Author Review on Goodreads

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When, At Last, She Could See (Memoir of a Mermaid, Book #2)When, At Last, She Could See by Adrianna Stepiano

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We open the book at Ethan Cottington’s graduation ceremony, and we’re quickly reintroduced to Mara Cottington. She becomes part of Seraphin’s growth process as a young adult. This is the second person that Seraphin has labeled wrong, Mara turns out to be nothing like she thought. Ms. Z also was nothing like she thought. Maybe Seraphin should be more reluctant to come to a conclusion about a person?

Above all else I want the reader to walk away with the idea, “People are not always who you think they are. Being friendly doesn’t always mean they are your friend. The truth is hard to take, but if someone is willing to give it, they care more about you than someone who lies to you.”

Seraphin’s development as a character is central in this story. She’s a young woman, just introduced to the idea of forever love, and while she’s certain she misses Joseph, she’s not letting it consume her every waking moment.

The turning point mid-way through the story what centers around Gianni, is a turning point for Seraphin. Any doubt she had has been washed away. The ending might be something of an anti-climax. We don’t see the typical ‘fight’ scene here, but we see something else. What the reader witnesses after the Abraham Lincoln is a key element to an upcoming event that Book #3 will center around.

Keep in mind, this is a series, there are so many unanswered questions that still need to be addressed. I’ve got answers to all of them.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

-Adrianna



View all my reviews

Virtual *sigh* of Relief

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This review (link below) couldn’t make me happier, and not because it’s 4 stars (well, that helps) but because she totally understood my approach to the story. I didn’t want another love sick ya romance plot. Seraphin isn’t 100% dependent on Joseph–so when he’s not around at first, it’s confusing and hurtful but she still functions. I’ll admit, I struggled with the age appropriate romance aspect. I omitted a lot of lust…for the sake of median reader age. But, you’re right, they need more…so look forward to B3.

The ending has me nervous because it’s not a huge BAM in yo’ face approach either, it’s leading so something–something BIG…I promise! :)

Thanks ToBeMelanie!

http://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Mermaid-When-Could-ebook/product-reviews/B00B9OXEEU/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Book #2 Brief Something-or-other

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Waiting for reviews is excruciating…it’s almost more difficult than writing a book.

I took a different approach with Book #2 with a turning point halfway through and a lead-in to the main plot of Book #3. This book focused on Seraphin as a person. She is slapped with the phrase “Not everything is about you.” Aren’t we all slapped with that realization at one point in our lives?

Ms. Z takes a backseat in this book as well, we’ll see her resurface (pun intended) in Book #3. She’s just as sneaky and backstabbing as we think she’d be.

Enjoy reading When, At Last, She Could See. Let me know how it’s going soon…before I lose my mind with anticipation.

Deadline Looming

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I’ve set a January 29th release date for Book #2, it’s a self-imposed deadline (one year from the date that Book #1 was released) and now I’m feeling the pressure. The book is done, but I can’t stop changing things, revising, editing, improving…

New Reviews Posted at Amazon

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This week, several new reviews have been posted. I can’t tell you  how grateful I am when someone actually takes the time to give feedback–yes, even bad feedback, as long as it’s constructive, that is. Here are the two latest reviews. Not bad, not bad at all.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, very detailed., November 6, 2012
This review is from: Memoir of a Mermaid: When, At Last, He Found Me (Kindle Edition)

This book surprised me, although there were a lot of hints of what would happen, the power struggle for the main female character was great. Makes you think about how I would process the information. I was excited to find out there was a book #2!

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice, clean read, well-written, with style!, November 5, 2012
 This review is from: Memoir of a Mermaid: When, At Last, He Found Me (Kindle Edition)

Unlike many YA novels I’ve read, I would actually let my YA read this, because it is “clean” with no porn scenes, no bad language.
The author is an excellent writer, never bogging the reader down in boring details, but providing enough to create a mental picture. I never found this book to be slow.
At first, I thought it had some major editing details, but as I read on I realized that this is just the author’s style. For instance, instead of writing: “He shrugged and said, ‘I don’t know.’” She may have written, “Shrugging, ‘I don’t know.’” I came to like the simplicity of this as I read on and it made the story progress more quickly.

I enjoyed this book very much and find the author to be an excellent writer, which I would read more from!