Review: Between the Sea and Sky

This is the review of an uncorrected advance copy. Changes may be made in the final book. The cover shown below may be changed or altered before the book's release.

Title: Between the Sea and Sky
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Cover Designer: N/A
Age Audience: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Tagline: She comes from the sea; he comes from the sky. 
They'll fall in love somewhere in between. 
Summary: For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren—the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her.
Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood—a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people.
As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship...and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

My Review:
Finally, a mermaid book that I can give a positive rating to! Do you know how happy this makes me? You probably haven’t realized this, since I haven’t liked any of the other mermaid book I’ve read, but mermaids have always been one of my favorite mythical creatures. I remember when I was 9 or 10 I believed that a clan of mermaids lived in a nearby lake (true story).

I liked how the author paid good attention to mermaid mythology, you could see it in the way the mermaids lived and their social standings. At first, I picured the winged people as looking a bit like angels, but the imagery later on showed me that I was quite wrong. I also loved how Alan was not a “mysterious new stranger”. He and Esmerine had known each other for years, so their romance had a lot of buildup.

Near the end of the book, when Esmerine had to decide where her loyalties lay, I was worried that she would make the wrong choice—or that either choice would be wrong! But I loved how things turned out. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.

And the best part? This wasn’t even a paranormal romance! Somehow I expected it to be, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was a fantasy. Now, I like paranormal romance just as much as the next person, but I love fantasy.

Also, the author said that she liked to think of this book as a cross between a Jane Austen novel and a Studio Ghibli film. I never thought of it before, but now that I do, this book would make a perfect Studio Ghibli fim! I think I’m going to call Mr. Miyazaki right now and ask him to buy the movie rights

Delightful and imaginative, Between the Sea and Sky is a charming novel that fans of romance, mermaids and fantasy will love.

★★★½