Friday, May 25, 2018

Review: The Mermaid's Escape (The Siren #1) by Kellie McAllen

Book Blurb:

Four shipwrecked divers, one mermaid princess who longs for the freedom to choose... or not.

Destined to marry the gorgeous, high-ranking Kai and inherit the throne from her grandfather, Princess Coral is the envy of every mermaid in the shoal. But all she really wants is the freedom to decide her own fate.

When Coral runs away from her own wedding and escapes to the land, she knows the clock is ticking. She has five days before her human body will succumb to the curse that binds all mermaids to the sea. Overwhelmed by the harshness of a deserted island, Coral is ready to accept her fate and return to the shoal, but with the arrival of four shipwrecked divers, Coral starts to understand why her mother was lured away by the human world.

When Coral is given the choice she always wanted, will she make peace with her destiny, or risk everything to forge her own path in a whole new world?

If you like the myth, adventure, and romance of fantasy stories by authors like Jaymin Eve, Bella Forrest, and Amy Bartol, you’ll love The Mermaid’s Escape.

This is a reverse harem paranormal romance series appropriate for ages 18+.

Goodreads | Amazon | Audible

My Review:

3.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Fairytale, Mystery, Reverse Harem, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Survival--

Coral's mother left her behind to go live with the humans and Coral was raised by her strict grandfather, the King. On the day of her forced unwanted mating, Coral can't take it anymore and escapes to spend her 5 days walking among man like most mermaids gets the chance to. She just wanted a taste of freedom, a chance to experience the world before returning to take her place as the ruler of her people. Little did she expect to find a deserted island and a ship wreck with four men who need her help.

Guys! Guys, look, I found a mermaid reverse harem to listen to- a mermaid love quad, we will call it! And we all know my feelings on reverse harem stories recently? I found myself using a lot of movie references to the world the author created, maybe because that is where my mermaid knowledge comes from.At times the book reminded me of one of my favorite movies Splash, where a mermaid is thrust into the strange and terrifying human world, eating raw fish , hiding her tail from everyone, being mistaken for a "foreigner" instead of an entirely new species. I did enjoy the correlations between the Little Mermaid fairytale, such as coming ashore for just a few days before losing her tail forever, being mute so no verbal communication used- as Ursula the sea witch stressed in the Little Mermaid movie, body language is the number 1 form of communication for Coral (and when I say body language, I mean some sexy time!).

I found Coral to be an odd mix of over sexualized desire with the single-mindedness of a horny 18 year old boy and the sweet innocence of a child learning new things to try and understand the world, wanting to please her caregivers (cough cough, man-harem).

​I thought the narrator did a great job of showing Coral's wonder and frustration​ at her new situation, her learning how to speak to the guys was perfectly done. This was my first listen by this narrator but I would listen to her bring more stories to life in the future.

The budding romance (romances?- is it plural if one person is the same in each romance??) was like 75% of the plot and the mystery, supernatural and logistics of the world were the remaining part of the story. I enjoyed the level of heat the author brought to the story, steamy enough but without going over the top and making me (probably not others, but I like minimal steam in my books- we have some sexy time, but not super detailed, leaving something to the imagination) perfectly content and not even a little bit uncomfortable. The ending was a little abrupt, but I think that just made me more curious as to how this unique relationship will continue and what new challenges will Coral face next.

​ I am voluntarily reviewing a complimentary copy of this book.

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