Review for Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1)
By Anna Banks
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Won from Claire
336 pages

"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 . . . "-Goodreads

Of Poseidon may make mermaid haters -oops, I mean Syrena-haters- turn to Syrena-lovers. Banks really created a fun, funny, fishy tale that leaves readers dangling, or in my case, floundering on a hook.

The start of this book was a bit rocky for me. Emma and her best friend are on the beach about to do some surfing when, you guessed it, Emma bumps into a gorgeous guy. That didn't bother me, it was what happens after. Whoever has read the book knows what I mean, it just shocked me and devastated me. As the story continues my emotions stabilized though and all was alright.

Emma is a very down to earth type of girl, she views herself as an average girl and it was easy to connect with her because of that. Her sarcastic remarks and sauciness made me smile and I thought it was a nice touch that she has qualities you find in teenage girls - for instance, she is very easily embarrassed and blushes. Galen is what you'd expect a prince of the Syrena to be: incredibly handsome, smart, and of course loyal. Although it was a bit of an insta-love connection, I couldn't help but fall head over heels for those two. In the beginning their interactions with one another will have you tingling and sometimes even laughing. The secondary characters were amazing too: Galen's sister, Rayna and Toraf's relationship was priceless; Galen's brother Grom, Rachel and Emma's mother had great personalities that added so much to the story. It caused so many laughs and I just loved all of them.

The writing was smooth in itself. The POV's do switch between Emma and Galen. The only thing that takes some getting used to is that Galen's POV is third person, while Emma's is first person. It took some time for me to get used to it but in the end, I thought it made the writing style very unique and it gave a very different perspective on things.

The plot was really interesting. Although predictable (I was able to decipher the answers), I thought it was intriguing. I loved the political aspect that Banks took, it creates a sense of unrest and 'more things to come'. But, let me warn all you potential readers, the ending is a major 'wow' or perhaps more of a 'NO, how can it end right now?!?!'

I'd highly recommend this to romance, Greek mythology, and Syrena lovers. Of Poseidon is a great summer read that will leave you screaming and begging for more! And ohmysweetgoodness, I AM begging for more!

Excerpt

 "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."

***

"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."

Book Trailer