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The Sea King's Daughters #1
Siren's Tide
Ianthe Liakos is a mermaid from a different dimension and between that and now working as a PI in the corrupt climate of Washington DC, she'd thought she'd seen it all.
But when following a case leads down a trail of money that connects the murders of young political interns to a new paranormal threat, she realizes she must protect the next target.
The waters turn even murkier when Clayton Abernathy, a newly risen revenant fresh out of the grave, finds himself under the power of this new unnatural threat. Ianthe must hunt down this new threat to DC, while trying to keep her own identity safe. If the paranormal citizens of Washington DC found out that a mermaid has returned her own life and mission would be in danger.
And when it becomes clear that the murderer and Ianthe's mermaid past are inexplicably intertwined, she realizes she may just be out of her depth dealing with this killer.
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Six remarkable female writers, bring you a new urban fantasy series of novellas. Their Sea King’s Daughters will carry the reader into uncharted waters.
But when following a case leads down a trail of money that connects the murders of young political interns to a new paranormal threat, she realizes she must protect the next target.
The waters turn even murkier when Clayton Abernathy, a newly risen revenant fresh out of the grave, finds himself under the power of this new unnatural threat. Ianthe must hunt down this new threat to DC, while trying to keep her own identity safe. If the paranormal citizens of Washington DC found out that a mermaid has returned her own life and mission would be in danger.
And when it becomes clear that the murderer and Ianthe's mermaid past are inexplicably intertwined, she realizes she may just be out of her depth dealing with this killer.
=======================================
Six remarkable female writers, bring you a new urban fantasy series of novellas. Their Sea King’s Daughters will carry the reader into uncharted waters.
81 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 12, 2018
25 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Philippa Ballantine
70 books1,031 followersBorn and raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Philippa is a writer and podcaster of fantasy fiction.
Immersed in books from an early age, she moved onto to become a librarian. She'd been dreaming of being a writer since a teenager, but in the last ten years she's devoted herself to it.
She's the author of the Books of the Order series from Ace Books. Geist, Spectyr, Wrayth (2012) and Harbinger (2013).
Also, with Pyr books the Shifted World series, Hunter and Fox (2012) and Born and Made (2013)
Philippa is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Phoenix Rising and the Janus Affair (2012)
Philippa currently resides in Manassas, Virginia with her husband and co-writer Tee Morris, their daughter and a clowder of five cats who keep them all in line.
Awards
2011 Goodreads Short Listed for Best Science Fiction
2011 Airship Award winner for best written work (with Tee Morris)
2011 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel- Adult
2010 Parsec Award finalist for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
2010 Sir Julius Vogel Award finalist for Best fan production
2009 Parsec Award finalist for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award winner for Best fan production
2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel- Adult
2007 Parsec Award finalist for Best Writing Podcast
2006 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel
Immersed in books from an early age, she moved onto to become a librarian. She'd been dreaming of being a writer since a teenager, but in the last ten years she's devoted herself to it.
She's the author of the Books of the Order series from Ace Books. Geist, Spectyr, Wrayth (2012) and Harbinger (2013).
Also, with Pyr books the Shifted World series, Hunter and Fox (2012) and Born and Made (2013)
Philippa is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Phoenix Rising and the Janus Affair (2012)
Philippa currently resides in Manassas, Virginia with her husband and co-writer Tee Morris, their daughter and a clowder of five cats who keep them all in line.
Awards
2011 Goodreads Short Listed for Best Science Fiction
2011 Airship Award winner for best written work (with Tee Morris)
2011 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel- Adult
2010 Parsec Award finalist for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
2010 Sir Julius Vogel Award finalist for Best fan production
2009 Parsec Award finalist for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award winner for Best fan production
2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel- Adult
2007 Parsec Award finalist for Best Writing Podcast
2006 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominee for Best Novel
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 26, 2020
Noted a few editing errors.
Ianthe is a mermaid from another world living and working as a PI in DC. Her identity is also a secret. She runs into problems with a case she is working on.
This was an interesting short story. It lacked world building d/t it's length. There were some unanswered questions as well (surprise!). I did like Dolly Madison the ghost. She was fun.
Ianthe is a mermaid from another world living and working as a PI in DC. Her identity is also a secret. She runs into problems with a case she is working on.
This was an interesting short story. It lacked world building d/t it's length. There were some unanswered questions as well (surprise!). I did like Dolly Madison the ghost. She was fun.
July 6, 2018
Ooh, I wanted to like this more than I did. There’s a lot of world packed into a small story, which makes sense as the lead-in to a themed series. It could’ve used another editing pass; there were more than a few typos, but not so many as to be unreadable. Fans of modern mermaid stories or gritty female-led urban fantasy should definitely give it a try.
September 24, 2018
A strong start to this urban fantasy gave me high hopes, but there were a few occasions I wished the editing could have been tighter. Still it does a great job of packing in the details about the supernaturals inhabiting the everyday world and how the merfolk fit into it all. I did feel that the action towards the end was a little rushed and the end itself a bit abrupt given how many unanswered questions there are and that we're unlikely to hear the fallout from Ianthe's perspective.
Ianthe could be an interesting if sometimes infuriating main character given her slightly unreliable narration and flip-flop nature. Her preoccupation about being discovered as a rare mer-person could get in the way of the story telling a little, but even so she's a very modern kick-ass (or at least, attempts-to-kick-ass) heroine. If you like your characters to go in metaphorical-guns-blazing and think about it later, you'll like this princess with a chip on her shoulder.
I'd definitely be interested in seeing more from this series though, just because it's an unusually complex take on the paranormal people hiding in plain sight theme. I hope it'll build more as the series goes.
Ianthe could be an interesting if sometimes infuriating main character given her slightly unreliable narration and flip-flop nature. Her preoccupation about being discovered as a rare mer-person could get in the way of the story telling a little, but even so she's a very modern kick-ass (or at least, attempts-to-kick-ass) heroine. If you like your characters to go in metaphorical-guns-blazing and think about it later, you'll like this princess with a chip on her shoulder.
I'd definitely be interested in seeing more from this series though, just because it's an unusually complex take on the paranormal people hiding in plain sight theme. I hope it'll build more as the series goes.
June 26, 2018
A mermaid PI story. Hmmm. Haven't had one of those before. And fits with what she can do.
The story is written with a thick, wide world of supernaturals. Oh it's so full, it's busting at the seams of this novella! The world is full of paranormal beings. But mermaids are a secret to even the supernaturals. There is a secret here that could put them and others like them, who live in another realm, in danger.
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
The story is written with a thick, wide world of supernaturals. Oh it's so full, it's busting at the seams of this novella! The world is full of paranormal beings. But mermaids are a secret to even the supernaturals. There is a secret here that could put them and others like them, who live in another realm, in danger.
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
February 14, 2022
It was OK, but I just couldn't connect to the mc, maybe because she's very strong and acts superior to every one else and arrogant with it (as she says herself).
I'm missing the flaws, the emotional entanglement with her foes/obstacles, the reasons to root for her.
I'm missing the flaws, the emotional entanglement with her foes/obstacles, the reasons to root for her.
November 7, 2018
More like 2.5 stars
March 18, 2021
The storyline and characters were interesting and engaging.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews