Monday, April 2, 2012

Review: Tidal Whispers

Title: Tidal Whispers
Authors: Jocelyn Adams, Claire Gillian, Julie Reece, and  
              Kelly Said.
Ebook
Expected Pub Date: June 3, 2012

Favorite Quote:

"My problems would be nothing compared to yours, your family's. I can't risk your life in the few days I have remaining...." 
    Tidal Whisper (the sweetest song by Claire Gillian)

Summary:
Heart’s Desire by Julie Reece
After a terrible accident, Tessa returns to her family beach house to heal. She doesn’t expect to see her first summer crush from seven years before. Cameron, though, reappears and ignites a relationship that’s far more intense than ever before. The only problem? Summer is once again coming to an end, and this time, Tessa will have to decide whether to choose life with Cameron or to never see him again.

The Sweetest Song by Claire Gillian
Under Poseidon’s rule, Circe is the most destructive siren in the Pacific ocean, her songs luring ships and their crew to their watery graves. Not Otis, the best halibut fisherman in the Alaskan waters. His ship, the Calypso, has avoided disaster each time Circe set her sights on him.

Given one last chance to deliver Otis to Davy Jones’ locker, Circe takes to land to waylay the handsome captain. Instead, it may be Otis himself who hooks the Siren.

Pearl of Pau’maa by Kelly Said
Should Miki choose to wed the local wealthy boy she doesn't love, her stomach will stop grumbling. Her soul, however, will suffocate. With one last opportunity before she must concede, she sneaks off for a final dive to her hidden crate at the bottom of the seabed. What waits for her is more than a captured lobster. It's a treasure she cannot claim without great sacrifice or true love.

The Undergarden by Jocelyn Adams
Nixie, a water sprite, lives a solitary existence as she struggles to understand the strange world beyond her waters. When she meets one of the pink ones, a curious boy named Wyatt, their friendship blooms into a love that can exist only upon the sands that divide his solid ground from her underwater paradise. Some love, though, once born, cannot be undone, even in the face of death.

                       SO HIT OR MISS


I was very excited when I received Tidal Whispers for review. Not only was this my first ARC review, Tidal Whispers is my first anthropology! I must admit that I did a happy dance for a good five minutes when I woke up to an email from J. Taylor Publishing requesting this review. I was intrigued by the cover at first. The model (and cover) is very thought provoking. I immediately had to read this novel and I immediately loved it! I'm going to review each short story separately because that's how I read them.

HEART'S DESIRE
This story was an excellent choice, being first in the line up. Though short and sweet, This story is very beautifully written. You are immediately engrossed in her tragedy. For her, the summer is going to focus on healing. Then she meets Cam her first summer love. He comes back into her life and makes her happy again, (big awe here).  I love the development between Tessa and Cam. It was a perfect fit for this short story and left me wanting more in a full novel. Tessa was an enjoyable character to read and experience. In the end she has a choice to make and I love reading to the end and finding out if she would go after what she wanted. I was very content after finishing this story.

THE SWEETEST SONG
I picked my favorite quote from this story. It had to be my favorite of the four. I just loved Circe and Otis, the two main characters. Although this story was a little too, "jump right in to chaos." In the end I came to appreciate it because it brought me that much closer to the heart of the story. I have to say that it was a smart move, this being a short story and all. It gave the author more time to develop the key elements instead of spending a whole lot of time spreading out details. Circe is this siren who is not doing a good job sinking ships. Her boss, Poseidon, is not happy about that at all. Circe's only way to redeem herself from a horrible end is to sink Captain Otis's ship. Once Otis is introduce I was in love. He is such a lovable character that you just want to route for. He is my absolute favorite character out of the whole novel! This story was funny and romantic and the ending with Aphrodite and Poseidon is hilarious. 

PEARL OF PAU'MAA
I like this story because of it's point of views. Both Miki and Harmon's share there perspective through great writing. I really was taken into this story. I can't emphasize enough how great this writing was. I mean really really great. I personally liked reading Harmon's point of view, even though Miki's is just as enjoyable. I love the building in this story as compared to the others. This relationship isn't so instant, it has a natural progression! Two people trying to get over trials to be together. 

THE UNDERGARDEN
I cried a lot reading this story. I really am a big cry baby with emotional stories and I more often than not will become emotional involved in the stories I read, thus the non stop crying while reading really great writing. Nixie's and Wyatt's story just induced tears in me. They are separated and may only meet in the middle on the sand between there worlds of land and water. It really was a touching story. The ending is so good! You just have to read it to understand.

OVERALL
These four stories where exemplary pieces of work. The line up for this anthropology was excellent. Each short story I could imagine reading full novels. Each story complimented the others.

HIT

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