The Sea Bride: Children of The Waves by Laverne Thompson
July 08th, 2015
Interesting, interesting concept.
I can't say I wasn't a little intrigued by an interracial romance novel featuring merfolk, especially when you take into account Black women get a bad wrap for not wanting to wet their hair XD
The plot is intriguing. It featured a prince of the sea named Xavior who came from a race of merfolk(they didn't have fins, they could just live and breathe underwater) constantly at war. He's next in line for the throne, but can't accept the throne until he finds a bride.
Seem easy? Not!
His people are only destined to have one mate, and they know they've met them in their lifetime if they start to age.
And they can only prove they've found their mate later in life if they...this is kinda weird XD But if they can orgasm having sex, as they won't be able to with someone who is not their mate.
There were a bunch of things going on, but I'll split between things I liked and didn't.
Things I enjoyed:
I found the plot promising. It was definitely an interesting concept.
I had a few issues with Cori, Xavior's bride, but overall I thought they had interesting chemistry.
The villain was dope, I really wished they'd focused on her more, but she was a slick woman on a mission.
And while the ending wasn't without a cliffhanger, Im glad it ended with Xavior knowing the truth, and being able to move forward to unite the sea.
Things I didn't connect with:
Doh!
Cori, Cori, Cori.
Another Black main female character forced to pass the paper bag test. I know Black women come in all colors, but when you just keep reading the same skin tone over and over, you feel like you're looking at the same character over and over.
There's nothing wrong with being honey, caramel, cafe au lait toned Black woman(except for the food comparisons, it's just not appropriate when you research the history behind it)but it just seems as if this is the universal way to look Black and attractive. Not too dark, finer hair and features.
This wouldn't be an issue if there was complexion diversity in romance novels, but I read too many to know unfortunately there isn't much. You're either Beyonce-brown or you automatically have to be insecure.
I really want to support authors and books like this, but I want to see variety too. For every book to follow the same pattern seems to push me into not reading interracial romance between White men and Black women, because if the only way a man of a different race to find me attractive is to be fair skinned, he's not worth the time to begin with.
Yea, that's getting on some TMI shit, lol.
My other issue was with the sex scene. It felt a little rape-y to me. Maybe other women reading it find it spontaneous to wake up with a guy having sex with you while you're slightly unconscious to not know if it's a dream or not kinda sexy, but sadly I do not.
The sex itself would've been cool, but the way it went about was just too rape-y for me to give it the thumbs up, especially with the state of rape culture in this country.
I also felt there was a lot of emphasis on youth. Xavior kept mentioning how young Cori looked. And he didn't age past 25 physically. Are you not allowed to age with grace under the sea? You don't lose your entire appeal just because you have a wrinkle or two, so it was a slight turn off.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. I enjoyed it enough to spark an interest in purchasing it's sequel and I hope it doesn't disappoint. If this book seems like it'd interest you, it's free on Amazon now!
Interesting, interesting concept.
I can't say I wasn't a little intrigued by an interracial romance novel featuring merfolk, especially when you take into account Black women get a bad wrap for not wanting to wet their hair XD
The plot is intriguing. It featured a prince of the sea named Xavior who came from a race of merfolk(they didn't have fins, they could just live and breathe underwater) constantly at war. He's next in line for the throne, but can't accept the throne until he finds a bride.
Seem easy? Not!
His people are only destined to have one mate, and they know they've met them in their lifetime if they start to age.
And they can only prove they've found their mate later in life if they...this is kinda weird XD But if they can orgasm having sex, as they won't be able to with someone who is not their mate.
There were a bunch of things going on, but I'll split between things I liked and didn't.
Things I enjoyed:
I found the plot promising. It was definitely an interesting concept.
I had a few issues with Cori, Xavior's bride, but overall I thought they had interesting chemistry.
The villain was dope, I really wished they'd focused on her more, but she was a slick woman on a mission.
And while the ending wasn't without a cliffhanger, Im glad it ended with Xavior knowing the truth, and being able to move forward to unite the sea.
Things I didn't connect with:
Doh!
Cori, Cori, Cori.
Another Black main female character forced to pass the paper bag test. I know Black women come in all colors, but when you just keep reading the same skin tone over and over, you feel like you're looking at the same character over and over.
There's nothing wrong with being honey, caramel, cafe au lait toned Black woman(except for the food comparisons, it's just not appropriate when you research the history behind it)but it just seems as if this is the universal way to look Black and attractive. Not too dark, finer hair and features.
This wouldn't be an issue if there was complexion diversity in romance novels, but I read too many to know unfortunately there isn't much. You're either Beyonce-brown or you automatically have to be insecure.
I really want to support authors and books like this, but I want to see variety too. For every book to follow the same pattern seems to push me into not reading interracial romance between White men and Black women, because if the only way a man of a different race to find me attractive is to be fair skinned, he's not worth the time to begin with.
Yea, that's getting on some TMI shit, lol.
My other issue was with the sex scene. It felt a little rape-y to me. Maybe other women reading it find it spontaneous to wake up with a guy having sex with you while you're slightly unconscious to not know if it's a dream or not kinda sexy, but sadly I do not.
The sex itself would've been cool, but the way it went about was just too rape-y for me to give it the thumbs up, especially with the state of rape culture in this country.
I also felt there was a lot of emphasis on youth. Xavior kept mentioning how young Cori looked. And he didn't age past 25 physically. Are you not allowed to age with grace under the sea? You don't lose your entire appeal just because you have a wrinkle or two, so it was a slight turn off.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. I enjoyed it enough to spark an interest in purchasing it's sequel and I hope it doesn't disappoint. If this book seems like it'd interest you, it's free on Amazon now!
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