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Poseidia
In the darkest depths of the ocean, the ancient city of Poseidia has secretly thrived, protected by a sentient dome. Its inhabitants, genetically engineered shape-shifters and protectors of the ocean, teeter on the brink of extinction as the reach of humanity grows.
When a pregnant Anna Ryan is murdered at sea, her life doesn’t end—it begins. She awakens in this unknown world in a new body, enhanced with iridescent skin, fins, and the ability to breath underwater.
Grieving the loss of her baby and her humanity, Anna vows to make her murderer pay, but it's no easy task to brave the wide ocean alone. Anna finds an ally in Roman, a giant, scarred mystery of a man, and together they forge a bond sharing former human pasts. The easy part is convincing Roman to help her retrieve a cherished locket—an item she believes essential to endure the challenges of a new life—but she carelessly endangers Poseidia.
Can Anna set aside everything she’s known and embrace all she’s ever wanted? What is the cost of happiness?
When a pregnant Anna Ryan is murdered at sea, her life doesn’t end—it begins. She awakens in this unknown world in a new body, enhanced with iridescent skin, fins, and the ability to breath underwater.
Grieving the loss of her baby and her humanity, Anna vows to make her murderer pay, but it's no easy task to brave the wide ocean alone. Anna finds an ally in Roman, a giant, scarred mystery of a man, and together they forge a bond sharing former human pasts. The easy part is convincing Roman to help her retrieve a cherished locket—an item she believes essential to endure the challenges of a new life—but she carelessly endangers Poseidia.
Can Anna set aside everything she’s known and embrace all she’s ever wanted? What is the cost of happiness?
- GenresMermaids
249 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 10, 2018
2018 Romance Challenge
Category: Fantasy (Mer-people) Romance
3 Romantic Stars
Category: Fantasy (Mer-people) Romance
3 Romantic Stars
February 21, 2020
Needs work
Another version of Atlantis. For the first 3/4ths of the book Anna is whiny and selfish. She thinks only of herself. The characters are stiff and flat. It's not until the last quarter that the book really starts to come together and character development starts happening. I literally had to force myself to read this book. I'd really only give it 2.5 stars but rounded up for the strong finish.
Another version of Atlantis. For the first 3/4ths of the book Anna is whiny and selfish. She thinks only of herself. The characters are stiff and flat. It's not until the last quarter that the book really starts to come together and character development starts happening. I literally had to force myself to read this book. I'd really only give it 2.5 stars but rounded up for the strong finish.
September 10, 2015
Poseidia is a dream. It is a vision that its author simultaneously builds for herself and shares with us. I do not imply that events in the life of its protagonist – Anna – are not real. They are very much so, and tantalizingly redeeming. The latter, in fact, is what I am referring to. Unlike actual dreams that tend to be vague (in sleep) or ambitious (in our wake), this book is a fictional account peppered with a more realistic condition – human emotion.
The story begins with a disturbing tragedy, as can be said of any ill fate that befalls a pregnant woman. This one, though, meets a resurrection of sorts – under water in a city of mer-people called, well, you-know-what. This is when we begin to truly enter the mind of Ms. J. L. Imhoff as she describes each aspect of this alien world of Poseidia to imaginative detail. Her first task is to dive into the anatomy of a newly-turned Mer-Anna or in other words, the mermaid version of our heroine. As she begins to explore her surroundings, we encounter gelatinous walls, cloudy floors et al. Soon enough, we hear of kingdoms, councils and yes, the lost city of Atlantis. Yet, none of these make the core message the author intends to convey.
To both credit and emphasize the need for control over emotions is meant to be the central takeaway here. It is touched upon beautifully through various windows. For instance, we have a would-be mother who has just lost her baby and has had a most improbable escape from death but still manages to pull a smile as her fingers trail along a new infrastructural surface, soaking up the cool feel of some mysterious shimmering material. On the other hand, we have a very casual dismissal of lost human treasures that now appear stacked up in this underwater city, refreshingly undervalued, under-cared. Or perhaps we can recall the principal requisite of being a mermaid/man – to learn to forgive and forget so that one may establish the psychic bond that binds everyone here. These are all different aspects of the same grappling need that Ms. Imhoff draws our focus to – control.
I called this book a dream. Let us not confuse that with idealism. The author treads on her objective cleverly, not sacrificing practicality for an easy ride. Therefore, we find Anna give in to her passion, guilt, fear or anger several times, despite actually being a far more powerful character than she had ever imagined herself to be – thanks to her history as is revealed much later in the book. The author has a brilliantly simplistic way of keeping us attuned to the above: she devotes much of the lines to Anna’s thoughts. It feels as if the book is talking to itself.
Imaginations demand a careful mix of the unimaginative to make them believable. J. L. Imhoff does not rush with her plot as she is clearly building this into a series. She gives us mere hints of what may prove to be central drivers later on. There is talk of other dimensions, an aggressively active exposure to near-complete nudity as routine part of life, and even the incorporation of human technology underwater, such as computer-controlled lighting, electro-receptors on the body and genetic engineering. But what really takes the cake away is the arrival of a cute, little character who is, if one is quick to calculate, part-royalty part-villain – all ingredients of a perfect entertainer. Dive in.
Note: I received a free review copy for a fair and honest assessment.
The story begins with a disturbing tragedy, as can be said of any ill fate that befalls a pregnant woman. This one, though, meets a resurrection of sorts – under water in a city of mer-people called, well, you-know-what. This is when we begin to truly enter the mind of Ms. J. L. Imhoff as she describes each aspect of this alien world of Poseidia to imaginative detail. Her first task is to dive into the anatomy of a newly-turned Mer-Anna or in other words, the mermaid version of our heroine. As she begins to explore her surroundings, we encounter gelatinous walls, cloudy floors et al. Soon enough, we hear of kingdoms, councils and yes, the lost city of Atlantis. Yet, none of these make the core message the author intends to convey.
To both credit and emphasize the need for control over emotions is meant to be the central takeaway here. It is touched upon beautifully through various windows. For instance, we have a would-be mother who has just lost her baby and has had a most improbable escape from death but still manages to pull a smile as her fingers trail along a new infrastructural surface, soaking up the cool feel of some mysterious shimmering material. On the other hand, we have a very casual dismissal of lost human treasures that now appear stacked up in this underwater city, refreshingly undervalued, under-cared. Or perhaps we can recall the principal requisite of being a mermaid/man – to learn to forgive and forget so that one may establish the psychic bond that binds everyone here. These are all different aspects of the same grappling need that Ms. Imhoff draws our focus to – control.
I called this book a dream. Let us not confuse that with idealism. The author treads on her objective cleverly, not sacrificing practicality for an easy ride. Therefore, we find Anna give in to her passion, guilt, fear or anger several times, despite actually being a far more powerful character than she had ever imagined herself to be – thanks to her history as is revealed much later in the book. The author has a brilliantly simplistic way of keeping us attuned to the above: she devotes much of the lines to Anna’s thoughts. It feels as if the book is talking to itself.
Imaginations demand a careful mix of the unimaginative to make them believable. J. L. Imhoff does not rush with her plot as she is clearly building this into a series. She gives us mere hints of what may prove to be central drivers later on. There is talk of other dimensions, an aggressively active exposure to near-complete nudity as routine part of life, and even the incorporation of human technology underwater, such as computer-controlled lighting, electro-receptors on the body and genetic engineering. But what really takes the cake away is the arrival of a cute, little character who is, if one is quick to calculate, part-royalty part-villain – all ingredients of a perfect entertainer. Dive in.
Note: I received a free review copy for a fair and honest assessment.
May 10, 2016
I was really excited to read this book, and for a few reasons. I seldom have time to read books for sheer entertainment, I normally have a backed up queue of books to read for reviews for my author newsletter. But, since I was caught up, I chose this book to pass some time with, and I was not disappointed. Also, I liked the premise of the book, I haven't read a story about mermaids in a long time.
The book begins with our main character, Anna, suffering a tragic event, and when she wakes up, she is in a place called Poseidia, an underwater mermaid city. She finds out she is no longer human, her DNA has been infused with mer-DNA, and she can no longer return to her normal human life.
I gave this book three stars, because I did like the story, but my biggest hang-up is simply this: I didn't like Anna. Don't confuse this with 'I hated Anna', because no, I didn't hate her, I just didn't find her interesting enough, nor strong enough, to be the main character in a book. She is given a second chance at life, but all she wants to do is return to her old life. This, I can understand. I'm sure most of us would feel that way. However, she pretty much let her jerk of a boyfriend abuse her, belittle her, etc., and did nothing about it, and eventually he kills her. Not a very strong start, but I was on board and figured there would be some self-discovery as her journey continued.
Her journey does continue, and Anna makes one stupid mistake after another. Mostly, the mistakes center around sneaking away from Poseidia and going back to land to fix her mistakes, which really just leads to more mistakes, until suddenly she has the strength to do what needs to be done. All at once. After being beaten repeatedly. It all seemed very sudden.
There was another part of the book where Anna is suddenly seeing visions from the past that hint at her destiny being full of much greater things. Again, very sudden. No lead-in. She hadn't been having dreams, or feelings of displacement, just... out of the blue she has visions of a past life.
The book is mostly well written and has very few grammatical errors. It flows well, other than what I mentioned above. The plot acceleration does seem abrupt, but an overall interesting story. I will put the second on my list to read. After all, like I said, I didn't 'hate' Anna, and who knows? She may be the heroine of legend in the second book. There are lots of hints that her future is going to be full of twists, turns, and surprises, as well as the opportunity to be great.
I would recommend for readers who love fantasy stories of the underwater variety.
The book begins with our main character, Anna, suffering a tragic event, and when she wakes up, she is in a place called Poseidia, an underwater mermaid city. She finds out she is no longer human, her DNA has been infused with mer-DNA, and she can no longer return to her normal human life.
I gave this book three stars, because I did like the story, but my biggest hang-up is simply this: I didn't like Anna. Don't confuse this with 'I hated Anna', because no, I didn't hate her, I just didn't find her interesting enough, nor strong enough, to be the main character in a book. She is given a second chance at life, but all she wants to do is return to her old life. This, I can understand. I'm sure most of us would feel that way. However, she pretty much let her jerk of a boyfriend abuse her, belittle her, etc., and did nothing about it, and eventually he kills her. Not a very strong start, but I was on board and figured there would be some self-discovery as her journey continued.
Her journey does continue, and Anna makes one stupid mistake after another. Mostly, the mistakes center around sneaking away from Poseidia and going back to land to fix her mistakes, which really just leads to more mistakes, until suddenly she has the strength to do what needs to be done. All at once. After being beaten repeatedly. It all seemed very sudden.
There was another part of the book where Anna is suddenly seeing visions from the past that hint at her destiny being full of much greater things. Again, very sudden. No lead-in. She hadn't been having dreams, or feelings of displacement, just... out of the blue she has visions of a past life.
The book is mostly well written and has very few grammatical errors. It flows well, other than what I mentioned above. The plot acceleration does seem abrupt, but an overall interesting story. I will put the second on my list to read. After all, like I said, I didn't 'hate' Anna, and who knows? She may be the heroine of legend in the second book. There are lots of hints that her future is going to be full of twists, turns, and surprises, as well as the opportunity to be great.
I would recommend for readers who love fantasy stories of the underwater variety.
October 13, 2015
Poseidia is a novel that starts with the tragedy of Anna , pregnant women who was Betrayed by her Boyfriend who let her die in the bottom of the sea . But that wasn't the end .. It was the beginning of far more different life that she didn't know it ever existed .
Anna , Her character was complex and what made her unique is her mixed emotions and episodes of denial and fight back . The slow evolve in her personality and emotions made her so human and real which I enjoyed tracking and feeling actually . I loved how being away from the sea and the Convective brought back some dark emotion and revenge .
Roman was just Roman . Attractive yet hide so many secrets that I can't wait for it to be revealed! , even tho at some point Anna get to know him more I still feel there is much more that is still hidden .
It's Written beautifully , from the way she describe feelings , thoughts , action to inner talk . I felt like I'm reading a poem and feeling every written word .
The atmosphere of Poseidia is like a relaxing dream I just wanted to live there and it wasn't just that but the relationships they have there was just breathtaking , so intimate and close .
Ps. I want the water they drink !! So pure !! And it fights aging !
The novel is meant to be a series so the plotting of the events have some rush and high adrenaline moments and some relaxing and intimate moments .
The Mermaid world is not a new idea but taking such an idea and build a world , characters and add a personal touch to it recreating and reconstructing that what's makes an amazing writer , full of imagination and creativity and that what J.L. Imhoff did with Poseidia.
I can't wait to read the second book already !
Overall I rate it 5/5
Anna , Her character was complex and what made her unique is her mixed emotions and episodes of denial and fight back . The slow evolve in her personality and emotions made her so human and real which I enjoyed tracking and feeling actually . I loved how being away from the sea and the Convective brought back some dark emotion and revenge .
Roman was just Roman . Attractive yet hide so many secrets that I can't wait for it to be revealed! , even tho at some point Anna get to know him more I still feel there is much more that is still hidden .
It's Written beautifully , from the way she describe feelings , thoughts , action to inner talk . I felt like I'm reading a poem and feeling every written word .
The atmosphere of Poseidia is like a relaxing dream I just wanted to live there and it wasn't just that but the relationships they have there was just breathtaking , so intimate and close .
Ps. I want the water they drink !! So pure !! And it fights aging !
The novel is meant to be a series so the plotting of the events have some rush and high adrenaline moments and some relaxing and intimate moments .
The Mermaid world is not a new idea but taking such an idea and build a world , characters and add a personal touch to it recreating and reconstructing that what's makes an amazing writer , full of imagination and creativity and that what J.L. Imhoff did with Poseidia.
I can't wait to read the second book already !
Overall I rate it 5/5
February 9, 2015
Excellent character and history development with believable attraction between the main characters. I was really intrigued by this author's Mer world history and am eager to learn more about it in her upcoming books. :)
December 24, 2015
A little uneven and bordering on crossing the line weirdness occasionally, this series has some pretty great ideas nonetheless. Just needs a little polish.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews