Review: Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell

Angel Tritone has always been fascinated with humans. As a mermaid, and a princess of the Mer family who rule the undersea world, she is the one that studies human ways, collects human items, wears human clothes. And she would like to put that accumulated knowledge to good use with a job as head of the new conservation coalition that is being discussed among the High Council. Not that the council is eager to consider her for the position, but she is determined to convince them that she is the Mer for the job.

To that end, Angel decides to do some close observation. Unfortunately her plans go awry when when she is chased by Harry the shark and ends up stranded on the deck of a boat where she befriends six year old Michael. He is a sweet, smart kid with a gorgeous dad, Logan, and soon Angel is falling for both of them. She tells herself that the time she spends with them on land is excellent research....

Logan can't believe that he has found a beautiful, kind woman who seems to care for both him and his son. But Angel can't bring herself to tell him the truth about herself and Logan is understandably furious when he finds out. He pushes Angel away and she leaves...but when Michael tries to find her the results are disastrous.

Catch of a Lifetime is the third book in Judi Fennell's fun, sexy under-the-sea series, the first two books are In Over Her Head and Wild Blue Under. All of them are witty and wonderful, full of interesting characters of all types: humans, mers, birds, reptiles, sharks, sea monsters. Well, one sea monster...Ceto is in a class by herself.

Have the winter blues, need some escape from the snow/rain/wind/cold? (I know I do!) Pick up these books, they will take you away to a sandy beach with warm blue water...what could be better than that? For more information about all three books, visit Judi Fennell's website.

Catch of a Lifetime is published by Sourcebooks, ISBN 978-1-4022-2428-7. My review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell

Ever since she was eight years old, Erica Peck has been terrified of the ocean. Something scary happened to her when she was swimming (she can't quite remember what) and she hasn't been near the water since. Which is a bit of a difficulty because her family runs a marina in New Jersey. Since her brothers are away on military service, the running of the place falls upon her shoulders. And she was doing okay, really. She even got up the gumption to take the urn with Grandpa's ashes out and scatter them. Overcoming her demons. Way to go, Erica.

Except. Ex-fiance Joey, skirt chaser and cheater (hence the ex) apparently hid some diamonds in Grandpa's urn and he's not too happy that Erica has dumped them in the sea. So not happy that he drags her out to the site at gunpoint and forces her into shark infested waters to retrieve them. When she is unable to find them an infuriated Joey shoots at her, grazing her temple and knocking her out. Then he takes off (what a charmer), leaving Erica to be eaten by a circling shark.

Named Vincent. Fortunately for Erica she has been admired from afar for years. Well, since the aforementioned incident when she was eight, at least. Reel Tritone, second son of the under sea's version of the royal family, fell for her that day and has been hoping she would return ever since. And here she is, about to be eaten by Vincent the shark or drowned, dead either way. He talks Vincent out of eating her and then saves her the only way he can, by kissing her to turn her into a water-breather. Never mind that it breaks every rule of the Mer-people and could lead to the punishment of death for both of them. He'll tackle that later.

You see, Reel is the only mer-person to not have a tail. He has legs, just like humans. In the Mer world the oldest royal son is born with a tail and younger sons are born with legs to dissuade them from trying to grab the top spot. Makes sense, but also means that Reel has felt like an outcast for much of his life and is fascinated with humans, who look more like him.

So, Erica wakes up in Reel's bottom-of-the-sea home, breathing water, talking fish everywhere and a beautiful naked merman in front of her. It is a lot for a girl to take in all at once. Especially when they are almost immediately commanded to appear before the High Council to defend themselves. Reel has an ace up his non-existent sleeve, though. The council wants those diamonds, too. And he knows where they are. Better not to tell Erica that a sea monster, the mother of all sea monsters, actually, is hoarding them. If they can get those diamonds back the council will agree to cancel the death sentence. That's a BIG if.

This was my first paranormal romance and I read it because I loved the premise, it just sounded like so much fun. What mom who has been forced to see Disney's The Little Mermaid a hundred and fifty times wouldn't want an adult version to spice things up? (I'm not a mom, but I have seven nieces and nephews...my poor sister and sisters-in-law know the dialogue of those Disney movies by heart, they have heard them so many times). And this story is fun! The author has taken her unique idea and created a whole underwater society where the fish talk (where a human would say "Oh, man!" they say "Oh, fish!"), work (marlins are the equivalent of a team of horses pulling a stagecoach) and generally get up to the same kinds of mischief that humans do. There is action and excitement (especially the sexual kind) and quite a bit of humor, too. This one takes romance to a new height, er, depth. (Note that there is some rather explicit hot sex, rather well done, I thought, but needs to be mentioned). Take this one to the beach this summer, you will have a whole new appreciation for the waves lapping at your toes.

With a cast of such fun and interesting characters, it would be a shame to stop with just one book! Thankfully the author has sequels in the works already. Wild Blue Under and Catch of a Lifetime will be published soon by Sourcebooks. Many thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for sending me this one and to Judi for her fabulous guest post yesterday! Remember to stop by the author's website, she has a great Romantic Getaway contest going on right now!

In Over Her Head is published by Sourcebooks. ISBN 978-1-4022-2001-2

How about some other reviews?

Long and Short Reviews

Love Romance Passion

A Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Once Upon a Romance

Peeking Between the Pages

Guest Post: Judi Fennell, author of In Over Her Head

Today I would like to welcome Judi Fennell, author of In Over Her Head. Check back tomorrow for my review of her book. Welcome, Judi and thanks so much for joining us today!

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Thank you so much for having me, Carey!
　
Since this is the Tome Traveller's blog, I figured I'd talk about traveling. Whether to actual places, or through books, traveling is, indeed the spice of life.
　
All the books I read growing up took me to wonderful places. Starting with the fairy tales and their castles, then I zipped through all of the Oz books - you want to talk about traveling! - then on to the Doctor Doolittle books... ah, to go to the moon on the back of a lunar moth, or travel under the sea in the great pink sea snail!
　
Then there were the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Bobbsey Twins books which took you to secret staircases or old mills.
　
Books are such great (and inexpensive) ways to travel!
　
So, when it came time for me to place my story, In Over Her Head, I chose the Jersey Shore. Not exotic. It doesn't have white sand beaches, or crystalline blue water, but it's close to home, we go there every year on vacation and it's the shore. For those of us who grew up in this area, the Jersey Shore combines the great memories of our childhood, the traditional fare of funnel cake and pizza and donuts and popcorn on the boardwalk, as well as the wonderfully relaxing atmosphere of living at the beach. And I got to take a couple of research trips while I was working on my Mer stories - can't complain about that.
　
I also had to come up with a place to put Atlantis. Now, if you've ever studied the North Atlantic on Google earth, you'll notice that there's not much there off the coast of the US. Until you hit Bermuda.
　
I've never been to Bermuda. I'd like to go to Bermuda, but have never been, and, sadly, we couldn't work that into our budget for my research. So I did the next best thing and traveled there via the internet. I am so thankful for the people who take underwater videos when they're scuba diving or snorkeling - all the beauty and fun of actually doing that without the expense or fear of sharks (which is a big fear for me...). There are so many photos of the caves beneath Bermuda, and a lot of video that I could build my Atlantis sitting in my office chair.
　
Then I had to build a castle in the Caribbean. Now, I've been to the Caribbean, but, I got to tell ya, I've never seen an underwater castle. :) So, once again, I went back to the internet (memory doesn't serve as well once you get past a certain age...). Again, thank you to all the people who post their scuba experiences so I could get the descriptions down and create the pink castle that's there...now.
　
They followed Carlos around a half-submerged, rusting plane fuselage to Ceto's home. Or should she say, palace? Erica almost forgot they were heading into the depths of a figurative Hell because Ceto's home was every bit as gorgeous as Atlantis.

Sunlight filtered through the water, twinkling on the pink conch shells lining the walls. Slabs of black-veined white marble supported an abalone portico roof, all its iridescent colors sparkling through the wakes of hundreds of neon fish darting to and fro in an even prettier garden than the one by the gates.

Midnight parrot fish tended manicured coral topiaries. Floating overhead like vines on an invisible pergola, swaths of sea grasses provided the perfect hide-and-seek locale for schools of tropical fish. Octopi draped over ionic columns like living statues, their colors changing with every shoal of fish that swam by. Black, double volcanic-rock doors loomed twenty feet high in front of them.

"That's it?" Why was she whispering?

Reel nodded and gripped her arms. "Listen. Whatever I say, just go with it, okay? This isn't the time to try to work things out for yourself. Don't be a hero. Just follow my lead. Got it? Oh, and whatever you do, don't take that actinia off your ear."

"Why?" She crossed her arms.
　
"Because I lied to my mother."

Freakin' great. Just what she needed right now. "You? Lied? Hard to believe. So, what's the big secret and what does your mother have to do with this?"

"Let's just say that Ceto has tried for more than friendly neighbor status between us, and it's been a bit dicey to keep her at arms' length."

"And you're telling me this now because...?"

The black doors swung open toward them. "Look, just whatever you do, don't take off the actinia." He dropped one of her arms and turned back to face the doorway as the barracudas fanned out behind them. "Let's do this."

© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2009

Someday, hopefully, I'll get to Bermuda. I'm also playing with ideas for more Mer stories - if there is a book 4 it will take place in the South Pacific. Again, I've been to Hawaii (close), but it was a while ago, so I'll be relying on the internet.
　
I have to tell you, though, that while the travel through books was enough when I was younger, nowadays I want to see these places. Preferably before I write about them.
　
Hmmm... maybe I could set one in Spain, since I did live there in college. I'll have to work on it.
　
And in keeping with the travel theme, I'd like to let everyone know that I'm having a giveaway on my website, www.JudiFennell.com for 3 readers to win a romantic beach getaway. Two in Ocean City NJ at the Atlantis Inn (www.AtlantisInn.com) Bed & Breakfast, and the other at the Hibiscus House (www.HibiscusHouse.com) Bed & Breakfast in West Palm Beach, FL.
　
About The Author:
Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to "get outside!" instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad's hammock with her Nancy Drew books.
　
These days she's more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she's still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends' books.
　
A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she's received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to "dive in" to her stories.

I spent years curled up on the couch with every book I could get my hands on, so I knew Judi would be a kindred spirit when I read that her Mom used to holler "Go outside," just like my Mom! And she just proved it by totally understanding that the name of my blog is a combination of the joy of visiting anytime/anywhere through the book in your hand and the excitement of actual travel to see the fantastic places you have read about (the real ones, anyway).

Thank you so much for that wonderful post, Judi! It was a pleasure having you here!