Of Poseidon

This book went from hilariously intriguing to guilty pleasure to completely lacking in anything for me to care about. I finished it more out of my own issues with quitting a book once I'm more than half way than actually enjoying it. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read. It was just...okay.
I did enjoy the mermaid story. In a world full of vampires and werewolves (in novels of course I mean), it was kind of nice to see another mythic creature taking the lead. The only problem was, the mermaid world was...genuinely boring.
The characters were pretty well rounded and distinct to begin with, but they gradually dissolved into one-note characters as the romance progressed. All of the twists were predictable.
I would genuinely say, there are better things out there to read. Other bookish fish in the sea.

INCRÍIVEEEL!!
Sinceramente :D
Não é o melhor livro já escrito na face da terra, mas... AMEI! super DUPER divertido, sarcástico, envolvente e muito fofo.
E monogâmico, vamos frisar esse momento épico na historia da literatura infanto-juvenil/juvenil/romances que não deixa de presentearmos com um ZILHÃO de triângulos amorosos, levando todas as menininhas que leem acreditarem piamente que estão arrasando o coração da moçada, sendo que, na grande verdade, namorado que é bom está preso em páginas pólen dos livros.

Mesmo Emma sendo um pouco irritante as vezes, os clichês de sempre, e as muitas coisas óbvias - do tipo, “é claro que o espião E Nalia é a mãe”, achei o livro muito bom! E explicativo, repleto de lendas histórias e tudo o que o leitor tem direito.

Muito bom, sinceramente. Não marquei as páginas de passagens que gostei do liro, porque, gostei dele por inteiro.

I wouldn't say this is a bad book by any means. I guess it just lacked the oomph (sorry, but I think this word best describes what I'm looking for) I'm used to. I don't get many feels from this book. Maybe it's just because the book is so short. We, or at least I, didn't really get to bond with the characters all that much. When a certain someone was feeling sad, I just didn't feel my heart jerk. And all these characters the author keeps throwing out...well, they just don't have a very noticeable impact on me. It was sort of like, “Enter So-and-So's-Name,” which led to, “And then So-and-So cracked the Earth with his bare fist.” I'm not saying this happened, of course, and I'm not saying that things were as exaggerated as this example, but still, that was the kind of impression I got. I hope the next book will be better. Mind you, Miss Author, this does not mean I want a tragic ending where I end up crying and doubting the world and the entire human/mermaid (pardon to you Syrena) population.

(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)

When I started Of Poseidon, I completely expected something super serious with lots of watery brooding. I guess it was the cover, combined with the fact that it was a paranormal. But whatever the reason, my expectations were along certain lines that the book did not end up following. But in this case, I am so glad! It absolutely skyrocketed past my expectations! The book was serious, hilarious, romantic, and captivating, all at once.

I really liked Galen's name, as well as his personality. He was totally cute and awkward. And when he had his paranormal-boy moments of obsessive behavior? Yeah, Emma actually CALLED him on it. WHAT. That's right. You go, Emma! I love that she actually felt comfortable enough with him to do that. And I love that he respected her enough to listen. While they both definitely had their faults, I liked them overall.

Galen's friends and family (who were all basically one unit; even the non-related ones were like family) were such great characters! The interactions between Galen's best friend and his sister were absolutely hilarious, and I loved trying to figure them out.

Banks did some great world-building with the whole story of the Syrena, how being a mermaid works, and all the incredible details. I also liked that the book was told from both Galen and Emma's points of view. However, it was also odd, because Emma narrated in first person while Galen's sections were told in third. I didn't like that at all; it was jarring.

And then we have The Ending. I was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk in front of my house while I read it, and when I reached the end, I slammed to a halt and literally shouted, “WHAT?!” Because it was the end. I had thought it was a standalone. But it was all over. Finished. And I was left dangling off a cliff of epic proportions, and when I raced inside to Goodreads, I discovered how long it was going to be until the next one. May 28th? YEAH, MAY AS WELL BE NEXT CENTURY. (I'm nothing if not invested in my books.)

But massive cliffhanger nonwithstanding, I loved Of Poseidon! This was my first mermaid book, and I could not have imagined a better introduction into the subgenre. There was a little bit too much cheese at times, but not overwhelming amounts. While Of Poseidon definitely had its serious moments, it did a tremendous job of showing that paranormal books don't have to be angst-ridden to be great.

Overall the story was interesting. The way it was told was not. I did not really likes this book. There were more things in this book that bothered me than things I enjoyed.

Things I enjoyed:
-Mermaids.

Things I did not enjoy:
-I hated how Banks wrote the thoughts of Galen and Emma. There was never any clear transition between the two when you were reading what was in their heads. I was constantly having to check to see who was actually talking to find out who was thinking those thoughts.
-It was very predictable, almost to the extinct that it was not worth reading because of how predictable it was.
-The book at the beginning talked about Chole as a friend of Emma's but throughout the rest of the book Chole was talked about as though she was Emma's sisters for some reason. That never made sense to me.

Overall
-This story could have been a great story but it just wasn't. There were too many things wrong with the book that I do not think I will continue on with the series.