REVIEW REWIND: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Because I never blogged my review for Of Poseidon, I've decided to post it the day before I review book 2 Of Triton. If you have yet to start this series and are excited about the prospect of a mermaid book, now is a good time to jump in. Except for a few intense moments, this one is more the light and fun variety. Full disclosure: I have been obsessed with mermaid since The Little Mermaid came out. Reading about them is always somewhat nostalgic for me.

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks
Read: June 9, 2012
Published: May 22 2012 by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Source: Library
Category: Paranormal Romance, YA, Mermaids
Series: Of Poseidon book 1

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. (From Goodreads)


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Mermen! Mermaids! Or actually it’s Syrena in Of Poseidon. Galen would not be happy to hear himself referred to as a merman. I really enjoyed this book, even beyond the fact that it fed my childhood obsession to all things mer. 

Of Poseidon is told in the alternating perspectives of Emma and Galen, and it switches between first and third person respectively. Usually I think that it is strange to do this within one story, but I like how each perspective enhanced Emma or Galen’s voice. The book was funny too. I found myself laughing at Emma’s humor and Galen’s difficulty navigating human culture. Actually, watching them discover different things about each other’s worlds was one of my favorite parts of the story. I also like that Emma is feisty and that Galen likes that about her. The supporting characters were equally great. Loved Rayna, Toraf and Rachel, especially. The fights that they all get into was one of my other favorite things about the book. 

I enjoyed what I learned about the culture of the Syrena, but I hope that we get to spend more time “under the sea” in the next book. With a lot more world to discover, this was definitely written as the first in a series. 

Of Poseidon does utilize several typical YA paranormal plot devices. The heroine becomes isolated from her family and peers, opening her up to more time spent with the supernatural beings. There is a new mystery boy at school who happens to be wealthy as well as gorgeous. I’ve learned to expect these things in these tri-book paranormal romances, and they didn't really bother me so much in this story. For some reason, I still get sucked into these types of plots. 

The major difficulty I did have with this book had to do with the something these characters were trying to figure out. It takes them the entire novel to get to the conclusion that I reached within the first third of the book, and the process that they go through to get there became a bit tedious for me. On looking at reviews of this book, I do not think this secret was as obvious to everyone, and for many it came as a big shock and cliffhanger (I hope it will for you too!). However, I started to get impatient for them to figure it out so that we could move on to the consequences that will most certainly happen After (aka book 2). 

Despite my issues with the plot, I had a lot of fun reading Of Poseidon. This book also does a great job at making the reader anticipate book two, Of Triton, which I have read and will be reviewing tomorrow.

Love Triangle Factor: Mild

Cliffhanger Scale: I thought Low, with a heavy dose of anticipation for book 2. Some thought High.