Review: Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra
Title: Sea Witch: Children of the Sea, book 1
Author: Virginia Kantra
Genre: Paranormal romance
Reason for Reading: My friend and mutual book enabler, Bree recced this book with its unconventional heroine. I like unconventional heroines, so I was all over it like white on rice.
Synopsis:
First in the new The Children of the Sea series from the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR. Margred is a Selkie, a legendary being of the sea, able to shapeshift into seductive human form. And she has found a human she desires … Burned out from the big city, Caleb Hunter becomes police chief on the peaceful Maine island of World’s End. Then he meets a woman who’s everything he’s ever dreamed of. Their passion is undeniable, irresistible and it may change the fate of humankind.
Other Opinions:
My thoughts: This is a really interesting take on the paranormal romance, and I liked it. I’d never read anything by Ms. Kantra, but I was impressed with her storytelling ability. I liked that the heroine, in this case, was the paranormal creature in question, and I really appreciated that some of the tropes I’ve begun to hate in paranormals were blessedly absent here. There are no destined mates, no uber alpha men struggling mightily not to fall in love with the heroine. This is, instead, a story about the real world with only a bit of the paranormal.
The one note that rang sour about this book was the character of Margred. I understood that, as a selkie, she was used to being a solitary creature, and she was centuries old, so the idea of living a human life was daunting, but I didn’t really like her. Given how much those humans she disdained were trying to do for her, she could have been a little nicer to them. That said, I did like that she was the experienced one, as I said before, and it was nice to read about a heroine who was the seducer for a change.
Caleb, the hero, was another matter entirely. I love broken heroes in my romance, and Caleb fits the mold well. He was very sweet, and I love that he was principled. Other girls may like bad boys, but give me a knight in shining armor, especially one that’s a little broken, and I will swoon.
The plot moves along steadily, building to a finish I really liked. Again, Ms. Kantra avoids the worst of the romance tropes. A big secret I thought would be revealed late in the book is handled quite early on. The sequel baiting was not nearly as obvious as it could have been, and the climax was absolutely gripping.
Final Thoughts: If you like paranormal romance and are looking for something a little bit different from the vampires and werewolves that are so prevalent, this is a good book to check out, especially if you like broken heroes. If only the heroine hadn’t been so hard to like, this book would have rated a much higher grade. As it is, it’s still a good story.
Grade: B