Official Review: Protector of the Sea by Sonya Writes

[ValtearTheShadebane]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Protector of the Sea" by Sonya Writes.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Protector of the Sea, by Sonya Writes, is a fictional romance novel that tells the story of Meredith and her fiancé Felix who discover the existence of mermaids and mermen after the loss of Meredith’s friend and Felix’s sister, April. One stormy evening at sea, April falls overboard when the boat she and Felix are on gets struck by lightning. Unconscious and drowning, April is saved by a mermaid who uses her magic to change April into a mermaid. April awakens to a new life and a new body underwater.

Meanwhile, back on dry land, Felix and Meredith mourn the supposed loss of April. Felix, who had caught a glimpse of the mermaid on the night the ship sunk, believes that mermaids, or “sirens,” had pulled his sister to her death and vows to avenge April. Thoughts of revenge and murder consume Felix and drive a wedge between him and Meredith. April, her new merfolk friends, and Meredith try to stop Felix before a vicious cycle of death and revenge exposes the magical underwater creatures to the rest of the world.

Protector of the Sea handles the topic of deaths at sea with a hopeful attitude, one of awakening to a new life and being at home in the ocean. Though separation and loss are never easy to deal with, finding the strength to move on and adapt to a new life after a tragedy is what carries the characters toward acceptance. This story portrays the repercussions that grief and anger can have on two lovers’ relationship and the ways each deal with the pain: one opens up to the secret world of the merfolk and the other shuts it out.

This story would appeal to teenagers and older children who enjoy a simple romantic plot and a brisk storyline. Those who like characters with rich histories and stories with unpredictable endings should probably leave this one on the shelf, though. Though the characters in this story are few, they are not developed very much and even little details such as age and hair color are left out. This may be an attempt at making the characters blend in to fit into any locale; however this just makes them more easily mixed up or forgotten. Also, many of the romantic scenes needed to bring the reader closer to Felix and Meredith are placed near the end of the story. This makes it difficult for the reader to feel the strain in their relationship at the beginning. Since their relationship is stated, rather than felt, it does not seem very believable. Also, Meredith’s decision at the conclusion does not seem believable because many details of her life are thrown in at the end of the story just to make her choice make sense. It seems that the author forced the decision on the character instead of letting her come to the decision naturally.

My advice to the reader is to just enjoy this brisk story without dwelling too much on the details. Though it is easy to read and fast-paced, stronger characterization would bring this story to life. I think the book would benefit if the magical element was more developed, perhaps allowing the reader to see how deeply the magic is woven into the lives of these long-lived creatures and what relationship they have with other talking creatures of the sea and how that relationship evolved. I think this book has the potential to be a very compelling story and its action will not leave any mermaid fan bored. However, the flat characterization makes it difficult to get close to the characters and understand where they are coming from. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.

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Protector of the Sea
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[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. I like books about mermaids and this one sounds interesting. However, I prefer characters that are developed and relatable. Great review!

[ValtearTheShadebane]

Thank you kimmyschemy06!