Review: A Romance that is actually... Romantic
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 31, 2013
The Mermaid of Redwood Cove is a marvelous book. It is written by Alesha Cary who must be a born writer. Her style is flawless in delivery.The Mermaid of Redwood Cove was recommended to me so I took the plunge. I confess it was my first "romance" book. I don't know if the author would be pleased with my assessment. I found it to be less of a "romance" and more of a "romantic" book. There is a difference.The book is billed as romance with a touch of the paranormal. I'd classify it male safe with a touch of mermaid. In other words, while it is a nominal romance pleasing to women, it is not so mushy as to frighten away men. It is not a bodice ripper. It is in fact pleasingly romantic and a triumph of restraint which is the mark of a great writer.One gets the feeling that all the characters get what they want in the end without the messy details.From the first page Cary sets the hook as the heroine makes a discovery and also finds to her surprise that she has an indefinable but real bond with the sea. This serves her well later in the book.Further in, there is the "love interest." A real man's man. And later on the on the conflict.Cary, unlike some writers, doesn't bedevil her characters with so much strife and turmoil that the story comes off reading like a thriller. In her smooth way she adds just the right amount of spice to the brew to keep you eagerly reading.Cary writes in a way that lets the reader have a pretty good sense of where the story is going. What keeps you turning pages is to see if you were right about it. I was right. Ha! And that was a good thing because a twist ending would have diminished the story.In the end everyone is happy including the reader.Cary is a mature and GREAT story teller who is obviously comfortable with her material.I can't recommend her work highly enough. I just hope she gets "found" by a good publisher who can make use of her abundant talent to propel her to the heights to which I believe that she is capable. All she would need do to earn her place is to just keep on doing what she's doing.Alesha Cary gets five dandy stars and is a writer to support and keep your eye on.She is a writer of romance who is so good that it's...romantic...and male approved. Now that's saying something!