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Mermen & Magic #3
Dangerous Waves
A blind merman fleeing the sunken city of Atlantis is torn between the family he left behind and the love he swims toward.
When Dax lost his family to a shark attack he swam away from everything he had ever known. Now he has come to Atlantis, hoping to reconnect with those he left behind. When he finds his birth clan torn apart, he realizes his journey is just beginning.
Kai is an Oracle, a blind merman, who only has sight when he has a vision. Atlantis, a sanctuary for so many merpeople, is his prison. Desperation drives him to beg the Atlantean Goddess of Love for help.
With the goddess's promise of love to tempt him, Kai persuades Dax to take him along when he leaves the sunken city.
Although Dax has some reservations about traveling through the ocean with a blind merman in tow, he quickly discovers Kai isn't as helpless as he appears. Attraction comes easy, but Kai doesn't seem to feel the same way.
Kai knows he must seduce Dax if he hopes to win his heart, but his inexperience may be his downfall. With Dax's former lover waiting at the end of their journey, he knows time is running out.
A goddess can only help so much, especially when another immortal would see them part. If the two stubborn mermen want a life together, they will have to learn to communicate and fight for their love.
When Dax lost his family to a shark attack he swam away from everything he had ever known. Now he has come to Atlantis, hoping to reconnect with those he left behind. When he finds his birth clan torn apart, he realizes his journey is just beginning.
Kai is an Oracle, a blind merman, who only has sight when he has a vision. Atlantis, a sanctuary for so many merpeople, is his prison. Desperation drives him to beg the Atlantean Goddess of Love for help.
With the goddess's promise of love to tempt him, Kai persuades Dax to take him along when he leaves the sunken city.
Although Dax has some reservations about traveling through the ocean with a blind merman in tow, he quickly discovers Kai isn't as helpless as he appears. Attraction comes easy, but Kai doesn't seem to feel the same way.
Kai knows he must seduce Dax if he hopes to win his heart, but his inexperience may be his downfall. With Dax's former lover waiting at the end of their journey, he knows time is running out.
A goddess can only help so much, especially when another immortal would see them part. If the two stubborn mermen want a life together, they will have to learn to communicate and fight for their love.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2016
1 person is currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
L.M. Brown
65 books77 followersI live in England, in a quaint little village that time doesn't seem to have touched. No, wait a minute- that's the retirement biography. Right now I am in England in a medium sized town that no one has ever heard of, so I won't bore you with the details. Keeping me company are numerous sexy men. I just wish that they weren't all inside my head.
Please note, L.M. Brown is no longer active on Goodreads. Although she does occasionally check in to comment on another's blog the visits are few and far between.
Please note, L.M. Brown is no longer active on Goodreads. Although she does occasionally check in to comment on another's blog the visits are few and far between.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 5, 2017
3.75 HEARTS--Back again for L.M. Brown's mermen!
(You know if I return to a series more than once, I've been hooked)
The last 2016 review on the blog is all about the fantasy. (Hey, this is me we're talking about-it's a fave genre)
L.M. Brown has created quite the world in the Merman & Magic series--readers visit the sunken island of Atlantis, inhabited with merfolk and sea creatures. Plus there's mythology thrown in with an interesting cast of god/goddess side characters that add a sense of magical instability in the tales. The gods are awakening from their stasis...the world doesn't know what it's in for.
In the third installment, Dangerous Waves, the prophetic Oracle mer family are the focus as well as Dax was the ex-lover from book #1. The Oracles are a group of three merfolk who are blind due to their psychic-like abilities. They are blinded once their get their powers at puberty, meaning they are virgins and must remain untouched. Kai, the Oracle of the present and protagonist, longs for a love to call his own, even though it's forbidden. He calls for help from the meddling goddess of love, Medina.
If you've been following along in the series (and I strongly suggest reading in order), then you know mer people are highly sexual. The Oracles aren't allowed any freedoms, basically prisoners in the kingdom of Atlantis. Enter the highly sexual Dax, the former lover of book #1's Kyle. Dax starts the book as the third in a temporary menage, a loner among yet another nomadic tribe that wants to move to Atlantis for stability.
Medina sense Dax's and Kai's fate and meddles in the only way she knows how.
It's hyper sexual vs. virginity, Dax and Kai couldn't be more different experience wise. But their chemistry is electric.
I like the route the author took with these two. It wasn't automatic jumping of bones, no sexy times happen until the last quarter of the book. The men get to know each other through a ocean road trip. Kai finally gets to experience life while traveling to England to help Dax check in on his former lover.
On the road, the two start opening up and learning about a common theme they seem to share, loners. But Dax thinks with his cock (that hasn't changed since book 1) and any time I fins myself liking him, he'd remember to be the jerk from book #1. He viewed sex as sex, Kai was a romantic. warning there is a sex scene with a MC and another person. That didn't piss me off. It wasn't cheating, but usually that's first third behavior of a novel, not so late in the game as the MC's start to get closer. I liked it. It remained true to his character.
It didn't read like insta-love, though the romantic aspect read short when coming to the romantic aspect. It took one of the men a little longer to realize his feelings. I felt it could have been played up just a little more for him.
Why this isn't 5 Hearts The goddess Medina seemed to be a main player in the beginning and them quiets (when hinted to being super powerful) and then shows up to not make much of an impact. The gods awakening is another larger series ARC but compared to the last two books, Dangerous Waves was weaker. We get to meet 2 new gods, add to Medina and series mainstays, Cari & Caspian, it's starting to get crowded. There are hints of conflicts to come, but it'd be nice if they were a little more defined. And the big conflict in the end? It was solved by a different being instead off the one who went to help. Something about the entire thing read anticlimactic.
Overall, a fun read.
There's opposites attract, mythology and magical hijinks. Plus, I'm enjoying the characters. I can't wait to read about Delwyn (Oracle of the past) in the future.
Not my fave pairing of the partnerships...but close.
If you're looking for a lighter urban fantasy series to try, I recommend giving the Mermen & Magic series a try.
A copy provided for an honest review.
(You know if I return to a series more than once, I've been hooked)
The last 2016 review on the blog is all about the fantasy. (Hey, this is me we're talking about-it's a fave genre)
L.M. Brown has created quite the world in the Merman & Magic series--readers visit the sunken island of Atlantis, inhabited with merfolk and sea creatures. Plus there's mythology thrown in with an interesting cast of god/goddess side characters that add a sense of magical instability in the tales. The gods are awakening from their stasis...the world doesn't know what it's in for.
In the third installment, Dangerous Waves, the prophetic Oracle mer family are the focus as well as Dax was the ex-lover from book #1. The Oracles are a group of three merfolk who are blind due to their psychic-like abilities. They are blinded once their get their powers at puberty, meaning they are virgins and must remain untouched. Kai, the Oracle of the present and protagonist, longs for a love to call his own, even though it's forbidden. He calls for help from the meddling goddess of love, Medina.
If you've been following along in the series (and I strongly suggest reading in order), then you know mer people are highly sexual. The Oracles aren't allowed any freedoms, basically prisoners in the kingdom of Atlantis. Enter the highly sexual Dax, the former lover of book #1's Kyle. Dax starts the book as the third in a temporary menage, a loner among yet another nomadic tribe that wants to move to Atlantis for stability.
Medina sense Dax's and Kai's fate and meddles in the only way she knows how.
It's hyper sexual vs. virginity, Dax and Kai couldn't be more different experience wise. But their chemistry is electric.
I like the route the author took with these two. It wasn't automatic jumping of bones, no sexy times happen until the last quarter of the book. The men get to know each other through a ocean road trip. Kai finally gets to experience life while traveling to England to help Dax check in on his former lover.
On the road, the two start opening up and learning about a common theme they seem to share, loners. But Dax thinks with his cock (that hasn't changed since book 1) and any time I fins myself liking him, he'd remember to be the jerk from book #1. He viewed sex as sex, Kai was a romantic. warning there is a sex scene with a MC and another person. That didn't piss me off. It wasn't cheating, but usually that's first third behavior of a novel, not so late in the game as the MC's start to get closer. I liked it. It remained true to his character.
It didn't read like insta-love, though the romantic aspect read short when coming to the romantic aspect. It took one of the men a little longer to realize his feelings. I felt it could have been played up just a little more for him.
Why this isn't 5 Hearts The goddess Medina seemed to be a main player in the beginning and them quiets (when hinted to being super powerful) and then shows up to not make much of an impact. The gods awakening is another larger series ARC but compared to the last two books, Dangerous Waves was weaker. We get to meet 2 new gods, add to Medina and series mainstays, Cari & Caspian, it's starting to get crowded. There are hints of conflicts to come, but it'd be nice if they were a little more defined. And the big conflict in the end? It was solved by a different being instead off the one who went to help. Something about the entire thing read anticlimactic.
Overall, a fun read.
There's opposites attract, mythology and magical hijinks. Plus, I'm enjoying the characters. I can't wait to read about Delwyn (Oracle of the past) in the future.
Not my fave pairing of the partnerships...but close.
If you're looking for a lighter urban fantasy series to try, I recommend giving the Mermen & Magic series a try.
A copy provided for an honest review.
September 5, 2017
i like it and i want to be one.
November 15, 2020
3.5 stars
I have not read the previous books in the series, but I think it stood well on its own. There was enough of the previous stories worked into the story to give some background, but not so much it felt like a full recap.
The story was interesting, but I didn't love it. Although I really liked Kai, I had a harder time liking Dax. Dax seemed a bit lost and very focused on himself (not necessarily a bad thing, just didn't make me like him as much). I for once actually like the goddess of love meddling, she had a real point about how the Oracles were being treated by their own goddess. I liked that Kai was not willing to settle for less than he deserved.
I have not read the previous books in the series, but I think it stood well on its own. There was enough of the previous stories worked into the story to give some background, but not so much it felt like a full recap.
The story was interesting, but I didn't love it. Although I really liked Kai, I had a harder time liking Dax. Dax seemed a bit lost and very focused on himself (not necessarily a bad thing, just didn't make me like him as much). I for once actually like the goddess of love meddling, she had a real point about how the Oracles were being treated by their own goddess. I liked that Kai was not willing to settle for less than he deserved.
November 16, 2016
This is one of four (I think, 2 others are written so far) and I haven’t read the earlier two. This might have affected my interpretation of what I read, but I don’t think I was lost. It’s a very complex and well-developed plot with significant world building that borrows on Greek Mythos but adds in new twists and turns.
One thing that I both appreciated but found distasteful was that the author stuck by the historical view of Gods/Goddesses as very self-absorbed and selfish beings who manipulate those in their stratosphere to their own gain. Instead of a beneficent being who uses their powers for good, Cara is not entirely bad but she is definitely not in this to help her oracles one bit. She has set them up in a horrible situation with no way out and no options. That didn’t sit well with me.
No matter what he wanted, Kai has to live in Atlantis, he can’t go to land and it’s only on land that he can be human and its only as a human he can have an orgasm. That sucks! When he meets and learns that Dax is to be his bonded mate, I kept thinking – well now that just sucks for both of them! Dax can either choose to be unfaithful or they can both live celibate lives for no reason other than the Goddess chooses this to be so. (We find out later why the rules exist and we find out later that there are some options but for most of the book this is the fate our MCs face and it’s a giant drag!)
There was so much going on in this story and here is where I might have been more interested had I read the earlier two stories, but it seemed to occupy a lot of the book in ways that didn’t directly move our MCs’ relationship forward. Or it did, but in a very drawn out, long way.
I appreciated the world building and thought it was interesting, but the strict rules and the rather prison like world the oracles live in made me uninterested in reading more about them or their situation. Even with the happy twist that develops it still feels like a terrible way to live a life and I didn’t see what Kai got out of it which just kept twitching my “this isn’t fair!” switch. (The other oracles who are the MCs in the other stories have similar rules.)
As a result, I was happy to have read this and found part of it pretty interesting, but beyond feeling like all parties involved were puppets at the hand of some pretty unlikable Gods and Goddesses, it just didn’t move me much.
Dax seemed resigned to the fact that if he wanted someone to settle down with he was obliged to find Kai appealing because it had been so decreed by Minerva. Instead of any real bond, it just felt sort of… obligatory.
So, while I felt the writing was good and parts of this were interesting, it didn’t strike me as particularly romantic and thus it wasn’t as appealing to me as it could have been.
3 of 5 stars
One thing that I both appreciated but found distasteful was that the author stuck by the historical view of Gods/Goddesses as very self-absorbed and selfish beings who manipulate those in their stratosphere to their own gain. Instead of a beneficent being who uses their powers for good, Cara is not entirely bad but she is definitely not in this to help her oracles one bit. She has set them up in a horrible situation with no way out and no options. That didn’t sit well with me.
No matter what he wanted, Kai has to live in Atlantis, he can’t go to land and it’s only on land that he can be human and its only as a human he can have an orgasm. That sucks! When he meets and learns that Dax is to be his bonded mate, I kept thinking – well now that just sucks for both of them! Dax can either choose to be unfaithful or they can both live celibate lives for no reason other than the Goddess chooses this to be so. (We find out later why the rules exist and we find out later that there are some options but for most of the book this is the fate our MCs face and it’s a giant drag!)
There was so much going on in this story and here is where I might have been more interested had I read the earlier two stories, but it seemed to occupy a lot of the book in ways that didn’t directly move our MCs’ relationship forward. Or it did, but in a very drawn out, long way.
I appreciated the world building and thought it was interesting, but the strict rules and the rather prison like world the oracles live in made me uninterested in reading more about them or their situation. Even with the happy twist that develops it still feels like a terrible way to live a life and I didn’t see what Kai got out of it which just kept twitching my “this isn’t fair!” switch. (The other oracles who are the MCs in the other stories have similar rules.)
As a result, I was happy to have read this and found part of it pretty interesting, but beyond feeling like all parties involved were puppets at the hand of some pretty unlikable Gods and Goddesses, it just didn’t move me much.
Dax seemed resigned to the fact that if he wanted someone to settle down with he was obliged to find Kai appealing because it had been so decreed by Minerva. Instead of any real bond, it just felt sort of… obligatory.
So, while I felt the writing was good and parts of this were interesting, it didn’t strike me as particularly romantic and thus it wasn’t as appealing to me as it could have been.
3 of 5 stars
October 4, 2016
Actual Rating a 3.5 all because of Dax and his stubbornness lol jk
We met Dax in book 1 and we get a glimpse of what he has been upto! He has been floating around with out a real home and not building connections except a few friends who he sleeps with only for the benefit to break the heat during the solstice! He views sex and love as 2 separate things so you can imagine that cause some heartache for him and Kai. I kind of wish Dax suffered a little bit more in the book to better understand the pain of Kai. But the author reminded me that Dax had already lost so much that I accepted the sacrifice he made for Kai as enough. Kai on the other hand has his own stubbornness, in a cute and adorable way, and he equates sex and love as the same so he is very guarded around Dax at times because he falls for Dax and wants to be with him sexually but does not want to be just another sex "fun time" with Dax. Kai had a relationship with his fellow oracle because they were alone and needed each other. In the epilogue scene, I greatly enjoyed how Dax and Kai offered to be there for the other oracle to help break the heat during the solstice. Of course the oracle turned them down to wait for HEA like Kai got his with Dax. And for any of those who read the previous books you know the rules of the oracles, and at the ending things have changed. So now we wait for book 4 and see how the last of the 3 oracles achieve their love.
We met Dax in book 1 and we get a glimpse of what he has been upto! He has been floating around with out a real home and not building connections except a few friends who he sleeps with only for the benefit to break the heat during the solstice! He views sex and love as 2 separate things so you can imagine that cause some heartache for him and Kai. I kind of wish Dax suffered a little bit more in the book to better understand the pain of Kai. But the author reminded me that Dax had already lost so much that I accepted the sacrifice he made for Kai as enough. Kai on the other hand has his own stubbornness, in a cute and adorable way, and he equates sex and love as the same so he is very guarded around Dax at times because he falls for Dax and wants to be with him sexually but does not want to be just another sex "fun time" with Dax. Kai had a relationship with his fellow oracle because they were alone and needed each other. In the epilogue scene, I greatly enjoyed how Dax and Kai offered to be there for the other oracle to help break the heat during the solstice. Of course the oracle turned them down to wait for HEA like Kai got his with Dax. And for any of those who read the previous books you know the rules of the oracles, and at the ending things have changed. So now we wait for book 4 and see how the last of the 3 oracles achieve their love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2016
L.M. Brown is back with her sexy and sweet mermen, the ancient city of Atlantis, and fickle, immortal gods. Fair warning, this is not a stand-alone novel and you are really doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t indulged in these books. The pictures the novels paint are colourful and real, emotional and funny.
Brown takes old world legends and brings new life to them by mixing elements of the Fae and Greek tales of gods and their mortal playthings. The world building is breathtaking, and while there is always a happy ending, it is well fought for and deserved. No drama or consequences that are hand waved or white washed here, these characters fight for and win their happy ever after.
Characters from the previous books make a return to enhance Dax and Kai’s story, and further the overall arching plot of the plight of the merfolk. Of all the mermen and mortals that Brown has introduced, each pairing, and in once case the triad, has always been my favorite—until the next book comes along. Kai and Dax are no exception.
Thank you to the author for another magnificent tale in this incredible world. I am looking forward to the next time you return to the sea.
Reviewed by Angel for The Novel Approach Reviews
Brown takes old world legends and brings new life to them by mixing elements of the Fae and Greek tales of gods and their mortal playthings. The world building is breathtaking, and while there is always a happy ending, it is well fought for and deserved. No drama or consequences that are hand waved or white washed here, these characters fight for and win their happy ever after.
Characters from the previous books make a return to enhance Dax and Kai’s story, and further the overall arching plot of the plight of the merfolk. Of all the mermen and mortals that Brown has introduced, each pairing, and in once case the triad, has always been my favorite—until the next book comes along. Kai and Dax are no exception.
Thank you to the author for another magnificent tale in this incredible world. I am looking forward to the next time you return to the sea.
Reviewed by Angel for The Novel Approach Reviews
June 14, 2019
3.5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews