Book Type: YA
Author: Krista Holle
Pages: 260
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?
Trigger warnings: childbirth, infanticide, mild animal abuse
My Review:
If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that selkies are my favorite underwater creature (hence my penname :) ). I'm so glad I discovered this novel, which preserves the ancient lore of selkie men. Let's dive in!
The moment this novel starts, you are instantly transported to Ireland in the 1800s. The setting is richly described with beautiful coastal imagery, and Kait's small island was also described well with great sensory details, including the smells of the farm, the ocean, and the village.
Within the first few pages, we get a sense of Kait's awesome character. In a time period where women were expected to be meek and silent, Kait is defiant and strong, never afraid to speak her mind. When she meets her selkie lover Eamon, she comes across as a bit desperate, but this is the Lure (which you will learn about in the novel).
Regarding the selkies in this novel, I adored them! The author kept the traditional lore in tact while also adding her own spin, especially to the conclusion. Eamon is a wild male selkie, soft and trusting one moment then harsh and angry the next. I appreciate that the author included more natural selkie/seal behaviors to keep the character authentic.
However, I found the pacing incredibly slow. There were endless chapters of Eamon and Kait building their relationship, and while I understand the purpose of this, it slowed the book's progress and left me wondering what the main conflict was. Despite this, the middle half/end of the novel was fantastic, with more of Eamon's history revealed and how his promise to Kait compromises his health. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ending! Usually, we know that selkies leave and that's the end, but something truly magickal and surprising happens.
If you're a patient reader, I recommend this novel! This novel gets 4 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie