Siren

by Jennifer Melzer

Siren Talbot's life is plagued with storms. Her mother's insanity was the first, though not the last. Called to the ocean, not even the shores of Edisto Island can calm the tempest inside her.

Though she's settled into a life with Patrick, his promises of a happily ever after can't still the foul weather of her past or the brewing squall on the horizon. She's haunted by the disappearance of her first love, Carver, and the lack of answers.

A single clue unlocks mysteries she can't explain. A murder cements the impossible as possible. The more magic she uncovers, the darker her suspicions become and the more the hurricane inside her starts to rage.

Patrick isn't the Prince Charming he claims to be.

And he knows exactly what happened to Carver.

Genres: Fantasy

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 5, 2015

About the author

Jennifer Melzer spent the majority of her life as a writer denying she actually liked to write romance, only to wake up one morning and discover that every single tale she’d ever written had somehow revolved around the heart. She has since given into the whim, spinning yarns of love and firmly believing that everyone deserves a happy ending.

She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter, but dreams nightly she is laying on the beach watching the stars fall over the Atlantic Ocean.

Reviews

[Rachel Barnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siren Talbot is in love with Carver and thinks he’s about to propose after more than two years of being in a relationship. When the night is over, she is left with a haphazard memory and a box that she thinks contains the ring, but no Carver. He disappeared. Siren falls apart at his abrupt absence and is only able to get through it when she meets Patrick. This new man charms his way into her life and lends her support when she needs it and they grow quite fond of each other. When he proposes, she accepts and they are married, but she can never quite let go of Carver… For three years she hasn’t opened the ring box, but when she’s finally ready to let the past go, the box has mysteriously vanished. There is only one culprit this time: Patrick.

I didn’t realize this was a romance story. Most of the story was taken up by the romance and Siren pining for Carver and loving Patrick etc. etc. This book was mostly romance with a bit of fantasy thrown in, so if that’s your thing, then go for it. I wasn’t as pleased with the mix. I thought there could have been a lot edited out as the story dragged in many places and the emotions Siren was feeling were repeated over and over again.

The story begins with a high tension scene that makes the slow pace afterward seem even slower. It takes about half the book for the second (and real) inciting action to take place. The opening scene was like a faux inciting incident and seemed unbalanced in the context of the story’s pacing and plot. Quite a bit of editing could have taken place after this first scene, as we are shown Siren pining and grieving and then recovering painfully slow. The author takes too much time with the aftermath of Carver’s disappearance. We get the point already, move on to the real meat of the story please.

I thought the story focused on Siren, but it seemed that she was just a vehicle through which Carver’s and Patrick’s stories could take place. I didn’t like Siren. She was whiny and easily manipulated. She was constantly doubting her own emotions and just going along with whatever was presented to her. She didn’t have much of her own personality until the middle of the book, where the real story begins. The fact that Siren wouldn’t open the ring box for so very, very long makes me dislike her even more. Siren and the other characters would have been more relatable had there been no magic involved, but because there is a paranormal side to the novel, nothing seemed remotely likely and you will have to suspend your belief if you want to really get into this story.

[Cherri-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siren called to me!

That is the best and easiest way to describe the hold that his book had on me from the very moment that I saw the cover! I became so…obsessed or addicted or enthralled (or all of it!) with this book right from the very beginning, and that is rare for me! I mean to look at a cover and want to read the book, but then to read the story and love it as much as I hoped from the cover?!? I cried through so much of it, it was ridiculous! Another hint at just how deeply I was immersed in the book! I was fascinated with the mystery, the love, the time flow – all of it!!! Starting with a couple having dinner, both acting nervous, it is told based on the view of Siren as she is waiting on her boyfriend to propose. I was captured right from this opening scene wondering “Is Siren right? Is he going to propose?” or is she getting dumped? Right from here my attention was caught and held throughout the book! There are so many parts that are all rolled together into one great story! I don’t want to ruin ANY part of it because in my mind, knowing even just one part of the “mystery” can almost ruin the magical beauty of reading the story for yourself the first time! This is also one story that you could read over and over again and STILL pick up new thoughts or understandings to it! I love how this story makes you think about it long after you are finished reading it! I enjoyed how some things are NOT explicitly said and you have to interpret it for yourself – nothing major that would ruin the magic of it all and make the book hard to follow, but more like Jennifer is not trying to insult your intelligence or your “Adult Capabilities” by spelling every. little. thing. out. And even though this book is approx. 400 pgs it did not drag, no parts were useless filler but in fact, I felt it could have easily been longer!!!! There were definitely some parts that I would have loved to have seen expanded or explored!! I will be honest and say that some of it could be classed as “corny” but personally, I think that Jennifer has that ability to draw you in so deep that you CAN’T take a step back and you see it all as so very beautiful and magical!!!! This is my first book by Jennifer but if this is an indication of how she writes all of her books, well, than I am a life-time, fully fledged, totally in love, head over heels stalker!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very few times have I been this frustrated with a book. In fact it made me impatient, I could barely stand to read the words on the page so desperate was I to know what happens next. I was mentally yelling at the character most of the time. I'll be honest and say I skipped large sections of the text because I couldn't stand to wait. I read way past my bed time and into exhaustion to find out the plot.

Though I was surprised that this wasn't a Mermaid story. siren is the main characters name. Though this story does have magic. I won't spoiler but all I know I'd that I'm exhausted and will pay for it tomorrow but know I won't regret it. A great read.

[Lauren Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siren Talbot is the main character of this story who has her memory temporarily erased when something terrible happens to the man that she is about to marry. For three years, Carver’s disappearance has been in her heart and on her mind. She does; however, finally allow herself to move on and marry Patrick, the man that moved in next door right after Carver’s disappearance. The majority of this story is about their lives together before her dark adventure starts to unravel before her eyes.

Reading about Patrick and Siren really pulled me in and caught my attention. Their marriage along with every memory that they ever shared was positive; however, I knew that there was darkness in him. His way of always wanting to know what she was doing and his impatience would push that thought of unhappiness into her heart and make her think about Carver again. He also despised her cat. In my opinion, Carver sounded boring; yet, Patrick sounded so exciting and his way of showing his love for Siren was very appealing to me. I found myself saddened when she finally discovered that it was all a lie.

Even though she truly loved Patrick in some way, and he loved her, she had always been in love with Carver. Patrick just helped her turn a blind eye, in a sense, to the feelings that engulfed her. With all of the paranormal and fluent activity throughout the story, I felt like this was an outstanding novel which kept me always wondering what was going to happen next. I thoroughly appreciated every character, especially the lovely and arrogant Mr. Pounce, Siren’s cat. The author really did a terrific job with capturing her characters emotions and I completely fell for the wrong guy, but the dangerous ones are always tempting. That is just how they are meant to be! Since this story is focused around Siren, I recommend this book for women who like to read romance and paranormal/fantasy. Jennifer Melzer also has some other books out that I will need to put on my to-read list because I really thought that her way of writing was truly impressive and compelling so I am giving her five-stars.

[Denise Lhamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siren is one of those rare, rainy day books. The kind where you curl up and read for the sheer escapist enjoyment of the thing.
I'm not usually one for romance. I've been burned by too many of them to give any a second glance on the shelf.
Siren is different.
Siren is a whole lot of fun. And drama. And magic. All rolled up into one awesome book.
There is also a snarky white cat named Mr. Pounce. Who is just the best thing ever.
Siren Talbot is about to get proposed to by her longtime boyfriend Carver Ashmore. She knows he's going to propose. He knows he's going to propose. But it's the getting there that has him tongue tied. That is, until someone comes barging in and ruins the entire night for Carver, Siren, and the restaurant involved.
Three years pass and Siren, who doesn't remember a thing about that night at the restaurant except that Carver up and vanished on her, is married and starting a new life with her husband Patrick.
Patrick is everything she wanted, he's kind, sweet, and always there for her.
Except that things aren't always what they seem, and Siren is about to learn that lesson the really hard way. Patrick knows what happened to Carver that night, and he isn't telling.
This was a great book. It really, really was and, like I said, I'm not one for romance. Siren, however, pulled me in from page one and kept me going until the end.
I laughed, I cried, I wanted people dead because reasons.
I had a lot of fun reading this book.
Jennifer's talents lie within her characters. There aren't many authors I've read who have such a deft hand with character development. Jennifer is one of them. She has a knack for making people relatable and real. And also batshit crazy. And therein lies the strength of the story. You care about the characters, you want to know what happens to them enough to completely ignore the fact that you have finals or that homework is due the next day. As long as everything turns out alright in the end.
Right?
Right.
I can't recommend Siren higher for people who like a little bit of fantasy to go with their romance.
And the book has a snarky talking cat.
You can't pass up a snarky talking cat.

[Denise Lhamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not usually one for romance. I've been burned by too many of them to give any a second glance on the shelf.
Siren is different.
Siren is a whole lot of fun. And drama. And magic. All rolled up into one awesome book.
There is also a snarky white cat named Mr. Pounce. Who is just the best thing ever.
Siren Talbot is about to get proposed to by her longtime boyfriend Carver Ashmore. She knows he's going to propose. He knows he's going to propose. But it's the getting there that has him tongue tied. That is, until someone comes barging in and ruins the entire night for Carver, Siren, and the restaurant involved.
Three years pass and Siren, who doesn't remember a thing about that night at the restaurant except that Carver up and vanished on her, is married and starting a new life with her husband Patrick.
Patrick is everything she wanted, he's kind, sweet, and always there for her.
Except that things aren't always what they seem, and Siren is about to learn that lesson the really hard way.
This was a great book. It really, really was and, like I said, I'm not one for romance. Siren, however, pulled me in from page one and kept me going until the end.
I laughed, I cried, I wanted people dead because reasons. I had a lot of fun reading this book.
Jennifer's talents lie within her characters. There aren't many authors I've read who have such a deft hand with character development. Jennifer is one of them.
She has a knack for making people relatable and real. And also batshit crazy.
I can't recommend Siren higher for people who like a little bit of magic to go with their romance.
And the book has a snarky talking cat.
You can't pass up a snarky talking cat.

[Ela The Queer Bookish]

dnf at 36%, chapter 14

I wasn’t able to like Siren. At all. She is supposed to be an adult, but most of the time she seems like an “emo girl”. She goes on and on about how there is this curse on her, that her mother left, that everyone she ever loved leaves her… It was exhausting. If there would have been at least some more information about this curse or about her mother’s disappearance. But up until 36% there was none. Even though said topics were mentioned more than one.

Another thing was even more mentioned: Proposal and marriage. Most of what I have read was about this. Thinking back there wasn’t much happening. Carver disappears, then suddenly she is married to another (creepy) guy. A guy whose hobbies she doesn’t know. What?

I think this book will get more action sometime but I just wasn’t willing to read any more about the f***ing ring of Carver and how he was supposed to ask Siren to marry him.

Bonus points for the writing style and the cat.

If you are willing or like to read rather slow-paced novels this might be the one for you.

Disclaimer: I won Siren at Readaways and wrote an honest review of it.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Melzer’s latest novel, Siren, is a fun, though certainly dramatic, romp through an ordinary world, where extraordinary things happen. Our heroine, Siren, spends much of the book convinced that she’s going crazy, especially when her beloved aunt and her best friend don’t understand what’s happening to her. And indeed, how could they? They’ve been manipulated to believe and feel exactly what Prince Less-Than-Charming wants them to.

I really enjoyed watching Siren finally come to terms with the terrible things that had happened to her, and make her stand beside the one person she’s always known she could trust. All she had to do was listen to her heart. And, oh yeah…to the talking cat, too. You romantic fantasy fans out there will love this., and I’d like to think there will be more to come, since Siren’s own powers have only just begun to show themselves. Check it out!

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