Book Review: Of Triton (Of Poseidon #2) by Anna Banks

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Macmillan
246 Pages

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

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It’s been awhile since I’ve read Of Poseidon. I remember liking it okay – not amazing, but amusing. I feel like this one was the same way but with slightly more issues, a little more meh to me. Of Poseidon and Of Triton brings together mythology (which I adore) and modern teenage life which sound intriguing enough, but unfortunately are still falling flat for me as a series. 

In Of Triton, we pick up where the last one left off. Emma, after revealing Galen to her mother, has been kidnapped by mommy dearest, who is running from Galen’s older brother, Grom. Of course they find her, and of course Emma’s mother suddenly only wants to be with Grom – who cares that she has a daughter. She can go back to the sea and be rejoined with her true love and her father. I’m not kidding. Her mother is probably the most immature human being in this entire series. She goes from overbearing parental unit to teenage girl with googly eyes in the span of a chapter. Her lack of responsibility for her child’s safety or well-being is really disconcerting. I did not like her character at all. 

Speaking of characterizations, it doesn’t really seem as if there was any character growth from the first book to this one. The men are still extremely sexist and swim around with the idea that women should stay in the background and be pretty. Galen spends the whole book declaring that Emma is his mate and everyone needs to stay away. Emma meanwhile pouts and whines about everything, but then at the end is suddenly fine with the way everything turned out.

As for the story itself, I found it to be extremely predictable (can you say Toraf?) and at times ridiculous (Emma and her horde *snicker*). I wanted so much more but felt that everyone was a pushover or willing to not question anything. The book is very short, but it dragged to me. I had no real desire to get to the end and find out what’s going to happen. The writing style was also not one I really liked. The fact that Emma was in first person and Galen was in third didn’t sit well with me and I found that it took me out of the story every time it switched. We go from being completely inside someone’s head to being a spectator, watching on the sidelines. 

This is still the only mermaid series I’ve read but I feel like it’s a good segue into the genre. Despite its beautiful cover (come on, it’s so pretty!), it just doesn’t stand out to me. 

ARC Review: Of Triton (Of Poseidon #2) by Anna Banks

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
246 Pages

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

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I'm hesitant to say that I enjoyed Of Triton. I did, to a certain extent. But the story stretched beyond my imagination and made it's way into the bizarre. It's an interesting book that's plot derailed a bit too much for my taste. I think it's a book that a lot of people will enjoy, but it's also a book that a lot of people could dislike. My opinion of it lay somewhere in the middle.

The story begins just after the end of Of Poseidon. Emma's mom has taken her away from Galen and from the truth of their past. According to Syrena law, Emma should be put to death and her mother should marry Galen's older brother. She struggles to come to terms with all of the changes around her, while the mermaid clans are at each others' throats. Galen begs her to stay safe and think of only herself, but how can she think of just herself when she could be the key to reuniting the clans?

This felt more like a guilty pleasure because as I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but ask myself, "What is it about you that I makes me like you?" Is it the absolutely gorgeous cover? Let's be honest. That's probably it. I'm new to the mermaid scene, so I'm still getting onboard with the talking and breathing underwater and the magic powers and the talking to fish. So when, at one point in the novel, Emma comes in with her horde of fish, my eyebrows met my hairline and I awkward snorted into my tea.

The attitudes of the characters were better this time around, though there were still times where I wanted to bash some heads together. There has been some development since the start of this series, but not enough to really warrant them as favorite characters. There is still a lack of maturity that bothers me, and some sexist tendencies that really annoyed me. Some of the romances had endearing moments, but other parts showed the overbearing men showing the feeble women how dominant they are. "Woman… Shh… The men are talking. Go make me a sandwich." I get that this is how the author wanted the society to be portrayed, but it didn't make the characters any less angering.

Of Triton is very short, yet I found myself able to put it down and pick it back up hours later. It just loses focus somewhere down the line. The plot really isn't as strong as it could be. This is a good book, but it's not a great book--though it had a lot of potential. I think this is another book that could've used a good expansion and dug further into the story. The series really could end with this book, but I've seen that there is another. I'm curious to know what Banks plans to do in Of Neptune, so it's safe to say I'll be reading it. I'm not a huge fan of this series, but it has piqued my curiosity and now I just need to know how it is going to end.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher for my honest opinion and review.

Teaser Tuesday: Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2) & Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!

To participate, all you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can ad the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

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"Even with the sweat on her forehead and the skip in her breath, she didn't look sick. Her skin didn't have the peachy glow I was used to, and her eyes weren't as bright, but she was still beautiful."
Prologue, 1%
Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2) by Jamie McGuire

"A glass full of ice water wouldn't cool my cheeks. 'The  only thing you know about me is that I'm life threatening in flip-flops.'"

Chapter 7, 21%

Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1) by Anna Banks

What are you reading this week?

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