Thursday, October 13, 2011

Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolomore

I was telling my dear friend and podcast co-host Allison that I was in desperate need of some light, romantic fun after reading so many intense and dark books lately. She suggested that I read “Between the Sea & Sky” earlier than I had planned and I am SO glad she did! It was just what the doctor ordered. Cute, sweet, and full of magical fun!

Esmerine is a beautiful mermaid, who at the start of the book, is being inducted as a siren.
Sirens, in Dolamore’s mermaid society, are protectors of the mer people and a great honor. On the night of her induction ceremony, Dosia mentions that she has interacted with some human men and asks Esmerine to go meet them. Esmerine refuses and the next day, Dosia disappears. Fearing that her sister was kidnapped and forced to remain on land forever as a merwife, Esmerine goes on land in search of her, reconnecting with her childhood friend, Alandare, who is part of a winged species of people. They journey together to find her sister and by doing so, find something even more precious in each other.

This book is such a nice, light read! I love the world Ms. Dolamore has created with her mermaids. It adds an interesting element to the friendship of Alandare and Esmerine. Not only is one winged and one finned, but they also have to deal with prejudices at home. Alandare’s species, the Fandarsee, are a very intellectual people who look down on humans and mer people as less intelligent, silly creatures. The mer people tell tales of the dangers of the surface world and fear that which is different. They do not understand Esmerine’s love of reading and writing, which she learned for Alandare as a child. They see her as being different and she’s been ridiculed for it throughout her teenage years. I also really enjoyed that the three tiers of this world (sea, land, and sky) all connected and interacted. It added a really interested complexity to this simple romantic fairy tale.

This book is full of fun, light adventure and tender romance. It’s a whimsical story that I think any fairy tale or mermaid fan will enjoy.

Between the Sea and Sky is published by Bloomsbury and is scheduled to be released on October 25th. My friend Allison was gracious enough to loan me her ARC since I was too impatient to wait for it to arrive via the Good Choice Reading blog tour. We will be interviewing Ms. Dolamore soon for Authors are ROCKSTARS! Be sure to visit the website or subscribe via iTunes so you won’t miss it!

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