Blog Tour Book Review: Arise by Amber Garr

On tour with Bookshelf Confessions

Author: Amber Garr
Series: The Syrenka #3
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: July 4th 2012
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

With power comes the responsibility to accept its consequences.

After the betrayal of those closest to her, Eviana Dumahl struggles to cope with her new reality. Kidnapped, broken, and confused, she is forced to engage in a war that will alter merfolk politics forever. With her estranged father leading the charge, Eviana has no choice but to stand by his side. Her continued existence hinges on the acceptance of the power growing inside her, even when that means embracing the family’s dark lineage.

Kain Matthew will sacrifice the world for Eviana. And he is not alone. As time runs out, her friends fight to save her life and theirs. An unlikely alliance gives them the edge they need to take a stand, although it keeps Eviana’s heart trapped in the past. A new discovery explains some of her previous mistakes, but it may not be enough to stop her father’s plans. Merfolk, selkies, and water sprites work together to save their kind, only in this final battle, not everyone will survive.

In the striking series conclusion, Eviana will learn the true meaning of power, sacrifice, and love.

Arise was a book full of surprises. I honestly wasn't expecting half of the things that happened in this book. I liked that. A lot.

Eviana and her friends go through a lot of things into this last part of the trilogy. It seems as though their struggle to end Lucian's scheming and plans aren't going to end too soon. The best part of Arise is that we get to actually understand why Eviana was chosen as leader. She's much more mature than in Promises, much more focused on what she has to do for her clan and for all the creatures in the sea and humans as well. When given the chance, she chooses to face the danger, rather than flee from it. I liked that she was that strong. I also loved Kain.

Arise has everything I had hoped for: great action, suspense, thriller, some heart-breaking scenes, happy endings and tragedy. I was completely sucked in by the book. I was actually half afraid to take a break from reading, not wanting to waste time or lose focus. For me, this was one of those books that keep you so focused on the things that happen, you just can't stop reading.

Trust me when I tell you that this is a trilogy you don't want to miss. The only thing I regret is that the series ended. I truly loved Eviana, Brendan, Kain and all the other characters, as well as the world in this trilogy.

Blog Tour Book Review: Betrayal by Amber Garr

On tour with Bookshelf Confessions

Author: Amber Garr

Series: Syrenka #2
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: February 20th, 2012
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Life as a mermaid can be suffocating.

Eviana Dumahl has returned home as a clan leader, an orphan, and a heartbroken teenage girl. Her parents are dead and her boyfriend, Brendan, has decided that he needs some time away. While battling her inner turmoil, Eviana is forced into the war that Lucian Sutherland has incited amongst her own kind. With the help of Kain, her friend and formally betrothed, the two work together to prove that they deserve their birthrights as young merfolk leaders.

When the Council requests a demonstration of Eviana’s mermaid powers, she finds herself with an opportunity to win back Brendan’s heart. But her orders to train with a repulsive merman and the presence of an attractive new suitor challenges Eviana to embrace her leadership and resist temptation. Lucian is after her, and no one seems to understand why. Loyalties are tested as the casualties increase, showing Eviana that sometimes it is impossible to delineate between friends and enemies.


Betrayal is the second book of The Syrenka Series trilogy following Eviana and her friends as they navigate through the challenges of existing in a secret world.

If the first book in this series, Promises, was good, the second one was even better. I think it was an amazing continuation of Eviana's story.

In Betrayal we find a more mature Eviana, one that is trying to cope with everything that has happened to her. I admired her a lot in this book. Her parents are dead, she becomes clan leader and tries to stop a war, she's supposed to take care of her younger sister and her boyfriend left for God knows how long. I'd be terrified, angry. She was too, but she didn't let that fear and anger take over her. She found her strength in those feelings. What's not to admire? There was this moment where my heart broke for Eviana and I felt so much anger towards the people hurting her. I'm very curious how will she deal with those people in Arise, the final book in this trilogy.

I loved the pacing. There's always something happening, usually something surprising. I liked that a lot, the fact that I couldn't predict anything. I have to admit that I thought the traitor was someone else entirely. So I was very surprised when I saw how wrong I was. But I loved that. And I love that we get to meet some new creatures and learn more about the syrenkas and their world.

I love the cover (if you haven't noticed yet, this series has amazing covers!) and I think it's perfect for Betrayal.

I have to find out what happens next and how the story ends. If you haven't read this series yet, don't wait any longer. It's amazing!

Blog Tour Book Review: Promises by Amber Garr

Author: Amber Garr
Series: Syrenka #1
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Sometimes following your heart can end up destroying the ones you love.
When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiancé would make a wonderful husband except that she’s been in love with Brendan, a shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids. Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined.
A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind. With Brendan’s life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those who she once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her friends, but also on her acceptance of a life that she had so adamantly tried to escape.
Promises is the first book of The Syrenka Series trilogy following Eviana and her friends through the perils of growing up in a discrete world that inherently threatens human society.

I'm so, so happy I got to read this book. First, I haven't read a book with mermaids before (unless you count  The Little Mermaid, but that was ages ago), so this was new territory for me. Second, it's fantasy, so I knew for sure that I was going to love this book.

What I loved about this book is that you get to see each and every character both as a sea creatures and as humans. That was very interesting. And I loved the fact that mermaids are presented as being on top of the food chain. It was fun to see other creatures besides vampires that could be rulers of all races.

There were also mythological references about mermaids and how they created and when. Then there are the selkie references and I was so happy about that. If I didn't met many mermaids in my books, I hear a lot of stories about selkies and I was excited to see them included in the fantasy world, because I believe they are very interesting creatures. Plus, it's fresh. I mean, how many creatures get to shift into an animal dressing in the skin of said animal?

Besides the fact that she's a mermaid, Eviana seemed like a normal teenager to me. A girl that's stubborn, strong willed, brave. She's in love with a selkie shifter, but she's been promised to another boy since she was a little girl. You can call it a love triangle and you wouldn't be mistaken. She loves Brendan, even though everyone is against their relationship, and she chooses to run away with him. She has a sense of right and wrong, more than I expected. Yes, part of why she ran away was because of her rebelliousness, but it was also because the idea of being married to one guy and being in love with another was wrong. She's also very naive, but that is mostly due to her mother, who never thought of sharing details of the things she was supposed to expect once Eviana became a clan leader. I didn't really like her mom very much because of that.

There were a lot of surprises and a lot of twists and turns that I didn't expect. Also, I didn't expect to like Kain. I liked Brendan, the selkie, a lot, but I was expecting a dull Kain, not a hot, swoon-worthy Kain. I love the fact that both guys are really strong characters.

And, in case you didn't notice, this book has an AMAZING cover! I would stare at that cover over and over again, without getting tired. In fact, all covers in this series are amazing, gorgeous, beautiful.

I say you should definitely read this book. If you like fantasy and YA, you really should try it! And at the end of this book you'll find a sneak peak for the next book in the series, Betrayal.