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A review by emreeca
Of Neptune by Anna Banks
2.0
[3 stars]
As a big fan of "Of Poseidon", and "Of Triton", which I found very engaging and enjoyable, I had high expectations for the third book "Of Neptune", detailing more of Emma and Galen's relationship.
Part of the reason I love this series so much, is that it is hard to find a good series about mermaids that is actually fun to immerse yourself in, without finding yourself cringing or rolling your eyes. This one, actually managed that for me, and had a really interesting cultural background, with it's own diverse and unique culture (granted, there are some traditions that are distinctly not modern, but I found it interesting, to see how the modern and traditional clashed, as apparent within the distinct races of humans and Syrena [aka "mermaids"]).
Given how Emma and Galen managed to beat the odds and find a way to be together amongst the Syrena in "Of Triton", to me it seemed the ending. I was quite surprised to realise another story about Emma and Galen was coming out, but given how wonderful the previous stories were, I was prepared for another fantastic story.
That wasn't what I got. To be honest, this is the most disappointing book in the series for me, because while it introduced valid concepts and considerations of the Half-Breeds that was only barely touched upon in "Of Triton", how the story went about exploring the injustices and racial discrimination made me want to scream. One thing the book actively implies is that both Emma and Galen face these injustices together, and try to work their way through it. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
For one thing, Galen wasn't even PRESENT with Emma for half of the book, having been kidnapped and tortured in order to gain secrets of the underwater Syrena kingdoms. Given that the whole premise of the book was for Emma and Galen to have a vacation together, and spend more time together as a couple - this on principle made me angry, because the blurb of the book certainly led you to believe this was the case!
Second of all, having a love interest show up in the third novel baffled me, because I could barely understand the point of it. Were we supposed to root for this second love interest, after all the trials and struggles Emma and Galen went through to be together? (Why? I'm here to explore more of Emma and Galen's relationship, not learn about some random person I don't really care about [nor is he actually introduced that well, beyond the fact that he's good looking. Like that is supposed to make me root for him?! What?!)
Not to mention the lack of consideration for Emma's wants (though Emma's actions herself made me want to scream), screamed in the worst possible way for me. Because despite the very clear indication of Galen and Emma being in a relationship together, and Emma being very committed to that relationship, this "wonderful" love interest actively ignores this fact, and tries to break her up with Galen, presenting himself as the "better" option. Ugh.
Though the fact that Emma is so quick to give up on Galen, after everything they went through together was very frustrating as well! Galen's barely gone for a few days, after a bad argument and she's moving on with another guy (sure, she says she isn't, but how else am I supposed to interpret the fact that she's aware this new love interest is trying to make her break up with Galen for himself, and yet she spends time with him anyway and kisses him?! Like what, I was so confused).
Honestly, this book was a mess for me, and the fact that I even enjoyed it a little bit was the most surprising part (only the parts that actually had both Galen and Emma - which was like only 20% of the book, basically the beginning and the end.)
As a big fan of "Of Poseidon", and "Of Triton", which I found very engaging and enjoyable, I had high expectations for the third book "Of Neptune", detailing more of Emma and Galen's relationship.
Part of the reason I love this series so much, is that it is hard to find a good series about mermaids that is actually fun to immerse yourself in, without finding yourself cringing or rolling your eyes. This one, actually managed that for me, and had a really interesting cultural background, with it's own diverse and unique culture (granted, there are some traditions that are distinctly not modern, but I found it interesting, to see how the modern and traditional clashed, as apparent within the distinct races of humans and Syrena [aka "mermaids"]).
Given how Emma and Galen managed to beat the odds and find a way to be together amongst the Syrena in "Of Triton", to me it seemed the ending. I was quite surprised to realise another story about Emma and Galen was coming out, but given how wonderful the previous stories were, I was prepared for another fantastic story.
That wasn't what I got. To be honest, this is the most disappointing book in the series for me, because while it introduced valid concepts and considerations of the Half-Breeds that was only barely touched upon in "Of Triton", how the story went about exploring the injustices and racial discrimination made me want to scream. One thing the book actively implies is that both Emma and Galen face these injustices together, and try to work their way through it. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
For one thing, Galen wasn't even PRESENT with Emma for half of the book, having been kidnapped and tortured in order to gain secrets of the underwater Syrena kingdoms. Given that the whole premise of the book was for Emma and Galen to have a vacation together, and spend more time together as a couple - this on principle made me angry, because the blurb of the book certainly led you to believe this was the case!
Second of all, having a love interest show up in the third novel baffled me, because I could barely understand the point of it. Were we supposed to root for this second love interest, after all the trials and struggles Emma and Galen went through to be together? (Why? I'm here to explore more of Emma and Galen's relationship, not learn about some random person I don't really care about [nor is he actually introduced that well, beyond the fact that he's good looking. Like that is supposed to make me root for him?! What?!)
Not to mention the lack of consideration for Emma's wants (though Emma's actions herself made me want to scream), screamed in the worst possible way for me. Because despite the very clear indication of Galen and Emma being in a relationship together, and Emma being very committed to that relationship, this "wonderful" love interest actively ignores this fact, and tries to break her up with Galen, presenting himself as the "better" option. Ugh.
Though the fact that Emma is so quick to give up on Galen, after everything they went through together was very frustrating as well! Galen's barely gone for a few days, after a bad argument and she's moving on with another guy (sure, she says she isn't, but how else am I supposed to interpret the fact that she's aware this new love interest is trying to make her break up with Galen for himself, and yet she spends time with him anyway and kisses him?! Like what, I was so confused).
Honestly, this book was a mess for me, and the fact that I even enjoyed it a little bit was the most surprising part (only the parts that actually had both Galen and Emma - which was like only 20% of the book, basically the beginning and the end.)