Drowning Mermaids (Sacred Breath, Book 1) Paperback – January 15, 2012

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This was a highly enjoyable read. The characters were well developed, the interaction superb, and the plot thick with intriguing twists and turns. I loved the mythology that Ms. Scrieva built with her mermaid lore. They seem quite possible when one considers humanity's constant love and need to embellish what is real. Her research into history, mythology, weaponry, and the sea all shine through brightly.I think Ms. Scrieva's greatest strength in this story is the variety and depth that she places into each character. All of them feel like real people with their own feelings, emotions, and personalities. I also enjoy their flaws. A good character is a flawed character after all. In fact, I think she almost overwhelms herself with her ambition here as she builds up five sisters, three villains (one of which does not even appear here and another that is dead), and a crew of ten sailors. These are only the major characters even. It is a testament to her skill as a writer that she was able to define them as individuals at all with the limited amount of time to do so here. But, I do think she harms herself in a manner as many interesting characters seem to drift into the background and nearly all of the sailors are killed off.The storytelling is excellent. I can not count the number of times I smiled, was amused, or even outright laughed as I read. The witty banter always brought a smile to my face and I could not help but want to join in on the fun. I do not want to ruin too much of the story, but it constantly kept me guessing as to what would happen next. Even some of the more obvious plot devices were entertaining, fun, and surprising.I did take issue with one part of the book though. The fight between Trevian and Aazuria simply felt forced to me. It baffled me as I read Trevian, an extremely intelligent, kind, and understanding man, become so incredibly stubborn and disbelieving. This is a man that has a library full of mythological books about the sea, observed several things that can only be explained as paranormal with his own eyes, and even spent minutes under the water making out with Aazuria. It is almost enraging at his disbelief when we observe just how rational, disciplined, and calculating he is earlier. One could argue that this is exactly why he was so stubborn, but to me that is very flawed. A man such as that would search and look for answers with a hunger that would overwhelm his preconceived notions.Aazuria also confused me a great deal during the fight. She suddenly seemed to lose her cool and intelligent demeanor. This is understandable for a short time, but she carries it on for such a long time it feels completely irrational. This feels like a sharp contradiction to the character that had been built up so far. Especially considering Aazuria's age, I expected her to be much more understanding. Yet it is her younger sister Elandria that seems so much more mature by leaps and bounds in this instance.My other slight complaint comes from the battles. Perhaps it is simply I am so used to reading of big battles with lots of detail (perhaps far too much detail at time) but the battles felt anticlimactic and lacked suspense to me. I'm not sure if it is simply due to Ms. Scrieva putting a greater focus on the story, her trying to appeal more to women, or just a need of practice of writing fight scenes, but they were disappointing to me.These two flaws kept me from giving a full five stars, but this is easily one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a long time. I can't wait to read the next book and see where she takes this story.

Bravo Nadia Scrieva for such an enlivening series!The story begins with the grey-haired veteran, master fishing captain Trevain Murphy brooding over the loss of his crew member Leander, whom the rest of the crew affectionately referred to as “Leo.” Trevain wonders if he could possibly be losing his keen sense of reading the usual indicators in the sky, wind, and water that inform him of impending danger. Murphy’s worry stems from the fact that the weather was considerably mild the night he lost his first crew member. There was no splash or yell for help to announce a man overboard, and as the story reads in the book, “It had been a random, quiet, shadowlike loss.”What Trevain does not realize is that the death of his first crew member signals the beginning of the end of life as he has known it up to this point. As Murphy quietly broods while drinking his beer in the corner of the local strip bar, the next harbinger of change presents itself in the person of Princess Aazuria Vellamo, the next performer to take the stage and the audience by storm.The instantaneous spark of recognition and attraction with first eye contact across the room between Trevain and Aazuria lies deeper in history than either of them are aware. From the first night of their meeting Trevain feels the need to protect Aazuria, so he offers her and her sisters Corallyn and Elandria, his home to live in for as long as they need. Aazuria tries from the first meeting to tell Trevain about herself, but her life is so fantastically and wildly different than his, that he is not able to comprehend what she is saying without thinking she is joking.Although Trevain sometimes thinks Aazuria is somewhat strange (and way too young for him) he is still drawn to her by some indescribable emotion that only gets stronger with each passing day. The two of their lives grow ever more close until Trevain finally proposes marriage and Aazuria accepts. When they take a trip to see his mother in the asylum and tell her the news of their engagement, their relationship is seriously threatened when Aazuria recognizes her centuries old friend Alcyone, the mother Trevain knows as Alice.Find out about the battles they fight, some together, some apart as Trevain and Aazuria reconcile their radically different lifestyles and how their relationship stands up to the scrutiny of totally different cultures.Readers of paranormal, science fiction, romance, and mythology genera’s will relish this delightful telling of a small nation of Merfolk.

The story was ok but I found the prose and dialogue hard going at times.Don't know if I will read other books in series

This book was really slow to start and I didnt think I would enjoy it at all. Once you get a quarter of the way through you begin to know and understand the characters more, as well as the world they come from. I purchased the 2nd book straight after. Dont give up if you have just started this, it does get better.

Not your typical mermaid storyline, and not your typical mermaid. Enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Good idea but missed opportunities all round. The lack of plausible backstory or world building left me constantly wondering how these people moved, breathed, saw, ate - generally lived at the bottom of the ocean. Whilst the relationships were interesting, after a time I became so irritated at the lack of practical explanation I stopped reading.

This is a really lovely interesting book. The Mermaids in this story are totally different . Enjoyed every minute of it