OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Between Land and Sea" by Joanne Guidoccio.]
Remember how in The Little Mermaid, she eventually comes to regret her choice to become human and longs to rejoin her sisters in the ocean? No? For those of us who grew up on the Disney-fied versions of fairy tales, happy-ever-after is the expected outcome. If you sacrifice everything for romance and love, you win. You marry the prince and get to spend the rest of your lives eternally young beautiful, rich, and happy.

Not in Joanne Guidoccio’s Between Land and Sea, you don’t. When Isabella decides to give up her tail and transform from a beautiful mermaid princess to a human for the sake of a man she thought she loved, she wakes up an over-weight 53 year-old woman named Barbara, with a bad haircut and a degree in philosophy in a backwater town in Canada. She has seemingly been abandoned by her erstwhile lover and betrayed by her family. Now Barbara must figure out how to move on with the life that has been given to her.

Ms. Guidoccio’s story is about empowerment. Barbara must decide how to navigate finding a career, managing her love life, and learning how to feel comfortable and beautiful in her new skin. Her journey is not without pitfalls, confusion, and many, many mistakes, but it is also filled with friendships, achievement, and new hopes. Barbara must discover who she is now and then find a way to make her new life fulfilling.

Between Land and Sea is categorized as fantasy/sci-fi, and that is unarguably appropriate. (Mermaids, you see, have some advanced technologies that are designed to help facilitate the adjustment process for those who give up their tails and become human.) That being said, the fantasy/sci-fi elements do not consume the story. The main story-line is Barbara’s personal journey, and the mermaid-angle just adds depth to that plot-line. So, for readers who generally avoid fantasy or sci-fi books, this may still be a book you’d enjoy.

It always thrills me when I can rate a book 4 out of 4 stars, and I believe this one has earned that distinction. I found it very inspiring, and I believe that women everywhere will not hesitate to agree. It takes on and takes down many myths that society seems to want women to believe, but I’ll let you read the book to figure out what those are and how Ms. Guidoccio managed it. Let it suffice to say that you’ll come away believing in your own potential, regardless of where you are in life right now.

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Buy "Between Land and Sea" on Amazon

Okay, I think that out of all the books I've found on here that look interesting this tops the list. Gonna go buy it now. When will I get to reading it? Hopefully soon, but at least it will be ready and waiting when I get the chance.

It does sound good. Thank you!

Thank you for the lovely review. (Joanne Guidoccio)

I finished this book, and am really happy you were the one to snatch it up to review. It definitely had an interesting premise, but I think I was expecting something a little different. Granted, I realized early on that I am probably not the intended audience, as I am not a big chit lit or romance fan, and I think it focused hard on those two aspects. I didn't find it quite as inspiring and self motivating as I thought I would either. I found most everything in the protagonist's life to be too simple, and the only real problem she had was entirely of her own making; which is often enough true in life, but I wish there had been other issues in her life that needed more than the push of a button to deal with.

I definitely think there are others who will enjoy this book more than I did, obviously by your stunning review L_Therese. It was definitely well edited and flowed well. Just not my choice of writing style or genre.