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Daughter of the Sea

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Engaged against her will, Calista, a young Roman aristocrat, grapples with the annihilation of her world at the hands of her would-be husband. The violent aftermath uncovers a connection to the mythological land of Atlantis, shattering Calista’s conception of family, the gods—and herself. Calista does not know why the sea sings in her veins—or why her parents have affianced her to the insidious Lord Avaritus. She watches, powerless, as he ruthlessly annihilates all she loves.When Calista tries escape with the remnants of her family, a storm strikes their vessel and Calista is hurled overboard. She reemerges in Atlantis, summoned by the leaders of the undersea domain. The very fiber of her identity shudders after she learns that she is the daughter of Neptune—and not quite mortal. Despite the manipulation of Atlantis’s leaders and the romantic temptations of a pair of smirking grey eyes, Calista must find a way to return to Portus Tarrus to rescue her family and seek revenge against the man who destroyed everything she held dear.

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2011

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About the author

Mira Zamin

2 books6 followers
I'm a recent college graduate who loves traveling, eating, and eating while traveling. I majored in ancient and medieval history, which I found to be a constant source of literary inspiration as well as general fascination. I grew up loving to read and write, especially historical fiction and fantasy—anything that can open up amazing new worlds, a philosophy I try to bring to my own writing.

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5 stars
124 (17%)
4 stars
173 (24%)
3 stars
209 (29%)
2 stars
126 (18%)
1 star
66 (9%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Profile Image for Elizabeth(The Book Whisperer).
398 reviews48 followers
March 26, 2013
The only reason I finished this book was because it would have messed up my challenge! One of my pet peeves is when books don't stick to the time period of the book. This story takes place in Roman times and sayings like" don't go there" were used. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure people did not talk like that in those days. The characters were not well developed, the story was not well told, and the conclusion was rushed and unresolved. This book was sloppy and rushed, the potential is there, but it needs a lot of work.
Profile Image for Andria Potter.
Author 2 books94 followers
August 17, 2024
Started off strong but about halfway it was growing wildly inaccurate with history, and the characters read like a poor b rated movie. It wasn't bad it just wasn't to my taste. 3.5 ⭐
Profile Image for Merissa (Archaeolibrarian).
4,189 reviews119 followers
October 1, 2012
I got this book for two reasons - 1) it was free with 5 stars! and 2) because it involved ancient Rome, mythology, Gods and Atlantis.

However, I have to confess to being disappointed. The potential was there but was just never fulfilled. It felt to me like a lot was touched upon (Gods, a love triangle, war) but never had any depth. The whole plot and storyline was tossed around like a ship in a storm and Calista herself did nothing for me as the heroine of the book.

I would love to hear someone else's opinion on this book!
Profile Image for Kara.
Author 27 books95 followers
December 9, 2015

The story jumps back and forth between Ancient Rome historical fiction and Roman/Greek myth Atlantis. One or the other would have worked better – this sort of leads to mood whiplash as the book never figures out what genre it’s trying to be.

Also, this was very much against my personal preference of Atlantis depiction. When I read about Atlantis I want transporter gates, hydroponics, genetic engineering, hovercrafts, etc. – the absolute cutting edge in sci-fi tech with classy art deco-type interior decorating!

Having the actual gods show up and “magic” as the answer to everything is just not my Atlantean cup of tea.
Profile Image for Jewlia Love.
34 reviews4 followers
June 16, 2013
Horrible book. Plot made no sense and too much twists to make the story plausible let alone enjoyable. Story unsuccessfully tried to merger Romanish society with mythical Atlantis where Atlantis was real...hell even the heroine, Calista didn't even think Atlantis was real so how could the reader?

Only finished it was it was free through Barnes and Noble, plus I wanted to give it a chance even despite the poor ratings. Clearly this author needs to go back to literary school to learn how to craft a better story.
Profile Image for J. Kahele.
Author 15 books439 followers
December 6, 2015
Wow

There is a lot in this book but mostly it is a fictional tale of a very strong girl named Calista. After her father is killed Calista and her remaining family are taken prisoner on their own home. She devised a plan to escape and then the tale takes a twist and never stops.
1 review
December 13, 2020
Enchanting tale woven from classic mythology with threads of adventure and romance. I enjoyed the journey it took me on but was left with much to be desired. It felt rushed in places by way of story timeline jumping ahead several instances thus robbed of gaps of details that could have been told; further embellishment would have fleshed out the story. There were chapters being told from other characters than of the main subject, which I think gave depth, but opportunity was lost on not including some other key storyline characters POV; further, that opportunity was lost in creating a pattern of telling of the story from the POV of the main character then alternating repeatedly to those other key characters telling their POV aligning with the story line much more fluidly. The way the story was written it wanted to reach for that style of structure but was just out of grasp. The ending was left open for the potential and desire for a sequel. The epilogue felt unnecessary as it did nothing to close the story; it was far to short and seemed like an afterthought. I really did love this book but wanted so much more. I'd love to read a sequel because I know the author has the talent and potential through her growth as a writer through time.
37 reviews2 followers
May 28, 2018
Not what I expected

I thought this would be a Roman tale, and it does start out that way with the family of a Roman proconsul at a seaside town in Gaul. The second section took the story away from Rome, with a fantasy element having to do with Atlantis. This was not as interesting to me. The final section was a disappointing end.

I also was bothered by the many errors in the text. Sometimes words were given twice in a row, sometimes words were missing from a sentence, and sometimes the wrong word is used. As an example of the last error, a sentence about observing a character briefly probably should have used “momentarily,” but the text stated she was observed “monetarily,” which gives the scene an entirely different twist.

Profile Image for Midnight Agenda.
58 reviews
February 2, 2018
Could have been a good book

The version of the book I have needs some heavy handed editing, there were so many typos and dropped words.

I desperately wanted to like the story and it was engaging though wordy at times, the ending was ultimately disappointing. A good fluff piece mixing ancient Rome with the gods and and interesting tale, but the ending left so much to be desired.
Profile Image for MaryJane Rings.
472 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2020
This book was not what I expected. I don't think it had ever been proofread. there were many grammatical errors as well as extra words and incomplete sentences. The story had no depth. For all of the author's credentials, the writing was very much that of an amateur. Disappointing.
8 reviews
January 31, 2021
Ethereal

Mystic meets mystery. Gods and humans coming together. Beautiful description of Roman architecture. Also, the storyline is very interesting. There must be sequence to this book.
Profile Image for PapaTrain.
90 reviews
October 2, 2020
All Godlings attend.

A decent story about a young girl discovering the truth of her heritage & not all that happy with it.
Profile Image for Clarissa.
181 reviews7 followers
August 12, 2017
There are some books that I just fall in love with; that I can’t seem to get out of my head and when it’s finished, I can’t bring myself to accept. I think all of us who are readers feel this way about certain stories. It takes a powerful writer to make the world around us disappear and to draw us into their world. And it’s different for all of us, of course, depending upon the genre that we really love. But I am certain that you understand what I mean; that there are some books that are amazing and then there are others that fall flat. I seem to be on a roll with books that I just did not like in the least.

As I said with Anne Boleyn: The King’s Obsession, there was something I did like. But in Mira Zamin’s ‘Daughter of the Sea’, that was not the case at all. You know how they say you get what you pay for? I paid nothing and I got nothing out of this one. I realise this sounds harsh but I like to be honest. This book was convoluted. It jumped around and I had trouble keeping up with the twists and turns. This isn’t because I didn’t try–I would reread certain things but sometimes it just didn’t make sense.

I thought it would be interesting, with mentions of the gods and Atlantis, but this? No. It fell flat in almost every way. The story line was dull and the twists and turns were predictable. The characters as stiff as cardboard, no depth. Also, the use of modern expressions in that time period was annoying. ‘Don’t go there’ for one. They wouldn’t have said that in Ancient Roman times. Calista, our ‘heroine’, seemed like she would have rather been anywhere else but where she was. It made her hard to like. She was painted to be a strong, independent heroine, but I found her whiny and rather intolerable. If a kraken had appeared and swallowed her, it would have been a joy. Also, if you want your reader to believe in Atlantis, wouldn’t it behoove you to try and make it seem vibrant and wonderful? There was nothing remarkable it to me except that it was underwater.

My friends will tell you that I’m something of a grammar freak. I’ve calmed down quite a lot, I’ll have you know, but I really do wonder if the author had anyone proofread it. There were spelling and grammatical errors in many different places and it proved to be (highly) distracting along with the words missing in places.

Another pet peeve of mine is when there’s an abrupt ending! Grrrr! This felt like it was a huge work in process. It needed a lot of work to make it complete. The premise had promise, but the execution was exceptionally poor.

If I had paid for it, I’d have been livid.
Profile Image for Rachel.
Author 7 books12 followers
August 25, 2012
Sometimes, I read a "description" of a book and it tells me nothing, not even enough to begin to guess at what a juicy story might be hidden in the pages I'm examining.

Other times, the description only describes the first chapter or one sub plot, and has so little to do with the book, as to be nearly useless.
Especially with Kindle books, I want a good description of a story before I start to read it, to know if this is a book that I would find interesting ... because I can't leaf through a Kindle and skim the pages for snatches of a story, nor can I skip.

But the product description above gives an excellent overview of the basic plot without giving away any spoilers or the meat of the story. Oh yes, there is so much more to this book than the description tells, but I cannot write up a basic plot any better than the one given.

Daughter of the Sea was an amazingly easy book to get into and enjoy. Calista is a likable girl, especially in the tenderness she exhibits toward her family. Her only fault is that she has not allowed her father to find her a husband, and to her dismay, her father is enticed by a strange man to forcer her hand in marriage. Calista doesn't trust him, and finds him repulsive, not just because of his age, but also his mannerisms and the looks he gives her when her parents are not aware.

If you read a story to be entertained, you will probably be disappointed, unless you are a fan of tragedies. But if you want to be challenged, this book does provide much fuel for thought. What would YOU do if you found yourself faced with the same or similar hardships, if everything you held dear was stolen from you and you were forced to watch others enjoying and abusing the things (and people) that you love? How far would you go to escape? How brave would you be to face the unknown and the unthinkable? Would you throw away a life of ease to return to help those that still suffer? Would you put thousands in danger for a handful of lives that you hold dear?

For Full Review: http://www.oscarlettreviews.blogspot....
Profile Image for Erin Howard.
30 reviews4 followers
September 15, 2012
This was a really good fantasy adventure with a strong, yet still believable, young female lead. I am a huge sucker for period pieces and this take of the Roman empire and mythology was wonderfully done. The writing was very descriptive, particularly the food (I could practically taste it!) and overall the setting was a feast for the imagination.

I am basing my review mostly on the build up and progression of the story, not the ending. I felt the ending wasn't satisfying, but the rest of the book was very enjoyable. The writing was excellent, although I would highly recommend getting a different editor as there were several errors. Forgotten words were the biggest issue, but it was easy to decipher given the context of the sentences.

Getting down to character development, I really enjoyed the leads. They had their flaws, their insecurities, their strengths, and their weaknesses. They were completely believable in their roles! The love triangle had a wonderful and unique twist and didn't detract from the story at all.

The only criticism I have for this book is the ending. It was so abrupt and left me flailing to know more. It really looked like the author was running out of time or space and had to finish up quick. Very disappointing...

Overall, though? Excellent adventure!
Profile Image for Linda.
2,174 reviews
August 15, 2017
I liked the story. Ms. Zamin has the makings of a good writer IF she can find a good editor. I found myself mentally inserting "of", "for", ""to", and "with" where prepositions had been (unintentionally?) left out.

Vocabulary was also a problem. There were several egregious errors; the following were annoying enough that I made note of them.

"Silver LIGHTENING laced through them, a silently flashing filigree." LIGHTENING is a verb form; the noun, meaning a bolt of electricity, is LIGHTNING.

"... attempted to STAUNCH the flow of blood." A loyal friend is STAUNCH; the verb STANCH is used when referring to an effort to stop a flow of blood.

"... soothe her ROLLICKING stomach." My best guess here is that the author meant ROILING stomach.

Very late in the book I also saw "...one of the MAN ..." and "... a group of HORSEMAN ...", obviously errors in the plural forms.

The book ended quite abruptly, on a cliffhanger, making me think there might be a sequel sometime in the future to tie up the loose ends. This book was not bad for a first effort, but there is definitely room for improvement.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,085 reviews101 followers
August 14, 2013
This story was a disappointment. The mythology was great, with a unique twist on Atlantis, but the execution did not match the potential of the story.

Everything seemed to happen too fast and the ending didn’t really have a good conclusion. There were numerous gaps of time where it wasn’t even mention how much time had passed. But for everything to have happened, the time lapsed over the course of the book seemed much too long.

Calista was a frustrating character. She was a mix of brave and whiny, headstrong and brat. She was forever changing her mind and causing trouble. She wasn’t at all likable, which made it even harder to enjoy the story.

Overall, I was not impressed with either the characters, the plot or the execution. I did like the twist on Atlantis, but it wasn’t enough to redeem the book.
Profile Image for Lauren.
16 reviews4 followers
January 2, 2014
I couldn't finish this book. I stopped about 3/4 of the way through.

I got it for free through B&N's ebook fling. I probably wouldn't have picked it up in the first place otherwise.

One thing that really bothered me about this book is the lack of editing--there are many instances of poor grammar, misspelling, and flat out choosing the wrong word. Was this even proofread before it was published? It was very distracting and detracted from the story. I think such details only support my overall impression that this book was a work in progress and not a finished product.

The premise of the story seemed interesting. I enjoyed the Roman setting and some of the cultural elements infused in the story. But the characters and the plot seemed superficial. The Atlantis element initially comes out of nowhere as a twist, but again the world lacks depth. I lost interest.
Profile Image for Treva Fitzgerald.
24 reviews
November 28, 2014
I think the Young Lady has great talent, but she didn't get the help she needed to smooth out the rough spots.
Her story jumped around and I would have to back track at times to understand what I missed. Most of the time the Bridges between chapters were weak.
Grammar and sentence structuring needed work. She used to much of "today's cliches and language" made the story hard to follow.
The ENDing was so upset it just ended. No idea if there is a book two or that was it. To many questions left answered for me.

I love Roman history, but found the story of Atlantis buried in the storyline interesting, but gave her two storylines to work with and left incomplete.

Please do a book two, I would love to know how things end.

And don't stop writing, I would love to see more from you. You have a gift for details I enjoyed.
Profile Image for Sabrina.
666 reviews2 followers
February 14, 2013
This story had so much potential (with or without Atlantis), but did not deliver. I am really confused why Atlantis was even added to this story because it wasn't necessary to further the plot and it didn't add any significance to the existing story. The only thing it gave us was Hadrian, but I'm still confused as to why was he was even there?

Which also begs the question: what was the whole point of Claudis? His storyline would have made sense if Clarista had to struggle with losing him, but she didn't.

Also, this book was full of typos and grammatical errors that made it difficult to read. YET! this book is getting 2 stars from me because I kept reading. Despite all of the above, something kep me reading.
Profile Image for Dana.
125 reviews8 followers
May 23, 2013
More could have been done with this story. I liked the vantage of the Greek/Roman era but there was something that just wasn't there. However, I cannot seem to put a finger onto what it is that is missing. .
I loved the heroine Calista (Caly) and her tenacity for family and home. However, I would have liked to see more of the love story unfold between Caly and Hadrian, and it doesn't, in fact, it drops off in mid stride and a bit too hastily as though nothing more could have been said. I rate it a 3 star read.
Profile Image for Tara.
114 reviews21 followers
May 30, 2014
I really enjoyed this book until the end. The epilogue didn't really give me anything, as far as closure. I really wanted to know more about what happened with the characters and their journey to Rome, but it just sort of ended. I'm hoping that this is actually part of a series and the second book will pick up where the first one left off, but at this moment I do not know if there is a sequel.

The nitpicky stuff: there were some grammar issues which sometimes hung me up, but for the most part it was well written.
Profile Image for Janine Treannie.
69 reviews
December 1, 2016
I actually finished the book yesterday on my Kindle & I would definitely say that the story is really good, but the main characters could've had so much more to them.
Calista & Claudias not only do they find out they are from the underwater city of Atlantis & siblings, but they are also demigods & yet they hardly show any signs of a possible significant power except to maybe heal quicker than most.
I definitely think there should've been more action on the part of the main characters which I think would've made the story even more exciting. All in all I gave it 4 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Anna Katherina.
260 reviews92 followers
July 1, 2020
This book will draw you in, hold you tight and absolutely refuse to let you go until the very last words; it has such an amazing storyline, and wonderfully thought out characters... Easily one of the best books set in Roman times that I've read so far.

My only problem is that her free amazon copy is riddled with missing words and other errors and is in sore need of revision. But where that usually detracts from books for me, in this case the story's so beautifully written and captivating that I don't quite mind as much as I usually would.
1 review
July 10, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. The plot is captivating and imaginative. However, I don't feel the book was very well written - as some people have already mentioned, there were several grammatical errors and typos. It also came to a very abrupt ending which disappointed me. I found the main character, Calista, to be somewhat underdeveloped with her motives constantly changing. Despite this, it's a very addictive novel.
Profile Image for Lettie.
103 reviews
December 14, 2012
What started out as a great story quickly got out of hand and confused. I feel like the author was trying to tell two different stories here, and wasn't quite sure how to blend them together cohesively. Add in the spelling and grammatical errors, plus just plain typing errors, and you have a recipe for disaster. that being said, I think that had she slowed down the story a bit and really focused on what she wanted to tell the reader, this could have been a much better novel.
Profile Image for Kat.
286 reviews33 followers
August 6, 2015
Second in a row historical fiction with Roman setting that is absolute CRAP.
Mary Sue? Check. I think Calista should be awarded with Mary Sue of the Year title.
Barely existing plot? Check. Because, well, transport is not plot.
Carton characters? Check.
Stiff dialogue? Check.
"It's been an hour and I couldn't care less about these people"? Check.
Give me my time back, thankfully I did not give any money for that.
Profile Image for Ruth.
4,713 reviews
September 26, 2012
c2012: The story is a mixture of mythology, history and spec fic and the synopsis seemed interesting. I don't think I was the target market but probably the dreaded YA market would thoroughly enjoy it. The writing was okay but I found the book awfully hard going- enough of an interest to actually finish the book but not enough to recommend to the normal crew.
Profile Image for Jenn Doyle.
271 reviews
October 31, 2012
Was not impressed with this, unfortunately. By the end of the book I was so sick of the main characters I was happy to finish it. The saving graces were Olympia & Pyp, but the rest was just a waste of time.
28 reviews
February 9, 2013
The book started off well and had a lot of promise. It started to get a little confusing in the middle and then fell flat at the end. I really was hoping for more at the end as opposed to unanswered questions and everyone riding off in the sunset without a true conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews

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