The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: The Siren

Series: Standalone

Author: Kiera Cass

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

“You must never do anything that might expose our secret. This means that, in general, you cannot form close bonds with humans. You can speak to us, and you can always commune with the Ocean, but you are deadly to humans. You are, essentially, a weapon. A very beautiful weapon. I won’t lie to you, it can be a lonely existence, but once you are done, you get to live. All you have to give, for now, is obedience and time…”

The same speech has been given hundreds of times to hundreds of beautiful girls who enter the sisterhood of sirens. Kahlen has lived by these rules for years now, patiently waiting for the life she can call her own. But when Akinli, a human, enters her world, she can’t bring herself to live by the rules anymore. Suddenly the life she’s been waiting for doesn’t seem nearly as important as the one she’s living now. -summary from Goodreads

I really loved this book! I was hesitant going into it, but I am so glad I stuck with it.

I can’t really pinpoint what I loved so much about it. I think it was a little bit of everything- the main character, the romance, the mythology, and the side characters.

This book is technically a romance, but the romance was very much in the background, which I really liked. Akinli and Kahlen were really cute together. They also had love at first sight, which I usually can’t stand, but it was done really well in this case. I think it was well done because usually the love at first sight focuses a lot on physical characteristics, but this book it was more that they had a bond, and they really saw one another. Kahlen also really fought her feelings, which really added to it.

Again, the focus wasn’t on the romance. Most of the book was really focused on the fact that Kahlen was a siren and on her relationship with both her sisters and the Ocean.

The ocean was given a voice in this book, which was interesting. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t my favorite either.

The mythology of this book was interesting and well developed. It felt very solid, and the story was built nicely upon this. There aren’t too many modern retellings of sirens, so I really loved that.

That’s another thing: I totally thought this was a medieval or fantasy kingdom retelling of sirens. It is not- it takes place in modern times. This isn’t a bad thing, just not something I was expecting.

I loved all of the different sirens. The sirens are all sisters and I really, really loved this exploration. A lot of the story was focused on them and their relationships with each other, and I think this made the romance even better because it wasn’t the focus.

Kahlen was a relatable character as well. I actually really enjoyed her, and I thought she was well written. It was interesting reading a siren character who doesn’t like what she does but still has to do it. She was melancholy and somewhat depressed throughout the book, and it was well done and realistic.

The Siren is an emotional, modern siren story with a focus on sisters and a romantic subplot. Definitely one of my favorite books, perfect for the summer!