"Between The Land And The Sea" by Derrolyn Anderson

From Goodreads: "Something extraordinary is lurking in the deep ocean waters off the coast of Aptos, California. In just a few weeks after moving to the small beach town, sixteen year old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can only manage to survive her increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might just be able to unlock the mystery of her past to learn how to appease the mysterious forces that seem to want something from her...and maybe even find true love along the way.

Between The Land And The Sea is the first book in the series "Marina's Tales". Her story continues on in book two, The Moon And The Tide."

I know that mermaid books surged in popularity a few months back but for some reason I never jumped on  the mermaid bandwagon and looking back all I can do is shake my head at my stupidity. By not jumping on the bandwagon I now know that I missed out on a ton of great releases- this book included. If I had to sum this book up in a few words it would be "simply breathtaking". Everything about this book was done right, from the character development, to the unique plot line, to the romance, to the pace of the story itself- I seriously could not have asked for a better read.

As mentioned, the character development in this book was superb. Derrolyn masterfully molded characters that were so easy to relate to and characters who the reader could truly come to love, from Marina, to Ethan, to Abby, to Megan, to Evie, to Cruz (so basically all of the characters). Because Marina was so cultured and financially better off than all of the characters she could have really let it get to her head, becoming an arrogant person that no one could stand, but she didn't allow that to happen at all. She was genuinely a nice person who was entirely concerned about everyone around her. As for Ethan? Well, he totally could have been a cliched jocky/ overly popular/ pretty boy but he was anything but that, like Marina, he was beyond selfless, always putting everyone else's welfare in front of his own. Cruz, Megan, and Evie were the cherry on top of this book, adding such a comedic spin to it- I always had a smile on my face when reading of their antics.

All in all? Well, clearly I enjoyed this book! I highly recommend it to everyone (and I truly do believe that it can make those somewhat wary of mermaid stories into believers). Derrolyn is an author that we should all keep our eyes on- this book is truly one of the better books I have read in quite some time and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, "The Moon and The Tide"!

Rating: 5/5

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.