Sink
M.E. Rhines
(Mermaid Royalty #1)
Publication date: July 31st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Obedience has always been a matter of survival for sixteen-year-old mermaid princess Pauline. Her mother is the tyrannical Queen Calypso, who rules the kingdom of Atargatis with an iron trident. To utter one word against her would mean banishment—or worse—so Pauline bites her tongue and minds her manners. But on the eve of her sister’s merling-shower, all of that is about to change. Confronted with the truth about what happens to the human men who are betrothed to the mermaids of Atargatis, Pauline realizes she can stay silent no more.Determined to end the queen’s dark tradition, Pauline goes along on a search for shipwreck survivors, secretly planning to free them. But things get complicated when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to one of the men. Before she realizes what’s happening, she has kissed him—and a kiss from a mermaid is not without consequences. Now Pauline will have to risk everything if she is to save the young man and thwart the queen’s dark plans…
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BBReview:
I don't even know where to start with this review. This wonderful book, Sink, had me hooked (HA! punny!) from page one! I have always loved mermaids, have found them fascinating, and have always enjoyed books about mermaids, but this one is really at the top of my list of favorites.
What really blows my mind is that this book is somewhere between 200 and 300 pages, a short one to me, but yet it still was able to pack in SO much storyline. I mean we have fantasy elements, danger, romance, action, etc., it's all there! Lately I have been picking up a couple books where it just doesn't interest me enough to keep going and I take a break for awhile before picking it back up. This one was a breeze for me. I was just so involved with the characters and storyline. I wanted to know more, wanted to know what will happen next. Will they succeed? I couldn't put it down. If I haven't been so tired lately, from work and wedding planning, I'm pretty sure I would have finished this in one sitting.
I will warn you there is insta-love. When there is a shipwreck of humans, the mermaids go to them and sing. If one of them is their soulmate they will be drawn to the singing, kiss the mermaid, grow gills and fall in love. The mermaids do this not only to find their mate, but because there are no mermen in Atargatis. They need to find their mate in order to continue the population.
Our main character, Pauline, isn't looking for her soul mate when she accidently finds him, and I think what makes up for the insta-love is that neither one of them signed up for this. Eddie obviously didn't have a choice in the matter as he was just drawn to her singing, but Pauline also doesn't want Eddie to mate with her, because she knows what her mother does to humans once they have done their part. This conflict makes the insta-love completely adorable and tolerable. I personally love insta-love stories when they're done right, and this one was done very well. I really liked Eddie and Pauline together and I was rooting for them the entire time.
I would have enjoyed this story if it was just about Pauline and Eddie's romance, but what really got me was the darker parts of this story. Pauline's mother, Queen Calypso, is a ruthless, evil woman who must be stopped. I really enjoyed learning how she got this way and watching the battle that takes place in the story. I would go into more details, but I don't want to spoil anything for you.
The book's description alone had me wanting to read this book, but now that I have seen the excerpt we're providing for you, I don't know how anyone could turn down reading this. It is seriously amazing and M.E. Rhines is a fantastic writer. There are two more book in this series and I can't wait to get my hands on them!!
Overall:
This was the first book I have read by M.E. Rhines and I absolutely loved it. I will definitely be reading the two more books that will be coming out from this series, and will also be checking out the other books by her. For me, this book was a short one, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I loved how the author was able to weave so many characters and storylines into one book without getting the page count into the 400's or beyond. If it was longer I wouldn't have cared, because that just means more time with the characters for me, but I honestly think it was the perfect length. I loved the romance, the action, and all the darkness that was in this book. Throw a book my way will fantasy/paranormal creatures, romance, and some dark and disturbing plot lines and I will fall in love. You have GOT to read this one!
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 5/5
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EXCERPT:
My eyes widened, my heart hammering against my rib cage. A fear I didn’t understand tugged at my tailfin, like an anchor had been tied to its end. I sank against the wall of our pirated vessel and watched the chaos as it unfolded in slow motion.
Gene laughed at something my sister said just before it hit him. His smile fell in an instant as soon as the sudden deadening feeling pummeled into his chest. He dropped the plate and held out his hand. From my experience with Beaked Sea Snake, he was seeing double the fingers.
A fogginess washed over his eyes. He reached out for Fawna for just a second before his arms fell to his sides, limp and useless. Then, his human legs gave out from under him. A loud crack sounded as his knees made impact with the hard floor of the ship.
When he finally fell backward, my sister stood over his paralyzed body with a shameless, cruel smirk that gave me the chills. My mother, hovering well above me, nodded her approval with a warm, glowing pride showing on her face.
I looked around, expecting to see the same shocked expression I wore among my clan. But not one jaw was dropped. Every one of them watched with tense, excited eyes. They looked like bloodthirsty demons from where I was sitting.
“Mother,” I whispered. “What’s going on?”
She didn’t hear me.
“My Queen,” someone shouted from below. “What are your orders?”
Mother took in a long, powerful breath and shouted, “Air him out.”
I gasped, disbelief shuddering through me. “Mother,” I screamed. “Mother, you can’t!”
My protests were drowned out by the unified battle cry that erupted from every member of our clan. Angelique dropped her guitar, dashing for Gene with two other mermaids close behind.
I rushed for him, but Mother grabbed my arm with bruising fingers.
“Let me go,” I demanded.
Even through the screeching cheers below, I could hear Mother’s teeth grinding. “Don’t make a scene.”
I stilled, having every intention to stay put and comply, as usual. But then, I caught a glimpse of Gene’s face. While his muscles were tight and immobile, his eyes were filled with a conscious terror. They pleaded with me from across the ship, begging me to save him.
Before I could stop myself, I twisted my arm out of Mother’s grasp and swam to him, hoping to talk some sense into my sister before she did something terrible.
It was no use. I couldn’t reach them. They had too much of a head start. All I could do was watch as they snatched the helpless human and dragged his lifeless body up, up, and up until…
Bubbles sprayed all around them as they held Gene’s head and neck above water, but kept their own gills safely submerged. Even if he had working legs to thrash and fight with, he would be outmatched. Our tails treaded water in a way a human’s boney appendages couldn’t come close to.
He was in our world, by no choice of his own. We brought him down here against his will, and now that he was a part of it, my mother was sending him back home to die.
The gills would not disappear. They would only struggle for a short while before giving up to the heat of the land above. Gene’s chest moved in and out, in faster but shallower spurts.
I kicked my tail harder. Just as he came into my reach, he took one final gulp of air from his own world, and the movement stopped.
Mother had killed him.
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About M.E. Rhines:
ME Rhines a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child whom she affectionately calls husband.She writes young adult paranormal romance to feed her belief that fairy tales are real andnonsense is necessary.
She also writes adult romances under her edgier alter-ego, Mary Bernsen.
