Everblue(Mer Tales 1)Author: Brenda PandosPublisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing, 2011
Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them.
Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.
Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.
My Review:
This has become my top favorite mermaid story of this summer. Just when I thought I´d give up on them, in comes Everblue and sweeps me away with its amazingly wrought world, creative mer-cursing, and captivating plot.
I really liked Natatoria and the mer culture. The descriptions of the city and houses were really amazing. I almost wanted to go and live there myself! Of course, I didn’t the King being an evil overlord restricting his people, especially the mermaids! He wants to maintain the utopia they have created at the cost of cutting his people off from the surface. I really grew to hate Azor, the King’s son, an arrogant little ^#%$... Anyways, I liked the idea of the ‘curse,’ how they always change at night, but during the day they can retain their human form and change at will. I also liked how the myth of the mermaid song was incorporated, giving them a very useful supernatural power. They also have other powers but I won’t spoil it here. Oh! Can’t forget about the mermen’s fighting school. Very cool indeed!
The story is told from Ashlyn and Fin´s POV in alternating chapters. Fin is just a gorgeous merman; he has blonde hair, broad shoulders, and intense blue eyes with long lashes. He is very protective of his twin sister and strong believer of his father’s way of life which differs a lot from that of the King and the residents of Natatoria. Fin secretly loves Ashlyn, but knows that she, as a human, is off limits. When he goes to Natatoria he even finds someone else he might like. However that doesn’t change the fact that he has strong feelings for Ashlyn, and nothing can erase them.
Ashlyn also has a secret crush on Fin, but she’s too shy to have ever spoken up. Besides, her best friend is Fin’s twin sister Tatiana. Like Fin, at one point Ashlyn also tries to move on by giving Callahan (another hot guy) a chance, but it just doesn’t work. The whole time she’s with him, thoughts of Fin keep popping up in her head!
I loved how the kiss was the most intimate act between the mer people. A kiss is just such a sweet thing and they give it a whole deeper meaning. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to see how Fin and Ashlyn manage their newly promised lives together! How much longer will the mer people swim quietly to their King’s decrees? And will Ashlyn join Fin in rescuing Tatiana? *squeals*
Favorite Quotes:
“Having fins in the water was useful to travel quickly, but the bulky appendage left much to be desired for exerting dominance. Something about being unable to sit, legs open, left me feeling feminine.”
~Fin
Mermaid Cursing 101
“For the love of the kraken!”
“Holy crawfish!”
“Mother of pearl!”
