Title: “Of
Poseidon”
Series: (Of
Poseidon, #1)
Author: Anna
Banks
Publisher: Feiwel
& Friends
Publication Date: May
22, 2012
Genre: YA,
Paranormal, Mythology
Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow
Source: Purchased
My star rating: 5/5
SUMMARY
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.
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.
REVIEW
What’s
not to love about a novel filled with creatures stemming from mythological gods
and an underwater world shrouded in so much mystery it takes the reader’s
imagination to new heights (or depths, as it is)? And then there’s that
breathtaking book cover which is so simple, yet keeps drawing the eye. I’ve
been looking forward to reading Of
Poseidon since its release last year, but due to my mile-long to-be-read
list, I only got around to reading it this week. I was laughing so hard at the
witty dialogue in the first chapter, I’ve been glued to the pages since then
using every spare moment I had devouring this magnificent book, so prepare for
a gush-fest!
As
always, I’ll start with the characters. Although the attraction between Dalen
and Emma was instant, it was not yet love-at-first-sight. The love angle only
comes in later. I should point out that this author creates her characters so
superbly and believable that when one of them came to an unexpected end early
on in the first few chapters, I honestly felt heartbroken, even though I’ve
only known that specific character for two short chapters. I was also
adequately impressed with the “villains” in this story, although they can
hardly be considered villains. The antagonists
are drawn with the same amount of finesse and realism as the protagonists, and
therefore it was hard for me to dislike them.
The
world-building in this book is spectacular to say the least. My favorite scene
was the one in which I got to explore the Titanic along with Emma and Dalen,
and seeing it through Emma’s eyes, it brought tears to my own. The author
effortlessly transported me from one world to the other, and characters in both
these worlds soon became deeply rooted in my heart. Rayna’s character had me in
stitches, and although she disliked Emma from day one and came across as
spoiled and bratty, the story wouldn’t have been the same without her. She is
definitely one of my favorites.
Of
course, since there was no love-triangle in this book, I enjoyed the story so
much more and it again raised the question as to why so many authors are
obsessed with love-triangles? Of Poseidon
is a terrific example of how a story can function without one, and still be an
extraordinary, unforgettable read. The romance was there from the start, but at
first it was subtle and moved along at a leisurely pace. Only in the last few
chapters did it become a little wishy-washy, but not so much that I lost
interest in the plot.
Needless to say, I had a blast reading this
riveting debut novel by awesome newcomer Anna Banks. The story is original and
fresh, unique in a way few YA novels are. It justly gives new meaning to
“exceptional” and “different”, and it had me laughing, terrified, excited and
captivated, from start to end. And Oh. My. Goodness. The cliff-hanger ending is
a stunner! I’ll definitely be first in
line to get my hands on book two the moment it is released!
READ more REVIEWS
Of
Poseidon by Anna Banks has 1153 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.
EXCERPT
FOR
THE five seconds it takes them to stir around in their bed of shattered glass,
Galen tries to swallow his heart back down into his chest. When Emma moves—then
growls when Rayna pulls herself up—he’s able to breathe. Rayna shields herself
when Emma kicks her legs out from under her. And it begins again.
Toraf
shuffles up beside him in the living room and crosses his arms.
“Rachel
left,” he says, sighing. “Says she’s never coming back.”
Galen
nods. “She always says that. It’s probably for the better tonight, though.”
They both wince as Rayna plants the ball of her foot in Emma’s back, splaying
her across the sea of shards.
“I
taught her that,” Toraf says.
“It’s
a good move.”
Neither
of the combatants seem to care about the rain, lightning, or the whereabouts of
their hostess. The storm billows in, drenching the furniture, the TV, the
strange art on the wall. No wonder Rachel didn’t want to see this. She fussed
over this stuff for days.
“So,
it kind of threw me when she said she didn’t like fish,” Toraf says.
“I
noticed. Surprised me too, but everything else is there.”
“Bad
temper.”
“The
eyes.”
“That
white hair is shocking though, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.
I like it. Shut up.” Galen throws a sideways glare at his friend, whose grin
makes him ball his fists.
“Hard
bones and thick skin, obviously. There’s no sign of blood. And she took some
pretty hard hits from Rayna,” Toraf continues neutrally.
Galen
nods, relaxes his fists.
“Plus,
you feel the pull—” Toraf is greeted with a forceful shove that sends him
skidding on one foot across the slippery marble floor. Laughing, he comes back
to stand beside Galen again.
“Jackass,”
Galen mutters.
“Jackass?
What’s a jackass?”
“Not
sure. Emma called me that today when she was irritated with me.”
“You’re
insulting me in human-talk now? I’m disappointed in you, minnow.” Toraf nods
toward the girls. “Shouldn’t we break this up soon?”
“I
don’t think so. I think they need to work this out on their own.”
“What
about Emma’s head?”
Galen
shrugs. “Seems fine right now. Or she wouldn’t have bashed the window into
pieces with her forehead.”
“Do
you think she faked the whole thing?”
“No.”
Galen shakes his head. “You should have seen her on the porch. Terrified. More
than terrified. She even let me carry her into the house. That’s not like her.
I mean, she wouldn’t let me carry her backpack at school. She tried to
snatch it out of my hands. No, something happened. I just don’t know what.”
“Maybe
she knocked everything back into place then. Or maybe Rayna did.”
“Could
be.”
After
a few minutes of watching the gore, Galen pulls off his shirt. “What are you
doing?” Toraf says.
“We
should head toward shore. If Rayna’s smart, she’ll lure her to the water where
she has the advantage.” They can already see that Rayna is doing exactly that.
She’s made it past the pool, her arms roped around Emma’s neck, dragging her as
she kicks and bites.
“But
what advantage does she have over Emma, if Emma’s one of us and of
Poseidon, on top of that?”
“Rayna knows what she is. Emma doesn’t. But I
think now’s as good a time as any for her to know.”
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Anna Banks is a young adult author whose primary goal is to
entertain smart, funny gals like herself. You can expect her works to be
centered around a love story, freckled with humor, and seasoned with sarcasm.
Anna
grew up in a small town called Niceville (yes, really) in the Florida
Panhandle. She now lives with her husband and daughter close to her hometown.
The youngest of seven children, she was spoiled beyond comprehension growing
up. Before she started writing, Anna worked as a banker and a waitress. She
loves old movies, fried chicken, and Simon Cowell, but loathes exercise, licorice,
and haters.
She
also spews sarcastic, romantic fiction under pen name Anna Scarlett.
AUTHOR LINKS
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