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La última sirena

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531 a.d.: Se dice que la diminuta isla de Kell está encantada, habitada por una criatura extraordinaria que consuela a los marineros víctima de naufragio en su paso al otro mundo. El príncipe Aeda de las Islas no cree en semejantes tonterías... hasta que despierta en la isla de Kell y conoce a la sensual sirena que lo rescata del mar.

1721: Ronan MacMhuirich, conde de Kell, es el objetivo de un atípico asesino: Leila, una misteriosa mujer procedente de una tierra exótica. Pero su irresistiblemente y hermosa futura asesina está en igual peligro que Ronan cuando se enamora de este hombre poseedor de su propia magia.

2004: ¿Qué harías si heredases una isla escocesa de la que desconocías su existencia... y descubres que estás siendo perseguida por un guapo desconocido que quiere comprártela? Eso es lo que le sucede a Ruri Kell cuando acepta la invitación de Ian MacInne para visitar su heredad, y escuchar una proposición tan pecaminosamente tentadora como el resto de él.

Tres seductoras historias de amor, tres apasionadas parejas, todas relacionadas por uno de los mitos más románticos de todos.

608 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

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2974 people want to read

About the author

Shana Abe

30 books2,001 followers
Shana Abé is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seventeen books, including the acclaimed Drákon Series and the Sweetest Dark Series.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and currently resides in the mountains of Colorado with her very patient husband and a lot of pets.

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5 stars
502 (30%)
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484 (29%)
3 stars
437 (26%)
2 stars
147 (8%)
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69 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
Profile Image for Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms).
512 reviews72 followers
January 24, 2017
EDIT....I originally read this book and reviewed it in 2012. Since then I have read it twice and listened to the audio (note - the audio from audible.com is missing 174 pages and I reported it but no response. I loved the audio so just read the missing pages in my book and then continued it). I could do with a little less sex in a book but it is not smutty, but the stories (there are 3 connected stories) are just beautiful. I love legends and stories about the Selkies/Sirens too. 2017 update.

I have had this book sitting here for awhile because the concept of mermaids did not really appeal to me. I bought it because I love many of Shana Abe's books. I loved it! It was a fast read or I made it that way. It's a true paranormal romance, not true fantasy as I think of fantasy as having a pretend world and this one takes place off the shores of Scotland. I didn't read the synopsis on the back of the book and thus didn't realize this was going to be three tales...connected by a legend, a locket, and love that lasts beyond time. I have never read a book about mermaids before so don't know if it is usual for the mermaid to be a shape shifter, but that is the concept in these stories.

The three stories are written around a legend about the tiny island of Kell. There it is said a mermaid rescued a sailor making him promise to give her his soul and stay with her forever in exchange for her saving his life. She told him she had his soul in a silver locket she wore at all times. After many beautiful years and raising a family, he becomes lonesome for human life, tears the locket from her neck, and when he does, he dies. Kell is a dangerous island for ships to get close to so is uninhabited and haunted by the legend for centuries.

The first book takes place in 531 AD when Prince Aedan of the Isles and heir to the throne is attacked and kidnapped. He is thrown off a small boat a distance from the island and left to drown. The woman who rescues him from the sea steals his heart, but they cannot stay together. Aedan knows his father is dying and he must go back to the mortal world and protect his people. Ione can not leave the island and survive for long. Thus the first story is the story of lovers torn between duty and love and of the sacrifices the beautiful Ione is willing to make for her prince. It's a beautiful story.

I was a little disappointed when suddenly Book 2 came up and for a little bit I could see no connection between the wonderful couple of the first book and this story taking place in 1721. Ronan MacMhuirich, Earl of Kell, knows he is the target of a hired killer. We, early on in the story, meet Leila, assistant to the deadliest assassin known. Leila has a special gift of being able to see into a person's mind and heart with only a touch. She also has a rule that she will not be party to murdering anyone who is not evil. A touch of Ronan's hand shows her that he is not what he has been made to seem by his enemies, but she also sees more than that and it puzzles her. The story that evolves from there on is just amazing and as beautiful as the story between Aedan and Ione.

The final book takes place in 2004 and again it took me a little way into the book to figure out the connection between the handsome and very wealthy stranger from Scotland who shows up at the orphaned Ruri Kell's house in California. His offer to buy an island that she didn't even know she had inherited is strange enough, but she also receives a silver locket in the mail with no explanation. Iain MacInne offers her millions of dollars for the island, but with one stipulation. She must come to Scotland and see it first..and bring the locket with her.

The stories are romantic, sensual, and beautifully written.
Profile Image for K.K. Summer.
Author 10 books73 followers
June 13, 2015
This were 3 different storys of mermaids and an ancient legend and a timeless love .. I really liked how it sounded and I really think I got that. The storys went on from 450 A.D. - 2004, and I must say I did not enjoy the last one as much as the rest, but maybe it was because I was missing the medieval and mystical parts.
All in all the stories were well written, however I must say that they were confusing sometimes because the "voices" of the characters sometimes seemd to change within a sentence which was quite hard to follow sometimes.
My favourite story was the 2nd story about an "rogue" assasin, who falls in love with his victim... really loved the dynamic in this story and how the characters interacted. And another big plus: all storys take place in scotland or on Kell, a shottish Isle ;)
I think if you like mermaids and medieval stories you could end up enjoying it, I don´t regret reading it - a solid read :)
Profile Image for Alicia.
410 reviews4 followers
April 12, 2012
Wow, there's 5 hours of my life I'll never get back. This book was stupid. Frankly I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I read it....my kids bought it for me on my kindle (thanks guys) by pushing random buttons....so I read it. The whole thing. It's a romance and it's dumb. Maybe if you're into that kind of stuff you'd like it.

It has 3 sections that are separate stories I think they are supposed to tie together somehow but they didn't quite make it. The middle story was the only one that held an iota of interest for me. I guess I just kept reading because I hoping that the ending would have some sort of twist or at least pull everything together. It doesn't.
Profile Image for K..
96 reviews16 followers
November 22, 2009
Not a bad book . . . just didn't grab me (as my particular reader tastes go) to finish up. I think this is probably a great read for many other types (less "romance" specific and more fantasy/faiytale type reader). I did make it through two of the three stories revolving around the legend, but then I just got a bit bored of the subject matter since the romance felt pretty much like a back burner to everything else going on.

Final verdict: DNF for me . . . but probably carries much more interest for a different type of reader.
K.
Profile Image for Mojca.
2,132 reviews168 followers
November 24, 2008
The story spanned generations, it was set in Scotland, it told of an eternal love...So what the heck went wrong?

Everything, it seems. I just didn't feel the connection and though I persevered to the "bitter" end, that elusive connection never appeared. Me and the story just didn't click. It had everything to do with the writing style, the pacing, and the "voice". Nothing worked for me, which is a shame since the premise was great.
Profile Image for Collette.
97 reviews29 followers
June 6, 2008
I thought this was a wonderfully fun, sexy tale that went through three generations of mer people. I couldn't put it down. Abe tells a great story.
Profile Image for ☆Eiko.
208 reviews45 followers
October 30, 2017
This is undoubtedly one of Ms. Abe's finest, it's a collection of 3 stories in one book that revolve around the legends of sirens of the island Kell. This of course includes men sirens, which was a new concept for me and I absolutely loved it. Originally I read this book in 2007, but when it was finally available digitally, I couldn't pass up the chance to finally have it for my own. The first part of the story is about how the first siren came to be, and her eternal fate with the human she falls in love, and how that love eventually turned to contempt because she decided to keep the man there with her in her island that was immune to time. It wasn't quite as memorable as the second story which, to be honest, is my favourite of the three. It's set in 18th century UK, I think mostly Scotland, which was a nice change. The heroine Leila is a Spanish assassin that was hired to kill Ronan, the siren (she doesn't know that yet of course) they want to kill him to obtain his riches and his island. Of course, Leila doesn't want to go through with this assignment, and pretend to go along with it for a time and then wants to run away from La Mano de Dios (Lamont) who keeps her so she can learn the secrets from her victims (yes she has special powers... as does Ronan), but it doesn't go according to plan and she gets found out by Ronan while in the middle of the ocean(?) (channel??) and takes her to his island that no one except him can swim to, because of course, he's a siren. They make a deal for her to return back to land with him, with the condition that she would protect him from Lamont when he tries to get her back to work for him again. The ending is very good, and makes me wish Ms. Abe could've written more of this story. The third and last of the stories has to do with something I usually always forget (which is the reason I'm writing this review actually). The siren (in the same family of course, but different century) and her human husband Kell come to live together in the island, they have kids and they're happy as could be, but the years pass by differently in this island, so Kell is anxious to return to his land, but the siren doesn't let him return, and by consequence, he becomes bitter, until he comes to resent her to the point that he opens the heart locket, which might've contained his life essence (I'll have to re-read this part of the story again I can't quite remember if the locket represents the siren's love for their human lovers or something else) and consequently dies. In this version, we're taken to the present day, with a woman named Ruriko Kell, she lives in LA, but is called over by a man named Ian who asks her to consider selling him the island of Kell. She had no idea of the island, and that it was hers but she was willing to sell it. The only thing is, that Ian doesn't truly want to buy it, he wants to bring Ruriko there so she can remember their past lives. Apparently, Ian is the reincarnation of the siren woman, and Ruriko is the reincarnation of the human lover of this siren. This was such a shocker the first time I read this, but for the life of me I couldn't remember why I didn't read it in the first place or why it didn't stick! Anyway, Ruriko slowly begins to remember bits and pieces of her past life, and how Kell is starting to look both familiar and like home, and of course she begins to realise who Ian is and why she feels this affinity towards him. All are beautifully written stories and I haven't seen any come to par with Ms. Abe's works. As a side note, I read this book in a different language, and realised that the translation didn't do it justice, the original English with its lyrical prose makes more sense than it did in the translated version. I'll forever read Ms. Abe's works in English to fully enjoy the story as it was meant to be.
Profile Image for Paganalexandria .
1,464 reviews
June 17, 2015
I found this in a stack of my old books that were never read. I never read anything from this author but this was good, but didn't knock me out. I really liked that three complete stories are included in this volume for the price of one. They all take place in different time periods but have a common thread that wraps up in the last volume.

The first story takes place in 531 A.D. and is about a siren of Kell and lost prince. Sirens or mermaids are pretty unique creature in PNR so that was really appreciated. Yet this didn't completely grab me.

The second tale is set in 1721 and is my favorite of them all. The heroine was an assassin sent to kill the Earl of Kell. I really connected with this one and that earned this book an extra star.

The third story is set in the modern day. It features s mysterious Scott and an unconventional American with surprise inheritance. I was surprised and delighted that Ruri was part Japanese. I like when an author isn't afraid to have lead characters of different nationalities in mainstream published books.


All in all this a great bang for your buck because there are three stories totaling over 500 pages. I have kind of strayed away from the paranormal romance path, but someone else looking for this type of read might really like it.


Profile Image for Samantha .
800 reviews
June 29, 2019
Very good. Recommend. Will write longer review tomorrow.

Alright, I'm ready. This book was recommended to me by Brittany who always has solid books for me to check out.

I really enjoyed the short story/novella aspect of this story. You read three different stories about the siren of Kell and I really enjoyed meeting each set of characters. They all felt developed and thought out. I think that we could have had a longer third story, but even so it wasn't terrible. If you like fantasy, and mermaids, then you'll enjoy this book. The author writes well, you care about the characters, and the pace is good.

I know it says it took me 8 days to read this, it really only took 3. I was just in a weird slump when I picked this up and it threw me off my game.
Profile Image for Nicole.
1,597 reviews164 followers
July 24, 2020
4.5

Well I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did! That second story though was my favorite!

90s Pop Culture Readathon Prompt: Jurassic Park- Book Set on an Island, Coast, or Body of Water
458 reviews4 followers
February 9, 2018
Las historias fueron muy bonitas, me gustó de ambientación que tuvo cada una.
Profile Image for Melissa.
190 reviews
April 5, 2009
This is what I get for trying a book based on description and not reading reviews. I only got about 4 disks in when it became obvious that the main reason for any sort of plot was to take the characters from sex act to sex act. I am not prude, but I do like a little story in my story.
Profile Image for Ladyvixen.
188 reviews11 followers
February 22, 2012
C'est franchement pas bon du tout :-(((((

je comprend pas dans quoi l'auteur s'est perdue mais de toute évidence elle a jamais retrouvé son chemin.
103 reviews
November 6, 2025
The author created a layered, detailed story covering thousands of years. However, I found myself lost because of the enormity of personalities, situations, and subplots. It was 581 pages of prologues and epilogues, and toward the end, I was mixing up the characters. I would have enjoyed this book more if the men had integrity and the women were not superficial.
Profile Image for Elena Prieto.
267 reviews11 followers
July 25, 2025
Bonito, aunque flojo.

Son tres historias donde aparece algún protagonista sirena/o. La primera es la que más me ha gustado y es bastante tierna. La segunda tiene cierto misterio porque añade una trama de crimen, aunque pienso que meten demasiados personajes para la historia. Por último, la tercera no me ha gustado nada. Un aburrimiento, por no hablar de que no tiene ni pies ni cabeza.

Lo que encuentro más decepcionante es que las historias no guardan relación entre ellas. Se supone que sí, pero, como he podido leer en otros comentarios, la verdad es que no. Yo las veo totalmente inconexas, lo cual le quita toda la gracia porque estás comparando todo el rato los hechos y las historias para ver si encuentras alguna similitud o alguna pista, pero la verdad es que no.

En sí, son historias bonitas, pero más bien del tipo dejarse llevar por las descripciones. Se detallan bastante las islas, los paisajes, el mar, los gestos, los movimientos... entonces acción como tal hay menos de la que se podría esperar, sino más bien "contemplación" del ambiente.
Profile Image for Margaret Hardie.
125 reviews
September 7, 2015
I am very torn about my rating for this book. O.K. I will begin this by saying that I am old fashioned in my love of a committed 'married' relationships, so my review is biased in that direction. That said, the writing was very good, and I looked forward to reading it - and did in very short order. But I am so very, very disappointed. The 'romance' parts were too graphic for my personal taste, and I had to skip things when I would rather not have. For me, romance does not have to include every detail of an intimate relationship, and I find that exceptionally detracting from the story.

There are actually four stories (claiming to be related, but really, no so much), though the book claims 3 different stories. However, the first and the last are supposed to be part of the same.

One of the things that bothered me is, I can accept commitment (marriage) in different time periods differently, but that was also part of the problem of this book. Ancient commitment may have been enough if one promises a Siren to be saved from drowning. I don't know how sirens get married, so I can go with the book on that. I get that. But early middle ages? I get it that royalty were often married at an early age and then the parties went off and had loving relationships because they only married for political reasons. Or at least the men did. Women did not. That was the time period. Did we have to have a lesbian relationship in this time period? It certainly would not have bee practiced that obviously. That does not work with history for me. O.K. I'm being picky, but it gets worse. Oh I know we are talking fantasy here, but you are also talking real time periods.

But the greatest disappointment to me was the third book. What? There is just not enough information to get to how the heck the two lovers got into different bodies and how they survived over the eons or . . . reincarnated? It is just totally unclear. Male turned female? Switched roles? The ending was just plain disappointing. I guess, disappointing does not even cover it for me. I HATED the ending. I read hours of a deeply interesting story line waiting for an awesome joining of the three stories. There is NOT one. I feel tricked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kassandra.
86 reviews2 followers
April 7, 2008
Eeegads, where to begin? I got this book because I was interested in learning more about mermaid literature for a project I'm working on. There really isn't that much mermaid fiction out there to be had. Now I see why. This is a book about the legend of the Siren of Kell and basically has three stories about mermaids or mermen on an island called Kell who fall in love with humans, bring them to the island, and have sex with them. I guess it's a "romance" book and maybe folks who enjoy that genre would enjoy it. I did not and it was all I could do to finish it in six weeks. Still, if you're into mermaids, loose prose and bawdy sex, this one's for you.
Profile Image for Chani.
Author 16 books30 followers
November 2, 2011
Although I had not been impressed with Shana Abe's Drakon series, I gave this book a chance, mostly just because of the title and my love for all things mermaid. I was not disappointed. Abe's lovely descriptive writing sucked me in right away. This book is actually a collection of 4 stories based around the same myth/island. I enjoyed the first 3 stories. The last one was a bit... reaching. I think the writer just wanted to go through all the era's from past to present. But I still enjoyed the read none the less. The myth/legend is not necessarily a new idea but Abe's ability to write characters that you form connections with is what keeps it fresh and engaging.
Profile Image for Leia.
157 reviews55 followers
March 7, 2024
Back in 2005 when I first read this, I gave it 5 stars if not more because that’s how much I loved it. I was a big fan of mermaids, fantasy and love stories and this book had it all. I’ve held onto this book all these years and started reading it again this month. I couldn’t read more than 50 pages. While I still love mermaids and good fantasy novels, I’m no longer interested in the “heaving bosom” and “her smoldering stare sent a fire through my loins” type of writing. Unfortunately this went into my donation pile.
Profile Image for BookAddict  ✒ La Crimson Femme.
6,917 reviews1,439 followers
February 13, 2011
Mermaids are one of my favourite mythical creatures. This is due to my absolute fascination with the ocean and love of scuba diving. I love being in water. Mermaids who can breathe underwater is my ultimate fantasy I'd love to be. In this anthology from Ms. Abe, we are treated to a lovely 3 stories regarding the island of Kell. Ms. Abe does another excellent job of weaving her spell over me. I'm captivated and left yearning to be a mermaid.
Profile Image for Laura.
1,040 reviews112 followers
August 7, 2007
I placed a hold on this through my library, though I couldn't see the cover or the back very well on the website. It turned out to be a really bad romance novel, not the story about mermaids that I was hoping for. Luckily it was obvious from the first few pages, and I returned it quickly.
Profile Image for Tory.
319 reviews
November 19, 2010
Duh. He was a descendant of the siren but she was the mermaid? I don't know why I do this to myself. But it's not like I'll stop. Trash novels have a certain appeal, even though they're... well, trash.
Profile Image for Sharon Malcolm.
272 reviews13 followers
October 29, 2011
Lots of florid writing and abuse of adjectives sadly don't make up for lack of research and compelling writing. Classic bodice ripper stuff with mermaids and Scots. Lower the bar... a bit lower... there, that's it... and you might enjoy it for what it is :)
Profile Image for Ashley-Anne.
304 reviews47 followers
June 24, 2012
this was super slow and yet too fast. I really don't like short stories, how can people fall in love in a few hours or 2 days? The writing was very pretty and some of the descriptions were magical, but I reeeeally didn't care about the story.
15 reviews55 followers
May 11, 2013
Incredible book. I absolutely loved it. I read it years ago for the first time and I could read it over and over again. Fantastic detail, story line, and unique characters. An amazing book.
Profile Image for Jynt.
272 reviews
September 14, 2013
Ronan and Leila. The OTP of this book. Lovely. Also, I do believe that Shana Abe is the only author I've read so far that makes insta-love so alluring. Mad props.
Profile Image for Mandy France.
Author 5 books4 followers
April 23, 2014
This book was terrible. If I ever need to know how to have sex with a mermaid, I will pick up this book.
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