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The Mermaid from Siquijor
Lorie Cenas gets invited to go on a diving trip to Siquijor, an island famed for its connection to the supernatural, to heal from a broken heart. She accepts but her friend doesn’t know that Lorie has a secret: she already has a deep connection to the island, the place where her mother died a long time ago.
There, she meets Marceau Egasse, a French diver and marine ecologist, who is passionate about the ocean but skeptical about the island’s mystic powers; and Elena, a mysterious island woman, who has secrets of her own.
Elena wants something from Lorie that she is not willing to give up. Will Lorie heal wounds from her past in Siquijor? Will she find love and a kindred spirit? Or is the island a maelstrom that will consume her, just like it did her mother?
There, she meets Marceau Egasse, a French diver and marine ecologist, who is passionate about the ocean but skeptical about the island’s mystic powers; and Elena, a mysterious island woman, who has secrets of her own.
Elena wants something from Lorie that she is not willing to give up. Will Lorie heal wounds from her past in Siquijor? Will she find love and a kindred spirit? Or is the island a maelstrom that will consume her, just like it did her mother?
105 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2016
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Justine Camacho-Tajonera
19 books30 followersJustine Camacho-Tajonera was born and grew up in Cebu City, Philippines. Despite starting a corporate career in telecommunications, she pursued an M.A. in English Literature to keep her close to her first love of writing.
She has had her poetry published in several anthologies and local publications and she has published two books: Artemis Lets Go, a novel, and Gift: Poems, her first collection of poetry. She maintains a poetry blog, Claiming Alexandria.
She is a marketing professional in the Philippines, is married and has two children.
She has had her poetry published in several anthologies and local publications and she has published two books: Artemis Lets Go, a novel, and Gift: Poems, her first collection of poetry. She maintains a poetry blog, Claiming Alexandria.
She is a marketing professional in the Philippines, is married and has two children.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 13, 2018
This book had a good premise and I appreciated a story about mythology from my parents' culture. However, the text of the Kindle version needs better formatting and the writing itself needs better editing. For example, at one point, a character was called a different character's name. It's also difficult to follow back-and-forth dialogue exchanges because characters' actions do not accompany their own speech but other characters' speech. Finally, the worldbuilding was intriguing and I definitely wanted to know more, but much of it was not explained well enough through the writing in the beginning, and then the rest of it was given to readers with straight exposition. It felt a little flat.
September 21, 2016
"Some people are as bright as the sun.
So bright that they burn the ones they love."
So bright that they burn the ones they love."
May 27, 2019
Enjoyed it, but some issues
Overall, I liked The Mermaid from Siquijor a fair bit. It’s nice to read something that is set in the Philippines and talks a bit more about the culture/mythology. There’s some excellent lines throughout that I highlighted, and I loved the concept & worldbuilding of the bearers of light.
However, the dialogue and characterization could use a little work— there wasn’t enough depth to it, which worked all right in the beginning when everything was still very mysterious and you were digging up backstory, but as I got towards the end it got more grating. Cliche though it is, it felt like a bit too much telling instead of showing— we were informed of the character’s emotional state without really witnessing much of a display of it/getting properly into their heads. I still enjoyed it, but I definitely would have loved it more if the characterization had been a bit richer.
Overall, I liked The Mermaid from Siquijor a fair bit. It’s nice to read something that is set in the Philippines and talks a bit more about the culture/mythology. There’s some excellent lines throughout that I highlighted, and I loved the concept & worldbuilding of the bearers of light.
However, the dialogue and characterization could use a little work— there wasn’t enough depth to it, which worked all right in the beginning when everything was still very mysterious and you were digging up backstory, but as I got towards the end it got more grating. Cliche though it is, it felt like a bit too much telling instead of showing— we were informed of the character’s emotional state without really witnessing much of a display of it/getting properly into their heads. I still enjoyed it, but I definitely would have loved it more if the characterization had been a bit richer.
August 14, 2018
This is a brilliant story set in various islands in Visayas (Siquijor most prominently) and I loved the fusion of the popular mythical mermaids with local lore that might not be familiar with everyone yet. It is also a personal story of recovering things from the past in order to move on, as well as discovering new things and embracing a new future.⠀
October 17, 2017
Initially, I was worried that I would not enjoy "The Mermaid from Siquijor" by Justine Camacho-Tajonera, since I was not a huge fan of its format (i.e. text). At first, I had troubles with the world-building. The history was also quite confusing and was challenging to keep up with. There were various historical places and some historical and mythical creatures in this book that would have been better if there were illustrations alongside the story. A few illustrations would have done it*. Also, some scenes were fast-paced, well... too fast-paced.
However, as the story progressed, the book became more interesting. Slowly, I was able to enter the characters' worlds - both on land and underwater. Of course, I would have preferred it if the story was more about mermaids, but I do not really mind, since I enjoyed reading this. I simply could not stop reading. Other than that, this book made me cry - twice. I could already see myself rereading this soon.
*See: "The Girl Between Two Worlds" by K. M. Levis. This book has illustrations of manananggal, kapre, duwende, etc. as the story progressed.
However, as the story progressed, the book became more interesting. Slowly, I was able to enter the characters' worlds - both on land and underwater. Of course, I would have preferred it if the story was more about mermaids, but I do not really mind, since I enjoyed reading this. I simply could not stop reading. Other than that, this book made me cry - twice. I could already see myself rereading this soon.
*See: "The Girl Between Two Worlds" by K. M. Levis. This book has illustrations of manananggal, kapre, duwende, etc. as the story progressed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews