Siren

Review Time! (I should be doing my science assignment) Siren by Tricia Rayburn was released last year and that's exactly how long it's been sitting on my shelf!!! Undercurrent the second book in the series comes out this month so I really pulled to together to read this before the release date of the sequel! Thanks to Penguin for the review copy! ( sorry it took so long, apologies)

(Goodreads) Vacationing in Winter Harbor, Maine, is a tradition for Vanessa and Justine Sands, and that means spending time with the Carmichael boys. This summer, Vanessa is determined to channel some of her older sister’s boldness, get over her fear of the ocean, and maybe turn her friendship with Simon Carmichael into something much more.



But when Justine goes cliff-diving after a big family argument, and her body washes ashore the next day, Vanessa is sure that it was more than an accident. She is more certain of this, when she discovers that her sister was keeping some big secrets and Caleb Carmichael’s gone missing. Suddenly, the entire oceanfront town is abuzz when a series of grim, water-related accidents occur, with the male victims washed ashore grinning from ear to ear.


Vanessa and Simon team up to figure out if these creepy deaths have anything to do with Justine and Caleb. But will what Vanessa discovers mean the end of her summer romance, or even life as she knows it?

The Short Story ? - A hauntingly beautiful tale with a fresh new take on the paranormal genre! Move aside Vampires, the Mermaids are taking the spotlight! A dark gripping plot, a well-developed cast of characters and beautiful writing that sent shivers down my back...Forget Ariel, these mermaids are plain mean ;) A most original plot!

The Long Story ? - Quite alot of mixed reviews on this one, it's one of those love it or hate it types. I've read a few of those 1/5 rating reviews and yes, I get where they're coming from but I don't agree with them! I absolutely loved this novel despite the fact that the romance in my taste was a little lacking. However, in my opinion the focus of Siren wasn't on the romance but the plot itself so it's a fair deal ( this is coming from a romance junkie...)

The plot can only be described as a Paranormal Mystery not a Paranormal Romance, while there is romance it plays a fairly minor role. Some of the bad reviews described the plot as "choppy". I agree that the plot is a little hard to follow in places but instead of looking at it as ill-planned and "choppy" I think what Tricia was going for is the sense of mystery. That sense of mystery was carried out all through the novel til the very end! I really enjoyed the originality and the plot was unpredictable which was a bonus! Brownie points for picking Sirens instead of something cliched! I also liked the way Tricia gave a little background information about these Sirens so readers are aware that they're basically man-eating ( not literally), murderess mermaids.

The characters were really well-developed! I liked how Tricia had a mixture of characters with very different personalities. Vanessa, our protagonist was portrayed as a innocent girl who lives in her sister's shadow. However in turn of her sister's death, she find the courage to stand up to her fears and becomes the hero of the novel! I felt connected to Vanessa to an extent because I understand how it feels to be in her position ( not about the sister although that was pretty bad too). Our main love interest Simon would probably be one of the best parts of the novel. I didn't fall in love with him but he was believable, I have read countless books where the love interest is too perfect? More brownie points for believable characters ( in a paranormal novel :P)

Last but not least, Tricia has an absolutely amazing YA voice. Very distinctive and powerful, it captivated my attention during the whole novel! Very comfortable writing style and easy to read, this could definitely be a one-sitting-read! Would definitely recommend this novel to anyone above the age of thirteen, the content is fairly clean :)

Edgy, dark and gripping, Siren is the ultimate paranormal mystery! Fantastic characters, beautifully writing and a hauntingly captivating plot, looking for something to read this summer? Forget Vampires, pick Mermaids!

Rating - 5/5

Badass Bookie xx