Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks 

Pages: 342
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
#1 in Series

GOODREADS

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...

Quick Thoughts

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LOVED IT! Of Poseidon was exactly what I was looking for in an undersea mermaid adventure (even though they don't like to be called mermaids in this book, haha.) Awesome characters, and an even more awesome mythology. It's a must read for me! Mermaid fans, unite!

Review

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There was just so much that I loved about Of Poseidon that I don't know where to begin. This was a book that I picked up and started reading, and I couldn't stop once I had gotten into it. I finished it in one day--it was that freaking good.

It was told from two perspectives, that of Emma, who is a normal human girl-- or at least she thinks she is-- and Galen's POV, who is a Syrena prince... who basically hates humans. All Syrena do, which makes things a bit awkward when Emma smacks right into Galen. Except, there's something different about Emma, and instead of being repulsed by her, Galen is intrigued. Each time they touch, there's a literal spark between them, and that could only mean one thing... Could she be what he's been searching for?

The book starts out with quite a punch when, after bumping into Galen, Emma's best friend Chloe is attacked and killed by a shark. (Not a spoiler, trust me.) It also revealed something crucial about Emma and who she is, although it was pretty sad to read. I mean, her friend freaking got eaten by a freaking shark. 

I felt that Emma was extremely relatable! I loved her, because she felt like a real teenage girl to me, speaking as one myself. She was funny, and while she may not be entirely normal (normal meaning in the human kind of way) I still related to her. There was one time, though, that I was completely perplexed by what was going on. She freaked out at Galen's sister Rayna and they broke through a hurricane proof window while they were fist-fighting each other. It was a really crazy deviation from Emma's character, but I guess that was the point, right? It was to show, rather than tell, the changes that were happening to Emma. Still, that was some crazy shit.

Okay, you knew this was coming. It's time... FOR ME TO TALK ABOUT GALEN.

Holy sweet freaking hotness. Dat boy. Or should I say, dat mermaid? (Tee hee, Galen hates it when people call them mermaids.) Gosh, I never thought I'd say that a mermaid was hot, but damn Galen totally obliterated that notion. I mean, think about it, what can possibly be hot about a dude swimming around with a fish tale? When I think mermaid, I think this:

However, Galen makes it work! I think it really helps that we also see him in his sexy-fine human form a lot, so we get to know Galen as a person, not just Galen the Syrena, and the attraction transfers over. I loved the fact that there was some major sexual tension between Galen and Emma. While I was reading Galen tease Emma, even I was getting pretty hot and bothered!

I also have insane respect for Anna Banks, because she was able to take the mermaid concept and weave it into the colorful Syrena mythology that added something special to the story. As a mermaid enthusiast, I've read and seen just about everything, so I was delightfully surprised when I started Of Poseidon and I was smacked with a really unique story line. This ain't your regular The Little Mermaid schtick they're trying to sell you.

The plot was probably the only thing that I felt was lacking, because I saw the ending coming from a mile away. It's supposed to be this huge surprise, like, WHOA OMG WHAT? But, I figured it out about three-quarters of the way into it. That was a disappointment. And it's pretty obvious too. The whole book, the characters are thinking one thing, and they're so sure about it, but they never stop to consider the other possibility, which I did. And once I started thinking it over, it made so much sense to me. But, the ending is still a major cliffhanger, because you know that what happens right after it ends is so extremely pivotal to the ENTIRE FREAKING SERIES, that I could pretty much overlook the obvious plot.

I have to give an honorary mention to one of my favorite characters, Toraf, who is Galen's best friend. He was so funny! His bickering with Rayna (who is Galen's sister, if I haven't mentioned it yet) was great to read because it's that kind of relationship where you know they love each other so much, but Rayna doesn't want to admit it, so Toraf is adorable yet annoying to her, and it's just a cute arguing cycle. Haha!

Who Should Read This Book?

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Anyone who is looking for a really great romance along with a unique mermaid story. If you're one of those people, BUY THIS BOOK! 

Memorable Quotes

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“It's easy to remember, because dating rhymes with mating, and they're almost the same [...] So your mom thinks we're ma-- Uh, dating?”

* * *

Before I can pass by him, Galen grabs my wrist and pulls me to him, corralling me between his legs. Crushing his mouth to mine, he moves his hand to the small of my back and presses me into him. Since he was still shirless and I'm in my bikini, there's a lot of bare flesh touching, which is a little more intimate than I'm used to with an audience. Still, the fire sears through me, scorching a hot path to the furthest, deepest parts of me. It takes every bit of grit I have not to wrap my arms around his neck.

* * *

But everything about this kiss is wrong, wrong, wrong. If I had a brother, this is what kissing him would feel like. And then I feel something else. Hair-raising prickles all over. Like I'm about to get struck by lightning.

Then Galen--not a lighting bolt--slams into Toraf, wrenching our lips apart.

Read it for yourself!

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Buy the Book

Amazon

Kindle: $9.99

Hardcover: $11.28

Barnes and Noble

Nook: $9.99

Hardcover: $11.28

The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide!)

Hardcover: $13.49

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About the Author

Website • Twitter • Facebook

YA writer repped by Lucy Carson of the Friedrich Agency. My debut novel, OF POSEIDON, releases May 2012/Macmillan. I believe in Sasquatch.

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