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The Summer of Chasing Mermaids eBook Sarah Ockler

Download As PDF : The Summer of Chasing Mermaids eBook Sarah Ockler

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids eBook Sarah Ockler

Of course I was super excited for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. I mean, it's a contemporary retelling of The Little Mermaid, with an interracial romance! Elyse has left her home in Tobago because it holds too many painful memories of what she lost. She just can't breathe there, so she heads to Atargatis Cove, Oregon to stay with her aunt and cousin. While there she gets caught up in a plan to save the cove from commercial development, finds her voice, and finds true love.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was definitely unique and interesting. I don't think I've read a book that focused so heavily on sailing and seaside tourism before. Christian's (the love interest) father and the mayor make a bet for the upcoming pirate regatta. If Christian wins, he gets the mayor's boat. If he loses, Christian's father must sell the houses to the development project. Well, no one wants to give up their summer homes. The cove is full of happy memories, so Christian is determined to win. Elyse has the sea in her blood, so she becomes his first mate and helps him get his boat race ready. While this was a unique plot, I can't say that I full cared. This whole bet business seemed silly, and I didn't believe for a second that Christian's father would stick to his word, so it was kind of a waste of their time.

What I did really love about The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was the challenging of gender roles! Of course, Christian's father takes issue with Elyse being first mate. He thinks she should stick to the mermaid parade because she's a woman. Well, Elyse is having none of that! She knows the sea and she knows boats; she's racing! Then there's the matter of Christian's little brother, Sebastian. He wants to march in the mermaid parade, but his father says no because he's suppose to be a man! And the parade coordinators say no because he's suppose to be with the boys in the pirate parade! I was actually quite surprised that my favorite part would be centered around a child, but Sebastian is wise beyond his years. He's six, so he doesn't know that he's making a statement about gender roles. He just knows that he's the only one who believes in mermaids, so he should be allowed to participate!

I also really enjoyed the romance. It's not insta-love at all. Elyse and Christian work side-by-side for weeks. There's definitely an attraction there and some kissing. They get to know each other super well over the course of the story. Even though Elyse can't speak, she opens up to him in ways she hasn't with anyone since the accident. Christian is just as open with her. Then things get sexy!

I did really enjoy The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. It did feel long at times, since I wasn't fully invested in this community project to save the Cove. I wanted to see more of Elyse rediscovering herself and of course, the romance! I am curious about what comes after the ending though. It just kind of ends. I assume things work out for the better, but maybe they don't and plans change? I don't know. It felt hopeful to me though.

*Disclaimer: I received this book as part of the blog tour for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.


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The Summer of Chasing Mermaids eBook Sarah Ockler Reviews

Even though I still think the "rich guy heartbreaker" trope has been done to death in too many YA and NA books, I am still giving The Summer of Chasing Mermaids five stars (and I wish I could give it more). I wish I could give a copy to every YA/NA author who thinks slut shaming, whitewashing, and flunking the Bechtel Test somehow makes for compelling reading.

This year hasn't been great for my IR romance reading habit. Between the colorism fail and the endlessly tired tropes of billionaires and bikers, I've just been kind of bored. If anything, I've found more awesome heroines, especially darker-skinned heroines with natural hair styles in comics like Princeless #1, Fight Like a Girl #1 and Jem and The Holograms #1.

There are few romances that I consider really feminist. I need a heroine who may go through trials but is always strong or growing towards strength without needing a man to get her there. I need to see real female friendships. I need to see body acceptance. I DON'T need slut shaming or virginity-worshipping. I had that strong heroine in Elyse who, in her own words said "I was in love, just like in the stories. But unlike those fairy-tale girls, love didn't save me; it changed me. Changed me into someone who could save myself."

Save herself? Give that chica a prize!!!

A tragic boating accident silenced her voice for good, and she moved to Oregon in order to heal (and perhaps to run away). And though there were times I wanted her to stop feeling sorry for herself, it made sense that she struggled but kept going on, finding a purpose to her life and finding her voice. From helping Christian restore The Queen of Cups to hunting mermaids with his adorable little brother Sebastian.

The female friendships just had me cheering. It is so great to read a novel in which the women aren't stabbing each other in the back over the hawt guy du jour. I loved how Elyse (in her way), Kirby and Vanessa talked so openly about their sexuality, owning it as something healthy. I really loved Elyse's guardian Lemon and her coven of witches who actually celebrated menstruation as a ritual. How often do we EVER read that in a YA book? In fact, how often do heroines have periods? It's like authors are terrified to write about something so natural. And I loved how the circle of women were so supportive of one another.

At first, I thought Christian would just be another in a long string of "sexy misunderstood playboy" types that the romance genre is swamped with, but Ockler gave him depth. She didn't concentrate on his past nor did she have him slut shaming the women he'd been with. And once he decided to be with Elyse, he really was WITH her. He listened to her voice, treated her no different than any other person, even though she couldn't speak, and he was vulnerable in a way that heroes of this type are seldom allowed to be. Christian had as much to learn from Elyse as she from him. I really loved his relationship with his brother too.

While Elyse and Christian were awesome, my heart was smitten by Christian's little brother Sebastian. He was just so sweet and innocent with his love of mermaids. I hated those who tried to steal his innocent joy and cheered when determined women stepped up to allow him his moment to shine. The part where Elyse, Kirby and Vanessa dressed him up to march in the mermaid parade just had me saying "you just go boy!" Sadly, there were some readers who read far more into Sebastian's wanting to dress as a mermaid as some kind of "agenda". I just saw a little boy who liked what he liked and didn't know until later that there are small-minded adults who didn't approve.

What I appreciated about Ms. Ockler is that she cared enough about writing a real character and not a stereotype. She did her research on Trinidad and Tobago. She wrote Elyse not as some "exotic" character, but as a real young woman that EVERY reader, regardless of race, can relate to in some fashion. And that's what any GOOD author would do. It was a wonderful, evocative and poetic tale of tragedy and triumph, of love and friendship and the things which matter most. It was about finding your voice when others try to keep you from speaking or ignore you. I truly loved this book.
Of course I was super excited for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. I mean, it's a contemporary retelling of The Little Mermaid, with an interracial romance! Elyse has left her home in Tobago because it holds too many painful memories of what she lost. She just can't breathe there, so she heads to Atargatis Cove, Oregon to stay with her aunt and cousin. While there she gets caught up in a plan to save the cove from commercial development, finds her voice, and finds true love.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was definitely unique and interesting. I don't think I've read a book that focused so heavily on sailing and seaside tourism before. Christian's (the love interest) father and the mayor make a bet for the upcoming pirate regatta. If Christian wins, he gets the mayor's boat. If he loses, Christian's father must sell the houses to the development project. Well, no one wants to give up their summer homes. The cove is full of happy memories, so Christian is determined to win. Elyse has the sea in her blood, so she becomes his first mate and helps him get his boat race ready. While this was a unique plot, I can't say that I full cared. This whole bet business seemed silly, and I didn't believe for a second that Christian's father would stick to his word, so it was kind of a waste of their time.

What I did really love about The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was the challenging of gender roles! Of course, Christian's father takes issue with Elyse being first mate. He thinks she should stick to the mermaid parade because she's a woman. Well, Elyse is having none of that! She knows the sea and she knows boats; she's racing! Then there's the matter of Christian's little brother, Sebastian. He wants to march in the mermaid parade, but his father says no because he's suppose to be a man! And the parade coordinators say no because he's suppose to be with the boys in the pirate parade! I was actually quite surprised that my favorite part would be centered around a child, but Sebastian is wise beyond his years. He's six, so he doesn't know that he's making a statement about gender roles. He just knows that he's the only one who believes in mermaids, so he should be allowed to participate!

I also really enjoyed the romance. It's not insta-love at all. Elyse and Christian work side-by-side for weeks. There's definitely an attraction there and some kissing. They get to know each other super well over the course of the story. Even though Elyse can't speak, she opens up to him in ways she hasn't with anyone since the accident. Christian is just as open with her. Then things get sexy!

I did really enjoy The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. It did feel long at times, since I wasn't fully invested in this community project to save the Cove. I wanted to see more of Elyse rediscovering herself and of course, the romance! I am curious about what comes after the ending though. It just kind of ends. I assume things work out for the better, but maybe they don't and plans change? I don't know. It felt hopeful to me though.

*Disclaimer I received this book as part of the blog tour for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.