Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
First in the Of Poseidon series

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.


I've always loved mermaids.When I was little I pretended to be a mermaid every time I went swimming. Even now I sometimes I still pretend that I have a fin when I'm in the pool and The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies. But I've never read a mermaid book. Partly because they are just now getting popular and partly because I've heard that the ones that are out aren't very good. All I can say is that if all the mermaid books out there are like this one I'm definitely going to have to read more.
This book starts of with a bang. Within the first 30 pages she meets Galen and loses someone very close to her in a horrible accident. That was a kick start to the story and from there it never slows down. Emma is trying to recover and mourn and Galen is trying to see if she is the one he has been looking for-the one who could save his kingdom. The alternating perspectives kept the story moving and it showed stuff that wouldn't be explained if it was only Emma or only Galen.

I really liked Emma. She was snarky and didn't take crap from anyone especially not Galen. She could definitely take care of herself and didn't need anyone to fight her battles for her. Even though I thought she was okay a little to soon after losing someone like that I liked how she handled all the craziness that was happening all at once. I absolutely adored Galen. Part of it was that he was a super hot mermaid-sorry Syrena prince but most of it was that he was so sweet and protective of the people he loved. I loved how loyal he was even though I kind of wanted him to stop being so responsible sometimes and do what he wanted not what other people wanted. The relationship between Emma and her mom was so funny even more so when Galen came into the picture. Galen's sister Rayna was hilarious even though she was mean at times. Toraf was so fun to read about.

The romance between Galen and Emma took a while but not in a bad way. It was slow and even though I knew it was going to happen I just had to be patient. To reunite two kingdoms and stop a war Galen needs Emma who he believes has the gift of Poseidon to marry his brother. Emma believes that he just wants to recruit her almost and sees her as a peasant. Both of them are so stubborn and loyal that I wanted to shake them and tell them to just tell the other one how they really felt. They were so obviously crazy about each other that I yelled at them a few times. Here's something I remember saying that won't spoil anything: "Galen you need to get on that train and get it on the track to her and you being together and fast before the track changes to her and your brother being together". Yeah I was very impatient. Once they did get together though I was on cute overload. That one part with the Titanic? *Sigh* Can I have a Syrena boyfriend? Please? Rayna and Toraf were so hilarious. I loved how they interacted with each other at the beginning and what it took for her to not absolutely hate him and realize how she really felt.

I'm rambling and need to wrap this up. I thought this book was fantastic and I read it in one sitting. I've never done that before. I started it before I went to bed (smart idea right?) figuring I would get a decent amount in and finish it the next day. I was so wrong. I kept saying one more chapter or I'll stop at this page then I decided I would read until it got cute. Next thing I knew it was super cute and there was only 50 pages left. I finished it at 5 in the morning. It was that addictive. If like me you love mermaids but have never read a mermaid book before or have but didn't like them I would definitely suggest Of Poseidon. Go read it and then we can anxiously wait for the next one together.
5/5 stars
P.S. This is the 100th post of 2012! Yay! *Throws confetti*
-Marissa