Dark Waters Paperback – May 18, 2013

Quinn and her sister Ashling were abandoned by their mother around the time Ash graduated. So Quinn brings Ash on a vacation where the activity would be surfing causing Quinn to face her fears of the water due to a previous shark attack.Quinn meets Luke who so happens to be the surfing teacher and he tries to use his persuasion on Quinn to let her sister go when she is attacked in the water. She also meets Bre who is supposed to be her protector along with Luke.Quinn has to face her fears head on through the book in order to save her sister. She finds out her blood is of the fae and she's part of a prophecy, one that could separate the two sisters for good.What's great is that her feelings and fears are so conflicted, but through it all, her love for her sister really pushes her to do what she must (along with help of course). I'm surprised I have more questions than answers. I'm hoping book 2 clears it up.

If you are looking to settle in for a good read, the whole set of books is out. I definitely like the story, but it's better enjoyed as the set than just a single book. This is the second time I have read it, and while it could use a bit more characterization in the first book, you get hints of the underlying themes that develope over the next couple books. I don't want to give anything away, but if you are looking for a longer read over a couple of books, then get the set. If you are looking for a stand alone book, then this isn't it. I don't think you can fairly judge this book in it's development without the scope of the rest of the set, as I feel it was intended by the author. Having read other books by this author, I believe this is a strategy she is choosing and does quite well.

I should begin by stating that I got this book free on a promotion day. This book is not in a genre that I would normally read, but the concept sounded interesting. I was surprised to find it was a very good story! The lore was a nice change from the typical fare, and the author delivered the story well. Unfortunately, the grammar mistakes were distracting enough that I had trouble getting into the book.Normally, I don't write negative reviews, but I think this story has so much potential! I wish the author could get the quality of her editing on par with the quality of the cover image - which, by the way, was part of the reason I even looked at the book. I normally would have put the book down after finding so many errors on the first page. However, I continued on, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is not confused by sloppy writing. Did I eventually figure out what the author intended? Yes, but only after my mind had left the story. Once or twice is fine, but it is frustrating to lose immersion in a story. I think what I am getting at is this - this is a great story, but many people won't get past the first page, and that makes me sad because the problem is something that the author can fix. If you want to know the details of what I am talking about, read on (spoiler free). Otherwise, this is the end of the review.This is how my reading goes: I make it to the sixth paragraph in the first chapter,----- I coughed into my hand. "You shouldn't laugh Ash, it isn't nice."I have to read that sentence twice. Hmm... I think anyone laughing ash should see a doctor or something. Oh, there's a missing comma. Ok, back to the story. There's the next paragraph,----- Her mirth was wiped away in an instant. "Shut up Quinn, you aren't mom, you can't tell me what to do."Whom is Ashling talking with? Is there a stranger who needs to shut Quinn up? I see, she's talking *to* Quinn. There's just another missing comma.Then in the ninth paragraph,----- "I reached out for her hand and, for the ..."I finally realize the author has no idea how to use commas or semicolons. If I were to re-write it, the seventh paragraph would say,----- My comment instantly wiped away her mirth. "Shut up, Quinn, you aren't Mom; you can't tell me what to do," she retorted.Now, I am no grammar king, and I'm sure people will find fault with this review. However, I'm trying to help - the mistakes pulled me from the story, and the story deserves better.The editing problem is still present in the second book; yet, it seems to be less annoying (or perhaps I have become used to it). However, the story is good enough that I am still debating whether to buy the third book, despite the errors - but I may wait for some more reviews.I just noticed that Amazon is changing all of my dashes to hyphens in this review... I wish we could do basic formatting in reviews, like italic and bold formatting, but that is outside the scope of this review.

If you are like me, a big part of the fun of ebooks is the hugh influx of new writers. Maybe someday you or I may be brave enough, creative enough and dedicated enough to be among them! A big part of what I do involves writing, so I have a real appreciation of how hard it is to conceive of, organize and effectively communicate your topic and keep your audience awake. Awful writing and editing does make my hair hurt, but I am pretty forgiving about a few typos, a little fractured grammar or syntax and some of those pesky plot gaps. What I am demanding about is a fair price for what we get. Most of us have invested a fair amount of money in our reader(s), are doing a green deed and saving trees, not to mention the money we are saving the publisher in producing, storing and shipping a book (which savings are past on to the seller. I get emotional, in a bad way, when I think an appropriate part of the savings don't get passed onto me and you, the buyers. So, beware that each book in this series is about 140 pages. They are either robust novellas or anemic books. Roughly the last 10% of Book 3 is a "free sample" of another book. I am so NOT a fan of this deception. At .99 for Book 1, I'm in! At $2.99 for each of the other two books, not so much. But I liked the first book, so I swallowed the hook and bought all three and read them in succession (it did not take long): I think I mentioned, they are pretty short.That being said, there were many things I liked about this series. The world Ms. Mayer draws for us is creative and a bit different from the werewolf and vampire genres, we are so regularly fed (both of which I like). She has effectively borrowed and blended some supernatural beings and tales we have encountered before and thrown in some new ones. I liked the main characters and empathized with the sisters trying to figure out how to safely navigate in a world about which they knew nothing and are suddenly central and critically important. While regularly frightened, confused and a bit whinier than I like, the heroine tries to be honest with herself. She womans up, analyzes her options and her actions and tries to learn from what worked and what didn't, wields her paranormal powers and magical weapons and kick some A. She listens to others who may or may not be on her side, but mostly relies on herself and the things she knows, she knows.Ms Mayer has a great number of players and does a good job of individualizing them and doing so in such a way that I didn't get confused. Some of the relationships and outcomes that develop or are revealed were surprising. I like it when I don't see it coming too soon or at all. There are two men to whom our heroine is attracted. She was believably confused by this. I mostly liked them, but I like a bit more romance and neither of our potential heroes made me want a fan or a cold drink. For a few of the characters, she created an affected speech pattern that was (I guess) representative of their cultural backgrounds. For one of our heroes, it came across more as the speech of the poorly educated than the brogue I think she intended. So I would have liked him a lot more if he had not made me grate my teeth a bit when he opened his mouth.In summary, I gave this a 3.5 star for the read. While not a five star series by any stretch, it is a great start, kept my jaded attention and enlisted me to share my perspective. I would foresee better things to come. Based upon all the other great books I have read from new(er) writers, I took away a half star because I think these books are all no more than .99 "centers." For example, give the Sunwalker Saga a try.