Anna Banks

The Syrena Legacy #1

Of Poseidon

Rachel Kanyid

At first I wasn't so sure about this one.. It took me about 100 pages before I really started to enjoy reading it, but I feel like the last 100 pages really pulled everything together and I'm definitely going to read the next book!

Courtney Gendreau

I loved this book so much I need to know what happens next here is my review 

http://rainydayreadingreviews.blogspo...

mevi

2.5 stars. buddy read

I remember in 2013 when this book was all the rage. Most of my friends were hounding me to read this book and now that I'm older.. I don't understand the hype that much.

I was really close to DNFing this book until the 50% mark. In the beginning, I felt the author couldn't figure out how she wanted the world to be and the characters were a mess. But halfway through it felt like the author got their groove and it became good after that. There was a major cliffhanger that I desperately need answers for but I will wait for this to go on sale/free on kindle before that happens. All in all, it is a mediocre book that you can fly through when you need something easy. Bonus points if you like mermaids.

jupiter

Listening to the audio book and the narrator did an amazing job! 

besides that,, this book was..... yikes. not as cringy or bad as most books in this genre are. obviously there’s scenes that are super far stretched but there’s mermaids so who cares.

my problem w this book was that the only black character (mc bsf) died at the beginning of the book; was it for plot purposes? was it to help the mc achieve some sort of white savior complex? not sure. considering everyone is white or ‘tan’, killing off the only black character or poc in the book was a bad move even for 2012. easily could’ve kept her alive and shown emma using her power 🤷‍♀️

elle sommer

The fantasy/dream of Galen, the Syrena, and Emma's Ability make for a great tale! I love this story with a passion! Definitely worth reading

Samantha Chavez 

** spoiler alert **
           I bought this book because Marissa Meyer like it, and since she is an amazing author, I believed that Anna Banks would be as well. I was wrong. Emma is a whiny little brat, who sulks and complains about everything. She has a "character transformation" which the readers don't see. She goes from being depressed to stubborn. And not only stubborn but "mean." It's annoying. Galen, of course, doesn't see this, and falls in love with her. I wish I could describe Galen, but I can't, because all he did was talk about Emma. All they did was fight, so I don't understand how they started liking each other. And then at the end we find out that Emma's mother is Nalia. Wow. What a surprise. I totally didn't see that coming. I guess if you like sappy books with a whiny girl then go ahead.

Emma Motze

I think the way this book starts out is so funny and is a complete attention grabber. The book continues on and gets better as it goes.

Jo Young

This is an amazing book! worth reading :)

Cassidy C

Oh my goodness! I loved this book! It was so interesting. This is one of the first books I have read about mermaids(syrenas, as the author calls them). I hope the next book comes out soon!

Christian Huss

Stars: 4.5
Here is a short summary of the book:
Emma is just your average teenager until a sudden tragic accident changes her life forever. While vacationing with her friend, Chloe, Emma literally stumbles into Galen, a cute young man who also happens to be a merman (although, his species prefers the term 'Syrena'). Galen immediately recognizes Emma's violet eyes as a Syrena trait, but her white hair does not fit the profile (apparently all Syrena have dark hair). He also finds it strange that she lives among humans, as this is a direct violation of Syrena law. After her embarrassing run-in with Galen and his sister, Rayna, Emma and Chloe go surfing. They are a fair distance from the beach when a shark attack ensues. Chloe is drug below the surface and Emma in powerless to help her friend, nonetheless she dives in after Chloe. Emma attempts to pull her from the shark's jaws, but these attempts are futile. In her frustration she commands the shark to drop Chloe, and to her surprise, the shark complies. The lifeguard arrives and pulls Emma and Chloe into the boat, however, Chloe is no longer alive. Unbeknownst to Emma, Galen saw the events transpire and was unable to get there in time to save the day. He also witnessed her strange ability to command the shark, a gift that only the direct descendants of Poseidon are known to possess.
Emma finds it extremely difficult to continue on after the death of her best friend and is completely oblivious as to how she will survive the school year alone. Galen, who just happens to be a Syrena prince and the ambassador for the Syrena and humans, wants to learn more about Emma and thus sets out to find her. He finds her school and immediately enrolls in the hopes of getting closer to Emma and finding out who and what she truly is. A few strange events transpire and Emma learns that she is actually half Syrena. She begins a complicated relationship with Galen as he teaches her about his world and the abilities that she may soon possess. She also learns that the Syrena are split into two groups, those under the descendants of Poseidon and those under the descendants of Triton. Both royal houses are supposed to carry a strange talent within their bloodlines. It is possible for the royals of Poseidon to inherit the ability to command the animals of the sea and the royal descendants of Triton are supposed to have an ability that enables them to have some sort of control over the water (this exact gift is not completely explained, as no descendant has actually inherited it yet). 
Galen is also keeping a crucial detail away from Emma. If she truly possesses the gift of Poseidon, she must mate with Galen's older brother, Grom (a descendant of Triton), in order to keep the gifts alive and ensure the survival of the Syrena. The only problem is that Galen truly loves her and would never want her to end up with his older brother, a man that still loves his lost mate, Nalia.


At first, I thought this book would just be one of those typical mermaid tales in which a girl finds out she can grow a tail and goes to live as a royal fish under the sea. I was totally wrong. There was more depth than I thought there would be, and there were some fairly interesting plot twists (but so some were a bit predictable). I loved the fact that Emma was a strong female character that formed her own thoughts and was not afraid to voice her own opinions. There was also tons of humor and minor characters that kept the story fresh and interesting.
I loved the fact that Galen turned out to be a bit naive whenever human girls entered the picture, which just made the story even more hilarious. For an ambassador between humans and Syrena, he did not quite understand human customs and word choices (as he often mixed up the terms "mating" and "dating"). His constant bickering relationship with his younger sister, Rayna, brought a lighter tone to the story, too. Rayna and her mate, Toraf, had a great love/hate relationship that displayed how one can showcase their love and another refuses to acknowledge it.
It was a bit predictable when another character that 'possessed' Emma's gift was introduced. It seemed that Galen's and Emma's relationship just might become possible, and suddenly all hope was ripped away. The ending was also a complete cliffhanger!!!! I must read what happens next!

This review was also published on knightingalereviews.blogspot.com: http://knightingalereviews.blogspot.c...

Rebecca Briesemeister

4.5 Stars
This book was a lot of fun to read. Upon finishing it, I immediately had to pick up the 2nd. This is a solid YA novel that focuses on a girl finding out she is a mermaid. I loved how nostalgic this book was for me because of the time I spent watching The Little Mermaid and H2O growing up. 
I really thought the romance in this book was believable and grew at a steady pace with appropriate fall backs and moments. 
Recommended for; anyone who loves reading about mermaids with the right amount of romance

Morgana

** spoiler alert **
           Emma è una ragazza assolutamente normale ed insignificante, o almeno così cerca di farci credere lei. Dice che nel suo liceo nessuno la nota e quindi tutti si aspettano una ragazza senza niente di fisicamente non dico attraente ma appariscente almeno ed invece? Emma ha i capelli biondi ma non un biondo normale, biondi praticamente bianchi e gli occhi viola, com'è possibile che nessuno la guardi?? Come? anche solo per curiosità!
Va in vacanza con la sua amica Chloe ed ovviamente sbatte subito sul più figo della spiaggia, un certo Galen Forza che non ha solo il cognome italiano ma viene descritto da lei come bello come un modello italiano (?). Galen e sua sorella Rayna ovviamente non sono umani ( ma per fortuna nemmeno vampiri ) sono syrena ( si, quelli con le pinne ) e hanno anche loro gli occhi viola così come tutte le sirene ma hanno i capelli scuri come TUTTE le sirene tranne emma perché emma non poteva non fare la Mary Sue.
Il pezzo in cui Galen spiega a Emma che syrena si pronuncia con la Y e non con la I fa molto ridere, visto che in originale aveva un senso, ma da noi quel senso di perde del tutto visto che a sentirlo parlato non si noterebbe proprio la differenza tra le tue parole.
Ovviamente Emma e Galem si innamorano ed ovviamente viene fuori che c'è anche la storia romantica (come no!) dietro.
Ridicola la parte in qui spiegano che Galen e Emma non sono semplici fidanzatini che pomiciano nel garage ma Emma è la sua "compagna" << E non una compagna qualunque, la tua compagna speciale>> vi prego, siamo tornati alle scuole elementari? Servono anche i bigliettini con "ti piaccio S/N? ti piaccio tanto? " pietà! Stiamo scadendo nel ridicolo.



La storia di Tritone e Poseidone e dei discendenti non ha senso. Se ogni tre generazioni sono costretti a sposarsi alla fine dovrebbero essere tutti parenti no? La prima generazione è quella dei figli, la seconda sono cugini c'è poco da fare ed io sono pessima con le parentele ragazzi. 

Il libro è scritto MALE ma così male che da fastidio leggerlo. Non so se si colpa di chi lo ha tradotto (non credo proprio) ma alcuni pezzi non hanno senso, tipo:

"Prendo una boccetta e spalmo la porcellana su tutto il viso" la cosa? vi siete mai spalmati la porcellana in faccia voi? Io penso che faccia male.
Oltretutto l'autrice è ossessionata con l'essere pallida, ha qualche complesso per caso? E poi questa storia della pelle di porcellana che ha solo Emma urla talmente tanto di Mary Sue! Continua poi a dire che le labbra di Emma arrossiscono. Io sono abbastanza sicura che le labbra non possano proprio arrossire, ma comunque suona come una cosa folle.

Parliamo di Rayna che è forse l'unico personaggio un minimo interessante di tutto il libro, gestito però veramente veramente male. E' la sorella gemella di Galen ed ovviamente essendo la sorella bella del protagonista maschile deve essere per forza ostile alla protagonista femminile e fare la stronzetta, se no lo Young Adult non può andare avanti! ( originalità, dove sei?).E' promessa ad uno della sua razza che però lei non vuole, e come viene trattata questa cosa? sembra che sia colpa di lei, tutti si schierano apertamente contro la decisione di Rayna di non "accoppiarsi" con lui ( perfino suo fratello ) e ad un certo punto il suo promesso le dice perfino che la conosce da sempre da quando erano piccoli, chi la amerebbe più di lui? tanto con qualcuno deve finire.. COSA? lei precisa che non vuole accoppiarsi e il riassunto finale è "sei una donna, che altro vorresti fare?" eppure il fratello ha la sua stessa età ma nessuno gli dice che si deve accoppiare eh no lui deve aspettare la mary sue!
Tra l'altro sono i maschi che "scelgono" la femmina dopo aver passato del tempo con ognuna di loro ?????? che cosa significa questa cosa??
Le donne hanno un tempo limite per trovare un compagno ( accettare anzi, perché sono gli uomini che "vagliano" le candidate, le donne sono soltanto merce in esposizione ) se non lo fanno e non si accoppiano basta che un uomo vada dal tutore e chieda di sposarla e puff! sposati! Infatti Rayna viene data via così dal fratello e lei nemmeno lo sa, lo scopre da Galen che fa passare la cosa come un cosa da niente tipo "si, sei sposata e nemmeno lo sapevi, ora legalmente ci devi anche fare figli" scherzate, vero? e lui ha la sua stessa età ma dice che ancora non ha mai vagliato nessuna "femmina" di syrena e per lui va benissimo, a lui nessuno mette pressione. Perfino Emma appena lo scopre ci rimane male, forse perché capisce che una volta dentro quel mondo finirebbe anche lei tra quella da "vagliare".

Candyce Kirk

As a big fan of mermaids, this book really jumped out at me. I haven't read many mermaid books, especially not with Greek Mythology intertwined in the story. Anna Banks did an amazing job of bringing this all together!

Our main character Emma is easy to relate to, seeing how she's such a klutz. I can trip on air, so I totally relate! I mean her first interaction with Galen is her running into him! On top of that Emma is really strong. She loses her best friend and the grief is something that could easily drown her. Emma is a fighter though. She's stubborn and lets people know this.

Galen is Syrena and a Prince. He keeps an eye on the humans (let's just say Syrena don't like them) and stumbles upon Emma. Her purple eyes give make him notice her immediately, because there just has to be more to that! Even though he's a prince and being on land for a long while is frowned upon, he feels the need to be with Emma.

Of Poseidon is filled with a lot of humor, a forbidden romance and amazing characters. This is the first book in a trilogy and I love the amount of worldbuilding the author put in this book. Learning about Syrena, their houses, how they live, etc. was really well done. I had a clear idea of how everything work without being overwhelmed.

I loved the twists and turns throughout this story. A lot happens in this book, but it wasn't overwhelming. The fact the author used dual POV was really helpful. I think this was definitely a help in understanding how everything fit together (also seeing Galen experience the human world is a lot of fun). Her writing is smooth and I could've finished this book in a day if I wasn't buddyreading with someone. 

The amazing cast of characters is what really made this book though. On top of Emma and Galen, Rachel is one of my favorite characters. She does the impossible and seems to enjoy it. Of Poseidon is a lot of fun and definitely a perfect summer read. Who doesn't want to read about mermaids while spending time at the beach?

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It's while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk. Of Poseidon is the start of The Syrena Legacy series by Anna Banks.

Madi Stokes

Hot damn!!! I was expecting this to be so good! But I honestly couldn’t put it down! So excited for the rest of the series. Galen is a dream boat 😍

Hannah

4.5-5 stars

that was really really good! :)

Danielle H.

The way this book ended...I am so glad I have the next book! I loved this book. If I could, I would give it a 4 1/2 stars. ONLY because I was able to see every twist and figure everything out before the characters did. Since I can't, rounding up.

Samantha Seney

Holy shiitake mushrooms, that was good! I have read a book that fast in a while! Some endings make me sad and some make me angry, this one made me angry in a good way! There better be another book because I'm buying it the day it comes out!

Emma Myers

** spoiler alert **
           As an Emma, I was disappointed to have the same name as her. Emma is your manic pixie dream girl. Whose best is killed my a shark a second in. Then completely forgotten about because some emo sexist fuckboy has a hard on for Emma. 

Her friend's death, who is the only POC in the whole book (and the best written person IN the book) is literally forgotten almost completely except to randomly blame Emma for her death. 

The main love interest is completely set on her being this mermaid thing. It's almost a horrible obsession. Stalkerish. He and his whole species see women as baby incubators and nothing more. So pretty much he wants to bang the ever living crap out of Emma. 

BUT for some long pointless reason she belongs to his brother who doesn't know she exists so drama.

The main love interest's sister is the most annoying person I have ever read. She says no and means yes. Which is PERFECT. Teach kids no means yes. She also causes 99% of Emma's problems with her whining. 

The mother is also obnoxious. She seems to really care about her daughter's sex life. Not in a mother way. But like a fangirl with an otp. Weirdest shit I have ever read. 

I had to literally listen to this at the highest audible fast forward setting to get through it because I could care less. I don't know the character's names. Can't remember anything about them in t-minus 3 seconds.

Just skip.

Jess Houston

Its /okay/. Just wasn't my cup of tea. :( I may continue the series, but on the kindle. and not any time soon.

 Bruna Acioly Leão

All the stars. all the love. I could not put this book down. I had to force myself to put it down to study. I read it all at once. I loved it. It was everything. My eyes burn from sleep deprivation. I regret nothing.

Roos Kuijper 

I really like this book. Yeah, I saw the plottwists coming but I dont care. I love the world of the syrena's and I am really excited to discover more of the world. I liked the characters and I am so curious what will happen next.

Of Poseidon The Syrena Legacy #1

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