Of Poseidon (The Syrena Legacy #1)

I really, really would like to find a mermaid book that I like a lot, but that search will be continuing. Of Poseidon is a book that most readers are probably going to love or be entirely annoyed by. Banks has a definite style, one that will either amuse and enchant you, or that will make you roll your eyes vigorously over and over again. For me, it was the latter.

Problem one is the host of YA tropes in the characters and their relationship to one another. Emma, a card-carrying member of the Bella Swan school of heroines, is exceedingly clumsy: "I'm betting Cinderella didn't feel this foolish, but then again, Cinderella wasn't as clumsy as an intoxicated walrus" (2). Note, too, Banks' sense of humor. This pretty much captures it perfectly. Emma meets Galen, Syrena prince, by tripping and smashing her face into his chest. We are treated to these inner thoughts:

"Tripping is bad enough. Tripping into someone is much worse. But if that someone has a body that could make sculpted statues jealous—and thinks you've broken your nose on one of his pecs—well, that's when tripping runs a distant second to humane euthanasia." (5)

This girl seriously needs to sort out her priorities. Also, she spends way too long thinking about the awkwardness of the situation. While she's thinking, she remains plastered against him, because obviously that's less weird. Everyone trips sometimes. He would laugh and move on if it were the real world. It's not though, so no one's phased by how long she presses her face against his chest on first acquaintance. Here's one more quote to explain my distaste for Emma: "If stupid were a disease, I'd have died of it by now" (119). This attitude is so unhealthy. I encourage girls not to think of themselves this way, even as a joke.

Galen, of course, is drawn to her from first meeting, purportedly because his mermaid (sorry, Syrena) senses are tingling. Meant to be together, blah, blah, blah. They met while she was on vacation (during which time her best friend got eaten by a shark). She goes back to Jersey and he shows up in her school with an identical schedule. When she tries to avoid him after the first class let out, he grabbed her wrist and, when she tries to pull away, he grips harder (41). This is a primo sign of a controlling guy. I was not surprised to learn that he had 'serial-killer eyes' (290). Among his other charming qualities, he also bosses her around constantly and takes advantage of her memory loss to convince her to accompany him somewhere.

I would also like to point out that Emma completely forgets about Chloe's death and that she's supposed to be sad within a day of Galen's showing up at her school. Meanwhile, her mother hears that Emma tripped and hit her head, freaks out and accuses Emma of sleeping with Galen, her boyfriend. The two are not dating and she refuses to believe anything else. He was a transfer; it was his first damn day at that school. WHAT WHAT WHAT?

The other big problem I have is the inconsistency of what the Syrena know about humans. Galen is an ambassador to the humans, which basically means a spy. He is bewildered by: phone books, people having more than one name (first and last), lip gloss, and countries. At the same time, he is capable of using a phone (likely a fancy modern one) and driving a car (note: one with a manual transmission). He was also capable of passing all of the high school classes she was taking. Plausibility fail.

Of Poseidon had some seriously major flaws, as I've pointed out, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. I suspect many people will enjoy it more than I did.

Of Poseidon is my newest guilty pleasure. Superficially, it's a light and heart-warming tale, laced with mystery and intrigue. But when read with a critical mind, the subtext definitely brings up some troubling themes.

The history surrounding the Syrena was fascinating, and I have to give Banks props for creating such a unique and rich mythology. I loved having their history shared in bits and pieces and how thoroughly it was detailed. I'm sure there were questions that I didn't have answered concerning their origins (which I can't remember now, so they can't have been too important), but everything that needed to be explained in order for me to both understand and believe the plot was done, and it was done well.

I absolutely adored the two protagonists, though I did find the switch between first-person narration and third-person narration a little jarring at times. Emma is feisty and full of snark. I absolutely loved her quick wit and curiosity, and that she didn't shy away from asking the questions that needed to be asked. Her fiery temper had me literally laughing out loud during most of her arguments with Galen, and her stubbornness seemed to be only matched by his. I loved how well he complemented her personality, where he was just as witty and quick to temper, and it made for some hysterical exchanges. The sexual tension that builds between them is so thick, it becomes a palpable thing hovering over the pages. I was on the edge of my seat for chapters just waiting for them to release some tension by kissing already! Their romance definitely moved a little quicker then I would have liked, but I wouldn't call it insta-love (they've also got the mythology of the "pull" working in their favour).

The plot in Of Poseidon moves along nicely, throwing in some twists and turns to help keep you guessing. It's not long before Emma begins to realize that she's not completely human, and that her parents might be hiding something about her parentage. The cliffhanger ending is not one I'll soon forget - considering I almost had an aneurism when I realized I had read the last sentence - and it definitely makes me antsy for the sequel!

But I mentioned troubling themes. So here's the thing: the above is my superficial review, the review I'm giving Of Poseidon because I thoroughly enjoyed it while I was reading it. But if I'm completely honest, I shouldn't have enjoyed Of Poseidon nearly as much as I did because it contains a lot of elements that I really don't like in YA: a borderline-abusive relationship, wherein the female is constantly told what to do and physically dragged around by her boyfriend; the implication that women should be subservient to men (Syrena males sift for a compatible life partner, based on his perception of how well she will bear offspring); Rayna's complete lack of choice in her forced marriage, in which she wasn't even present for; and Emma's constant references to not wanting to be a cliche girl who loses herself and gives up her dreams for a boy, when that's exactly what she's planning on doing with Galen. These are all troubling trends in YA, and not ones that I would hope to perpetuate.

So why did I enjoy Of Poseidon so much? Because it was entertaining. I was able to push aside the critic inside of me, who was cringing with each reference to Galen's perfect physique and Emma's soft curves, and just enjoy the story superficially, for what it was: a fairytale romance.

-I loved this book so much! I can't wait to read something else by Anna Banks.

I was sure I was going to love this one, I really was. Mermaids! A release date on Boy's birthday! Pretty cover! Macmillian as a publisher! Super nice author! So much potential!

I was really, really let down.

Emma and Galen were okay on their own. Most of the time. But as a couple? They had a horrible relationship. He would request that she do something reasonable. Example: She had a stalker they could sense in the water. He asks her to stay out of the water when he's not there. Does she listen? Not only does she not listen, she gets angry at him. She yells at him. This isn't the only instance where this happens. I'm happy that a female character wants to be independent but...really?



And Galen? Galen also has issues. He's ridiculously over protective. There's this part where he's texting and calling Emma repeatedly and she's deliberately ignoring it because she's on a date and she's mad at Galen. So, he then follows her on her date. Which is going to take place an hour away. And he threatens harm repeatedly to Emma's date for being a nice guy and telling her she doesn't have to go with Galen. By time Galen gets Emma home, they're a couple again. That's not okay. You don't stalk people. It especially bothered me because the reason he was bothering her wasn't time sensitive. Her grandma wasn't dying and he wasn't trying to bring her to the hospital.



There's also a lack of logic in this book. For example, it's established pretty early on that Emma can talk to fish. It's something she's aware of basically from the time she finds out she's a Syrena. Talking requires oxygen. But there's a couple instances where Emma mentions being afraid to not hold her breath underwater and they're always mentioning how she's learning endurance for holding her breath. I'm not sure how you can talk and hold your breath at the same time.

There was also this alternation is perspective. First person for Emma, but third person for Galen. It was kind of confusing and kind of annoying going back and forth. I don't mind switching characters, but I like my books in first OR third, not both.

Despite all this, it wasn't a totally horrible book for me. I did really like two of the side characters, Rachel and Toraf, and I would love to read more about them. I also liked the idea of this story. What the summary doesn't mention is that there are two kingdoms and because Emma is of Poseidon, she's supposed to marry the king of the other kingdom and the king happens to be Galen's older brother, Grom. And he has to marry Emma because the girl before her who was of Poseidon - and also Grom's love - died years before in a mine accident. I found that pretty interesting. Is Emma really going to have to marry Grom? If not, who will he have to marry? The ending was also a really big cliffhanger that made me want book 2 desperately. I kind of wish I had decided not to finish this book because now I really want to make it through the next one despite how much it'll annoy me.

So...yeah. Of Poseidon was not the right book for me...but I might be picking up book 2 anyway.

IS THIS ABOUT MERMAIDS OR NOT?

Yes and no. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks technically features these mermaid-like creatures. But, if you don’t want to get your head bitten off by Galen, or the average Syrena—I don’t care if they don’t actually do that; it’s an insult—you’d better not go there, using the “M” word and all that. It’s not kosher. Besides, Syrena are actually triple way cooler than your average mermaid.

Can your average mermaid Blend into the water? Can they go at superspeeds and travel great distances? Do they also have fins? Maybe. But you just can’t beat out the Syrena. I hate to say this, but they’re flyer than Ariel and her band of school fish.

THERE’S A BOY NAMED TORAF?! SERIOUSLY?

For serious. But Toraf is actually made of awesome. He’s just ONE of the characters that charms our pants off. He’s funny and good-natured. He’s the comedy fix every good, solid paranormal book needs. We wouldn’t want the angstiness to get to brimming, now would we? Handsome, an excellent joke cracker, and the bane of the existence of Galen’s sister, Rayna, Toraf could’ve made a fabulous choice for the second point in the typical love triangle. Thankfully, there isn’t one and we don’t have to worry about this huggable boy’s heart. Well, we kind of do, because he’s in love with Rayna and she’s not having it. Reading as these two struggle with a relationship—Rayna being a stubborn idiot, Toraf being very persistent—brings out that lighthearted, fun tone to Of Poseidon by Anna Banks.

Unsurprisingly, Galen and Emma have less weird names but are just as amazing as their secondary character friends. Emma has, as I mentioned, the best sense of humor ever. She’s stubborn, sarcastic, laughable in a nice way where we laugh not at her but at the situation and how she goes about describing her misery, humiliation, and/or annoyance. Galen is the all-serious, arrogant, bit of a know-it-all big time Prince who is curiously fascinated and probing toward the lovely Emma. She’s this five hundred paged mystery novel. She’s beautiful. He’s having a hard time dealing with these unexpected, unwanted twin feelings of alarm and wonder.

Prince Galen does give off a bit of an Edward Cullen vibe, but he’s basically his own character. He’s impatient and determined, but what makes him so likable is his cheekiness. Blending into our society proves much more difficult, and, frankly, entertaining, than turning a lovely water color in the ocean so as to appear invisible. When he has the balls to try out things like “let’s chill” and “hey, boo,” things become unbelievably hysterical in the midst of all the serious drama revolving around the war brewing between the sea peoples and Emma’s enigmatic origins.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks quickly becomes quite addictive.

WHO'S A MYSTERY NOVEL?

Emma is a big smack in the face to Syrena culture and tradition. She’s a giant stigma, an abomination. At least, she would be down under in the water. But discovering the hows and whys are what keeps propelling the story and shifts the weight off of the characters, however fantastic they are, so that it’s not all about them and our interest falls in two places. What is Emma? And where did she come from? How has her birthright been hidden from her all this time? Magnetic violet eyes and romantic tension aside, these questions grate on Galen’s peace of mind as he tries to work out an answer that won’t jeopardize his maybe chance to explore what’s crackling between he and Emma. Firstly because whoever gave birth to her is in serious doo-doo, then because the House of Poseidon and the House of Triton are due for a joiner marriage and guess who just might make the cut with her parentage?

We all see the dilemma here, right? And this is a colossal problem because Emma and Galen may or may not have something destined, something that only comes around everyone once in a while.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE...

My biggest fear for Of Poseidon by Anna Banks lies in the romance. I was worried that this would be unbelievable instalove in the making. “Both teens sense a connection” is enough to worry anyone who gets seriously turned off by unbelievable and forced connection and chemistry. However, that’s so not the case here.

Emma and Galen have a tentative friendship, with underlying romantic zings, at best and are ever bickering at their worst. Galen is all princely and he expects to be obeyed. Emma is stubborn and independent and just not capable of taking anybody’s crap. So she doesn’t. Often. And hard. Which is why it’s easy to respect her and her no-nonsense attitude. Even if it got to be a little frustrating at times because her attitude, and with misunderstandings fresh in her mind, gets in the way of the slow and tension-filled romance.

These misunderstandings cause all sorts of drama. Jealousy, a bit of deception, a hint—no a ton—of anger in all the right places so that eventually fate has its way and gently tugs the two together until they’re a superglued masterpiece.

ANOTHER MOTHER FRYIN' CLIFFHANGER

Initially, my reaction was to beat my fists on the walls, or, the closest thing to me at the time: the skinny boy with the too-loud music at the desk in front of me. Because just as things are finally making sense, the obvious happens. The drop hits. A CLIFFHANGER. And it’s not even like Morse Code where there are sublime messages inside the words or hints at the future in the moment.

The mystery is solved, yes. The romance is safe for now, yes. The characters are still lovable, indeed. BUT I NEED MORE.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks is fun and engaging and full of that humor that sometimes misses the mark in so many other paranormals. These characters, and Anna, never forget to laugh at themselves despite the enormity of the situation they’re in. It’s what I liked about the story best of all.