Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 The day has finally come; The day Esmerine gets to join her sister Dosia as a siren. The position of siren is an honored one - only given to mermaids who have a longing and/or curiosity for life on land and to be around humans. Esmerine could not be happier. She has dreamed of the time when she would join Dosia as a siren and sit upon the rocks each day, singing her siren song. 
 Too bad her dreams are ruined the very next day, when Dosia doesn't come home. She's disappeared, and Esmerine fears the worst - that Dosia's enchanted siren belt was stolen by a man, thus leaving her imprisoned and doomed to never return to the sea. 
 Esmerine quickly decides that she must rescue her sister, and her family reluctantly agrees. 
 Once on land, Esmerine has trouble navigating the human world. She soon seeks the help of her childhood friend, Alander. 
 Backstory on this: Alander is a Fandarsee. Fandarsee are "winged humans" - a species that mostly reside in the Floating City. Esmerine was teased all through childhood for playing with a "winged boy" - and then one day Alander comes to Esmerine with news that he can no longer come see her, and that if his father ever found out it'd be bad. This was 4 years ago. 
 Back to the present: Esmerine finds Alander working in a bookstore. At first he doesn't seem happy to see her - but Esmerine pushes that to the back of her mind, for she still needs help to find her sister. 
 As Alander tries to help Esmerine, their friendship is easily rekindled, along with feelings Esmerine has never felt for another boy. It soon becomes apparent that Esmerine must make the hardest decision of her life: to give Alander her siren belt, forfeiting life in the sea forever -OR- to return home, and never see him again. 
 What is a mermaid to do? 
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 Complaints: 
 * I wish so much that this story had more depth to it. :( It's too light, but had sooo much potential to be amazing, instead of just good. More complexity, please! 
 * It seriously felt cannibalistic for the mermaids to be eating fish. O.O Shouldn't they be like, friendly with fishies? /sad face 
 * The characters and setting weren't detailed enough for me. I felt like it could have been so much better. Especially the under water setting. I think it could have been SO magical if done better. 
 * Tiny detail, but it irked me that the author mentioned Esmerine's waist-length hair "settling" around her waist while she was under water. Er, if I am not mistaken - doesn't hair sort of float around you in the water? O.o 
 * There wasn't really any sort of villain in this book. The only suspenseful part of it all was Dosia possibly being taken against her will, but it was way too obvious from the beginning that this was not the case! 
 What I liked: 
 * The romance. It was really sweet and I enjoyed the fact that Alander and Esmerine were so incredibly different, and yet the same in so many ways too. Overcoming the odds, sacrifice - heck yes! 
 * The idea of the Floating City. I would have loved to see that idea expanded upon. 
 * I enjoyed Alander as a character. He was a gentle soul with passionate views on life. He was my favorite character, by far. I don't think Esmerine deserved him. 
 * I enjoyed the siren lore in this book. The idea that only mermaids with a curiosity for the land could become a siren. The enchanted belt and how, if a human stole it, she was his prisoner forever - or, if given freely, a mermaid would also be giving herself to that person. I like that the author used some of the traditional mythology about sirens luring sailors to their doom, but put an innocent spin on it. Very nicely done. 
 Overall: 
 This is a very light, fun book. Don't read it if you're looking for depth. It could have been fantastic, and even though it wasn't - it's still a nice story. Worth a chance! 
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 ARC source: NetGalley.com, publisher Bloomsbury USA Children's Books.