Between the Land and the Sea (Marina's Tales #1) by Derrolyn Anderson

Something extraordinary is lurking in the deep ocean waters off the coast of Aptos, California. Just a few weeks after moving to the beach town, sixteen year-old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can manage to survive her increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might just be able to unlock the mystery of her past and learn how to appease the mysterious forces that seem to want something from her... and maybe even find true love along the way.

What a fun story! I am a huge fan of everything to do with mermaids, and this is a wonderful example of the fantasy that can be created revolving around mythological creatures.

The story is well-paced, with a good balance of action and character introspection which keeps the story from being boring or being manic. The atmosphere of the cozy seaside town lends a nice, mysterious atmosphere to the modern story without becoming a cliché. The plot completely takes over very quickly, and doesn’t let go.

The characters, especially Marina, are complex enough to seem real. Lorelei lacks a bit, but it doesn’t really bother too much, since Marina more than makes up for it. The side characters are also very fun, especially Cruz with his fashion designing and amusing personality. Ethan also makes for a good love interest, enough to catch our attention as much as Marina’s.
There were a few editing issues, some grammatical errors that could have been fixed by a careful eye, but in no way does it get frustrating enough to take away from the story.

I can recommend this to all young adults as well as to adult who enjoy a good fantasy story. I, for one, am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.