Book Review
of The Syrenka Series:
Promises (Book 1); Betrayal (Book 2); and Arise (Book 3)
Promises:
Book One of The Syrenka Series
By Amber Garr
Genre: fantasy/paranormal YA
Sometimes following your heart can end up
destroying the ones you love.
When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced
with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is
forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage
girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiancé would make
a wonderful husband except that she’s been in love with Brendan, a
shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids.
Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and
her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could
have imagined.
A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana
unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind.
With Brendan’s life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those who she
once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense
loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone
ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her
friends, but also on her acceptance of a life that she had so adamantly tried
to escape.
Purchase
Links for Book 1
Barnes and Noble
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/promises-amber-garr/1108007711?ean=2940032957805&itm=1&usri=amber+garr
Book 1
Review:
When I was a kid I
always wanted to be a mermaid. I even
made my now husband watch “The Little Mermaid” with me (and we didn’t even have
kids so we could pretend we were watching it for them). I have heard a lot of stories, folktales, and
myths about mermaids and read numerous stories, but never anything like this.
The detail and different
mythological water creatures brought to life in this story are amazing. The idea of mer-people living on land and
changing in the sea, while not completely new, is used in a new and creative
way.
I could go on and on
about all the intriguing things in this story, but that would just give away
too much of the story. And trust me,
this is one you have to read for yourself.
I give this 4 out of 5
stars. A definite good read.
Book 2
Synopsis:
Betrayal: Book Two of The Syrenka Series
Life as a mermaid can be
suffocating.
Eviana Dumahl has returned home
as a clan leader, an orphan, and a heartbroken teenage girl. Her parents are dead and her boyfriend,
Brendan, has decided that he needs some time away. While battling her inner turmoil, Eviana is
forced into the war that Lucian Sutherland has incited amongst her own
kind. With the help of Kain, her friend
and formally betrothed, the two work together to prove that they deserve their
birthrights as young merfolk leaders.
When The Council requests a
demonstration of Eviana’s mermaid powers, she finds herself with an opportunity
to win back Brendan’s heart. But her
orders to train with a repulsive merman and the presence of an attractive new
suitor challenges Eviana to embrace her leadership and resist temptation.
Lucian is after her, and no one seems to understand why. Loyalties are tested as the casualties
increase, showing Eviana that sometimes it is impossible to delineate between
friends and enemies.
Purchase
Links for Book 2
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/134695
Book 2
Review:
If you ran away from
home for love, got kidnapped by a mad man, and returned home only because your
parents were killed and your family’s magical crest choose you to be the new
leader you would be where this book starts.
Poor Eviana has had a really bad couple of months, and coming home isn’t
helping.
Now she has to be the
leader of her clan, as a teenager, and is questioned every step of the
way. And that mad man seems to have
followed her and he’s killing off her friends to try to get to her.
And the final revelation…WOW! Would have never seen that coming in a
million years, let me tell you. And can
you say Major Cliffhanger? It’s worse
than the television show going to commercial at the critical moment.
This book was even better
than book 1. I give it 4.5 out of 5
clouds.
I give this 4 out of 5
stars. A definite good read.
Book 3 Synopsis:
With power comes the responsibility to accept
its consequences.After the betrayal of those closest to her, Eviana Dumahl struggles to cope with her new reality. Kidnapped, broken, and confused, she is forced to engage in a war that will alter merfolk politics forever. With her estranged father leading the charge, Eviana has no choice but to stand by his side. Her continued existence hinges on the acceptance of the power growing inside her, even when that means embracing the family’s dark lineage.
Kain Matthew will sacrifice the world for Eviana. And he is not alone. As time runs out, her friends fight to save her life and theirs. An unlikely alliance gives them the edge they need to take a stand, although it keeps Eviana’s heart trapped in the past. A new discovery explains some of her previous mistakes, but it may not be enough to stop her father’s plans. Merfolk, selkies, and water sprites work together to save their kind, only in this final battle, not everyone will survive.
In the striking series conclusion, Eviana will learn the true meaning of power, sacrifice, and love.
Purchase
Links for Book 3
Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/179080
Barnes and Noble
- Not posted yet.
Book 3
Review:
I think my favorite
description is “Estranged probably wasn’t even the right description although I
just recently discovered his true identity. Words like delusional, crazy, or
psychotic would be a better depiction of the man who killed my parents, my
uncle, and my friends along with many others.”1 Trust me finding out
the true identity of the psycho who is killing her friends doesn’t help make it
better.
Then the person she has
finally come to trust…betrays her. But
she finds true love at long last. It
only takes running away, getting kidnapped, her parents dying, becoming leader
of her clan, getting kidnapped again,
getting rescued but deciding to stay to try and save her friends, having her
powers forcibly awakened, a forced wedding ceremony (kind of), a war, death of
her selkie, and a total reorganization of the whole mer-world. Yeah, just another day?!
I give this book 4.5 out
of 5 clouds. Definitely need to be read
in order, but a great series.
I give this 4 out of 5
stars. A definite good read.
Book 1
Excerpt:
I barely heard her parting
words as the screen door slammed shut.
My head was spinning in desperation as the anger coursed through my
bones. “Get back in here Eviana!” she
continued to scream at me. “We are not
finished with this conversation!”
I was already racing down the
deck stairs towards the sandy beach, kicking off my shoes and unbuttoning my
blouse. We are for now, I thought as my
blood boiled with rage and resentment. I
was going to be trapped! How dare
they? This was not the eighteenth century
anymore! I had rights!
I stumbled onto the sand,
taking just a brief moment to savor the warmth and the feeling of the grains
massaging my toes. My shirt came off and
I started to unzip my jeans. No one was
around. But I wouldn’t care anyway. The water was calling me and it was the only
voice that I could hear now. With one
pant leg off, I hopped along in my forward progression until the other one was
free. My oasis was so close now that I
could taste the salt in the air. The sun
broke free of a cloud, stopping me for a moment. It was late afternoon and the sunset was
still a few hours away, but the sky was already turning multiple shades of pink
and orange; the coloration reminding me of the inside of a brilliant conch
shell.
I closed my eyes and took a
deep breath. I knew that there was going
to be hell to pay when I returned to the house.
Marguerite, my mother, had tolerated my rebellious behavior when I was
younger, giving me more freedom and second chances than anyone in our
clan. But apparently now, at seventeen,
I was an adult. Adult enough to bear
children. Adult enough to participate in
clan gatherings. Adult enough to
navigate our youth through their transition period. But not adult enough to choose who to
love.
A slight breeze wafted off
the ocean, bringing with it scents that filled my gut with longing. The freedom of the ocean. Why couldn’t I just stay there forever? A gull called overhead, beckoning me to join
him. The splashing waves calmed my inner
rage as they ebbed and flowed in a hypnotic pattern. A distant moan of a shipping vessel reminded
me of our history. I opened my eyes to
see that I was standing alone along miles of sandy beach interlaced with large
rocks and cliffs emblematic of the northern California coast. So beautiful.
I stripped off the rest of my clothes and ran into the ocean.
As soon as I was under the water,
I could feel the transition begin. My
lower body ached as the bones adjusted from a life on land to one at sea. Both legs began to fuse together and work as
one. My foot bones elongated while I
prepared for the agony. I was accustomed
to the changes now, but it was still a struggle of mind over matter. Breaking through the surface of the water, I
grabbed one last breath before the final jolt of pain ravaged through my
body. I bit my bottom lip and squeezed
my eyes shut willing the moment to be over.
At last I felt an electric tingle move from my hips to my toes as the
hardened iridescent, scales appeared on the bottom half of my body. I opened my eyes to find that the internal
transformation was complete as well. My
vision cleared. My lungs expanded. I could hear for miles. I was free.
So I
swam. I swam away from the shore and the
house that I lived in. I swam away from
my fears and obligations as though they could disappear with the distance. I would temporarily forget my responsibilities,
my duties, and the argument with my mother.
In here, I wasn’t trapped. The
sea was my true home. I was a mermaid
and this was my world.
Book 2 Excerpt
I
wanted to punch him in the face.
For at least the hundredth time today, I swung my fist towards his
infuriating smirk. He easily dodged it,
of course, and proceeded to look down at me like a child. “You’re getting closer,” he teased.
Throwing my arms down in frustration, I shook my head. “How am I supposed to learn if you won’t even
let me get a hit in?”
He laughed and resumed a fighter’s stance. “How are you supposed to learn if I just
stand still and let you pummel me?
That’s not ever going to happen in the real world. Now, try with your legs.”
I rolled my eyes and shifted my feet so that my stronger right leg was
in front. Ideally, I’d be having this
battle underwater where my legs were not an issue.
“Protect your face,” he yelled at me and I lifted my fists up to nose
level. I could do this. He’d taught me how to incapacitate my
enemies. Just go for the knee.
I faked a few smaller kicks, pretending to hesitate. Then, like a ninja, I struck. The underside of my right foot was directly
on target and I expected it to land a perfect hit to the side of his left
knee. Only it didn’t happen.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed my ankle and I was suddenly airborne. The world spun around me once before I landed
with a thud on my back, effectively knocking the air from my lungs. I even saw some stars floating by. My training sessions were getting harder
every day, and after this debacle, I decided that it was time to quit.
A shadow moved above me and I used my hand to block out the rest of
the sun. Looking up at his ominous
figure I said, “I’m done.”
I heard another laugh rumble through my trainer’s chest as he reached
down and grabbed my arm. In one swift
motion, he pulled me up off the ground.
“You would have broken my knee with that kick, Eviana. I had to stop you.” I glared at him. “What?” he continued. “I’m not going to let you hurt me. But you did
well. I knew that you’d learn
eventually.”
I jumped towards him as fast as I could, intending to get him in a
choke hold. My arms slipped around his
neck, but my body kept rolling over him as he bent forward and used my momentum
to toss me towards the ground. In less
than two seconds, I was on my back again with a forearm pressing against my
throat and my pride seeping away into the dirt.
“Ahh!” I screamed in frustration.
The annoying grin on his face told me that I would never beat him in a
fair fight. Palmer was my cousin, my
trainer, and also one of the numerous protectors now living at my house. We’d been practicing for the past two weeks
and although I couldn’t hurt him yet, Palmer reassured me that I was improving.
Book 3
Excerpt
Eviana
When Graham and I surfaced back inside our coral-walled prison, we
noticed that someone had brought us two plates of food. Without speaking to him, I pulled myself out
of the water and willed my legs to come back to me. Considering our history, I might have had
some concern over Graham seeing me naked, but once again, I couldn’t muster up
the energy to care.
“I see they’ve improved the food,” he commented.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m not eating,” I said without even looking at the
plates. Now that we had the light from
underwater, it made it easier to move about the room and identify what Lucian’s
cronies were feeding us.
“No?”
“Nope,” I said as I finished pulling my shirt over my head. When I turned around, I saw Graham chewing on
a piece of pineapple and sifting through the rest of the items. Much to my dismay, my stomach growled. It was so loud that Graham chuckled.
“Perhaps your body wants some nourishment.”
“I don’t care.”
“Suit yourself, tart.”
I rolled my eyes and walked over to him. The smell of the food was overwhelming and I
couldn’t help but look down at it.
“Don’t call me that,” I said but spoke more to the plate. There was some type of fish wrapped in a
banana leaf and it smelled delicious.
“You’re drooling,” he teased.
“It’s probably poisoned.”
He bit into another piece of fruit.
“Well, I haven’t eaten anything solid in days, so I’ll take my
chances.” Grabbing his plate, he sat
down cross-legged on the floor and proceeded to stuff his face.
Tempted, I fought the urge to give in.
I didn’t really know what the purpose of my hunger strike was and how it
would help get me out of here. I guess I
just wanted to be difficult.
Author
Information:
Amber Garr spends her days conducting
scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a
vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives
in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch,
Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of
smell. She writes both adult and young
adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found
dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.
Social
Contact
(1 Amber Garr. Arise (Book Three of The Syrenka Series) (Kindle Locations
111-116). Amber Garr.)
Thank you SO much for taking the time to review the entire series! I'm glad that you enjoyed it and I appreciate you being a part of my tour!! :)
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