Review: A simple chick lit novel? Not! There's more to it than that.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 18, 2012
Working as a lifeguard in Fascination Island was Audyn's way of dealing with a cheating boyfriend. She whisks herself away from the busy life of New York, calling in a favour to work for a family friend. She establishes a "no boys" rule over the duration of this job/vacation. Things seem fine until she sees herself caught in between Levi and Tristan, and a feud she only discovered when they came into picture. Just as suddenly, things are getting all crazy around Fascination Island, and it's up to Audyn to fix it...What's my first impression of Emerald Isle? I thought it was just a simple chick lit about a typical love triangle over the summer. Little did I know, there was more than just that involved. I don't know why it didn't click on me that this was a story with mermaids in it. Somehow it happened to slip my mind until recent events in the book gave the hint of it. Well, that was unexpectedly a good kind of surprise for me. Not that I haven't read any mermaid books recently (I have. Quite a few in fact), but catching me off guard over book plots is a rare thing as of the moment (let's just say after having read a number of books, I tend to easily guess what a book's about. I'm sure most of you booklovers there can relate to what I feel), so kudos to that!I'd have to say I like Audyn's thoughts and the way they were expressed through the Kate Hinderer's writing. However, I find it hard to relate with Audyn most of the time. As much as I like her voice, I don't like the way she makes choices. Sometimes she says one thing but does another, like she can't stand firm on her own decision. She also comes out a bit full of herself (she drop dead gorgeous, with a rockin' body to boot, and she knows it) that I'm not really keen of, but I welcome the change in a protagonist's self-esteem. They don't always have to meek and modest.I didn't buy Audyn's and Tristan's relationship, something just feels odd over how it progressed; one time Audyn's telling Tristan to get off her case and the next thing you know they're kissing each other passionately. I don't mind the love story, but I question the development.Now speaking of Tristan, I find him too cheesy with his words. That had me puzzling over if his "bad boy" image is even appropriate for the setting. I mean, I know bad boys fall in love too, but his lines just seem too much. Levi seems to have won personality-wise, he may have been deceiving and all in the beginning but his loyalty to Audyn is seen in the end. Although, I'm not picking a team over these two at all, and quite frankly I'm leaning more on Falcon over all this. Teehee!What caught my interest the most is the feud between Tristan and Levi's mer tribes. I was both agitated and excited over what exactly was the enemy's plan.  I love it when I couldn't guess how it would turn out!  Summing things up, I think Emerald Isle is a good and pleasing book to read. It has less than 200 pages or so you can finish in a few short hours that leave you smiling at the end.