Darlene's Book Nook: Audiobook Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Audiobook Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

SERIES: Of Poseidon, Book #1
AUTHOR: Anna Banks

NARRATOR: Rebecca Gibel
PUBLISHER: AudioGO Ltd.
PUBLICATION DATE: May 1, 2012

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook, 9 hrs and 32 mins
GENRE: Fantasy/Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
ISBN: 9781620640081

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.

MY REVIEW:

I downloaded this audiobook free of charge, as it was the YA selection for Week #1 of the 2013 SYNC YA Summer Listening Program.

Of Poseidon is about an 18 year old girl named Emma MacIntosh from Jersey Shore. Emma accompanies her best friend, Chloe, and Chloe’s parents to Florida for some fun in the sun before returning for their senior year at Middlepoint High School. Klutzy Emma trips and falls into a gorgeous guy with olive skin and violet eyes, and they both feel an immediate attraction. His name is Galen Forza, and he is at the beach with his twin sister named Rayna. Galen is confused by this pull that he feels towards Emma because he is a Syrena (a mer-man) who is only supposed to be attracted to his own kind. Emma looks nothing like a Syrena: Her hair is so blonde that it is practically white and her skin tone is so fair that it is nearly translucent, but she does have those trademark violet eyes.

I can’t believe that this is Banks’ YA debut! I absolutely loved it! Banks sucked me in right at the beginning and never let me go. I cannot recall the last time that I read a book containing mermaids, and it was a refreshing change of pace. Emma is a strong heroine who is both funny and snarky without being irritating. Her chemistry with Galen was hot! And what’s not to love about Galen? He is naïve to the ways of humans, and he comes across as sweet with a fierce streak. I loved the alternating points of view between Emma and Galen, which I thought added depth to both the characters and the story.

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, and it came on so suddenly that I had to pull out my iPod and actually check that the battery didn’t just die. Nope, it actually ended like that. Banks has me chomping at the bit for the next book in the series, Of Triton, which was just released earlier this month.

The cherry on the top of this amazing book was the narrator, Rebecca Gibel. I have gushed about Gibel on a number of occasions, and she has never let me down. Her unique vocalizations for each character feel authentic, and I love how she can slip into a character and nail it!

MY RATING: