surprising depth

I didn't quite know what to expect from this story and it started off kind of dour.

Priddy got into some bad drugs at a party and he's never been the same since. That he's an addict is mentioned but I can't say that I bought into that; however, that is neither here nor there since it is not, nor should it be, the focus of the book.

This is Priddy's tale of finding love in the most unlikeliest of places: the sea.

It's a magical tale and one that snuck up on me, truth be told. I wasn't truly invested until over the halfway mark and I didn't much care for Priddy initially either. But Priddy and Merou won me over.

Merou is a larger than life personality: gregarious, charming, devastatingly handsome and keeps odd hours. Read: he has a tendency to vanish periodically.

Priddy, on the other hand, is introverted, shy and has a low opinion of himself. Though it's not ever specifically addressed I think his upbringing was less than ideal.

Their journey towards happily ever after is fraught with obstacles and turns into a bit of an adventure which kept my interest, but the ending was perfect. I loved the afterword so hard.

This was my first Harper Fox and won't be my last. I like the way this story was constructed and both of these characters came to life though the prose as well as Chris Clog's narration which was on point.

Recommend to paranormal romance fans.

#LGBTQ #paranormal #hurtcomfort #romance #ohthefeels

7 people found this helpful

Slow. Erotic moments are 'fade to black'.

Incredibly frustrating.

Its so slowly paced that I was just praying that at some point something exciting will happen.

When the romance finally happens 4 hours into this 7 hour book, it feels so rushed. The Erotic scene is skipped completely and does a 'fade to black' moment to skip over the details.

I hate when Erotic love making is skipped over, especially when you been dealing with an incredibly slow build up to it. It feels insulting. It's a romance, we know what's going to happen, break up the story with a fun adult moment to appreciate and further the relationship building for a reader.

The 2nd scene, 5 hours into this book is equally as frustratingly bad. It's rushed over and feels so unnatural. Why tf is a rubber being used on a merman but merman doesn't have to use one on a human? The excuse for it is so incredibly dumb and poorly written.

5 people found this helpful

Untapped potential holds it back

I enjoyed this well enough, but some fractured story elements distracted me. I suffered from pretty severe secondhand embarrassment on behalf of Priddy for the first half of the book once he met Merou. Merou, on the other hand, is a blank wall of a person, totally dull until well into the third act--and even then, we hardly learn much about him or get much of a personality beyond a few bad jokes. Their interactions are cute, but there are really only a few scenes that bond them (some light jealousy, some protectiveness). The unique circumstances of their romance has potential for so much more and the potential is left untapped.

The declarations and realizations of love felt rushed, and I would have preferred a bit more time with the boys developing feelings before delving head first into the deep ocean of eternal love, haha. Merou's reluctance with Priddy made sense, but once Priddy's life was changing, I would have liked to have seen Merou express wild joy or love. But we never get a moment with Merou saying, "I want you forever," even if he doesn't want this life for Priddy. The story needs that "I want you."

Priddy's major changes also occur at a rapid pace, and he's suddenly perfect at his new sea life. A period of adjustment to his life with Merou would have made more sense and been cooler to see. It was just too easy. That made it boring and not believable. If a person really had undergone such dramatic changes, I think there'd been some, well, drama.

The conclusion feels completely comically detached from everything that preceded it. It's oddly casual, lots of lore dropped all in one strange conversation, not enough space or time given to flesh it all out, random characters being introduced, dulled reactions from our lead Priddy. I was confused about what happened with this bit. Most of it could have (and should have) been cut.

I love the storyteller bookending to the book, though. It tugs at my heart strings.

Despite all that criticism, it was a quick fun listen. Just not great, not everything it could have been.

The narration is perfect! I love the voice he does for Merou. He adds a hint of mirth, or maybe it's more like self-assured coolness, to Merou's words. It warms Merou, whose dialogue could be interpreted as cold if readers were left to the text alone. The narrator did a lot to bring life to this story. Beautiful performance!

1 person found this helpful

A lovely paranormal romance .

This is my second book by Harper Fox and I enjoyed it so much. I love stories where vulnerable characters with difficult backstories get a chance to find out they deserve to be loved. M was the perfect match for Priddy and I adored their relationship. Thank you to a wonderful author and narrator.

1 person found this helpful

Good story that didn't quite know how to end

I'm giving this four stars for the beautiful writing, much higher quality than any story about merfolk has any right to be. But the truth is, I could have done without the entire last hour of the audiobook, as we were hit with a ton of lore at the very end, where it does us no good, and I did not like what happened with one of the main characters (not either of the two protagonists) and, um, who he ended up with. It felt a little out of the blue. And honestly I wasn't crazy about the villain of the story, either. Not that anyone ever "likes" a villain, I suppose, but this one came into play so late, had such a relatively small part, was so cartoonishly evil, and was taken out of commission so far from the end, that I thought he was completely extraneous. I disagree strongly with the reviewers who say the romance was lukewarm, however.

Chris Clog was a decent narrator (though he could have used lessons in how to pronounce the word "anemone," which he mispronounced three times). My only complaint was that he sounded a bit old for either of the main characters (and yes, I know one of them is very, very old indeed, but my impression is that he wasn't supposed to SOUND like it), and the two of them weren't distinguished enough vocally that I could easily tell them apart.

Overall it was a good book, with a few issues. I will keep it in my library and I enjoyed listening to it, but I doubt I'll ever listen to it again.

1 person found this helpful

Intriguing story, great narration.

I think the narration made this a better experience than if I had just read it. I did find the story intriguing (this was my first merman), but ultimately something was lacking - I didn't feel he was Merou's one true love based on Merou's past. I liked that this was included in the Romance Package, I wouldn't have picked it otherwise and definitely want to read/listen to more if Megan Fox's work!

1 person found this helpful

Narrator made this even better!

I enjoyed this, but, like with a lot of Fox's books I found myself somewhat lost in the folklore. I wish she'd focus less on that because I do love her characters, but I some times lose them in the details that I don't find as interesting. Still this was lovely and I was a bit teary by the end.

Audio was outstanding, I will be looking for more from this narrator.

1 person found this helpful

A love tail💚

Whimsy tales or tails, beautiful writing, lovely narrating and a grand HEA one could ask for. Always the very best if everything with Harper Fox!

1 person found this helpful

Delightful, imaginative tale

Harper writes about the mystical like no one else. This is a charming tale, written so beautifully you find yourself believing in mermen and magic. The narration is also well done. Do yourself a favor, buy the book & audio and sit back and enjoy.

1 person found this helpful

Beautiful

Amazingly entertaining, both performance and story. Thank you for this tale. Top notch! Bravo Harper Fox!