Title: Of PoseidonAuthor: Anna BanksEdition: hardcoverSeries: Of PoseidonReleased Date: May 22nd, 2012Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads / Amazon Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.
This was my first mermaid book, EVER. I don't know why I put off reading mermaid books for so long, because I absolutely LOVE mermaids! This kind of sparked my interest even more for the lovely creatures and I can't wait to read more mermaid books like this one! I'm sure this one will always be my favorite mermaid novel though - it's fantastic!
Emma is awesome. That's like the only word I know how to describe her as. I'm not saying she's awesome because she's total bad-ass or anything. I'm saying she's awesome because she reminds me of myself SO much! She's a total klutz, yet she's able to get her footing together and participate in a fight and hold herself. She's got a temper, but she can be super sweet and loving. She's like a second copy of me, except for the part about having a mermaid boyfriend and all that cool stuff. I love how she's got funny sayings like "Ohmysweetgoodness!" It just makes her a VERY likeable character, and it makes you want her to have the best of everything!
Okay, and I lied about only having one word to describe Emma. The only other word that could describe her as a whole would be: determined. When describing characters, most people say things like: "oh yeah, this character was pretty determined." Well Emma wasn't just "pretty determined." She was "FRICKEN determined!" Now let me explain: if your best friend were in danger, would you go fight a shark for a couple minutes? Yeah, I didn't think so. Now tell me that Emma is not determined...
Galen, is so fricken awkward that it's hilarious. In the beginning, when Emma meets Galen and his sister Rayna, I was laughing SO much! Galen is a sweetheart though, as he's very compassionate and protective of Emma and his family.
Speaking of family, I loved every other character in this book. Emma's mother was hilarious when it came to talking to Galen, and Galen's family: Ohmysweetgoodness. Rayna is super cool. She's kind of the outsider of the family, and she's definitely got a mouth to her. She tries to put up a wall so people don't actually see what she's feeling until she's extremely hurt. Toraf is the only guy that has a slight impact on Rayna besides Galen. Toraf is Galen's best friend, and Rayna's mate - but only by force! Toraf is head-over-heels in love with Rayna, but she continuously pushes him away.
The whole story line was magnificent. I like how in other books, the main character is all eager to find out what they are - but Emma is a bit reluctant all throughout the story. That doesn't stop her from always going in the water and trying to figure it out on her OWN though! The ending of this novel is definitely crazy though, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were frustrated, were throwing the book across the room, and demanded a sequel right now from Anna Banks.
Of Poseidon has to be one of my favorite novels of 2012. There's three novels that are tied for first right now: Of Poseidon, The Fault In Our Stars, and the Selection. So you can tell how awesome this book is by how awesome the other books are that it's tied with. You'll be sucked into this book like a current taking you away! Or a shark, but that's a bit morbid, especially after what happens in the beginning of this novel... Nonetheless, if you love mermaids, or even if you haven't read a mermaid novel yet, you DEFINITELY have to check into this one. You'll be taken away with the waters! ;)
