Desirée M. Niccoli

A sexy, romantic, and satisfying continuation to Lorelei and Killian’s story. This picks up about a year or so after the first book ended, and Killian and Lorelei are now engaged. Killian is still working on his boat, the Dawn Chaser, and Lorelei is working at the Haven Cove Marine Research Center with Lila Branson, studying the siren Nireed for a cure to their people-eating hunger.

Much of the cast, we met in the first book already, except for the addition of some minor characters such as Nireed’s siren friends, and Lila and Lorelei’s coworkers from their place of employment.

I still love Killian and Lorelei’s relationship, and how respectful and accepting he is of her. I love that happy ending, and I really enjoyed reading more about siren physiology and mythology, and seeing their home for the first time. And I liked the sirens’ growth as they got their cure and became more accepting of the humans. As always, I also enjoyed the small town vibe of their coastal Maine town.

What I didn’t love - the pacing seemed off. There were multiple times when I thought the story was going to end, and then we had a bunch of “and then” moments that didn’t seem like they tied well into the main plot. At that point I wasn’t sure where the story was going. We also get some random chapters from the other sirens, which threw me off a bit I felt could have just as easily been told from Lorelei’s perspective. The scene with the mermen was brushed over and I wish I could see more of them, how they reacted to a cure and even what they looked like. The human characters seemed static in growth compared to the sirens. And finally, I’m not a fan of girl-on-girl hostility (Carrie and Lorelei) in 2023…we get enough of that in the media already.

This is told mostly from Lorelei’s perspective in third person, with Killian’s POV interspersed, and then a single chapter toward the climax from three of the other sirens.

Overall, I enjoyed this read.… (meer)

A sexy, romantic, and satisfying continuation to Lorelei and Killian’s story. This picks up about a year or so after the first book ended, and Killian and Lorelei are now engaged. Killian is still working on his boat, the Dawn Chaser, and Lorelei is working at the Haven Cove Marine Research Center with Lila Branson, studying the siren Nireed for a cure to their people-eating hunger.

Much of the cast, we met in the first book already, except for the addition of some minor characters such as Nireed’s siren friends, and Lila and Lorelei’s coworkers from their place of employment.

I still love Killian and Lorelei’s relationship, and how respectful and accepting he is of her. I love that happy ending, and I really enjoyed reading more about siren physiology and mythology, and seeing their home for the first time. And I liked the sirens’ growth as they got their cure and became more accepting of the humans. As always, I also enjoyed the small town vibe of their coastal Maine town.

What I didn’t love - the pacing seemed off. There were multiple times when I thought the story was going to end, and then we had a bunch of “and then” moments that didn’t seem like they tied well into the main plot. At that point I wasn’t sure where the story was going. We also get some random chapters from the other sirens, which threw me off a bit I felt could have just as easily been told from Lorelei’s perspective. The scene with the mermen was brushed over and I wish I could see more of them, how they reacted to a cure and even what they looked like. The human characters seemed static in growth compared to the sirens. And finally, I’m not a fan of girl-on-girl hostility (Carrie and Lorelei) in 2023…we get enough of that in the media already.

This is told mostly from Lorelei’s perspective in third person, with Killian’s POV interspersed, and then a single chapter toward the climax from three of the other sirens.

Overall, I enjoyed this read.… (meer)

Ahhh I loved this twist on mermaids! It gave me heavy Into the Drowning Deep (Mira Grant) vibes, but with romance.

The story is the tale of Captain Killian Quinn, who is called in to a shipwreck where everyone aboard was killed - except for Lorelei Roth. But she is more than human, as they come to find out - she is part of a species of carnivorous mermaids, and she struggles between her nature and her love for Killian.

I loved so many things about this book, other than my loving mermaid stories in general. The small-town Maine setting was so atmospheric. The mystery at the beginning was well done - even though we know from reading the blurb, what Lorelei’s secret was. And the romance was my favorite part! Finally, a swoonworthy male love interest who treats his partner right. They’re supportive of each other and actually communicate. It was mature and healthy (can you tell I’m tired of borderline abusive/actually abusive bad boy types that we’re supposed to fall for?). Their relationship moved quickly, but it didn’t bother me in this case. I really liked Lorelei’s character and sympathized with her struggles. I also enjoyed the found family trope here, which is one of Killian’s crewmates’ family. They seemed like so much fun.

What I didn’t love was quite few. The writing seemed very telly at many points and I felt quite distant from the characters. I also wasn’t a big fan of Killian’s ex - I honestly saw no reason why she was there other than to shake things up and to cause trouble. There were a few grammatical errors that jumped out at me. While I liked the characters, I didn’t feel as close to them as I wished I did.

Overall a quick, exciting read and definitely pick this up if you like mermaid stories, and especially romances.… (meer)

Ahhh I loved this twist on mermaids! It gave me heavy Into the Drowning Deep (Mira Grant) vibes, but with romance.

The story is the tale of Captain Killian Quinn, who is called in to a shipwreck where everyone aboard was killed - except for Lorelei Roth. But she is more than human, as they come to find out - she is part of a species of carnivorous mermaids, and she struggles between her nature and her love for Killian.

I loved so many things about this book, other than my loving mermaid stories in general. The small-town Maine setting was so atmospheric. The mystery at the beginning was well done - even though we know from reading the blurb, what Lorelei’s secret was. And the romance was my favorite part! Finally, a swoonworthy male love interest who treats his partner right. They’re supportive of each other and actually communicate. It was mature and healthy (can you tell I’m tired of borderline abusive/actually abusive bad boy types that we’re supposed to fall for?). Their relationship moved quickly, but it didn’t bother me in this case. I really liked Lorelei’s character and sympathized with her struggles. I also enjoyed the found family trope here, which is one of Killian’s crewmates’ family. They seemed like so much fun.

What I didn’t love was quite few. The writing seemed very telly at many points and I felt quite distant from the characters. I also wasn’t a big fan of Killian’s ex - I honestly saw no reason why she was there other than to shake things up and to cause trouble. There were a few grammatical errors that jumped out at me. While I liked the characters, I didn’t feel as close to them as I wished I did.

Overall a quick, exciting read and definitely pick this up if you like mermaid stories, and especially romances.… (meer)