by Judi Fennell
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Available in June
3 Heart Review
He lives under the sea
Reel Tritone is the rebellious royal second son of the ruler of a vast undersea kingdom. A Merman born with legs instead of a tail, he's always been fascinated by humans, especially one young woman he once saw swimming near his family's reef...
She's terrified of the Ocean
Ever since the day she swam out too far and heard voices in the water, marina owner Erika Peek won't go swimming for anything – until she's forced into the water by a shady ex-boyfriend searching for stolen diamonds and is nearly eaten by a shark. Luckily Reel is nearby to save her, and he discovers she's the woman he's been searching for...
Before she knows it, Erica is off with Reel on a series of wild underwater adventures to retrieve stolen treasure, battle the mother of all sea monsters, and defy a death edit from the kingdom's high council. But even if they get out of their madcap mission alive, how will they find a way to stay together when she hates the water and he can't survive on land?
Did you love the story of The Little Mermaid? If so, this is the perfect grown-up romance for you! Judi's undersea world is a delight, and her sidekick characters add the perfect touch of comic relief. I especially enjoyed sidekicks Chum and Ernie the pelican and their suggestive one-liners. The mythology is highly creative, and you'll find the bit about dolphins to be particularly inventive.
My one issue with this book would have been for “The Incident” to have had more substance. Judi plays up this event as being such a huge hindrance to Ericka and a major hurtle to her loving Reel, but when the full details are revealed later in the book I honestly felt a little let down. It's a testament to the outstanding dialogue and engaging characters Judi created that this didn't ruin the story for me. In fact, would easily have been a 4 Heart Review! I can't wait to read the rest of Judi's series since I expect she'll just get better and better! Check out her upcoming books here.