Book Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Expected Publication: May 22, 2012
Pages: 336
Age Demographic: Young Adult
Received via: ATW ARC Tours
amazon | b&n

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .

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.

* Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

Of Poseidon is a light-hearted breezy story that sparkles vividly with life and wonderful moments of humor. Told from alternating points of view, this is a beautiful fish-out-of-water tale that will captivate readers and dazzle them with witty dialogue, suspenseful intrigue, and a sweet blossoming romance. It's such a fascinating nod to Greek mythology, making it even more appealing to those who enjoy a clever spin on Poseidon. Banks creates this wonderfully crafted underwater world filled with so much passion, loyalty, and brimming with life deep under the sea unknown to man. It's filled with such deep history all its own, unknown secrets and lies, and mystery sure enough to tantalize readers to discover more as they delve further into the depths of the story.

Galen is tasked with find a girl who possesses the gift of Poseidon, meaning she has the power to communicate with fish. Emma, while on vacation in Florida with her best friend Chloe, literally runs into him. Almost immediately he senses the connection between the two of them, though not entirely sure it takes a few more encounters and the death of her best friend before he's actually convinced she has the gift of Poseidon. Now it's up to him to convince Emma that she, does in fact, hold the key to his underwater kingdom and could potentially be what changes everything for the better.

Emma is one tough cookie. She's a wonderful heroine for young girls to look up to in young adult fiction. She's recently experienced the death of her best friend and now she's trying to discover who she really is. Galen, on the other hand, is adorably handsome in that swoon worthy way and also super jealous. He's also sweet and kind, and incredibly protective of Emma. It's obvious that he loves her, but because he's bound to his loyalty and duty it takes him a while to admit what everyone else already knows.

The supporting characters bring a lot of spirit and personality flavor of their own to the story. Despite the fact that Rayna can sometimes come off as a selfish brat, I do think that she always has her brother's best interest at heart. I also enjoyed how loyal Toraf was to Galen and the small scenes that he was given with Emma. It made the novel that much more fun to read. Banks did a fantastic job of penning a perfect balance of sweet and fun moments with the tense and emotional ones. It helped to make Of Poseidon such an engaging and compelling read that was easy to follow along with.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the writing styles of Meg Cabot, Tera Lynn Childs, or Tricia Rayburn.

{ This ARC was provided by ATW ARC Tours, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was/wasn't quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}