Of Poseidon

Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1)

Anna Banks

Pages: 336

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Format: Hardover

Source: Library

Age Group: Young Adult

Date Published: May 22, 2012

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .
Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

When I first heard about this book, I knew it was one I really had to read. From the gorgeous cover to the whole "Syrena" thing, I knew it would definitely be interesting. And, while not what I expected, it was definitely worth all the hype it's been getting.

So, the story starts off with Emma and her friend Chloe at the beach in Florida. Emma runs into this guy (literally), and they felt a "connection." Then we learn that this guy (this is Galen, and the book alternates between his POV and Emma's) is a Syrena prince, who heard about a girl who has a "gift" that would a) mean she was one of them and b) be necessary to their kingdom. And, yeah there is a deadly shark attack, and Galen believes the girl he ran into was the girl he had come to find. So, he endeavors to get to know her better, for the sake of his kingdom. And that's largely the plot of the book. Obviously there's some romance thrown in, too, and some arguing, but there wasn't any really big action (aside from said encounter with the shark). But, the characters and their interactions were definitely funny enough to make up for it. It read a little like a contemporary book, but with the whole mythological aspect (and the problems that come with that) added in.

I adored Emma. She was funny and stubborn and so adorable. She had that temper and it made everything so funny! I also loved how she would never take orders from Galen, even though he was a prince. She would actually typically do the opposite of what he told her to do. It was great. And then there was Galen. I seriously wanna scoop him up and keep him in my closet. I'm pretty sure that's love right there. He was just so protective of Emma, and it always killed him to see her hurting. And when he knew what he wanted, he took it. Even if it made petty human boys angry. He was sweet and kind and I loved watching him learn about humans. Now that was funny. And then there was his kinda scary twin sister, Rayna. I really liked her. I mean, she was kind of a total jerk at a couple points in the book, but I don't really think she meant to be. She just couldn't keep her mouth shut. Seriously, according to Galen, she used to tell on herself as a kid. And then there was Toraf. I loved him. He had people skills when Rayna and Galen did not, and it was great. He was really, really funny, too. And then there was Rachel (there's really no way of explaining her relationship with them, without spoiling), she's older and a friend of Galen's, and she was just the funniest character in the book. Seriously, I loved her.

You can't not love that cover. It's definitely one of the most gorgeous I have seen in YA in a really long time. I love cover Emma, and he dress and the lighting and the water and it's so gorgeous. I even love the font of the title. It's so pretty. And I love the purple against the darkness of the cover and it's just so pretty. The cover is actually the main reason I picked this book up. Oh, and I loved how I understood what the title meant when I finished reading. That made me happy.

I think I'll give Of Poseidon five stars, because I loved it and now I am dying for the next one. I loved everything about it, especially the cover. It was fantastic. Go read it. Now.