Wave Singers

Wave Singers

by Echo Fox

4 out of 5

Synopsis
The only future that eighteen year old Merry Malone sees for herself is one involving music. She needs to win a music scholarship or all her dreams will come to nothing.

However, the discovery of a mysterious locket leads Merry to a faraway land, with strange customs and an even stranger people, the Mer. Music plays a magical role here and Merry finds herself warming to this alternate reality.

In an epic battle to free the Mer from their tyrant king, should Merry trust Leander, her childhood best friend or Dylan, a man of the Mer?

EQUILIBRIA SERIES
Trouble is brewing in the harmonious land of Pangaea.

Ever since the continent was split into it’s four elemental parts by Strife, the balance has been edging ever so slightly in favour of the dark.

Now, four elementals just coming into their powers must meet Strife head on and restore balance to their world.

In Wave Singers, we wonder; which future will Merry choose?



Review
Merry enjoys her life, living by the beach, hanging with her friends, and hoping to get a singing scholarship. She's very content with where her life is heading. Until foul weather while diving causes her to black out, and wake in a land she couldn't imagine.

This is a lovely little story, and a spin on the mermaid folklore (I wanted to say "tale/tail", but I've hit my pun quota this month).
Merry and her best friend Leander, find themselves on a mysterious beach, and in an effort to get home, they bump into some locals camping in the nearby forest.
I thought the similarities in Persephone story, and the fact that she is their goddess was an interesting choice. I did wonder if it would play a bigger part than it did. But, it provides the perfect ruse to keep Merry on the island a little longer, and to cause her some embarrassment (note to self: do not make eye contact with anyone whilst eating pomegranates!).

I liked where the story went, introducing this small group of people, and then building on the world and the conflict around them.
The whole air of the book was very gentle and old-fashioned - it felt like it had come straight from a fable or mythology.

There are some good twists along the way, and you do spend your time guessing which side is really the good guys.

I did feel that Merry and Co. were a little bit too complacent in places, and Merry just accepted everything around her, although she did her detective work when they all went swimming.
((Sorta Spoiler)) Oh, and Leander. Everybody was making a fuss about Merry being a human, and Leander just kinda faded into the background. Why didn't the Mer people kick up a fuss about him? Why weren't they more concerned with how he'd gotten them there, and why?!

So all in all, a fun adventure, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Goodreads link
Amazon.co.uk