leading up to the ending were logical but the ending itself was awful. It made sense in the context of the story in general except for Merrick’s total 180 but it was very abrupt and rushed. Really, it felt like Giles realized she had reached her word count limit or something and just had to stop. The problem is that the ending is very ambiguous, which would not be bad if there was a sequel or at least more of a hint of the fates of the characters.
I was so involved with these characters and kind of concerned about the possibility of there not being a sequel that I actually contacted the author to ask if there would be one, to which she replied: “To answer your question, yes, there will be at least one sequel.” She’s hoping for fall of this year, so thank goodness for that! It’s a testament to her writing skill that I was so involved with the characters and so concerned about their ambiguous fates that I actually contacted her. Believe me when I say that I’m so glad that there will be a sequel. So despite the overly dramatic cliffhanger at the end, I did love Water So Deep and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel. If anything I’ve said in this review intrigues you, go check out the book! It officially releases on February 2 of this year.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
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Frost by Wendy Delsol
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
After the drama of finding out that she’s a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas. That is, until the snowstorm Jack summons as a gift to Katla turns into the storm of the century, attracting Brigid, a gorgeous scientist who, in turn, attracts Jack. Between the school play, a bedridden, pregnant mother’s to-do lists, and keeping an eye on her aging grandfather, Katla doesn’t have time to question Brigid’s motives or deal with Jack’s increasingly cold behavior. But Katla’s suspicions mount when Jack joins Brigid on a research expedition to Greenland, and when the two of them go missing, it becomes clear that Katla is the only one who can save her beloved Jack from the Snow Queen who holds him prisoner. Adventure, romance, and myth combine in this winter escapade for teens who like a bit of fire with their ice.
It took me a little bit to warm up to Stork because of Katla but by the end I liked the story enough that I was willing to read the second book. I had bought the entire trilogy on a whim anyway so why not? It certainly sounded a little more action-packed than the first book. In a way it was but in a way it was also slightly disappointing.
My whole impression of Katla in Frost was essentially ‘meh’. She’s changed a little bit from the first book in the sense that she’s no longer as stuck up and is taking on the responsibilities of being a Stork willingly but at the same time she’s also still pretty immature. When Brigid shows up, Katla immediately goes into jealous girlfriend mode without seeing how Jack will even react to the woman. Of course her initial suspicions are confirmed when Brigid drags Jack off to Greenland but at the same time I can’t help but feel a little colder toward Katla for her rather obsessive jealousy. I don’t hate her or really dislike her because I can completely understand jealousy but it didn’t make me feel any warmer toward her. When she set off to go find Jack her selflessness really came into the spotlight so in the end I did like her a little more than I did in the first book. Still, I wouldn’t call her a great or even a memorable character; she’s pretty average.
The plot was pretty slow-paced even though this book is only a little under 400 pages long. It’s very much character-driven (which I usually don’t mind) but at the same time I had a hard time with the first 200 pages or so because not much happens. Sure it’s nice to see how Katla is settling into her duties as a Stork and how it’s changed her life at school but at the same time I couldn’t help but get bored. It’s nice to see Jack and Katla’s relationship develop before Brigid bursts onto the scene but I think Wendy Delsol spent a little too much time on her introduction. I wanted a lot more action and I simply wasn’t getting it. Because of the slow pace of the first part of the book it also felt like the last part where Katla had to go rescue Jack was way too rushed and more than a little bit confusing. I would have liked the plot to start out a little bit faster and then gradually build toward the more action-packed sections rather than the abrupt transitions in Frost.
As for the world-building, it was thoroughly enjoyable even if it lacked that ‘wow’ factor. The plot of Frost is loosely based upon the Snow Queen story which I’m more familiar with than the first book’s story so in that regard it was a little more enjoyable for me. I liked how we finally got to see how the hierarchy of Storks works and whether or not there are other Storks around the world that carry out the same or similar duties. It made things a little more realistic and it added more depth to the story.
Wendy Delsol has a good writing style that describes things well and clearly while not beating around the bush, which would have made the book excellent if not for the lack in pacing and the admittedly lackluster characters. She’s an author with a lot of potential and despite my overall ‘meh’ impression of Frost I’ll be reading the last book, if only to finish the series. Basically, this book was just not made for me and if the blurb at least sounds intriguing to you I’d recommend giving the series a try. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it better than I did.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Courtesan’s Lover by Gabrielle Kimm
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Francesca Felizzi knows she wields an immense power over men. Her patrons see only a carefree courtesan, and they pay handsomely for the privilege of her time. Francesca never saw him coming, the man who cracked her heart open and ruined her for the job. But he’s shown her what a gaudy facade she’s built, and she doesn’t know how to tear it down without taking her beloved daughters with her. The wrong move could plunge all of them into the sort of danger she has dreaded ever since she began her perilous work all those years ago.
An exquisite tale that explores the intricate nature of a mother’s heart. The Courtesan’s Lover draws you close and whispers in your ear. In the tradition of Sarah Dunant and Marina Fiorato, a compelling and vibrant tale from an up-and-coming fresh voice that readers will want to savor.
I’ll be honest with you guys: the only reason I bought this book was because it was on sale at 3 books for $10 and I needed a third book to get the discount. The cover of my edition was hideous and the blurb sounded somewhat interesting but pretty stereotypical. That’s why I didn’t really pick up the book until I was on my holidays around Christmas. And lo and behold, Gabrielle Kimm surprised me.
Francesca is a main character that you can’t help but love. She plays the carefree courtesan well and interacts on a more personal level with all of her clients but on the inside you can tell she wants something more out of life. Even if she doesn’t know it in the beginning, Francesca always wanted a better life for herself and for her daughters in particular. When she suddenly falls in love with the upstanding father of a young client things suddenly spiral out of control and she realizes just how empty a life she was living before. In Luca, she suddenly sees everything that her life could be and despite the fact she’ll have to live modestly without her courtesan’s income, Francesca is determined to make a new life for herself. It’s actually a rather touching journey and of course not everything goes according to plan for our main character.
Francesca is very well fleshed out and she’s definitely the main character but Gabrielle Kimm also lets us see things from the eyes of the other characters, most notably Luca and Modesto. Luca is a kind of upstanding old patrician who thinks Francesca is a pure and innocent widow; at the same time he has a lot of depth and can be very progressive for a man of the time. Modesto (in my opinion) is far more fascinating. He’s a gifted singer, which meant in 16th century Napoli that he had been castrated before puberty so that he would always have a pure, high voice with the power of a full grown man’s lungs. He’s nominally Francesca’s servant but he acts as both a pimp and a caregiver. It’s his war with his feelings for Francesca with the reality of his situation (particularly the fact that she loves Luca) that makes him almost as fascinating as Francesca herself. Yes, I’m sort of a sucker for tragic figures.
This is not a fast-paced book, even by historical fiction standards. It’s very interesting, especially because Kimm seems to know her way around 16th century Napoli so well. There are just little details from everyday life that make the whole book far more interesting and make the characters and their world come alive. The whole time I read The Courtesan’s Lover I felt like I was in Napoli along with Francesca, Modesto and Luca. And considering the fact that I knew almost nothing about the time period coming into the novel, that’s no mean feat. So while the book is not fast-paced it is a thoroughly enjoyable read because the plot itself is interesting.
I wouldn’t say that the plot is unpredictable but it does have the occasional surprise. Some wrenches get thrown into the works but I think it’s pretty easy to predict the ending of this book. But you know what? Sometimes you just need a guilty pleasure read, one that will suck you into a whole new world and make you fall in love with its characters even if you can predict what’s going to happen at the end. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, that’s exactly what I needed so I’m very glad that I picked up The Courtesan’s Lover by chance. If the blurb intrigues you and you get a chance to buy the book, go ahead. We all need a little more lighthearted romance in our lives sometimes.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Mission by Fiona Palmer
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Recruited into the secretive, shrouded MTG Agency, Jaz dives headfirst into her training, regretting nothing about her decision to help save the world at the age of 17. Now she’s ready and anxious for her first mission — to prove she has what it takes… and to start making a difference.
The only thing that stands in her way is Ryan, the dangerous and sexy agent who first recruited her, and is now guiding her. He doesn’t want Jaz to sink too deeply too quickly into his world of secrets and lies, but his inability to trust her to know her own mind only makes Jaz furious.
When a job comes along that only Jaz can do, Ryan has to let go, and Jaz soon learns that she can swim with sharks, but she’ll come away with scars.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that I didn’t like about The Recruit, the first book in the MTG Agencies series, was that the plot was so predictable. That has been improved on a bit in The Mission but it still does need a bit of work. What really improved was the fact that more things actually happened because Jaz is now a full recruit into the MTG Agency and has to go on missions. At first I thought it was going to be fairly predictable just like the first book but although things start out as “hot young female agent has to shadow hot young teenage boy and accidentally falls in love with him”, Fiona Palmer doesn’t play that trope straight. She changes things up a bit and really surprised me with how Jaz’s relationship with Ryan played out throughout the story. So in terms of plot, The Mission was far more enjoyable than the first book.
Jaz, who was such an eager recruit in the beginning, is a little more mature now and although she makes a lot of dumb mistakes, she learns that being a secret agent maybe isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Things get tough, school isn’t always the first priority and she starts to see Ryan and his occasionally morose personality in a whole new light. Being a secret agent, she realizes, is tough on friendships and it’s especially tough when you have to lie to your friends and family. A lot of books involving secret agent main characters wrestle with this idea and I actually liked how Fiona Palmer made it an important conflict for Jaz, but not the main focus of the book because then that would be too boring and repetitive. It’s just like Jaz’s feelings for Ryan are a secondary conflict but the main conflict and focus of the novel is on her actual mission. And that’s how you know Jaz has really grown as a character; her personal conflicts are annoying but she puts them aside in the name of her job. It’s a stark contrast to the first book.
One of the only things I can really criticize was the pacing. In the beginning we have to get our bearings a bit but I just wish that more could have happened in a shorter time frame. It’s important to get character development into the mix and all that but I really would have liked for a little more action in the beginning. I can’t describe things too much without giving away the plot points, but the ending left me only partially satisfied because the events at the end seemed a little forced. It’s like Fiona Palmer was writing and realized she had to quickly insert a climax in a really forced sort of way. Don’t get me wrong—I did for the most part enjoy the plot. However, I was a little disappointed that the ending was more predictable compared to the rest of the book. It left me feeling kind of disappointed but because of how good the rest of the book was I’ll definitely still pick up the third book. I just have the feeling that the ending could have been done better.
To sum things up, here in The Mission we see a lot more character development on the part of Jaz because now she has a job that she takes seriously. She’s no longer just floating around aimlessly through life; she has a purpose and she’s going to fulfill her mission despite the danger to herself. The pacing was generally much better than in the first book but it still needs work and aside from the ending, the plot was so much better than it was in The Recruit. It didn’t have the best ending but it was well written and I enjoyed it enough that I’ll almost certainly be looking out for the next book. Basically? This was a good book, not a great one.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Sanctum: The Girl by Madhuri Blaylock
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The Sanctum, an all-powerful governing body founded by ten families, entrusted to maintain the peace amongst Magicals and ensure the ignorance of humans, has been corrupted by greed and savagery for generations, but is all Wyatt Clayworth has ever known.
Dev, the hybrid demon prophesied to bring an end to The Sanctum and destroy the world for Magicals and humans alike, is not what Wyatt expected to find when sent out on his latest mission. Believed to be hunting a killing machine, Wyatt finds little more than a broken girl with haunted eyes and a bit of a death wish. Drawn to one another for reasons they cannot begin to explain to themselves, much less anyone else, Wyatt is determined to protect Dev and help her realize her mission to avenge the deaths of her family at the hands of The Sanctum.
Set against the backdrop of New York City, THE GIRL is described as “outstanding, original, complex, deep and intoxicating”, a “well written, unique…fast-paced read” that begins as one girl’s simple quest for revenge and evolves into a complicated tale of trust, friendship, honor and love.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that really stuck out for me as a reader was the characters in this book. They’re all teenagers but because of their life experience you get more mature points of view. Some would say that it’s not quite believable, but if you had to go through what Dev does in the beginning of the book, you wouldn’t act your age either. Even Wyatt and the others in the book who are teenagers act more maturely and that really does showcase that perhaps The Sanctum isn’t as benevolent as they claim to be.
Dev was a pretty good character. She’s the product of an affair between an angel and a demon and that makes her the one from the prophecy that is supposed to end The Sanctum and bring about the end of the world to boot. Except when you meet her, sure she has a warrior attitude but at the same time she’s a healer. She doesn’t want to hurt people that she doesn’t have to except when The Sanctum murders her whole family and gives her even more reason to hate them (other than the fact they are judge, jury and executioner for all magical beings like her). Madhuri Blaylock sure hooks her readers in the beginning with Dev’s unique point of view and then she holds their attention by switching between Dev and Wyatt mainly but a few other minor characters as well. It keeps the plot moving along at a good pace and although in the hands of some authors POV switches that frequently would be confusing, The Girl doesn’t stray into that territory.
Even better than the characters, the plot is very fast-paced. It’s largely character-driven, which makes the frantic pacing unusual but for this book it works. There’s a lot of character development (obviously) and there are some nice little slice-of-life interludes for readers to catch their breath but for the most part we’ve got mostly action. That’s a good thing too because Madhuri Blaylock nicely balances action with dialogue so not only do we get exciting scenes, the dialogue reveals quite a bit about the characters themselves. And best of all, she balances description with action so that the descriptions don’t feel like they’re slowing down the action nor are we left with the feeling that we’ve been dropped in a dark room of talking (and fighting) heads.
One of the things that was good but not great with The Girl was the world-building. It was good because it was relatively believable because The Sanctum keeps tabs on magical creatures and kills any that cross the line and let humans know what they are. Some of the creatures were quite interesting and I loved discovering Dev’s different powers along with the other characters but it just didn’t have that ‘wow’ factor. Like I said, it was good but not amazing. There weren’t any super-unique creatures or anything like that and the prophecy element to the whole story has been done before. It didn’t stray into ‘meh’ territory but it wasn’t the most awesome, unique world-building that I’ve ever come across and there’s really no shame in that. The world-building was solid, believable and for most people I think it will have that ‘wow’ factor.
Essentially, The Girl is a great start to The Sanctum series. It ends on one heck of a cliffhanger and overall it’s a very good book with realistic characters, great pacing and solid world-building. It doesn’t yet have that ‘wow’ factor but it’s a good book and I’m very eager to read the next book: The Boy.
I give this book 4/5 stars.