Review: The Fate of the Muse
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2011
When I read the first book in Derrolyn Anderson's "Marina's Tales" series, "Between the Land and the Sea", I was completely blown away- the book was everything that I had hoped for. While the next book, "The Moon and the Tide", did have everything that I had liked from the original book, a captivating and fast-paced storyline, likeable characters, and whatnot, I did find myself growing frustrated at the turn Marina and Ethan's relationship took.In "Between the Land and the Sea" Marina and Ethan's relationship was simply "SQUEE"-worthy (they were just so cute together, her the little willowy artisty girl, him the popular All-American boy), I found that in "The Moon and the Tide" their relationship started to change, becoming not so cute (with Ethan becoming quite possessive and demanding), and in the large majority of this book, (it pains me to admit this) I found myself actually hoping that they would break up just so I wouldn't have to read of their constant bickering back and forth.The main reason why I wanted them to break up was because of lack of trust- on both their parts. Marina didn't trust Ethan to not fall in love with his ex all over again, Ethan didn't trust Marina to not go running off into the sea, deciding to become a mermaid rather than stay human, with him. Also, I found it quite frustrating whenever they would bicker about something one of them (typically Ethan) would say something along the lines of, "Well, it will get better when we are married." In constantly saying to one another, "Things will get better in marriage", they really showed their age (17 years old) and their immaturity- in no way are they prepared to take that HUGE leap (I can't help but think to myself, "You don't trust one another when you are just dating, what will it be like when you are MARRIED? No better, I am sure."). Furthermore, I feel that Marina and Ethan are just holding one another back- that they cannot reach their full potential when together.*NOTE: I didn't dislike Marina and Ethan being together in the ENTIRE novel, there were a few times in the book where something cute would happen between Ethan and Marina  ie. a look exchanged between them and whatnot) that would make me root for them to be together, but these moments were few and far between, in my opinion.That being said, I did enjoy the other aspects of this book. I loved when Marina was globetrotting with Shayla (specifically when they were at the photo shoot in Hawaii), I loved when Marina was spending her nights surfing (I have never had any inclination to go surfing before, mainly because I can barely swim, but I really want to give it a go after reading Derrolyn's beautiful descriptions of it), and I loved seeing Cruz come into his own!All in all, while this was not my most favourite book in the series, I still enjoyed it and I would highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a light-hearted and fun read! I cannot wait to see where Derrolyn takes the next book in the series!