Review: Between the Sea and Sky

Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Publication Date: October 25th 2011
Pages: 229
Source: Library
Genre: Historical, Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alander, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alander band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

Between the Sea and Sky is a nice, light story with a historical paranormal setting which has a very unique story and lovely characters. The book is about a Siren named Esmerine who goes on a mission on land to find her sister who she believes had been taken by humans. On her trip she seeks the help of a Alander, a boy who she knew as a child who is a winged being. On their trip Esmerine faces the hardships of life on land versus in the sea as well as finding a romance she didn't expect.

The most unique thing in this story was how the author combined a historical and paranormal themes. Both the Mermaid and Winged beings are well known creatures in the human world the book takes place in. It's almost as if three separate worlds work together as one on the same planet. I really liked  how this aspect of the story was very original and interesting. I also liked how, in the book, all three worlds were visited.

The main characters in the book are Alander and Esmerine. Alander is a winged being, who lives in the human world and works at a book shop. Alander is very book smart and a good friend toward Esmerine. Esmerine is a siren who goes to land out of worry of her sister's life thinking she has been taken by humans. That's really all I can think to say about those two... I feel like the characters weren't as well developed as I wish that had been. I feel like I barely know much about them except that the are both good people who try to the the right thing and both love books. I did like the bits of romance between the two characters but it seemed very insta-lovey. There was very little time between their first kiss and when Esmerine decides she loves Alander.

Though overall this book was good I had a bit of trouble taking it seriously. I have a feeling that the reason this book didn't really make it for me was because right before I read it I had read a really really good, heavy book and this one was just so different and light compared to the one that I had read before it that it just didn't make it in my expectations that the time.