Sheila's Books Read

Sheila's bookshelf: read

The Best Intentions
Scotland's Melody
The Secret Society of Salzburg
Secret of the Sonnets
20-40-60-Minute Dinners: Meals to Match the Time You Have
Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild
Secret Santa Claus Club: A Tool to Help Parents Unwrap the Secret of Santa
Mr. Pudgins
Revenge Never Rests
The Best Mistake
Meriden Park
More Inspirational Stories for Young Women
The Great Tree: A Christmas Fable
To Capture His Heart
The Call of the Sea
Esperance
Livvy and the Enchanted Woodland
Come, Gentle Night
The Bad Boy Theory
Guide To Smart Wedding Planning: What You want to know and everything you haven't thought of yet.


Sheila's favorite books »

2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Sheila has read 4 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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Friday, February 13, 2015

Water So Deep by Nichole Giles-Blog Tour Review

Water so Deep (1)


  Water so Deep 
Book Description:
 Seventeen-year-old Emma Harris is drowning on dry land. 

No one knows what’s happening to her, and she’d like to keep her evolution from human to mermaid a secret, but the truth is getting harder and harder to hide. From her adoptive family, from her friends, and especially from the irresistible James Phelps. Her time in the ocean is spent dodging a possessive merman, while her time on land is split between caring for her special-needs brother and squeezing in every last possible moment of human life. She soon realizes falling for James is unavoidable when he constantly comes to Emma’s rescue and somehow manages to see through her carefully constructed icy facade to the vulnerability she lives with every day. Everything about James makes Emma yearn for a life on land she just can't have. When Emma’s brother disappears on her watch, James is the only person she trusts to help her save him. But even if they can save her brother, nothing can prevent her return to the sea. Whether she likes it or not, Emma is changing—unable to breathe without yielding to the tide—and it's only a matter of time before she's forced to surrender forever. 


Water So Deep
Excerpt

BY THE TIME SHE HIKED down the steep embankment and around the tide pools to her cove, the pressure in her chest squeezed so tight, black spots floated in her vision. Not a good sign. It had only been five days since her last swim— usually she was good for seven. 
Emma hung her bag on a rock that jutted out of the cave wall and stripped off her clothes, breathing deep, squeezing her hands into fists to avoid the panic creeping up on her. Panicking stole precious air from her half-converted lungs, and she was already on the verge of passing out. 
If she did pass out, she couldn’t get to the water, and if she couldn’t get to the water, this terrible pressure wouldn’t ease, and if the pressure didn’t ease, she would soon stop breathing altogether. It would be hours before anyone missed her and came looking, and by that time, she’d be shriveled like a washed-up fish, and probably just as dead.
By the time she’d put on her suit, her vision blurred and she had to step carefully, trailing her hand along the wall of the shallow cave so she wouldn’t trip and hurt herself before she got to the water. Finally at the edge, she sucked in a last breath of air and dove, relieved as slits opened up to gills in the side of her neck and water filtered through them, finally allowing her lungs to expand.





My Review:
This YA Urban Fantasy mermaid tale begins differently than many out there, the main character is not a full mermaid yet. She is what is called a Changeling who was in human form and is slowing turning into a mermaid. She has to take a swim in the ocean, often, or she will stop breathing. To make matters worse, her "intended" a confident, possessive and abrasive merman is constantly there when Emma needs to swim to stay alive. He's pressuring her about how many days she has left before she will fully turn and have to come live in Atlantis with her real family, leaving her adopted family back on land.

The very beginning of the book something happens with Emma's first boyfriend, Tom, that is rather disturbing. We only get details later, but it sets a plot line for the rest of the book. Poor Emma can't trust another man. Then James comes along that she wants to love and trust, but is having a hard time. Then she has the surly Merrick that has been possessive where he has been violent to Emma. One of the best characters is the book is Emma's younger brother, Keith. He is learning disable and Emma loves and protects him fiercely. Nichole does an excellent portrayal of a high functioning Asperger's teen. I loved the parts of the book that showed Emma and Keith's relationship.

The books moves quickly and you really want to see Emma and James come together, the only problem is that you know that Emma's time is drawing near when she'll have to return to Atlantis.

There are some major things that happen in the last part of the book that are total shockers. These will leave you shaking your head a little and they are total spoilers. It also ends with a major cliffhanger, which to me sets this up perfectly for another book in the series.

This book will be enjoyed by older teens and adults. There is mild swearing and like I said, a violent act, that is not detailed. I would have liked to have seen more of Atlantis, but I'm sure there will be more of that in the next book. I liked this reverse mermaid tale and I would recommend you giving this one a read.


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Nichole  Meet Author Nichole Giles
 Nichole Giles, the author of the Descendant trilogy, has lived in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. She loves to spend time with her husband and four children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.
   

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