Updrift

The Mer Chronicles

By: Errin Stevens

Narrated by: Sean Posvistak

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

For Kate Sweeting, love isn't in the air. It's in the water.

Since her father died, Kate Sweeting’s home life has been in the pits, her well-being on life support. Her future looks desolate until she and her mother, Cara, make another plan: abandon their shriveled existence for more promising prospects on the coast, where Cara can play small-town librarian-bachelorette, and Kate can figure out that secretive Blake family from the beach.

Everyone is eerily captivated with Kate and her mother, and Cara is the first to figure out why when the man of her dreams arrives all dripping and devoted and closed-mouthed about what he intends. Kate is willing to go along with their subterfuge for a while, but eventually makes a charge for the water to learn what her mother is hiding.

Gabe Blake is there waiting for her...and so is someone considerably less friendly. By the time Kate navigates her way home, everything will have changed for her - what she feels, what she wants, and what she’ll risk to be with the man she loves.

©2015 Errin Stevens (P)2017 Errin Stevens

WHO KNEW MERMEN COULD BE SO COOL!

Not just another YA series. It's really good and different from the vampire/ werewolf series out there. I love the way author has written this story with the idea of teenagers not engaging in premarital activities. How the characters have to finish high school, go to college, get a career in order to bring something to the table for marriage and kids. The Blake family and its values are awesome. I cant wait to see what's next.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

An interesting saga-ish paranormal romance

Any additional comments?

A very interesting paranormal romance about mer-people who are, in fact, sirens. And let me just say that the mer-people are extremely attractive, smart and irresistible, though I am still undecided whether I find them to be attracive or a little freaky with the whole mood and mind control thing. I think that mating with humans puts the humans at a clear disadvantage because the sirens seem to be able to blur the edges of the human's awareness and alter that person's interpretation of reality.

That said, this is the story of two highly intelligent individuals who have an instant connection, even at the age of five. A lot of the book is dedicated to detailing their childhood up to the age of 20 - 21 when they can finally get together. The siren community has a particular mating ritual steeped in secrecy that prevents Kate, a human, and Gabe, a siren, from exploring their attraction. This part of the book is a little slow moving, detailed and mysterious.

Then... bang.... they get together as adults and accelerate into a fully committed relationship, complete with a baby on the way, in no time at all. The book suddenly picks up speed. While most of the issues from the first part are resolved, the plot thickens as Kate attracts more than just her mate's attention. Remember the whole altered reality thing I mentioned earlier. Well that ability is central to the mystery. Overall, very interesting though I did think an extraordinary amount of time was spent on the protagonists' childhood. I wish more time was spent on their budding romance. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

great concept on the mermaid story line

I am rating this book at 3 1/2 for several reasons. The story line is very good, don't get me wrong, but the 1st about 2/3 of the book is a little boring at times It is mainly I guess you would call it the backstory. You get to understand the relationship between the lead characters Kate & Gabe. You see them grow up from age 6, when Kate and her family first move to town and she meets Gabe.

The last 1/3 of the book is very interesting though. Kate and Gabe are now adults, married and expecting a child. But Kate is in danger, and Gabe has to free her.

I do like that men are the Sirens. There is basically a whole new set of rules to mermaid books when Men get to take the lead as far as I am concerned. I liked how the Author allowed the sirens and mermaids to live normal lives on land.

As for the audiobook. It was narrated by Sean Posvistak. I felt like he was reading too fast. Like he was racing through the story. I didn't really get the chance to feel the book. He did seem to slow down in Part 2 of the book some, and I was able to get more into it then.

I may get a copy of the book and read it. Sometimes a book can be a whole lot better or just different when it is read then by listening to the audiobook.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Errin Stevens. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Interesting

I got this book via audiobook boom. This story was very long and spent a lot of time on the H/h childhood and college life. When they finally got together it was very interesting. Gabe is a siren and she is human. But her mother married a siren after several years of widowhood. The whole siren community kept Kate in the dark until she was finished with college and working. This was a nice story and the end was very nice. It just took a long time to get to the end. No cliffhangers but there will be more stories. the narration was very well done and kept the story moving.

A fantastic start to a new series

This fantastic book is one for all ages. I does take a while to get into it because the depth of the characters, but once you do you will not be disappointed. From start to finish, there is action, suspense and even chemistry between the characters.

From a very young age Kate Sweeting has been in awe of the Blake family. Though she can't point her finger on it, there is something different about the entire family. But whom she is most drawn to is Gabe Blake, a boy about her age. From the time they were five, they seemed destined to be together, but sometimes life just gets in the way. This is a tale of destined love and great friendship.

I love the intricate world Errin Stevens has created in Updrift. It is part of the Mer Chronicles and after reading this story, I will definitely be reading more from her in the future. There are so many facets woven into this story that once you get into it, you will never want to leave the incredible world she has created.

PS -Sean Posvistak does an excellent job of narrating this book. From start to finish his performance kept my interest and did not let go. I am new to him as a narrator, but this will not be my last I hear from him.

Mer-tastic! Good enough for me to want more.

This book is going to be hard to review. Not because I disliked it, on the contrary I think it’s fantastic but it is so good that I don’t want to ruin any of it with spoilers. Oh well here goes…

After the death of her husband, Cara decides to move, with her daughter Kate to become a librarian in a small coastal town. They find contentment there, and make some good friends including the mysterious Blake family. Cara falls in love with John, they marry and Kate is happy for her mother and really likes her new family set up. Her sadness is that she knows her mother, step-father, and her friend and childhood love Gabe Blake are keeping her in the dark over something…

Updrift is a really gripping tale, even though there are a couple of lulls at times (they are necessary to the story and not boring) but the narration maintains energy throughout these areas. The characters are mostly likeable though I did find myself feeling frustrated with them at times for Kate. Their secrecy is necessary and the reason for this becomes clear about halfway through the story.

This is where the story really gains pace and adventure and it is also where I stop talking about what is happening, no spoilers from here on out..

Some stories work wonderfully in audiobook format, this is definitely one of those books.

Lets focus on the Narration and writing as the final part of this review…

Errin Stevens writes with such flair and a wealth of imagination. Parts of the story reflect real world day to day problems while other parts are more fantasy and they are merged seamlessly.

The narrator Sean Posvistak is absolutely fantastic! He blends characters talking along with the storytelling without any awkward pauses. It felt like he was reading to me and acting out the narrative at the same time.

The sea calls.

Any additional comments?

A different kind of paranormal romance. The beginning of it full of slow angst. Keep going in the story heats up. A New World is explored and discovered. And the new love and a new life . Good narration and a good fresh storyline. I am interested to see what happens next.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Really enjoyable YA para romance...

Updrift: The Mer Chronicles by Erinn Stevens is a fun, solid para romance that I feel is more on the YA level, but still completely enjoyable for adults as well. Okay, so the funny thing is that I tried listening to this book a few times and couldn't get into it and kept on restarting it. Now, I'm not sure why. I started it yesterday and devoured it. This book moves through quite a bit of time very quickly in the beginning. So if you feel like it's jumping pretty darn quickly, just know that it's because Ms. Stevens is just looking to set the stage and background for the story, actually the whole series, since this story carries over to more than just this book.

This is the story of two best friends, Kate and Gabe, and their journey from first meeting when they were just kids through early adulthood. Yes, you get your HEA, so I don't think it's really spoiling anything by saying they end up together, but it's a fun journey to get there, and there's some mystery happening after they officially end up together as well, which is in the second half of the book. You see, the thing is, Gabe and his family are Sirens. Kate eventually finds out and a lot of things finally make sense. As Gabe and Kate start settling into domestic bliss, someone gets jealous and plots against them. It was a really enjoyable book overall and I'm definitely interested in reading the next book in the series!

Sean Posvistak did a really good job with the narration. He handled both the male and female voices beautifully and he really helped bring the story to life. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

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A unique and distinctive book on modern day Mer

Firstly I would like to say thank you to AudiobookWorm for providing me with a free copy of this audiobook.

UPDRIFT is the first book in a series called THE MER CHRONICLES. There are literally thousands of books on mermaids on the market today and most have been written for a Young Adult readership, this is not so for UPDRIFT.

This audiobook drew me in right away and held my attention for the entirety of the eight and a half hours.

I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline - there is no Disney princess in this book. The Mermaids and Mermen in this book are also called Sirens and it even gives a bit of history and explains how and why ancient sailors got their information wrong.

The story centers on two "people." One is human (Kate) and one is a siren (Gabe). They meet at age five and the story follows the paths of their separate lives right up to the age of twenty-one. I don't want to give too much away with my review, so, suffice it to say that the waiting is worth it.

But of course, someone is always out to stomp on another's happiness.

There are several themes included in this audiobook that are taken very seriously by the characters. These themes persist throughout the book and I think they should also be important to listeners.

The first theme is FAMILY.

At the very beginning of the book we learn that Kate who is a toddler at that time, has lost her father to a farming accident. Kate's mother, who is only in  her twenties when she becomes a widow, decides to answer an advertisement for a small-town librarian. Her older sister, Dana, laments Kate's choice and cannot understand why she wouldn't pursue a higher paying and more prestigious career. Kate's reasons are both simple and admirable. She wants a job that she can enjoy and that offers her flexibility and working hours that allow her to spend as much time with her daughter as possible.
There are many more examples of the importance of family throughout this book. There is also an example of what the lack of a loving family can do to a person.

Theme #2 is COMMUNITY.

This Audiobook does a wonderful job of relaying the importance of community, not only for children, but also for adults.

Theme #3 is THE ENVIRONMENT.

In one scene, Carmen (Gabe's Mother) is reading a magazine article regarding the effects of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and she becomes so upset that she has to stop reading.

All of the Mer wear belts that hold knives while they are in the water. The reason for this is so that if they become entangled in a fisherman's net, they can cut themselves free. They can escape unlike whales and dolphins who often drown from being stuck in a net and unable to surface and take a breath.

There are several other themes in this audiobook and I encourage potential readers/listeners to return to my blog after finishing the book and to post the themes they have discovered.

The narration was terrific and even though it was a male Narrator, he did an excellent job of voicing characters of both sexes.

I rate this audiobook as 4 out of 5 Stars.

Interesting!

Good plot, good narration.


"This book was provided at no cost for an unbiased review. "