Review--Of Triton by Anna Banks

Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Once again, Anna Banks infuses Emma and Galen's points of view with humor, intrigue, and waves of romance.

A one-day read!! But alas, I decided to wait to post the review so I was not bombarding my blog with posts! But yay! I always love accomplishing a one-day read! Anna Banks' Of Triton is the sequel and I believe conclusion to the Of Poseidon "dulogy". As the ending feels very final and it was satisfying, if not a little heartbreaking.

Of Triton was a whirlwind of a read! Spiraling in so many different twists and turns but never once is the reader confused. It's a heart-racing of a thrill read! It opens up with yet another bang, much like its predecessor, only this time it's because Emma has been kidnapped...by her mother. Emma's mother who we now know is Nalia is on the run taking Emma with her in fear for their lives, believing that Galen and Toraf are off to get the equivalent of the Syrena police to have her executed or worse, because not only has she been living on land for so long, birthed a Half-Breed daughter, but more so because she killed her once betrothed Grom in an explosion. Or so she believes...

Once Emma and her mother are eventually caught, things get all sorted out pretty quickly and it's time for Nalia to return home and hopefully pave the path for Emma to come meet the family as well. Emma has a mix of emotions going on. Seeing her mother so in love with Grom gives her strange feelings. Emma always believe her parents loved each other unconditionally, but she learns otherwise from her mother. That basically everything Emma thought she knew about her parents' relationship had been a lie.

I liked that Emma had these kinds of feelings, because they just felt real given the situation. She even hated feeling petty that her mother was finding love so quickly after her father's death--despite the way their relationship had been formed. She dances the edge of being annoying and petty though, but not quite into that territory where I am hating her. Very well done!

As I mentioned before, this is where basically everyone but Emma and Rayna go back "home" to try to clear matters of Nalia's death and hopefully get her mated to Grom after he unseals his already mated relationship to Paca who claims to have the gift of Poseidon, but really doesn't. What the group finds is chaos, as Jagen has been plotting while everyone was away and tries to instill doubt into the Syrena about Nalia and basically everyone.

But the trial isn't the only thing happening! True it's a large portion of the story, but it spirals out into so much more that includes a very unlikely rescue attempt! Of Triton was a very exciting and fairly fast paced read. I'd call it evenly paced, not too fast, not too slow, but just right, a la Goldilocks' style!

Romance wise, there wasn't too much of it this go around. Emma and Galen are apart from one another quite a bit, but the love is still there between them. We see it through their actions for one another, especially from Galen when Emma isn't around. We see all that he does to be with her despite the laws against it.

We don't even see too much with Rayna and Toraf either. Just more of them being together but never really seeing the trials or struggles or just casual intimate moments. It was a tad disappointing in some respects, but because there was so much going on, there just didn't seem to be time for romance.

The ending was shocking and a touch traumatic. I was gaping for a bit, even though it was so small an action. There were some happy surprises as well that involved Galen and Rayna as well, which shouldn't have been so surprising considering certain things, but it did come as a shock to me despite there being hints! Yeah, sometimes I get so swept up with the reading, I read things at face value and might miss a subtle hint, although I did suspect something, I just didn't think much on it! 

Anna Banks writes yet another delightful tale involving the Syrena--for mermaid is just not acceptable--that is sure to delight readers. There's a definite The Little Mermaid quality to it with some of the Syrena's curiosity towards humans and human items that never ceases to bring a smile to my face thinking of another "merperson" who enjoyed human treasures as well! This is definitely a read I recommend to any and all "merpeople" lovers!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars