The Lure of Shapinsay
by Krista Holle
Amazon Rating: 4-star 75%
About the book:
Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.
Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.
Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?
Book Review (originally published in September 2012)
The Lure of Shapinsay is my first selkie book. When I accepted the request to read and review this, I thought the story is interesting but I honestly didn't know what selkies are. I was imagining they're like mermaids/mermen, you know those fish-like creatures. So this is actually a shocking read for me. Selkies are not fish-like creatures. Imagine, seal in water, human on land. Wait - did you know that seal and sea lion are two different sea creatures? They look the same to me so again, I didn't know they're different until I read this book! Back to the Scottish folklore, selkies wear their skin when in water but if they want to be human, they have to shed their skin. This is all new to me so I checked other reviews for this book, seems like the other reviewers also didn't have a clue about this folklore.
Anyway, the book focuses on the forbidden romance of a selkie, Eamon and human girl Kait. The first pages were kind of a slow read. The strange dialogue did turn me off a little so I stopped reading but when I picked it up again, I didn't stop until I'm done reading it. Kait and Eamon (selkie) completely rocked my world! Oh I loved it and I'm adding this to my "all-time favorite" books. The different setting of the story is awesome! It's easy to love the main characters and even the secondary characters, Blair, Kait's twin brother and the old Tipper, the female selkie. I love the writing style, the book is told in alternating pov's of Eamon and Kait. I know I said some alternating pov's can hurt the story but this time, it flows just right. Knowing what they both feel is like connecting to them.
This is highly recommended for people who are looking for something fresh to read. It's an interesting myth and I thank the author, Krista Holle, for introducing selkies to me.
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