Tangled Tides : Review

Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs #1)

by Karen Amanda Hooper

Blurb

Yara Jones doesn't believe in sea monsters--until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people--until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process--or she might open the gateway to a love that's deeper than the oceans.

My Review

Yara doesn't have any idea that sea monsters are real. When a hurricane hits she finds out soon they are very real and now she has been turned into a mermaid. Not only are the merfolk real but, selkies, sirens, gorgons and more exist and they all have plans for Yara. She is the key to unsealing the gateway to their realm. The selkies and merfolk are fighting over how it needs to be opened and Yara is yanked into the middle. Her whole life she has been lied to and now she has to figure out how to save them without dying herself. The merman who saved her also has his own plans for opening the gate. Treygan is all about saving his people until he falls for Yara. Now their hearts are on the line along with the welfare of the sea people. They may have fallen for each other but is their love worth the sea peoples lives.

At first I didn't care for Yara. She whined and acted like a child for a while. Then I thought well she is only 18 years old. I can see she doesn't want all this thrown on her and could see why the author made her the way she did. However as I read I saw her slowly becoming a better person. She really became someone who was not selfish and really used her head to try to make everyone safe and happy. Treygan seems standoffish and wasn't really nice at first. Then as you got to know him and his secret you see he is a person who will do anything for the merfolk. He cares deeply for them. Once he falls for Yara he will also do anything to help her even if it breaks his heart. I loved him.

This is a different type mermaid book as it isn't just about merfolk. You also have selkies. They are also different as they are different from others I have read about. They are a darker selkie than I have read about. I like how the author makes the merfolk different colors to show their rank. As you read you discover more about these sea creatures and their world. Yara has been lied to her whole life and now has to face the fact she is the key to saving all these people. She learns to love some of them and learns not to trust others. There is an element of danger in this book as the selkies want her dead and there is also the danger of the sea. I really enjoyed this book and discovering all the secrets. It kept me interested all the way through it. If you like books with mermaids or selkies or just looking for a different type paranormal book to read give this one a try.

4 out of 5 Bats~Pam