Series: The Syrena Legacy

Of Neptune by Anna Banks | Book Review

Posted June 10, 2015 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 1 Comment

Of Neptune by Anna Banks | Book ReviewOf Neptune by Anna Banks
Series: The Syrena Legacy #3
Also in this series: Of Poseidon, Of Triton
Published by Feiwel and Friends on May 1, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Pages: 330
Format: Hardcover
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Emma, who is half human and half Syrena, and her Syrena love, Galen, need time together. Alone. Away from the kingdoms of Poseidon and Triton. Emma’s grandfather, the Poseidon king, suggests the two visit a small town called Neptune.

Neptune is home to both Syrena and Half-Breeds alike. But Emma and Galen didn’t sign up to be peacemakers between the ocean-living Syrena and the land-dwelling, freshwater counterparts. They didn’t bargain for meeting a charming Half-Breed named Reed, who can barely disguise his feelings for Emma. And they especially didn’t expect to find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens not only their love, but their ocean kingdoms.

In this stunning conclusion to her bestselling Syrena Legacy, Anna Banks thrills fans with more action and romance than ever.

I really, REALLY loved the first two books in The Syrena Legacy, Of Poseidon and Of Triton. I was excited for this third book because I loved the characters. At the same time, I felt like there wasn’t really a need for a third book. Of Triton wrapped up everything for me, and I felt like there really was nothing left I needed from the series. For this reason, I was also worried I would not love Of Neptune. Sadly, I was right. I almost didn’t even finish it and that broke my heart.

I don’t know if I’m tired of Emma or what, but her little wacky idiosyncrasies really bugged me this time around. I feel like in areas of her life, she has grown and changed and matured. In other areas, though, she’s stayed the same silly little teenager she was before she discovered herself and her family and her destiny. Things I found funny in book one, like Emma’s “ohmysweetgoodness” and “fan-freaking-tastic” and sarcastic quips were not funny this time. I wanted her to grow up a little and show me that she has changed over the years. I didn’t even like her in this book. She’s selfish (SO SELFISH) and inconsiderate and petty. She acted too young to be in a relationship. They both did, really.

I didn’t love Galen this time, and that surprised me. Hs uses of marine words inserted into human phrases is not endearing anymore. He calls Emma “Angel Fish” and that really started to bug me! He has also gotten way too broody. I loved the romance in the first book, but things really fizzled in book 2 and even more in book 3. I’m not sure why, after everything we’ve been through with Emma and Galen, a brand new love triangle was necessary in this final book. Emma goes to a town of Half-Breeds called Neptune and meets Reed, who is immediately infatuated with her. He is immediately in love with her. He immediately wants to break Galen and her up. It feels so forced and awkward. And Emma actually considers this and I’m like, “WHAT!?” How can this even happen after it is decided that Galen and Emma are destined for one another. I don’t even believe their love story anymore if she is so easily swayed to leave him for someone else. And REED? He’s a very weak, rather useless addition to the story.

To be honest, the entire Half-Breed town fell a little short of my interest level.I did not enjoy this new storyline that had nothing to do with the other two books. I wanted the magical underwater romance that I got with the first book, and there is none of that. Galen and Emma don’t even get much time with one another. There’s a lot of pouting, brooding, jumping to conclusions, and immaturity and it just bothered me that it was coming from two people who hold a lot of responsibility and who I have invested so much time into. I missed Rayna, Nalia, Toraf, and Grom. They made small cameo appearances, and I did not get their fun personalities. They were the ones I was so excited to see again! I don’t care about these new Half-Breeds and their hidden agendas. I wanted my Syrena family back!

I will admit that I loved the epilogue. If this epilogue had been placed at the end of Of Triton, I would have been a happy girl. If you enjoyed Of Poseidon and Of Triton and are looking for a little something more, definitely read the epilogue because it is very sweet and wraps things up nicely. Of Neptune is not necessary, though, and it pains me to say that more than you might expect.


Of Triton (The Syrena Legacy #2) by Anna Banks (Book Review)

Posted April 11, 2013 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 11 Comments

Of Triton (The Syrena Legacy #2) by Anna Banks (Book Review)Of Triton by Anna Banks
Series: The Syrena Legacy #2
Also in this series: Of Poseidon, Of Neptune
Published by Feiwel and Friends on May 28, 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Pages: 246
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Oh my. I was so excited when I found out about Of Triton, and was even more excited when I received an ARC in the mail! I loved Of Poseidon. LOVED IT!!! It was funny, had amazing characters, I loved the dual perspectives (which we get in Of Triton again), I loved Anna’s take on mermaid and Greek mythology, I loved the intense moments, I loved the writing style and the gorgeous underwater descriptions, and the ending killed me! I was catapulted off a cliff with that ending, and craved the sequel immediately. Of Triton was amazing. Everything I loved about Of Poseidon was there, and so much more. As always, my main points are bolded!

1. I still love the characters so much. Galen is so amazingly protective of those he loves, and I adore that about him. He is always there, and has the back of whoever needs him. Emma has grown in maturity and bravery. I really liked Emma’s mother, as well. She was still protective, but has learned that Emma is smart on her own. She turns into more of a friend than a mom in this book, and I liked her much more. And I loved the secondary characters: Grom, Poseidon King Antonis (who is so grandfatherly and sweet!), Rayna, and Toraf. I loved seeing familiar faces and meeting the new ones! 

2. Of Triton is full of just as many one-liners and ohmysweetgoodnesses as Of Poseidon, and I love that the humor is understated enough to make you laugh without being overbearing and roll-your-eyes cheesy. So much of Anna Banks’s sense of humor and personality shines through in her writing. 

3. This book is so action-packed! From the first page to the last, Anna holds nothing back. After a quick memory refresher, we’re off! I was whipping through this book. I see no signs of the sophomore slump with Of Triton. Not only do we get to follow up with our favorite friends, we get SO much more information! And the gift of Triton appears, which was SUPER exciting. And we get thrown with crazy twists and turns, plus some really sweet and tender family moments. Oh, and there’s a ton of stuff that needs to be worked out between the two syrena kingdoms. I really could not have asked for more.

4. Anna’s writing is gorgeous. I’m still enamored with her storytelling, her writing style, and her details. She gives us all the details!

5. We get more knowledge of the syrena. Their history, the inner workings, their laws and abilities, etc. And we learn more about some of the main characters. We get all the knowledge!

6. There’s a pretty good chance I loved this more than Of Poseidon. And if you’ve read my review, you’ll wonder how that’s even possible.

Ok, so after reading and re-reading my review, I think it kind of sucks. Haha. But I have no idea what to do to make it better! Basically, I loved Of Triton and wanted to write a short, sweet review that gave nothing away. At all. Because you don’t deserve any spoilers. Anna Banks is now officially on my auto-buy list. I’ve read everything of hers, and I have loved allllll of it! Of Poseidon lovers will not be disappointed at all by Of Triton, well except for the fact that it’s so short. Haha. I can’t wait for Anna to write a million more books!


Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (Book Review)

Posted May 21, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 6 Comments

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (Book Review)Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Series: The Syrena Legacy #1
Also in this series: Of Triton, Of Neptune
Published by Feiwel and Friends on May 22, 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Pages: 324
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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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.

Before I get into my review, can I gush a little about something? I am SO excited about this book, and not just because I loved it. I had been wanting this book SO bad! I knew it was coming out while I was in Europe, and I would probably not get it while I was gone. But… I was really not wanting to wait a day longer than I had to, because mermaids and mythology are my THING. So I figured, “Hey! What the heck? I’ll try to write and request this from the publisher!” This was my first attempt at requesting a book, so I was kind of nervous. I found the contact info and wrote out a nice little e-mail, not expecting anything to come of it since my blog is still a little young. About a month later, a package arrived at my door, and I opened it without really thinking about it. And GUESS WHAT? It was OF POSEIDON!!! And seriously, I hugged it for about an hour, stroking and staring at the cover. My first attempt at requesting a book from a publisher had worked, and it was for a book I was DYING to read! I swear, it has been a very long time since I was that excited about anything. And let me tell you. I was totally justified in my drastic efforts to get this book early, because it is AMAZING. Make sure you clear your calendars, set aside some uninterrupted time, and prepare to be transported to another world! As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. This book is funny! Right at the beginning, Emma meets Galen by slamming face first into his bare chest at the beach in Florida. She was completely mortified. Her inner dialogue is hilarious. I was trying really hard not to laugh, because I didn’t want anyone to hear me in the middle of the night. And the things she says out loud are funny too! “Ohmysweetgoodness.” is a common outburst, along with “Fan-flipping-tastic”. I could just hear them as I read them, and I’ll admit I kind of giggled every time. There are serious moments as well, but I was not expecting the humor at all. It was a pleasant surprise.

2. I really liked all the characters. Emma is quirky, funny, a little eccentric, dramatic, a bit of an accident waiting to happen, and extremely skeptical. Her mom is ultra-protective, so much so that it becomes completely unbelievable, but funny at the same time. She means well, though. Galen is tall, dark, and handsome, and he is so sweet with Emma. Utterly swoon-worthy. I liked that he was not overprotective (although he’s the jealous type, which I LOVE), but still showed how much he cared for her. His serious nature was a nice compliment to Emma’s huge personality. I totally fell for him. Galen’s “mom”, Rachel is a human who is really Galen’s assistant. She makes sure he knows everything he needs to know about humans, manages his money, and takes care of his on-land necessities. She’s pretty funny as well. Then we have Galen’s sister, Rayna, who has been “mated” (married) to Toraf without her consent. She’s this rude, bitter, spunky grump who has a soft side if you’re willing to take the time to find it. Her husband (whom she despises), Toraf is the concerned big brother type that pretty much everyone wishes they had in their own family. He’s so funny, and I felt bad for him because of the way Rayna treated him. Heck, I’ll take him if she’s going to be such a brat about it! The entire cast (including unmentioned supporting characters) are all very likeable, and different enough from one another that you don’t forget who’s who.

3. I really loved the dual perspectives, with each chapter switching back and forth between Emma and Galen. I have a thing for male protagonists, so I loved jumping into Galen’s head as well.

4. Anna’s take on mermaid and Greek mythology was very refreshing. In this book, Poseidon is presented as a ruling Syrena (merman), rather than a Greek God. The Syrena have violet eyes, and can switch between having a fin and having legs. They can sense the electric pulse of one another in the water, which causes a lot of “duh dun” moments like in the movie Jaws, with some unknown Syrena swimming up and grabbing another one. The Syrena can also blend into the water, and become invisible. I thought it was pretty awesome. Oh, and Emma can talk to and control sea life. Can I do that?

5. There were some really intense moments! I was totally captivated and drawn in to them. I love a little suspense, and since this deals with the ocean, a scary place in my mind, I found myself biting my nails and burrowing deeper into my bed while I read.

6. The underwater scenes are gorgeous! This is why I love mermaid books. The author can turn the ocean into anything they want, and describe it any way they want. Pure imagination at its finest.

7. Ahhhh! The ending! I’m dying! Major cliffhanger, people, and my jaw completely dropped! But I LOVED IT! Is there a sequel? There has to be! 

I would definitely recommend this to lovers of a new take on Greek mythology, mermaids, swoon-worthy male leads, a book that keeps you guessing, and some on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments. LOVED this book!