Forever Obsession: Promises

ISBN:1468006797

Pages: 251

Appearance:

Summary:

Sometimes following your heart can end up destroying the ones you love. When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiance, would make a wonderful husband except that she's been in love with Brendan, a shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids. Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined. A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind. With Brendan's life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those she once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her friends, but also on her acceptance of a life she so adamantly tried to escape. Promises is the first book of The Syrenka Series trilogy following Eviana and her friends through the perils of growing up in a discrete world that inherently threatens human society.

Hey guys! Welcome back to the blog! First review for the month of February woot woot! Anyway, there's not much to be said, so let's get into the review!

First off, this was a great combination of mermaid and underwater creature story. I haven't read a ton of books on selkies and I confess to having a small addiction to them. Come on! Seals are so cute! Anyway, romance between a mermaid and selkie is strictly forbidden by underwater law which only spices up the romantic aspect of the story even more. Since we're on the topic of romance, Brendan is definitely a girl's dream guy, understanding, loving, and not that bad looking either. Eviana is also pretty awesome because she's not afraid to take control of her life and make her own decisions. I'm not saying that I am advocating rebelling against parents, but it was refreshing to see a female protagonist take control, something I haven't seen in a while.

The storyline is super interesting and creative, at least in my point of view. There obviously have been mermaid forbidden love stories, but this one like I said before throws in a new underwater creature: Selkies!! Have I mentioned how much I love them? Anyway, the whole "overthrow" mer-government for own selfish reasons is new at least to me so I definitely liked that. I don't remember Mr. Evil Merman's name, but I do remember that he has the same mind controlling power (spoiler) as Eviana which is why he sought her out in the first place. Honestly, you go Eviana for kicking Mr. Evil Merman's butt with your awesome skills, I really enjoyed that scene.

Among the romance and action, there's also this deep tie of unconditional love and friendship. Before Eviana ran away with Brendan, she was betrothed to Kain, the next-in-line to a mer-clan. Kain is another amazing guy who understands that Eviana might never love him because of Brendan, but is willing to marry her anyway because he loves her. That's some serious unconditional love right there. Even after he's betrayed when she runs away, he still shows of love and dedication to her. To be completely honest, they would make a great couple, but I'm glad that he has found someone else for the time being.

While at a royal mer-folk next-in-line ceremony thing, Eviana makes some new mer-friends who play a crucial role in the story. Carissa and Daniel are pretty prime examples of what good friends should be. Carissa is a bit cold, but I absolutely love her as a character. She picks up the pieces of Kain's heart when Eviana betrays him and when Kain shows his obvious still there affection for her friend she doesn't throw one of those annoying girl fits. She's calm and cool. Daniel was beaten and hauled around because of his connection of Eviana, but that doesn't change his loyalty to her. He's super supportive and just amazing.

So I finished it relatively quickly in about a day or so. I would recommend this as a light read as I did enjoy it, but it didn't make any lasting impact on me. Would I pick up the next book? I might, because this book did end on a relatively sad note. So yeah, go check it out.

One last thing, note for Eviana: Chin up beautiful! Things will get better!! <3