When Dax lost his family to a shark attack he swam away from everything he had ever known. Now he has come to Atlantis, hoping to reconnect with those he left behind. When he finds his birth clan torn apart, he realizes his journey is just beginning.
Kai is an Oracle, a blind merman, who only has sight when he has a vision. Atlantis, a sanctuary for so many mer people, is his prison. Desperation drives him to beg the Atlantean Goddess of Love for help.
With the goddess's promise of love to tempt him, Kai persuades Dax to take him along when he leaves the sunken city.
Although Dax has some reservations about traveling through the ocean with a blind merman in tow, he quickly discovers Kai isn't as helpless as he appears. Attraction comes easy, but Kai doesn't seem to feel the same way.
Kai knows he must seduce Dax if he hopes to win his heart, but his inexperience may be his downfall. With Dax's former lover at the end of their journey, he knows time is running out.
A goddess can only help so much, especially when another immortal would see them part. If the two stubborn mermen want a life together, they will have to learn to communicate and fight for their love.
Back again for L.M. Brown's mermen!
(You know if I return to a series more than once, I've been hooked)
The last 2016 review on the blog is all about the fantasy. (Hey, this is me we're talking about-it's a fave genre)
L.M. Brown has created quite the world in the Merman & Magic series--readers visit the sunken island of Atlantis, inhabited with merfolk and sea creatures. Plus there's mythology thrown in with an interesting cast of god/goddess side characters that add a sense of magical instability in the tales. The gods are awakening from their stasis...the world doesn't know what it's in for.
In the third installment, Dangerous Waves, the prophetic Oracle mer family are the focus as well as Dax was the ex-lover from book #1. The Oracles are a group of three merfolk who are blind due to their psychic-like abilities. They are blinded once their get their powers at puberty, meaning they are virgins and must remain untouched. Kai, the Oracle of the present and protagonist, longs for a love to call his own, even though it's forbidden. He calls for help from the meddling goddess of love, Medina.
If you've been following along in the series (and I strongly suggest reading in order), then you know mer people are highly sexual. The Oracles aren't allowed any freedoms, basically prisoners in the kingdom of Atlantis. Enter the highly sexual Dax, the former lover of book #1's Kyle. Dax starts the book as the third in a temporary menage, a loner among yet another nomadic tribe that wants to move to Atlantis for stability.
Medina sense Dax's and Kai's fate and meddles in the only way she knows how.
It's hyper sexual vs. virginity, Dax and Kai couldn't be more different experience wise. But their chemistry is electric.
I like the route the author took with these two. It wasn't automatic jumping of bones, no sexy times happen until the last quarter of the book. The men get to know each other through a ocean road trip. Kai finally gets to experience life while traveling to England to help Dax check in on his former lover.
On the road, the two start opening up and learning about a common theme they seem to share, loners. But Dax thinks with his cock (that hasn't changed since book 1) and any time I fins myself liking him, he'd remember to be the jerk from book #1. He viewed sex as sex, Kai was a romantic. warning there is a sex scene with a MC and another person. That didn't piss me off. It wasn't cheating, but usually that's first third behavior of a novel, not so late in the game as the MC's start to get closer. I liked it. It remained true to his character.
It didn't read like insta-love, though the romantic aspect read short when coming to the romantic aspect. It took one of the men a little longer to realize his feelings. I felt it could have been played up just a little more for him.
Why this isn't 5 Hearts The goddess Medina seemed to be a main player in the beginning and them quiets (when hinted to being super powerful) and then shows up to not make much of an impact. The gods awakening is another larger series ARC but compared to the last two books, Dangerous Waves was weaker. We get to meet 2 new gods, add to Medina and series mainstays, Cari & Caspian, it's starting to get crowded. There are hints of conflicts to come, but it'd be nice if they were a little more defined. And the big conflict in the end? It was solved by a different being instead off the one who went to help. Something about the entire thing read anticlimactic.
Overall, a fun read.
There's opposites attract, mythology and magical hijinks. Plus, I'm enjoying the characters. I can't wait to read about Delwyn (Oracle of the past) in the future.
Not my fave pairing of the partnerships...but close.
If you're looking for a lighter urban fantasy series to try, I recommend giving the Mermen & Magic series a try.
Find on Goodreads!
Interested in learning more about the series?
Review of Book #1
Review of Book #2
No comments:
Post a Comment