At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. At the beginning the author tried so hard to try to make this a great literary work and it just fell flat. I wrote a comment about it...it was almost like the author was trying to make this a great Russian piece of literature; all torture, doom, and penance. But it never really worked that way. It just came out as being pretentious. I don't really remember what the turning point was in the book where she left behind her pretention and just got on with the book, but wherever that fell...it became great! The story takes mermaid myths and turn them on their ears. I particularly like the fact our hero is a gentleman in his 50's. (My husband is considerably older than I am.) The was the requisite hard times in their love and they had to fight about their differences, but all in all it wasn't too much of the same old same old. The reason this doesn't receive 5 stars is the flat boring beginning where everything is just pulled out (literary wise) to boring proportions and because when I start a series I would like each characters book to end and then the next starts fleshing out a different character. Too many series now are being drawn out into multiple book arcs for the gain of the author. If I had done my research before starting this book on the next in the series I would have found it was the exact type of series I try to stay away from. But because the book is that good I have purchased the next three and we'll see from there if I will continue the rest of the series. This book really surprised me by being substantially less lame than anticipated, as evidenced by the fact that I actually finished it. I obtained it as a free Kindle book, but I do not remember who recommended it to me, where, when or why. If you would like to take credit, please let me know. I started reading it out of idle curiosity because there were very few reading options on my newly acquired phone. I expected to put it down after half a chapter, because I was expecting a romance. Drowning Mermaids is a romance, but it's a romance with a real, actual plot and interesting, likable characters. It's nothing brilliant, or ground breaking, or jaw dropping, or astounding, but it's a pretty solid, enjoyable story. Bonus points for no explicit sex scenes. Extra bonus points for being about mermaids, which is awesome. I had some issues with the style. It was a bit expositionary, and the point of view would randomly switch mid-paragraph, which was startling. But generally I've seen worse. Much, much worse. I've seen worse writing from acclaimed authors. And "Drowning Mermaids" can get away with not being perfect because it's not trying to set the bar for anything, or lord it over other novels or styles. It's just a good, non-threatening read, which those of us with overactive and critical brains occasionally need to just sit back and appreciate.
What do You think about Drowning Mermaids (2000)?
Absolutely LOVE this book! Great plot, great characters, great book!
—amber
it was a very slow book. hard to get into.
—hunkylove789
