Audio Book Review: How to be a Mermaid

How to be a Mermaid

By:  Erin Hayes

Publish Date:  July 7, 2015, Audiobook December 3, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 38 mins
Narrated By:  Claire White

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  1st in The Cotton Candy Quintet series
Part of the: Fall in Deep Collection

Impression:  The dream to be a mermaid, and it comes true!

Synopsis:
All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid.

So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe.

Everything's great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare -- she's turning into a mermaid herself. For real.

Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it's sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.

***

Summer 2015, award-winning, and best-selling authors will bring you romantic tales of mermaids, sirens, sprites, and other creatures of the deep! Keep in touch as we reveal each title in our collection!

First Sentence:
Anyone who ever bragged about being a good public speaker never had to do it in front of more than thirty kids and their parents while wearing a bikini top and a mermaid tail.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles  /  Book Depository 

Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Tara's dream has come true, to be a mermaid. For a few hours a day she performs in a mermaid show at aquariums. While performing at the Houston Aquarium Tara spots Kai, a new dolphin kept in quarantine. Tara's drawn to the young calf as he won't eat or move. Then she hears him speak! Shocked, she returns that evening to check in on the sad dolphin to find a man climbing the fence. And he has a tale! Finn had come to rescue Kai from the prison, only to save the woman who fell and banged her head at the sight of him. Tara learns of a whole new world and impending danger for the unknowing humans.

I listened to this little gem. Claire's vocal feels as it started stiff, then she seemed to slip into character quickly after the start. Though the rise and fall of words and pauses at times felt to break up the flow, she soon smoothed out as well. I didn't notice much difference between characters voices, but I did notice Claire did higher pitches for children.

I enjoy stories like this. They feel sweet and innocent to me. In the sea with the wildlife I enjoy. This was a lovely mermaid read for me. Tara is an innocent and she is good inside. She only wants to help. Finn has been a bit jaded, but he can see there is a difference in people too. And Ponce. Oh Ponce is a cute little companion for Tara. Ponce did make me smile with his up beat personality.

Erin has done a fascinating job of blending a little bit of everything in one story. A girl with a dream, who then thinks on whether she really wants it or not. There is a focus for the story, there's a danger that could be due to actions of others. The characters have a purpose and something to strive for that would have great consequences if they fail. There is also a sweet blooming love here.

I love the ocean and this book brought that feeling back. It also made me feel, again, that we are not the only ones in the world and we don't own the world. There are creatures that deserve to be just as free as we are. It's not always the best idea to take anything or anyone from their home for our own amusement.

I even fought tearing up at the end. The decisions made, they are wise and yet hard. But I liked them in the end. The epilogue gives us a great feel of how things are and end.



*If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!