Began reading: 11.1.2017
Completed reading: 25.1.2017
Overall rating: 4 stars
Galen is strong, protective and gorgeous, with striking violet eyes and a body to make you shiver - and that's just when he's in human form. He's from the House of Triton, god of the sea, and he's searching for a girl with the Gift of Poseidon to save his brother from marrying a fraud.
Emma is an eighteen-year-old accident-prone human. Or so she thinks.
When Emma meets Galen on the beach, they both sense a sizzling chemistry. But can Galen convince her that she holds the key to his kingdom - without letting on that he's falling for her?
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks is a young adult fiction novel that contains fantasy and romance. I put this series off for so long, and I have no reason to explain why. I really liked this book, especially the plot, but the main characters didn’t live up to my expectations. I’ll explain why a bit later.
The story is told in two perspectives: Emma – the clumsy human girl, who is believed to have the Gift of Poseidon and is expected to mate with the Triton king; and Galen – the younger brother of the Triton king, who is ambassador to humans and develops feelings for Emma. The narrative follows Galen’s attempts to discover Emma’s origins, as she displays non-human traits, in order to see if she is the mate that his brother needs. When Galen learns of Emma’s lineage, he needs to decide if he wants to be with her or pass her to the king for the survival of the underwater realm.
The book was well-written, with the exception of the constant interchange of first- and third-person dialogue. The use of literary techniques added extra detail to the plot, making it easier to imagine. There were also some great quotes throughout the book, including:
Morning tide makes a great companion when you don’t want to be around people. It soothes and comforts and doesn’t ask for anything. But the sun does. The higher it gets, the more I am reminded that nothing stops time. There is no escaping it (p. 33).
I wonder how many empty place settings a person can look at before they begin to crack (p. 35).
Why shouldn’t I use him the way he used me – to get what I want?
It’s just that what I want is holding me in his arms, acting like he’s concerned that I’m not talking anymore (p. 120).
He played me like an Xbox. A broom and dustpan couldn’t clean up all the pieces of my heart he shattered. I’ve been so stupid. But not anymore (p. 282).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
I thought that the plot was unique and interesting, even though it had a few similarities to Twilight – am I right? I can’t be the only one who thought this. Anyway, the fact that Galen fell for Emma even though she was meant for Grom made the plot a lot more intense. Also, having a couple of other side stories kept me interested. For example, Toraf and Rayna’s rocky relationship, Grom being able to sense his lost lover’s presence, and Paca claiming to have the Gift of Poseidon. Sometimes, I prefer to have a singular story to focus on, but in this case, they all kind of interconnected and made the book more appealing.
There were a couple of plot twists throughout the narrative, which kept me on my toes and the story flowing. In the past, I’ve had issues with how many plot twists should be included, and how there is a fine line between a good cliff-hanger and an abrupt ending. The ultimatum that Mark gave Emma during their date might have been a little predictable, but the final twist at the end was a great way to end the book. My favourite was the cliff-hanger, because obviously no one saw that coming. The plot twists, even the predictable ones, had a ‘mind blown’ feeling and made things exciting.
The secondary characters stood out, and just made the book in my opinion. Most of the time, I like to focus on the protagonist but not this time. The secondary characters added drama and diverse personalities to the book. While Emma and Galen were doing their thing, Rayna and Toraf had to deal with their relationship, and Grom’s duty to find a mate while sensing his lost love was gripping. I’ll go into more detail later, but Rayna’s situation with Toraf was the highlight of the book. I realised that I preferred to hear about their relationship issues over Emma’s and Galen’s. Their personalities differed from each other’s, which made them more realistic.
Flawed characters are always a great inclusion in novels, and I’m glad that Banks made every character have at least one flaw. Maybe it’s because Emma is the protagonist, but she had a range of flaws. So many that it began to frustrate me, but I’m still happy that she had flaws to begin with. Rayna, although loyal, had a bad attitude and a big mouth. Flaws like these made the characters more understandable and relatable. I’m excited to see how these flaws affect the narrative in the next book!
Amongst all the good stuff in the book, I felt that the death in the beginning was unnecessary. I am a fan of character deaths when they are relevant and encourage the protagonist to continue their quest, but I didn’t see any reason for this death to be included. In fact, I found more reasons for this character to stay alive rather than die. I was hoping that the death would empower Emma to figure out who she is, but the death played little to no role in the plot. This was probably the main disappointments in the book, but I’m hoping that it will have more of an impact on Emma in the next book.
My favourite character (if you couldn’t guess already) is Rayna, as she was feisty, curious, badass, loyal and honest. I could relate to her playing hard-to-get with Toraf, and I was so proud when she spoke out about Paca’s alleged Gift of Poseidon. Although it meant that things are now complicated between Galen and Emma, Rayna was determined to do the right thing, which made me admire her so much.
Emma was a notable character, and I really wanted to relate to her, but her flaws made her look really bad. Despite Banks’ best efforts to portray Emma as an innocent girl, she came across as childish, whiney and downright stupid. She threw countless tantrums (even going so far as to stomp when things didn’t go her way), whined about Galen being annoying but ended up choosing him over Mark, and refused to believe that her parents were her biological parents despite the proof. Don’t even get me started on the fact that she went with Galen, even though he came across as a stalker and a possible serial killer on her date, which brings me to what bothered me about some of the characters.
As I mentioned before, character flaws are good because they make the characters more realistic and relatable. With that in mind, some flaws can totally destroy a character. Galen was meant to be seen as a protective and romantic guy; instead, I saw a possessive, over-protective, violent stalker. Emma’s mother was confusing – acting really strict but encouraging Emma to sleep with Galen. Wtf, did I miss something? Also, Emma’s character was annoying, especially because of her childish behaviour. Let's not even mention the whole 'Ohmysweetgoodness'! thing.
My favourite part was when Rayna tried to stop Grom’s mating ceremony from taking place. She was determined to do what was right, even if it meant sacrificing Galen’s and Emma’s happiness. She is loyal to her family and her underwater realm, which was admirable.
Recommendation time! If you like the Waterfire saga by Jennifer Donnelly, the Submerged Sun trilogy by Vanessa Garden, and the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes The Little Mermaid, the Twilight series, Once Upon A Time TV series, Aquamarine, and Splash.
I will also be reviewing the rest of the Syrena Legacy series, including Of Triton and Of Neptune. Keep an eye out for those!
Happy reading!
Like and follow!
Instagram: @thebasicbookworm
Twitter: @BasicBookworm
