Landfall

The Merman #5

by X. Aratare

(M/M, Gay Merman Romance)

The exciting conclusion to The Merman Series is here ...

Gabriel Braven knows his destiny, but is he willing to face it?

Gabriel has only one day left on land before moving to the wondrous Mer city to live forever with his true love, Mer Prince Casillus Nerion. He wishes his greatest challenges were giving up making love on land with Casillus and telling his beloved grandmother that he is a merman. But ex-soldier Johnson Tims has other plans for him.

Twisted by exposure to the magical statute of the dread creature Cthulhu, Johnson intends to start a war with the Mers. He wants Gabriel to use his power as a Caller to bring Cthulhu itself to land, something that Gabriel has sworn never to do. If he does, everyone on the East Coast will die.

When Johnson takes the desperate measure of kidnapping Casillus, Corey, and their Miskatonic friends, Gabriel must come up with a plan to save both his loved ones and the entire Eastern Seaboard from death and insanity.

BOOK 1: B00MDGTR1M

BOOK 2 : ASIN B00N3D7MA2

BOOK 3: B00OGQS8QC

BOOK 4: B00R1XYRPI

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Audiobook, Paranormal Romance, LGBT

162 pages, ebook

First published May 7, 2015

About the author

X. Aratare is the pseudonym for Raythe Reign's Gay(M/M) books.

Reviews

[Gerbera_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-written conclusion to the series that was a bit more fast-paced and a lot steamier than the rest of the books in the series. As Gabriel is finishing his transitioning into merman, together with his friends and Casillus they acknowledge that something must be done about Johnson Tims and the evil Cthulhu statue that drives people to madness. But like all plans, everything goes awry, and it's up to Gabriel to save his friends and the merman he loves.

There was magic, ancient beasts, fighting and death. There was joy, sadness and happy tears. New opportunities opened up, and things that are better stay hidden will go back to being hidden again. The ending was light-hearted and a bit bittersweet but still ended on a happy note. I enjoyed this series a lot except for the small fact that mermen didn't have tails. *it can't be perfect every time*

[Tucker Almengor · Rating 4 out of 5]

holy sh*t

that ending

review to come

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[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely series. Great mystery, wonderful characters, and terrific chemistry between the MCs.

Fans of Chris Patton, I know I don't have to say it, but he's truly amazing. I just wish some of the new narrators of today would listen to him and learn how to do what he does. The inflection he adds, the understanding of what's being conveyed, his emotion - simply wow.

[Marzipop · Rating 2 out of 5]

So. I'm kinda disappointed with how this thing turned out. It started out as some fun merman stuff, but with some original neat ideas thrown in there. And then it turned into an HP Lovecraft fanfic.

And.

I'm gonna say it.

HP Lovecraft is shit.

I've read some of his stuff, and I just personally am not a fan. I find him a xenophobic, homophobic (which is ironic considering this is a m/m romance), misogynistic asshole with a disturbing fascination of squids and slimy things. My only wish is that he had survived long enough to witness tentacle porn.

And his writing sucks balls.

THERE! I SAID IT! STRIKE ME DOWN CTHULHU! HIT ME WITH YOUR AMBIGUOUS SCARINESS!

I could sit here and rant about it, but this review should focus on the book instead. In short, the weaknesses that are present in HP Lovecraft's stuff have transferred over to this.

1. Telling me something is scary, doesn't actually scare me. "this thing is scary! and evil! and dark!" Cool story bro. How though? And don't tell me because it's evil, it's ugly, it lives in the dark and it exists. Those aren't good reasons, because all those things can literally apply to anyone, including me.

2. There is no common sense. At all. Nada.

"oh no what we gonna do, Johnson will end the world, guess we have to summon this weird entity thing to kill him". Or you just kill him yourself. Avoid the whole thing altogether. Or go through with his ceremony thing and just be done. You had so many options and yet picked the weirdest fucking one just because.

"oh no what we gonna do, I can't live on land so I have to abandon my family altogether!"

So there's this wild thing called boats. Also, you were fine the minute you were in the damn water wtf you mean you have to abandon everything and everyone? Bit dramatic no?

3. It is woefully incomplete with little explanation to shit brought up but never extrapolated on.

Who the fuck is Zed? Why do we give a shit? Who the fuck are the characters that randomly appear at the end and are just like "so we had a crazy man do these things because it was a test that we knew he would fail" and you just let it happen? Okay then. Maybe Cthulhu should kill you all because no one in this fucking universe, except Corey, has any iota of sense.

I give this 2 tentacles out of 5 because at the very least the covers are gorgeous and I did appreciate the unique ideas before it turned into a fanfic.

[Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three stars is my rating for the whole series. Entertaining but the monster was a terrible idea. The monster had no concept of good and evil and didn't care about good and evil. Everyone knows fairytales are based on handsome heroes fighting for good to conquer evil. So the book fell apart because the author ignored the basic good and evil precept. Also the conflict with the former military man read like a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery.

The story should have been presented as one novel not serialized in tiny bits that made the cost of five short stories way too much for the reader. Of course it put money in the author's pockets so who can blame her for being greedy? I can! I just did!

[~David~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great conclusion to an addicting novella series! The tension in this one had me glued to my tablet. The worldbuilding opened up a lot with the introduction of the Next Society, and I'm curious to see where the author took the story in the sequel serials.

Gabriel and Casillus had such an interesting romance. It was a very fast-paced romance but at the same time their telepathic connection and all their bonding moments made it compelling.
The way the author handled telepathy was some of my favorite I've seen. It felt very organic and comforting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this series.

[Audi♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I knew you would change your mind, my Caller" 🤭

What a great, STRESSFUL ending. I still don't know if we're friends with Cthulhu or not... esp with that ending. Wtf!!
I was stressed for 80% of the book. That part on the boat with batshit Johnson was intense.
The ending was mushy and made me teary. I felt so bad for Granny G.
I loved this. Just wish there was a lil epilogue of Gabriel doing fishy shit.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

SERIES 4.5 STARS
Great mermen series made with novella's, it's YA/UF and quite fun. I don't think that this is the end somehow, I have a feeling that there will be an entire series sequel or this one will continue. I'm not a huge YA fan but I really like X. Aratare writing style. If you feel like a good sappy romance along these lines then don't hesitate. It does have it's serious side but it's more like an adventure.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, overall I enjoyed this series, but unfortunately this author is in love with the cliffhanger. I was under the impression that this was the last book in the series. It is not! But this series is from 2015, and it’s now 2022, and there’s no book 6 insight! I sincerely hope that the author is alright because I really, really need the rest of this story!
X. Aratare is a new to me author and I enjoy their world building. I definitely recommend this series!
Happy reading xoxo

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable conclusion to this series serial! The concept with this one merging Mers and Cthulhu was a unique take, and while I felt the Johnson storyline was a bit heavy-handed, overall I quite enjoyed. I've been liking this author for a bit of mindless, sexy, supernatural fun. The ending also was clearly open for future works in this 'verse, and it looks like the author continued this in another series/serial, though I think that's just available to patrons or something. Will keep an eye out for if it ever releases in published book form!

[=MYSTIQUE= · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review:
MC1: Gabriel Braven: caller
MC2: Prince Casillus Nerion: Prince of the Mer’s
This I is the final book in The Merman series. This was my first ever Mer story and it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (these mer don’t have tails). However like all of the books I’ve read by X. Aratare once I started I was hooked. Great plot, amazing world building, awesome characters and best of all a happily ever after.

[♥️Victoria ♥️ ♥️love books♥️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting spin and plot. I really liked this one

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last installment was by far the best. I luved that ALL the loose ends were wrapped up and most of the questions answered in this one installment.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/22/2023)! 🎁

[Jazer (catching up on TBRs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, that ending made up for everything. 👌

[Gisselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, I'm giving this series as a whole 4.5 🌟

This was my first time reading anything by X. Aratare, and I really enjoyed it. From what I understand, this series originally started as a weekly serial before being converted into these books, and I think that's important context for how the series reads.

Technically, these are five books, but honestly, they feel like one novel that has been split into five novella-length installments. The final book is the longest, but they're all still fairly short. Rather than feeling like five separate stories in a series, it feels like one story divided into five acts. If you're familiar with a five-act structure, each novella essentially covers one act before ending, which means every book has a somewhat abrupt, cliffhanger-like ending. It isn't a flaw exactly. It's just very much a symptom of its origins as a serial.

Likewise, because these were originally serialized, every new installment spends some time catching readers back up on what happened previously. Reading them back-to-back as I did, it becomes pretty noticeable. Each novella opens with little exposition dumps reminding you about the dig site, the lore, or previous events that you literally just read. It can be a little repetitive when binge-reading the series, especially if you pick up the omnibus I imagine and read it as one continuous story.

That said, I thought the overall plot was very tight. I really enjoyed the characters, and Gabriel was an excellent protagonist. His backstory was heartbreaking, and I appreciated how much of his character arc revolved around the guilt he carried over his parents' deaths and growing from his trauma. He was the one who wanted to go out on the water that day, he blames himself for the storm that ultimately killed them, and I thought his trauma, along with his resulting fear of the water, was handled really well. I also loved the foreshadowing there. In the beginning, I thought he just felt the mer people, but the reveal of (actual freaking Cthulhu) was pretty great.

I also really enjoyed the foreshadowing throughout the series. The villains were fun, even if they fell into the classic "military gone too far" trope. It's very much the familiar story of people becoming consumed by power, revenge, and obsession. The primary human antagonist edges a lite close to cartoonishly evil at times, but he was still a good antagonist. The story also has the larger Lovecraftian backdrop with Cthulhu. Rather than simply being the big bad, Cthulhu is more of a neutral cosmic entity that Gabriel has this mysterious connection to, and I thought that was a really fun addition to the story.

I also liked this author's interpretation of merpeople. I loved the telepathy and the mind sharing aspect. I also really loved the history, etc, and the lore. It was an interesting choice to make them not quite traditional mermaids. They have legs and otherwise fairly normal human anatomy, just with gills and adaptations that allow them to live underwater. Personally, I was a little disappointed simply because, when I'm reading a merman romance, I kind of expect at least a little mermaid tail somewhere in the equation. It didn't really bother me, and I still liked the worldbuilding, but I did think it was an interesting creative decision. Logistically, it also strikes me as a little funny that a species living entirely underwater would evolve to look almost completely human apart from having gills. The books explain that they're excellent swimmers, of course, but visually, it wasn't quite what I expected going into a merman romance. (Also, like....their penises are just out there, and that doesn't make sense for a sea creatures anatomy)

The romance was incredibly sweet. It's definitely a little insta-love, but it works because there's clearly a supernatural connection between them before they ever properly meet. I'm also just a sucker for stories where someone grows up believing they're human only to slowly realize they aren't entirely human after all. That's always a trope, I enjoy.

There are also at least one or two fairly substantial sex scenes in each novella, and I appreciated that they all felt distinct rather than repetitive. They're hot, they're well written, and I liked that the couple is verse.

There were a couple of things that stood out as products of the time in which the series was originally written. Gabriel's best friend, Cole, is overweight, and while it's nice to have that representation—and it's never portrayed as something inherently negative—the narration repeatedly draws attention to his weight in ways that didn't always feel necessary. He's described multiple times as Santa Claus-esque or Buddha-esque. His fingers are described as "pudgy," and his weight occasionally becomes part of the humor. None of it came across as overtly fatphobic to me, but I did find myself wondering if all those repeated descriptions were really necessary. That repetition may honestly just be another side effect of the serialization. Since every installment is reintroducing characters, some physical descriptions get repeated.

Overall, though, I thought the writing was really solid. The romance was sweet, the pacing of the larger story worked well, the character development was satisfying, and I genuinely cared about Gabriel's journey. I loved the relationships, the emotional arc surrounding his parents' deaths, and the healing that takes place throughout the series.

The only thing I really found myself wishing for by the end was more. I would have loved to actually see Gabriel arrive where the merpeople live and experience that transition firsthand. From what I've heard, there may be a bridge chapter between this series and the next one that's available on the author's website, so I'll definitely have to hunt that down because I'd really like to see that part of his story.

Overall, this was a fantastic introduction to this author. I'm excited to read more of her work. I already own several of her other series, and if they're anything like this one, I think I'm going to have a great time.

As a whole, I consider these five books to really be one novel, and as one novel, it's a solid four-star read.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concluding instalment of X.Aratare's merman saga is a reasonable ending to this excellent m/m merman/lovecraft epic. I was however a little underwhelmed particularly with the ambiguity of Cthulhu - Normally Cthulhu is evil and what I liked about this story was that the guy who wants to destroy Cthulhu is the villain so this turns normal preconceptions on their head - We're looking at him from the mer perspective as a protector and I liked that. But then there's this plot twist in which Henry makes off with the statue at Cthulhu's request and we see that he was just playing along and wants to work future mischief - and so is evil after-all? I don't know this ambiguity didn't quite work for me.

Otherwise thoroughly enjoyable. Excellent story, likeable characters, decent romance and reasonably written.

[Emmitt Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending to the series or is it? I like how Gabriel comes into his own in this story. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is for the lack of explanation of the connection between Gabriel and the monster. The monster was calling to him from the very first book and saved him when his parents drowned. So?? We know he is a Caller, but what does that really mean and why? Other callers have perished or moved away to be alone. Why? And Gabriel seems to feel differently about the monster than his fellow Mer do. Why? Would like to have seen a bit more about this. Otherwise, a fun read. I cried when he had to tell Granny G. I could feel the emotion, like I was there.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The paranormal mm romance merman series wraps up, but unfinished business points to a continuation. I've gotten tired of the story. My favorite parts were when the men were in the ocean, not confronting armed maniacs. I skimmed a lot, but still detected quite a bit of sloppiness: several lay/lie and its/it's mix-ups, the latter used both correctly and incorrectly within the same paragraph. End-quote punctuation error, run on sentence, peaked used for piqued, missing comma, and sentence fragments.

[MagnusLR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but meh

I kind of rushed the reading, she used almost a whole chapter to explain the previous books, something they have done in all books and it's terribly annoying. You don't need to explain EVERYTHING. Another thing is the transition to sexually encounters and emotions, they feel forced and bleek. The story is interesting and exiting but the reading is boring and somehow annoying. I hope you grows out of that and also away from the bad conversation style.

[amomentsilence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice conclusion to a tale that reminded me of what it's like to feel the ocean on my face, it's waters rushing through my hair. I think I like this version better than the original serial, The Sea, as it expanded on elements otherwise left too vague prior. Perhaps there's a sequel in the works with that ending... >)

[Tony Williamson,jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Series!!!

The bond between Casillus and Gabriel is beyond unbreakable. I loved this series and all the characters in it! .all work together to make a beautiful series. Hopefully there is more to come.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I have wrote before, I loved this series. It may not be written to some else's standards, but the story line and the characters were fun, and the danger and action great. It's an inexpensive read and worth it.

[EscaPe iNTo thE PaGEs · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!

[Luke78 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 star for the entire series.

[Shivani Imagines · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is my debut merman series. And I kind of really really ached for water just like Gabriel did when he developed a new set of gills. Me, on the other hand, I just sprinkled my dry eyes with water so that I can read more of it. The struggle is real. What fantasy do to my real life. Anyways, every book in the series ended with a cliffhanger and the last one (not really the last one) was the same. I do not know when another one will come because the story is far from completed. I love this author and I have read many of raythe's books and I'm a huge fan of her writing. This series though does not really compare to her other works. Because they were extra ordinary and my favorites.

This series could have used more words. My concern was length and really having one major conflict highlighted around which all the books in the series revolved. The other things like romance, adventure, fears etc etc they were there but they felt short lived. Many times when the conversation between Corey, Gabriel, Casillus and Grandma took place or the other students, those were very irritating and I wanted to slap those two kids for even coming into the picture. The author could've absolutely done better knowing her other works. But still a lovely very incomplete series. I was wishing from the beginning to see the sea and the city and the other Mers but you didn't give me that and that is why I give this series 3 golden but sea blue stars.

[Andrew Mattson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this series brought me back to the good old days when I’d read some good romantic gay FanFiction before we had good representation in the world of books, games, and movies.

This series was incredible from Starr to finish, and the last book honestly did a wonderful job bring the story to a close (but also possible leaving it open for a spin off series in the future, which I would totally be down for) and best of all, the last book brought about its own surprises and twists and turns to the tale that made it more intense to finish.

I’m trying to avoid spoilers in this review, since I kept going on and on in my other reviews of the previous four books in this series. Overall, if you like fantasy, adventure, and gay romance, you need to read this series. While each book is only about 100 pages, this one being the longest at 149 pages, the journey of Gabriel and his transition from land and living in isolation and fear of the sea that killed his parents as a child to learning to open up and love Casillus and truly open up to love of not only intimacy but reclaiming his love of the sea was and amazingly down here, character development was a strong then here and done well despite the series being shorter in length than other fantasy book series. Great read and I would gladly read any extensions made to these stories in the future. 🧜🏼‍♂️

[Bhlue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for book 1 to 5.

Gabriel Braven was only 9 when he and his parents was on summer vacation in a beach and had a tragic accident. This caused him to have traumas, therefore, he was not near beaches ever since.

The present, 21 years old Gabriel and his best friend Corey had a summer vacation on his grandmother's house, near the beach where the accident took place. Traumatized and bitter, Gabriel believes that love isn't for him... but not until he met Casillus Nerion, a Mer Prince of the mers.

Beguiled to the Prince, this unexpected meeting unfolds things and events to Gabriel no one would've thought of.

———

This is my first ever book about mermaids. Although I've watched quite a lot of films about mermaids, this one is quite unpredictable (at least for me).

The narrative and writing is so good, not at least once I got bored! The way the author intensify the story of the book to another and suspensively ends them is thrilling, you'll anticipate to read the whole series! The smut is also good. Sex deep in the ocean? I think so.

The cover! I'm obsessed!

If you want to read something light, exciting and fun, I highly recommend this series. I'll be eyeing this author and surely read her other works. 🤩

[Trip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series so much, it's got an interesting plot and amazing character building along with an original concept. The mers here or almost too different from the common mermaids/merman although it actually grew on me.

Still not sure how I feel about the Cthulu aspect as it seemed up and down with me, similar to Gabriel's own feelings about the creature so I somewhat came to accept it. I enjoyed the conflict mentally with humanity and mers, the madness and choices was amazingly done.

The ending had me teary and happy at the same time, its left slightly open and there is actually another book by the looks of it although with new characters so I'm definitely have a look at that. Especially as Aemrys seems to be a MC and I adored his scenes in this one.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well Johnson is a creep confirmed. I also really really liked this concluding book way more then the last one. It really made me emotional at the end and I loved how everything worked out. Even the group that Johnson worked for ended nicely.

However, the author really likes cliffhangers (I know it was stated at the end of the blurb in every book) and it ended on a cliffhanger as well for the next part of the series. I'll go check it out if it's finished. Honestly I can just ignore the last couple of pages.

Oh I also really liked the end of the story were everyone sat down for one last meal together. I think that's my favorite part in the whole story. I would definitely recommend this series.