Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Title: Of Poseidon

Author: Anna Banks

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Release Date: May 22, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Galen, the prince of the Syrena, is sent to dry 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 sparles with intrigue, humour, and waves of romance.

I've said this before, but I absolutely love a good mermaid story, and that's exactly what Of Poseidon by Anna Banks was. Right from the start it put a smile on my face and that smile stayed there all the way through. Of Poseidon was the perfect mermaid read.

Emma was just hoping to have a fun time in Florida with her best friend, Chloe, but nothing goes exactly as planned. It starts with her literally running into a mysterious stranger and ends with a shark attack. Now back home in New Jersey, Emma prepares to start her senior year without Chloe and on the first day of school, she fins herself face to face with Galen, the stranger from Florida. Except Galen isn't human, he's Syrena. And after sensing a connection with Emma and seeing her interact with fish, Galen is convinced Emma may not be completely human. And if Emma is who Galen thinks she is, she could hold the key to saving his kingdom.

Mermaid stories are so fun to read in the summer time and I just loved reading Anna Banks' Of Poseidon. It was everything I hoped it would be and possibly even more. Right from the first page, the story put a smile on my face. There was always something happening that managed to make me smile. And then there were parts that actually had me laughing out loud. Like a certain Syrena learning how to drive. The story itself was told in an interesting way. Not only was it told from alternating points of view, but the story also alternated first and third person narration. At first I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but by the end I sort of loved that the story was being told that way. Anna Banks really made it work. And from the ending I'm seriously hoping there are more books to come.

I absolutely loved Emma. She always managed to put a smile on my face, especially when it came to her clumsiness. As a major klutz myself, I could totally relate to Emma that way. On the other hand, her exasperation with the Syrena wasn't exactly something that I could relate to, but it definitely kept me very amused. All that to say that Emma made me laugh and I loved her for it. And if Emma made me laugh, it was nothing compared to the Syrena. It always amused me when they got puzzle by anything related to humans. Just the interactions between them were enough to put a smile on my face. However, while I often knew what was going through Galen's mind, it would have been interesting to see what Rayna and Toraf were thinking at times. Maybe in future books...

Of Poseidon was everything I was a good mermaid story to be. Anna Banks wrote a fantastic story that had me smiling, if not laughing, the whole way through. If you're looking for a fun mermaid story, I strongly recommend you pick up Anna Banks' Of Poseidon. It's perfect for the summer.