Goldilocks

Salt and Starlight, Book 2

By: L Sherleen

Narrated by: Benjamin Crow

Sam isn't sure where he belongs.

A fisherman's son with hands more suited to painting than hauling traps, he's spent his life caught between two worlds—between land and water, duty and passion. He keeps to the tides, drifting through life unseen, unnoticed. His father doesn't recognize him half the time, his estranged brother has returned like he never left, and college is an uphill battle he isn't sure he can win. The only place that feels like home is his father's boat, where the world is quiet enough to think.

Then Goldilocks arrives.

Golden-haired and impossible to ignore, the merman doesn't ask for Sam's attention—he demands it. He lingers at the edge of Sam's world, watches him too closely, gets under his skin in ways no one else ever has.

Sam should ignore him.

But Goldilocks won't let him. Sam, who has spent his whole life being overlooked, suddenly finds himself the focus of someone who refuses to let him fade into the background. And the more Goldilocks pulls him in, the harder it becomes to pretend he doesn't want to follow.

Sam has always been alone. But maybe, for the first time, he doesn't have to be.

Goldilocks is an MM merman mystery adventure.

©2025 L Sherleen (P)2025 Podium Audio

Goldilocks

Goldilocks continues Salt and Starlight with a steadier emotional footing, a bit more deliberate exploration of power and intimacy. Sherleen leans into quiet tension and longing rather than spectacle, letting the relationship evolve through caution, curiosity, and earned trust. The pacing occasionally lingers too long in introspection, softening momentum even as it deepens character understanding. Still, the atmospheric restraint and thematic consistency keep the story cohesive and purposeful. It’s a thoughtful, slightly uneven installment that feels more confident in its emotional logic than its predecessor, even when it plays things safely.