Shana Norris

I was really excited to read this book because I love mermaid stories, but this was not your average mermaid story. It had a whole different back story as to how merpeople came to be inhabiting a small island off the coast of New England, and why they were ostracized and bullied because of something that had happened decades prior to our main character, sixteen-year-old Mara Westray, arriving following the death of her mother. She had never known her father, but when she lost her mother, he was her sole remaining relative, and she was none too happy about being sent to live with him. She held on to a lot of anger over his absence from her life, especially since she had to watch her mother die a slow and torturous death from cancer. Needless to say, this wasn't a great start to their new living situation. Add to that the fact that everyone was obviously keeping a huge secret from her, and she was ready to bolt. When she finally learns what she is, the story goes off in a completely different direction. This book kept my interest from the first page to the last, and I'm looking forward to continuing with the story in the next book in the series.

5/5 stars.… (més)

Rating: 3.5/5

It is always a pleasure to be surprised by a book and getting bitch-slapped for judging it beforehand. Because this was NOT the cute little book I thought it would be.

Sure enough, it had cute moments, but the characters weren't that superficial one-dimensional teenagers you expect to encounter in this kind of books.

Favorite quote:

I was a boyfriend thief, I reminded myself. A boyfriend thief couldn’t get personally attached to her work. It was a business agreement and nothing more. I wasn’t that girl who fell for a guy that was absolutely, completely wrong for her and who had come along at exactly the absolute wrong time. I couldn’t afford distractions at this point in my life. And Zac Greeley had distraction written all over him.

Avery James is what I'd call: a control-freak with a serious case of OCD. She tries so hard to fill the void that her depressive mother left when she took off, all of the sudden and without any explanation, four years ago, leaving her Dad and little brother for her to take care of. That screwed her up in more way than one and now she doesn't believe anymore in love and attachement and finding that special someone to fulfill happiness. Only science is relevant and predictable and makes sense.

Zac Greeley is not your tall, dark and brooding hero; he has an upbeat personnality and an overworking mind that could let you think he's just an unfocused kid who acts all the time like everything is a joke. The class clown who won't go far in life. When in fact he's hyperactive, and if given the opportunity could come up with the most ingenious ideas.

That's what I liked most about this book. Not the romance, but the harsh issues that kids these days suffer from, the tremendous pression they have to deal with on daily-basis and that could probably damage the most balanced of us and how Avery learned to loosen up a little, started living fully her life and stopped blaming herself for her mother's departure.… (més)

"3.5 out of 5 stars!! After being away from the small island of Swans Landing for around 12 years, Mara returns to live with her father (a man she never knew). Feeling lost and alone, Mara finds herself drawn to Josh. Josh is a teen who keeps to himself and compels her at every turn. However Swans Landing is an island FULL of secrets and once Mara finally understands what those secrets are will she be willing to stick around the island or will she “run” away as far as she can…

This is an intriguing and mysterious YA romance novel. It kept me guessing most of the way through while wishing for a good HEA to wrap it all up. What I got was..."

Read more of this review and TWO TEASERS here: https://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2018/01/made-grade-swans-landing-seri...… (més)