The Mermaid Next Door

A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Midlife Mermaid, Book 1)

By: J.R. Rain, H.P. Mallory

Narrated by: Kelley Huston

Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

From number one Amazon best-selling author J.R. Rain and New York Times best-selling author H.P. Mallory comes the Midlife Mermaid series! A paranormal women's fiction novel!

Being a mermaid isn’t all it’s cracked up to be....

In the underwater kingdom of Corsica, mermaids are the property of mermen. We’re considered valuable as breeders until we reach our mid-30s, at which time we’re deemed no longer useful.

Good thing for me I’m 40, never had any children, and I’m a widow. So, I can basically live my life as I see fit.

Until my husband’s younger brother, Cullen, decides to make me his wife...one of seven.

Cullen has a mean streak a mile wide, and he’s always been obsessed with me—ever since we were young. Now that his older brother is out of the way, he recognizes his chance to finally possess me.

Only I’m the type of woman who won’t accept my fate so easily. No, I’m a fighter by nature, so when it’s decreed that I should marry Cullen, I do the only thing I can do.

I escape. To the land.

Once I reach the shore, I’m facing a whole new and terrifyingly unfamiliar world. Luckily I’ve got the siren’s song, which encourages humans to do whatever I want them to.

Except my song doesn’t work on one human male in particular: Sawyer Ray. And Sawyer just happens to be the one man I need, because I’m fairly certain someone has come after me....

©2021 J.R. Rain and H.P. Mallory (P)2022 J.R. Rain and H.P. Mallory

Oh what a tangled delightful TAIL we weave…

Corsica law says Merman Cullen can force his brother’s widow Eva to marry him, to be his seventh wife! Oh the horror! Thank goodness Eva has other ideas! Run, Eva, run, or should I saw swim Eva, swim! The Mermaid Next Door is a fabulously written, fun, laugh out loud, delightful “fish out of water” story that really held my interest beginning to end! The characters are brilliant, beautifully developed and seem real enough to touch, though some would require the proverbial ten foot pole! The plot is interesting, easy to follow and the situational humor had me snorting and laughing out loud! It is truly, brilliantly FUNNY! Then there is the narration, oh my the narration! The comedic timing, voicing choices, inflections, accents and consistency were flawless impressive perfection throughout! It honestly could not have been any better! I throughly enjoyed every aspect of this one and I can’t wait for the next book! Five fabulous stars!

OH NO MERMAID NEXT DOOR.

THIS IS A UNIQUE AND FUN STORY ABOUT A MERMAID WHO IS CONSIDERED PAST HER USEFUL YEARS OF HAVING MERBABIES. HER DECEASED HUSBANDS BROTHER HAS ASCENDED THE THRONE AND WANT HER AS ANOTHER WIFE. BUT TREATS HER MORE LIKE A USELESS TROPHY. THE STORY IS NOT A REVERSE HAREM SERIES, BUT THE MERMAID FINDS OUT WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE OUT OF THE SEA, AND DISCOVER A DIFFERENT WORLD. I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THE SERIES ON AUDIBLE!
NARRATOR DID A GREAT JOB!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

This was a great book, as all J.R. Rains books are, but the narration, spsm please get another narrator. SHE IS THE WORST!!

Loved It

Great book, kept my attention all the way to the end, amazing audio delivery, loved it. Will be reading again, every chapter was received amazingly do recommend you give it a read.

Ummm 🤔

I’m not sure if the narrator intended her female voice to be a muffled lisp, It makes it hard to stay in the story. JR Rain & HP Mallory as fantastic authors. I believe with a change in the narrators tone and pattern this would be a great story.

Fun story of a mermaid

How would you like to find out your girlfriend is a mermaid and she’s the girlfriend of the king of the mermen and it has some comedic and serious scenes and can’t wait for the next book

Better than I expected.

Honestly, I was expecting a typical light chick-lit romance. So to see it cover serious themes was, in itself, a surprise. There’s no romance in the book, a plus for me.
The unusual protagonist makes for a novel experience. Not just the fact that she’s a mermaid, but also that she’s in her forties, she’s not looking for a life partner (at least at the start), she doesn’t regret not having children, and she’s curvy & proud of it. Her determination to live an independent life won me over.
The ending is very abrupt. It is clearly leading to the next book in the series. There’s no cliffhanger as such, but I would have preferred a better-rounded ending.
The audiobook, clocking at 4 hrs 10 min, is narrated by Kelley Huston. She does read well, though her accent wasn’t to my liking. Still, the audiobook is a nice option to explore this story.
All in all, this is a nice book that balances fun and seriousness. I loved how it stressed more on Eva’s finding her own freedom. If you can ignore the logical flaws, this can be a great entertainer. Recommended for a light-read mood day.
3.75 stars.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

A grown up little mermaid

Okay, while not quite the little mermaid, it is a cute story. The narrator was new to me and actually pretty good.

It was a nice adventure but this is only book one of a trilogy. I am not sure this story needs three books be told.

I enjoyed this book and was entertained throughout the entire book.

I have cheated and read the blurbs on books 2 and 3, which has made me decide not to continue after this book. Having said that, this is a great listen and a very enjoyable read.

Worth the credit.

Little Mermaid, Fish Out of Water

~Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy of this book. ~

Little Mermaid, Fish Out of Water

I like a story where characters are new to the world. I think the author does a decent job of making it feel like Eva doesn’t know the things she shouldn’t know as a mermaid (it does have some inconsistencies though). I’m a bigger fan of the first half of the books before the potential love interest showed up. Although I knew he would be there due to the blurb about the book, I felt like the story became much more stereotypical once he was introduced.

As I’ve stated before, I enjoy a story with an older protagonist. Always nice to read something about someone who isn’t a teen or in their early twenties.

Solid narration; no complaints there. Although, I recommend you listen to the sample to verify that you like her voice.

If you enjoy mermaid stories, fish out of water tales, light romance and older protagonists, this is worth a look. If you have kindle unlimited this is worth a borrow if you are curious.

I’ll admit though that I’m not likely to continue the story. It didn’t hook me and there are hundreds of interesting reads out there that will likely fit my tastes more.

Great narration!!

I enjoyed this first book in this series but felt the "cliffhanger" ending could have been done better rather than abruptly in mid-conversation.
The audio narration was very well done and enjoyable!