The Lure of Shapinsay
by Krista Holle
Ebook, 260 pages
Publication Date: December 16th 2011
by Sweet River Romance
ISBN 2940013878815
Book Source: publisher
2 Stars
Book Summary from Goodreads: 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?
Crystal’s Review: I want to start by saying this book is not a bad book. Actually I think that anyone who enjoys books that include folklore and magical creatures would really enjoy this book. The author does a wonderful job of describing the surroundings and characters. The mystery surrounding the selkie people is enough to keep you wanting to read till the end. I generally do not read this genre of book however this book has left me more open to reading more books of this sort. I ended up rating the book two stars because I just could not connect with the story. When the book first started I was excited by the main character Kait. She came across as a strong minded young lady that could stand up for herself and had no fear of the men in the town. She did not yearn to please a man, nor did she spend her time gossiping like most of the other women. She did her share of the work at home and hassled just as hard as the men in town when selling her eggs. I love strong females in books so I started the book off liking her very much. However I felt less and less drawn to her as the book continued. After one meeting with a selkie man she turns into the polar opposite of what she once was. From that day on the only thing on her mind is the selkie man and she is willing to throw herself into the ocean to be with him. While I understand that the selkie men have a magic lure that women cannot resist having the main character change so quickly started my disconnect from the book. After that I just didn’t find myself as caught up in the story as I usually do with books that really catch my interest. I will definitely be on the look out for other books by this author seeing as even though I didn’t love this book the author kept me intrigued enough to read it till the end.
Content: Numerous mentions of nudity and sexual activity.
Crystal
About the Author: Krista has been writing since she was nine-years-old when she scribbled out her first adolescent work entitled Merish, the completely illogical but heartfelt story of a girl who was part mermaid, part fish. As a young mother, Krista added to her repertoire some middle grade readers and picture books she’s wary of mentioning.
In 2004, Krista began an intensive four year period working part-time as a critical care nurse while homeschooling her four children. During this hectic time, courses of writing were taught and learned, and rules of syntax were scolded to memory. Ironically this period of study equipped Krista with the tools she needed to enter the next phase of her writing experience.
Now equipped with the mysteries of the comma, Krista was ready to tackle a much bigger project–a full-fledged novel.
After the kids were enrolled in public school in 2009, it occurred to Krista that there is an insatiable audience of women and girls who want to read books filled with stories about true love, not just vampires. Convinced that there was an unfulfilled audience waiting for what she love to write–romance, she sat down in the family’s dungeon, a.k.a. the basement, and began to furiously type. In no time, her first novel was drying on crisp white paper.
Krista currently resides in Midlothian, Virginia with her husband, four daughters, and an eccentric cat with a weird attachment to the family’s socks. She continues to write obsessively every chance she can get.
