Thursday, April 25, 2013

REVIEW REWIND: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Because I never blogged my review for Of Poseidon, I've decided to post it the day before I review book 2 Of TritonIf you have yet to start this series and are excited about the prospect of a mermaid book, now is a good time to jump in. Except for a few intense moments, this one is more the light and fun variety. Full disclosure: I have been obsessed with mermaid since The Little Mermaid came out. Reading about them is always somewhat nostalgic for me.

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks
Read: June 9, 2012
Published: May 22 2012 by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Source: Library
Category: Paranormal Romance, YA, Mermaids
Series: Of Poseidon book 1


Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . . 

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.
(From Goodreads)


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Mermen! Mermaids! Or actually it’s Syrena in Of Poseidon. Galen would not be happy to hear himself referred to as a merman. I really enjoyed this book, even beyond the fact that it fed my childhood obsession to all things mer. 

Of Poseidon is told in the alternating perspectives of Emma and Galen, and it switches between first and third person respectively. Usually I think that it is strange to do this within one story, but I like how each perspective enhanced Emma or Galen’s voice. The book was funny too. I found myself laughing at Emma’s humor and Galen’s difficulty navigating human culture. Actually, watching them discover different things about each other’s worlds was one of my favorite parts of the story. I also like that Emma is feisty and that Galen likes that about her. The supporting characters were equally great. Loved Rayna, Toraf and Rachel, especially. The fights that they all get into was one of my other favorite things about the book. 

I enjoyed what I learned about the culture of the Syrena, but I hope that we get to spend more time “under the sea” in the next book. With a lot more world to discover, this was definitely written as the first in a series. 

Of Poseidon does utilize several typical YA paranormal plot devices. The heroine becomes isolated from her family and peers, opening her up to more time spent with the supernatural beings. There is a new mystery boy at school who happens to be wealthy as well as gorgeous. I’ve learned to expect these things in these tri-book paranormal romances, and they didn't really bother me so much in this story. For some reason, I still get sucked into these types of plots. 

The major difficulty I did have with this book had to do with the something these characters were trying to figure out. It takes them the entire novel to get to the conclusion that I reached within the first third of the book, and the process that they go through to get there became a bit tedious for me. On looking at reviews of this book, I do not think this secret was as obvious to everyone, and for many it came as a big shock and cliffhanger (I hope it will for you too!). However, I started to get impatient for them to figure it out so that we could move on to the consequences that will most certainly happen After (aka book 2). 

Despite my issues with the plot, I had a lot of fun reading Of Poseidon. This book also does a great job at making the reader anticipate book two, Of Triton, which I have read and will be reviewing tomorrow.

Love Triangle Factor: Mild
Cliffhanger Scale: I thought Low, with a heavy dose of anticipation for book 2. Some thought High.

21 comments:

  1. Hmm... I've been interested in the whole mermaid thing (say hello to a fellow mer-fan!) for quite some time, albeit somewhat hesitat to delve into it in the book world. I do, however, totally trust your judgement in books so I think I'll have to give this one a try. It's not often an author can nail down two distictive voices/perspectives in one book.

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    1. I agree. I really like these characters' voices, and as many people have pointed out in the comments, I think the author's personality is coming through in her writing - in a good way! I really like this series, but it is light and fun. If you want a heavier mermaid book, I would suggest MONSTROUS BEAUTY. Very different type of story, but excellent.

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  2. You and Heather are the type of people who persevere on through a series even when you just liked, but not loved, it - and I love that about you two. I know for a fact the predictability of this would have ruined it for me (Cinder, anyone?) but I'm glad you continued the series. I'm curious to see what you think of the sequel now! Great review, Lauren!(:

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    1. HAHA. So true, K! But I've been trying to work on not doing that so much. I've actually dropped several series because I felt meh about them. Though often I still will check to see what happens. Anyway, I agree that these books may not be for you. I think they'd read too light and silly. It's funny how you can read a book and see elements that may seriously bug you in another story, but you're able to gloss over them, because you enjoy reading it so much? That is this book for me.

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  3. I'm not a big mermaid fan so I didn't read this, but you're right about the whole PNR conventions of loner girl, rich, mysterious boy -- often with a big family - love at first sight, lots of angst. I do enjoy those kinds of stories sometimes. Look forward to seeing what you think of the next book…
    You can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. I love how you like to pick out reoccurring plotlines as well! And yes, the PNR genre has a lot of tropes that reappear, and sometimes I don't mind that so much. I think it depends on the book, but in general, I think we're all getting fed up with seeing the same themes over and over again.

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  4. I had fun with this one too, though I think I also predicted the twist well before it hit in the story (it's been awhile so I can't remember how early I predicted it; I don't think in the beginning). In spite of its flaws, I found it fun enough to keep going with book two. Looking forward to your thoughts on Of Triton! :-)

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    1. There is something about this book that makes it really appealing, despite its visible flaws. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that about it. Of Triton was equally fun for me. Hope you enjoy it as well.

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  5. Everything conspired against me with this book: I hated the audiobook narrator and I figured out the mystery as quickly as you did... but somehow, I ended up liking it nevertheless. You're right, Banks used many tropes, but it was a fun read and I'm eager to continue the series.
    Wonderful review!

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    1. I felt the SAME WAY. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one that realized that the degree to which I enjoyed this book is really unexplainable. Banks has a really appealing voice. Hope you enjoy Of Triton as well.

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  6. I've always loved mermaids too, and I adore Disney's The Little Mermaid :) But, I never got around to reading this, but I might have to now that I know you enjoyed it so much!

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    1. These first two books are great together, so I would suggest getting a hold of both of them. The Little Mermaid was the defining pop culture moment of my childhood. I LOVED that movie.

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  7. You are much more into mermaid stories than I am, but I consistently hear great things about this book. And the interviews/ tweets I have seen with Anna Banks always make me laugh. I think I need to put my mermaid hesitation aside and just read this sometime:) Great review!

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    1. Anna Banks is great! Her personality definitely comes through in her characters, which is one reason why I think so many people like this series. If you don't like mermaids, I'm not sure how you'll take these books. They are a tad cheesy and tropey, but still fun! And they'd be easy to read together.

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  8. I loved The Little Mermaid as well, but I'm not sure how I feel about YA mermaid stories. I did notice that this is going to be Sync's first free YA summer audiobook download, so I plan on trying Of Poseidon out that way! haha I'm sure I won't figure out the big secret ahead of time, unless I am making a super conscious effort to do so. I'm glad you had a fairly positive experience with this book, Lauren! Looking forward to reading about your thoughts on book 2.

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    1. Yeah, this book might be too silly for you. But i did NOT know about the sync download. I've got to remember to get all of those. I will be picking it up for sure then. Thanks for telling me!

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  9. I actually gave away my copy of this that I won in a giveaway before I realized how great this book was (from seeing everyone's reviews). I'm glad it was humorous in points and that you mentioned how it involves some typical YA paranormal plots so that I'm warned. Also, it's disappointing when a book tries to make something a twist when the readers figure it out in the beginning so I'm glad I was warned of that too! Great review, I now have to read it ;)

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    1. I hope the person who got the book enjoyed it! But hopefully you can get a copy from the library. It is a fun read for sure.

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  10. OK, I bookmarked this review when you first posted it since I didn't have the time to read it and I almost forgot it O_O Sorry. LOL. Anyway, I've heard SO, SO, SO many awesome things about this one and lately I've been reading lots of dark reads in addition to emotional contemporaries so I think it'd be a perfect fit for me. + I also kinda adore mermaids, hehe. I also have come to anticipate certain aspects in a book and most of the surprises don't even take my by surprise anymore so I think I'd be in your corner - realizing what's about to come before the characters do. I love when supporting characters are enjoyable and it's what a lot of the times makes the story in my eyes. Sometimes the supporting side characters can be so overly annoying that it takes away the attention from the real plot so I'm glad you liked these fellas:-) In addition to loving the theme and the synopsis, I also love the cover art for this series! They're gorgeous! I can't wait to dive into this:) Thanks so much for sharing Lauren!!

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  11. Hi Lauren,
    Great review! You told me everything I wanted to know about Of Posideon and I'm glad this novel won't disappoint. I am actually being sent this and number two for review so I'm really looking forward to it. I look forward to reading more of your posts :)

    - Sunny @ www.asupersunnyspot.blogspot.com

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  12. Absolutely loved this story. It had great tension in the romance department, which I really love. The beginning was really powerful and unexpected, and the ending was perfect. I am so happy that I listened to the audiobook. It completely made my reading experience, and I don't think I would have loved the story as much if I would have just read the book. I will definitely be continuing on with this series and will definitely be listening to it, instead of reading.

    Cath Brookes (Limo in Seattle)

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