Book Type: Adult/ Romance
Author: Judi Fennell
Pages: Book 1) 352 Book 2) 384 Book 3) 384
Book One: In Over Her Head: Cover, Summary and Review
Summary(amazon.com):
He lives under the sea…
Reel Tritone is the rebellious royal second son of the ruler of a vast undersea kingdom, and he's always been fascinated by humans…
She's terrified of the ocean…Marina owner Erica Peck would never go swimming willingly—but she's forced into the water and is nearly eaten by a shark. Luckily Reel is nearby to save her, and he discovers she's the woman he's been searching for…Before she knows it, Erica is off with Reel on a wild underwater adventure to recover a stolen treasure, battle a jealous sea monster, and, of course, defy a death edict from the kingdom's high court.
But even if they make it through their madcap mission alive, can they find a way to stay together when she hates the water and he can't survive on land?
My Review:
Book 1)
Typically, I am not a romance reader, mostly because I find them cheesy, and this book unfortunately proves my point. Within the first couple of pages, the lead male character, is talking to fish with human names like Ernie, Amelia and let's not forget Vincent the great white shark. Going along with the cheesy name theme, Reel's brother is named Rod (really?) and their father's name is Fisher. To add more cheese to the romance cracker, Reel calls Erica "sweetheart," and the romance scenes are a bit too dramatic for my taste. In addition to the ridiculous names and the dramatic romance, the logic didn't really flow either.
Boring and Cheesy: What I Didn't Like:
How does Reel know about human world stuff, like diamonds and yachts and guns if he never stepped foot into human society? Speaking of diamonds, the whole plot of the book was Erica and Reel chasing them and stealing them from an evil sea monstress. Chasing diamonds...? Come on! It's been done a million times before in dozens of different movies and books. I also found Reel to be annoying, and he acts like a total bad ass, but he comes off more like a bratty teenager who didn't get their way. Even though there was some plot elements I did not enjoy, there were some things I thought were cute or did like.
Brilliant! Exciting! Fishy!: What I Loved:
The way Fennell describes everything is perfect; I felt like I was underwater, and she also named a lot of different fish species that I had never even heard of! With the merfolk in this society, there was a perfect balance of funny human-like behaviors, such as wearing human clothes that were scavenged from wrecks, and keeping a mer-identity. I also look for switching point-of-views in romance books; I want to know what the man and the woman are thinking, and Fennell also includes this in her book. To sum it up, I just found the plot, characters and logic mediocre, and I hope that when I continue to read the next book that it will get better.
I give the first book (***) 3 stars.
Book 2:
Summary(goodreads.com):
The underwater kingdom is his as soon as he claims his queen Rod Tritone has the looks and charm to snag any queen he wants for his Mer kingdom, but unfortunately, it's not up to him. As fate would have it, the one woman destined to rule with him is terrified of water.She lives in land-locked Kansas and has no idea she's a princess.Valerie Dumere thinks Rod is gorgeous and irresistible but why does he keep insisting she has another side to herself that only he can show her? Somehow, Rod has to prove to her who she really is. But when she finds out the truth, will she ever forgive him?
My Review:
When I first began reading this, I didn't expect much, especially since I wasn't crazy about the first book. However, the main plot seemed interesting; Rod is going to capture a hybrid mermaid! Cool! Sadly, this book was cheesy, boring and just plain odd.
The Characters are Annoying!:
What really bothered me most about Valerie and Rod is how fleeting their passion is for one another. One minute Rod says he's on land just to get Valerie back to Atlantis with no intentions of dating her, but then all of a sudden he is burning for her, with no real transition of his thoughts. The dialect is also annoying. Every other line between Rod and Valerie's conversation is some mental sexual comment to themselves. It gets very old to hear how good looking one another is. We get the point!
Valerie is a very annoying character as well. Not only does she seem promiscuous, but what an airhead flake! Who runs off with strange man you don't even know, and a talking bird?
I also found it weird and frustrating that Reel and Erica are mentioned so many times, but they never enter the plot at all! Where are they? Valerie and Rod go to their house to stay hidden but they're never there!
Unrealistic Romance:
This romance bothered me even more than the first book! At least it was cute that Reel has a crush on Erica ever since he was a child. This romance starts from sexual to apparent love in a matter of a couple of days! For about three quarters of the book, Rod and Valerie talk about each other sexually, but all of a sudden they claim that they want to be together forever. It's cheesy and unrealistic.
Birds, Birds and... More Birds?:
The plot of the book is very strange. I will try not to spoil too much, but another part of the plot is animals, including millions of birds take orders from a merman hellbent on taking over Atlantis and tries to defeat Rod. While on a "road trip" dozens of birds drop rubbish and attack them for miles.
I felt that half of the book is about birds chasing Rod and Valerie. I think a better idea would've been traitorous merfolk living on land and trying to defeat Rod and overthrow him. Talking animals... it's such an old idea. I give this book (**) 2 stars.
Book 3:
Summary(amazon.com):
Mermaid Angel Tritone escapes a shark by jumping into single dad Logan Hardington's fishing boat. All his young son Michael wants for his birthday is a mermaid, and if his dad will only play his cards right, now he'll have one…
Angel wants to give Michael his most beloved birthday gift (a real live mermaid) while also getting to know his father and getting him to help her in her mission to stop humans from destroying the oceans. Logan has never met a woman who cared as much about the same things he does, and she's never met a man who understood her deepest commitment to humanity and nature. When an enemy of conservation shows up and tries to kill Angel, Logan has to choose between continuing the life he's known, or following the woman he loves to the bottom of the ocean…
My Review:
After reading the last two books in this series, I was skeptical, and I didn't expect much. However, this was my favorite book in the series.
What I Liked:
Angel is my favorite character in this entire series. She is very cute when she is around Logan, and I like how smart and curious she is. She is also an amateur mer-scientist/sociologist! She reminds me of Madison from Splash, especially when she goes shopping for clothes the first time! She is also smart and caring, but has such realistic qualities for a fictional character. She wants to be somebody important and not live in her family's shadow.
I also liked Logan and Angel's relationship. I felt it was more genuine. The reader understands why Logan and Angel have feelings for each other, instead of just having sexual attraction like the last two books.
What Annoyed Me:
The talking animals, along with the ridiculous human names annoyed me constantly. One of the names, Hammerhead Harry, just seems so silly.
The whole plot seemed a bit ridiculous when I first began this book. From Logan's perspective, a naked woman is found lying on his boat, with no identification and seems confused about everything! Although he doesn't even know her, he trusts her to babysit his kid and live with him, even though he knew her for about 15 minutes?
WHAT?
How could someone be so trusting, especially with a woman who is clearly tangled up in her own story?! I wasn't sure about the romance at first, but it gradually grew on me. I give this book (****) 4 stars.
Overall, I would give the series 3 stars. It was okay, but it needed some tweaking with plot and character development.
-Sirenita The Selkie
