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(3)
YA
Windy City Magic series.
With a fantastic best friend, boyfriend, and culinary career all lined up, Amber Sand (The Best Kind of Magic) ought to be happy. Too bad her matchmaking magic keeps causing problems: she struggles to help a siren and a mermaid whose cross-species love seems doomed, and visions of her boyfriend's betrayal upset her even more. Amber's witty voice keeps the modern-day fantasy lively as it explores love's unpredictability.
(3)
YA
Siren swashbuckler Alosa ([cf2[Daughter of the Pirate King) accomplished her mission for her father: obtaining the map to the siren island and its treasure. Back to captaining her mostly-female crew, Alosa needs help from alluring prisoner Riden to investigate new doubt in her ruthless father's intentions. Fans of book one will happily return to this watery other-world for more fantastical buccaneering adventure.
(4)
4-6
In contemporary coastal Maine, Lolly, almost thirteen, is destined to transform into a siren just like her three older sisters, a fate she neither desires nor understands. An external threat to her sisters causes Lolly to reevaluate her power and whether she can accept it as a blessing rather than a curse. Bizarre plot conventions and an abrupt ending are somewhat redeemed by Lolly's complex characterization.
330 pp.
| HarperTeen
| January, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-239199-5$18.99
(4)
YA
Kahlen became a Siren after the Ocean saved her from drowning. Eighty years later, when Kahlen breaks the rules and falls in love with human Akinli, she knows the Ocean will punish them both. The love interest is too perfect and tension doesn't build until late in the story, but Cass's fans will be satisfied by this gentle romance.
(4)
YA
Lorelei's strained household is quiet; her grandmother has prohibited her from singing. But Lorelei's rocker crush Chris's wailing makes her throat itch to do the same. Is it family myth or fact that her voice is dangerous? Romanoff's lyrical descriptions of adolescence and music ring true, but obvious foreshadowing hampers the novel's twist into a modernization of the siren legend.
296 pp.
| Little
| May, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-0-316-37034-9$19.00
|
EbookISBN 978-0-316-37033-2
(4)
YA
In this follow-up to Dangerous Creatures, Link and his friends set out to rescue Link's girlfriend, Ridley, who's been kidnapped and experimented upon by the evil Silas Ravenwood. Nox, who's also in love with Ridley, does the same. Without much action until the end, this installment does little more than set up the next one, though this won't bother series fans.
298 pp.
| Dutton
| October, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-525-42644-8$18.99
(4)
YA
When her twin sister, Bay, chooses to leave for land Above instead of staying in their underwater city, Atlantia, Rio is left to piece together why and how this connects to Rio's siren voice, which she's kept hidden all her life. The plot is predictable, relying heavily on convenient circumstances, but Condie's descriptive writing is sharp and this new world vivid.
330 pp.
| Little
| May, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-316-37031-8$19.00
(4)
YA
In this Beautiful Creatures series spinoff, Ridley and her sort-of ex-boyfriend Link head to New York City. Ridley gets Link a gig as a drummer in a Caster band in order to settle a debt--then realizes that both of them are in danger. A good-at-heart bad girl, Ridley deserved her own book; an abrupt cliffhanger ending guarantees she'll get more.
343 pp.
| St. Martin's Griffin
| April, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-250-00811-4$17.99
(4)
YA
Watersong series.
In books three and four of this paranormal romance series, sisters Harper and Gemma must find a way to break the sirens' curse before the creatures destroy everything. While the characters don't have much dimension, multiple viewpoints and a focus on nonromantic relationships give these Greek mythology–inspired stories some depth. Elegy, the final book, ties things up nicely and will satisfy fans. Review covers these Watersong titles: Elegy and Tidal.
542 pp.
| St. Martin's Griffin
| August, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-250-00567-0$17.99
(4)
YA
Watersong series.
In books three and four of this paranormal romance series, sisters Harper and Gemma must find a way to break the sirens' curse before the creatures destroy everything. While the characters don't have much dimension, multiple viewpoints and a focus on nonromantic relationships give these Greek mythology–inspired stories some depth. Elegy, the final book, ties things up nicely and will satisfy fans. Review covers these Watersong titles: Elegy and Tidal.
290 pp.
| St. Martin's Griffin
| November, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-250-00565-6$17.99
(4)
YA
Watersong series.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma parties with three beautiful but mysterious girls one night in a cove and receives their powers; she's lured away with them, but protective older sister Harper senses something otherworldly and sinister and will stop at nothing to get Gemma back. Siren mythology is evoked decently in these two volumes, but the characters lack depth and underdeveloped backstories lessen tension. Review includes these Watersong titles: Lullaby and Wake.
309 pp.
| St. Martin's Griffin
| August, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-250-00812-1$17.99
(4)
YA
Watersong series.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma parties with three beautiful but mysterious girls one night in a cove and receives their powers; she's lured away with them, but protective older sister Harper senses something otherworldly and sinister and will stop at nothing to get Gemma back. Siren mythology is evoked decently in these two volumes, but the characters lack depth and underdeveloped backstories lessen tension. Review includes these Watersong titles: Lullaby and Wake.
232 pp.
| Bloomsbury
| October, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-59990-434-4$16.99
(3)
YA
Mermaid Esmerine wants to become a siren just like her sister Dosinia. When Dosinia goes to the mainland, Esmerine must find her and bring her home. Along the way, Esmerine crosses paths with an old friend, Alandare, and before long infatuation takes hold. The pair's differences (he's one of a winged species) can't keep them apart in this fantasy love story.
261 pp.
| Penguin/Razorbill
| July, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-59514-423-2$16.99
(4)
YA
Lexi is a siren whose curse caused her to kill her first boyfriend, Steven. After that, she shunned all relationships. Now Lexi faces a difficult decision: true love with Cole, Steven's best friend, or a faked connection with Erik, a nix. While the story uses several teen romance clichés, the characters are likable and the mythology connection is engaging.
(4)
YA
Will's brother, Tim, is presumed dead after a boating accident. Now Will and his childhood-friend-cum-crush Gretchen wonder whether the oddly compelling new girl in town, Asia, is connected to Tim's drowning and several others. The Calypso myth isn't fully explored (lengthy expository narrative in a sea captain's log aside), but the mystery is engaging.
291 pp.
| Harcourt
| July, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-48250-7$16.99
(3)
YA
After Luce's transformation from human to mermaid, she learns all mermaids were once abused girls who are now seeking revenge for humans' innate cruelty. By singing a beautifully sad death song, Luce and her tribe cause shipwreck after shipwreck, a practice that never feels right to Luce. The gratifying story charts one girl's physical and emotional journey toward finding her own strength and voice.
350 pp.
| Egmont
| July, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-60684-075-7$17.99
(4)
YA
Having confronted murderous sirens--and beginning to transform into one herself--Vanessa (Siren) struggles to understand her identity and new powers. An unexpected connection to a classmate threatens Vanessa's romance, while a new rash of deaths suggests the sirens haven't been vanquished entirely. Relationships are more superficial here than in the preceding volume; the quick denouement feels anticlimactic after so much build-up.