The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble

The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

There is no cure for being who you truly are...

In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie’s healing potions. By night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara’s favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree.

One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister’s skin. She realizes that Maren is becoming a mermaid—and knows that no mermaid can survive on land. Desperate to save her, Clara and O’Neill place the mermaid-girl in their gypsy wagon and set out for the sea. But no road is straight, and the trio encounters trouble around every bend. Ensnared by an evil troupe of traveling performers, Clara and O’Neill must find a way to save themselves and the ever-weakening mermaid.

And always, in the back of her mind, Clara wonders, if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?

My Review:

This was a nice story. It was beautifuly written and flowed well. There is a hind of magic, strong family values, unconditional love, and a beautiful ending.

We follow the journey of a young women turning into a mermaid, and if she doesn't get to the ocean soon, she will perish. Taking her to the ocean, since she obviously can't get there herself because of her fins, are her sister and brother (although neither are flesh and blood). On this adventure there are a few obstacles that must be overcome.

I don't want to say much else for fear of ruining everything, but I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a whimsical story. For a debut story, Carrie Anne Noble had done a wonderful job. If she keeps up this quality and momentum, I'm sure we'll be seeing some other great books by her.

Favorite Quotes:

“Today is all we have, my dears. Today is all we ever have.”

“But you can’t erase a thing by not acknowledging it.”

“There's no cure for being who you truly are.”

“Sometimes the plainest of things conceal the most unimaginable wonders.”

Read from March 02 to 31, 2015

Top 5 Genres*: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

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Splintered (Splintered, #1) by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G. Howard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of Underland, as well as a girl's pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers--precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother's mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice's tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice's mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Review:

Not a retelling of the tried and true Alice in Wonderland, but more a tale of the consequences of that adventure. A.G. Howard kept with the darker and haunting theme.

The main character, Alyssa, is the descendant of Alice. Both her mother and her experience strange and unexplained happenings all because Alice's adventure resulted in the family being cursed. With Alyssa's mother in the Mental Hospital, she sets off to find the rabbit hole to prevent the irreversible treatment scheduled for her mother.

Alyssa is a skater girl and artist. I think the author was attempting to portray her as brave and strong, dark and brooding, and maybe she was, but I couldn't get past her whining. The story progressed and things kept getting stranger and stranger, and although Wonderland was such an interesting place, I felt the beauty of it was lost amongst the retelling of the original story as a baseline, the history of Wonderland, and the continually shifting allegiance and motivations of Morpheus.

Morpheus is her childhood friend from Wonderland who helped bring her back. He was sneaky and conniving, and I'm not sure I liked him all that much.

Jeb, Alyssa's friend and the man she has been pining for forever, accidentally falls down the rabbit hole with Alyssa. Although he currently has an even more annoying girlfriend, you sometimes get the idea he might like Alyssa a little more than as just a friend (which is fine with her). His floundering leaves Alyssa confused and more often then not, makes her choices based on him instead of logically.

There is a hint of a love-triangle between Alyssa, Jeb, and his girlfriend, then there is the hint of a love-triangle between Alyssa, Jeb, and Morpheus. If you know me well, you know I'm not huge on love-triangles, but what is this? It's a love mess if you ask me.

Although this story has potential, and I'm sure others love it, it wasn't for me. I will not be reading on in the series.

Favorite Quotes:

“Sometimes a flame must level a forest to ash before new growth can begin.”

“No one knows what he or she is capable of until things are at their darkest.”

Read from February 25 to March 11, 2015

Top 5 Genres*: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Retellings, Fantasy/Paranormal
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

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