Audio Book Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

This is an engaging, unexpected, positive surprise.

Of Poseidon

by Anna Banks

Published by AudioGO

UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK
Reader: Rebecca Gibel
Running Time: 9hrs 32min
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

Description:
Emma and her friend Chloe are spending vacation in Florida. When Emma (literally) runs into a hot guy named Galen on the beach, little does she know he’s a prince of the Syrena. Galen and Emma both feel something strange–is it attraction?–and Galen suspects that Emma might well be the girl he’s heard of–a human who can communicate with fish. What follows is a deadly scene with a shark in which Galen witnesses Emma’s gifts. He must know more about her, and follows her back to New Jersey, and high school, to find out for sure if she’s the key to saving his kingdom. Soon, Emma can’t deny her feelings for him, but can’t explain them, either–and both she and Galen must learn more about where she comes from and what her powers are before they can trust one another and their feelings. 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.

Review:
This was the YA selection paired with The Tempest and I was delightfully surprised!
Emma is an awkward teen who runs into a hot guy, Galen, on a Florida beach. There is a strange, electrical pull between them and Galen is alarmed by Emma’s violet eyes. That is a color that should only belong to the Syrena a race of mer-people who live hidden from humans. Galen suspects that Emma has the gift of Poseidon - the ability to communicate with fish. If that is true she may be destined to be his brother’s mate and to unite enemy factions.

Galen follows Emma home to New Jersey where he meets her in school pretending to be a student. Galen and Emma grow closer even as Galen tries to resist the attraction between them. Galen is joined by his sister, best friend and his human “step-mom.” They are sensing an unrecognized signature in the water that seems to be a threat to Emma so they are trying to protect her. Meanwhile Emma, who isn’t so self-assured, is getting frustrated by the mixed messages that she is getting from Galen who seems to really like her but holds her at arms length.

The characters are sweet and fun with wonderful chemistry. The plot is well developed and there is plenty of conflict, mystery and action. I got lost listening to the story and was so engrossed that I was startled by the cliff-hanger ending. I couldn't wait to get online to make sure there was a follow-up book available! I recommend this as a fun sweet read/listen. This is an interesting pairing with The Tempest and I wouldn't work too hard at making comparisons. I really enjoyed this much more.

Audio Notes: I obviously was wrapped up in the narration. There were a couple of times when the POV changed and it wasn’t totally clear at first but smoothed out pretty quickly. Rebecca Gibel’s narration voice fit the age of the characters even if it wasn't what I expected - but neither was the story - in a good way.

I received this and The Tempest from SYNC YA May 30 – June 5, 2013.