Mundie Moms

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Book Review: Between the Sea and Sky


Published by: Bloomsbury
To Be Released on: October 25th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher at TLA
4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air. - quoted from Goodreads

This is a magical, fascinating historical fantasy that reads like a classic fairytale with it's rich lore, sweet romance and exciting adventure. I fell in love with Jaclyn's writing after reading her debut Magic Under Glass and I really loved the magical world of sirens and winged people she introduced me to with Between the Sea and Sky. Jaclyn's writing is whimsical, magical and completely intriguing to me. True to her creative writing style, she has a richly detailed setting, and an adoring romance that's simple, sweet, and innocent.

The story follows Esmerine, main character who's just become a Siren, an honor that only her and her older sister Dosia share within their family. Having been close and yearning for a sense of adventure, Dosia goes missing after telling her sister she's visited with humans before in their world, a dangerous thing to do for any mermaid. Fearing for her sister's life, Esmerine enters the human world to find her sister and an old childhood crush in Alan, the winged boy she used to play with as a child. What ensures is an adventure into a new world, a beautiful country side, and a rekindled romance. I really liked how these two love interests were re-introduced to each other and how their feelings for one another grew over the course of Esmerine's search for her sister.

Aside from the sweet love story, I loved the story's unique, richly detailed mermaid lore. I was really fascinated with the way Jaclyn coupled the siren myhtology with that of the winged people, also known as Fandarsee, which Alan is. I loved the two different worlds Jaclyn created both under water and above, and the way she merged them together. I never would have thought to merge these two distinct lore together and the way Jaclyn did it was brilliant.

I like it when a story's setting isn't dated, and it has an appealing early turn of the century feel, which this story has. For me, it makes the story feel ageless and it has a fairytale quality to it. I thoroughly enjoy Jaclyn's writing. I know I can sit down and I'll instantly be whisked away into her story. Between the Sea and Sky is one of those charming, delightful, quick reads and that I sat down and enjoyed one sunny afternoon. My only compliant is that the ending felt a little too rushed. I wish it had been a little more drawn out. I highly recommend picking this book up if you enjoy a simple love story, mermaids and a story that reads like a fairytale. It's a clean cut, wonderful read.

2 comments:

  1. Oh this one sounds great I've been seeing good reviews on it too - including yours ;) It sounds very unique and with great characters.

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

    ReplyDelete
  2. Giselle- Thank you! It's a great read. It's one of those perfect afternoon reads.

    ReplyDelete

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