What do you think?
The Merman #1
Transformation
Gabriel Braven is destined for a great love, but he does not believe it.
His parents had a storybook romance … until a freak ocean storm robbed them of their lives and left him alone to be raised by his grandmother. With their deaths, Gabriel’s adoration for the sea turned to fear, and his belief in happy-ever-afters turned to dust. Gabriel vowed to never set foot in the ocean again and to never believe in love.
Gabriel kept that promise until after his junior year of college, when he and his best friend Corey return to the ocean-side town where he lost his parents in order to help his grandmother. Gabriel’s bitter fear of the water has only grown, along with his belief that it is his destiny to be forever alone.
Corey is determined to prove Gabriel wrong. It is his mission that summer for Gabriel to find love on the beach … and maybe do some swimming, too. Gabriel will settle for simply not reliving his parents’ deaths every time he hears the rush and shush of the waves.
Both may get their wish as Gabriel discovers the hidden past of the Bravens and the sea sends someone amazing to his aid.
BOOK 2 IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER! ASIN B00N3D7MA2
His parents had a storybook romance … until a freak ocean storm robbed them of their lives and left him alone to be raised by his grandmother. With their deaths, Gabriel’s adoration for the sea turned to fear, and his belief in happy-ever-afters turned to dust. Gabriel vowed to never set foot in the ocean again and to never believe in love.
Gabriel kept that promise until after his junior year of college, when he and his best friend Corey return to the ocean-side town where he lost his parents in order to help his grandmother. Gabriel’s bitter fear of the water has only grown, along with his belief that it is his destiny to be forever alone.
Corey is determined to prove Gabriel wrong. It is his mission that summer for Gabriel to find love on the beach … and maybe do some swimming, too. Gabriel will settle for simply not reliving his parents’ deaths every time he hears the rush and shush of the waves.
Both may get their wish as Gabriel discovers the hidden past of the Bravens and the sea sends someone amazing to his aid.
BOOK 2 IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER! ASIN B00N3D7MA2
103 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2014
About the author
X. Aratare
103 books749 followersX. Aratare is the pseudonym for Raythe Reign's Gay(M/M) books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
December 4, 2015
I don't want to deter anyone from reading this because it was written well and it had a great smexy scene to it. I also don't want to throw in the towel for all things mermen. I simply think the story arc just wasn't for me. Give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised.
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Did Not Finish
May 30, 2024MM Romance
Mermen
DNF @ 30%
This is so fucking boring. It’s also only 79 pages but it’s part 1 of a 5 book series and I can’t.
Mermen
DNF @ 30%
This is so fucking boring. It’s also only 79 pages but it’s part 1 of a 5 book series and I can’t.
June 22, 2024
DNF @ 44%
I picked this up because trying out merman romances was on my to-do list for this year but this one isn't working for me. The writing style is painfully amateur and everything about it feels very YA. I can't tell if it's supposed to be YA or not but the way it's written screams YA to me. The main focus seems to be on Gabe's coming-of-age journey and not only did it not interest me but the pacing is so incredibly slow that I struggled not to fall asleep. There was also a strong Special-Snowflake vibe happening with Gabe. Apparently the guy wrote a short tragic story of a merman seducing a human from afar (ie the exact same siren/mermaid legend that's been done thousands of times before). He submitted this unoriginal, not very interesting short story to a fiction journal and then it went viral and Gabe is now a celebrity who's being recognized by the masses. You see what I mean about this feeling very YA? That entire scenario is ridiculous and doesn't belong in an adult romance.
But the main reason I can't keep going is the bad writing. Sentences are short and choppy with no transition between, as if the author struggled to come up with every individual sentence and then didn't know how to edit them to make things smoother. The sentence structure is also very repetitive with the author not bothering to try to shake things up to remove some of the repetition. For example, there's a group scene where multiple dialog tags follow the same pattern (ex. she said with a smile, she said with a roll of her eyes, he said with a frown) and once I noticed it, I couldn't ignore it. There's the common beginner-writer mistake of using way too many dialog tags and making them too varied (ex. he instructed, he explained, he scoffed etc) which resulted in them being a distraction. Then there's the cringy way the author takes the time to introduce and describe the physical appearance of every single pointless side character at this party that the MCs attend. Even the action scenes weren't written well. During times when Gabe is very stressed and the situation is supposed to be filled with tension, the author didn't know how to adequately get that across so we get childish lines like:
He couldn't go in the water. He simply couldn't!
It probably won't be a shock to you that the dialog was also terrible. Gabe's BFF Colby often spoke without contractions, which didn't fit his characterization and in general, every character's dialog contained sentences that were unnatural and felt forced.
There were other issues with the writing. For example, there's the weird choice to use 'miles high' as a descriptor when a character is saying that something is very tall. Then there's the author's inability to portray 9 year old Gabe's thought patterns in an age appropriate way during the storm that destroys his family's boat while he and his parents are on it. We have him calmly and maturely assessing the situation he's in while he's struggling to stay afloat in a stormy ocean at night, his father is floating unconscious nearby and his mother is clinging to the overturned boat and screaming for him to come to her. I think the author meant to convey that Gabe is oddly comfortable being in the water and that connects to the overall plot, but that natural comfort wouldn't erase the terror and confusion a 9 year old child would be experiencing during that situation.
Overall, this author's writing ability isn't nearly good enough for me to make it through even this short introductory book and even if I did skim to the end of it, I wouldn't be satisfied because this series isn't actually a series - it's one book that's been chopped into 5 short pieces so I'd need to make it through the entire thing to experience the whole story. It's too bad that the story has such a strong YA vibe and that the writing style is so bad because the premise was really interesting and the idea of humanoid merman (ie no fish tails) would have been a nice introduction to the merman subgenre.
I picked this up because trying out merman romances was on my to-do list for this year but this one isn't working for me. The writing style is painfully amateur and everything about it feels very YA. I can't tell if it's supposed to be YA or not but the way it's written screams YA to me. The main focus seems to be on Gabe's coming-of-age journey and not only did it not interest me but the pacing is so incredibly slow that I struggled not to fall asleep. There was also a strong Special-Snowflake vibe happening with Gabe. Apparently the guy wrote a short tragic story of a merman seducing a human from afar (ie the exact same siren/mermaid legend that's been done thousands of times before). He submitted this unoriginal, not very interesting short story to a fiction journal and then it went viral and Gabe is now a celebrity who's being recognized by the masses. You see what I mean about this feeling very YA? That entire scenario is ridiculous and doesn't belong in an adult romance.
But the main reason I can't keep going is the bad writing. Sentences are short and choppy with no transition between, as if the author struggled to come up with every individual sentence and then didn't know how to edit them to make things smoother. The sentence structure is also very repetitive with the author not bothering to try to shake things up to remove some of the repetition. For example, there's a group scene where multiple dialog tags follow the same pattern (ex. she said with a smile, she said with a roll of her eyes, he said with a frown) and once I noticed it, I couldn't ignore it. There's the common beginner-writer mistake of using way too many dialog tags and making them too varied (ex. he instructed, he explained, he scoffed etc) which resulted in them being a distraction. Then there's the cringy way the author takes the time to introduce and describe the physical appearance of every single pointless side character at this party that the MCs attend. Even the action scenes weren't written well. During times when Gabe is very stressed and the situation is supposed to be filled with tension, the author didn't know how to adequately get that across so we get childish lines like:
He couldn't go in the water. He simply couldn't!
It probably won't be a shock to you that the dialog was also terrible. Gabe's BFF Colby often spoke without contractions, which didn't fit his characterization and in general, every character's dialog contained sentences that were unnatural and felt forced.
There were other issues with the writing. For example, there's the weird choice to use 'miles high' as a descriptor when a character is saying that something is very tall. Then there's the author's inability to portray 9 year old Gabe's thought patterns in an age appropriate way during the storm that destroys his family's boat while he and his parents are on it. We have him calmly and maturely assessing the situation he's in while he's struggling to stay afloat in a stormy ocean at night, his father is floating unconscious nearby and his mother is clinging to the overturned boat and screaming for him to come to her. I think the author meant to convey that Gabe is oddly comfortable being in the water and that connects to the overall plot, but that natural comfort wouldn't erase the terror and confusion a 9 year old child would be experiencing during that situation.
Overall, this author's writing ability isn't nearly good enough for me to make it through even this short introductory book and even if I did skim to the end of it, I wouldn't be satisfied because this series isn't actually a series - it's one book that's been chopped into 5 short pieces so I'd need to make it through the entire thing to experience the whole story. It's too bad that the story has such a strong YA vibe and that the writing style is so bad because the premise was really interesting and the idea of humanoid merman (ie no fish tails) would have been a nice introduction to the merman subgenre.
January 13, 2020
Audio 5 stars
Story 3 stars
Story 3 stars
August 27, 2019
I liked this story a lot. The story, despite being short, was well written with a promise of more to come. The characters both main and side were very likable and approachable. The idea of a human who does not know he is not human falling in love with merman is so cool. I loved their initial meeting especially after what happened to Gabriel the previous night! Nah ah, not telling! I loved it. I do not mind cliffhangers at all. So, I enjoyed the build up to their meeting a lot. Plus the expressions of grief were well written and heart felt. I am off to read the next one!
July 10, 2019
I was in the mood for some merman fun and this one suits perfectly. Plus the added bonus of Chris Patton narrating? Win/win.
on to Acceptance!
on to Acceptance!
August 24, 2024
I've never read a multiple-part series with cliffhangers like this. So far, I like it. The beginning with his parents was sad and scary. The cave gave me anxiety. I could NOT imagine being trapped like that. Then, he meets the hot merman from his naughty dreams. Finds out some juicy shit about himself, and..... runs away 🤭 so silly, but I'm excited to see where this goes. I have so many questions.
November 17, 2019
3⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great start to a mer story. Fantastic narration. But...this stopped as soon as it started to get going. I know there is a second book, but this one, by itself doesn’t complete a story arc.
Also, some of the dialogue seemed a bit forced and I had a weird time fully accepting the characterization of his best friend in a Santa Claus trope.
This engaged me enough to want to continue on with the series! (GREAT underwater dream sex scene!! 🔥🔥)
Great start to a mer story. Fantastic narration. But...this stopped as soon as it started to get going. I know there is a second book, but this one, by itself doesn’t complete a story arc.
Also, some of the dialogue seemed a bit forced and I had a weird time fully accepting the characterization of his best friend in a Santa Claus trope.
This engaged me enough to want to continue on with the series! (GREAT underwater dream sex scene!! 🔥🔥)
January 8, 2015
3.5
Мне понравилось настроение этой новеллы - этакое мечтательное-о-море-вдаль-смотрящее. И несмотря на простоватость языка, с каждым словом все больше хочется куда-нибудь туда, где тепло и бесконечный пляж, волны и горизонт, соединяющий воду и небо...мммм...
Сюжет увлекает, хоть и предсказуем.
Но вся история разбита на 5 небольших платных новелл, и в целом суммированная стоимость романа выходит дороговато. Мне не терпится почитать продолжение, но жаба на моей шее пока слезать не собирается.
Мне понравилось настроение этой новеллы - этакое мечтательное-о-море-вдаль-смотрящее. И несмотря на простоватость языка, с каждым словом все больше хочется куда-нибудь туда, где тепло и бесконечный пляж, волны и горизонт, соединяющий воду и небо...мммм...
Сюжет увлекает, хоть и предсказуем.
Но вся история разбита на 5 небольших платных новелл, и в целом суммированная стоимость романа выходит дороговато. Мне не терпится почитать продолжение, но жаба на моей шее пока слезать не собирается.
tbr1_ready-and-waiting
September 16, 2014I am loving this book cover. It's calling to me like a Siren Song.
Artwork © Mathia Arkoniel
Artwork © Mathia Arkoniel
September 4, 2015
3.75 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. So romantic and a tad melancholy, full of magic and longing, it somehow tugged at my heartstrings.
But I didn't like that mermen didn't have any tails. Why would they need a pair of legs in the ocean? Ugh.
I really enjoyed this book. So romantic and a tad melancholy, full of magic and longing, it somehow tugged at my heartstrings.
But I didn't like that mermen didn't have any tails. Why would they need a pair of legs in the ocean? Ugh.
February 8, 2024
This is the introduction to this story. I’ll need to get further into it before I can truly rate it. I have high hopes because I’ve enjoyed other books by this author.
April 16, 2023
This is a bit shorter than I'm used to. The ending is a cliffhanger but the way it was cut felt like I just read one very long chapter and the next chapter can be found in the next book.
It's a good start though. Fantasies that involve the sea for me are very enchanting. This may be because I have a mild fear for deep waters and the way the deep sea and the underwater scenes were written felt mesmerizing and scary at the same time. It felt like I was the one drowning instead. If you tend to be empathic with this type of scenes or get anxious with deep water and drowning, proceed with caution.
It's a good start though. Fantasies that involve the sea for me are very enchanting. This may be because I have a mild fear for deep waters and the way the deep sea and the underwater scenes were written felt mesmerizing and scary at the same time. It felt like I was the one drowning instead. If you tend to be empathic with this type of scenes or get anxious with deep water and drowning, proceed with caution.
Want to Read
September 27, 2014Free Mermen (7/13/15)
http://www.amazon.com/Transformation-...
http://www.amazon.com/Transformation-...
Want to Read
January 12, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/12/2020)! 🎁
October 20, 2020
18+- RTC-
Rating: 2 Stars.
Steam: 6 out of 10.
Triggers:
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
HEA:
Rating: 2 Stars.
Steam: 6 out of 10.
Triggers:
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
HEA:
July 4, 2017
Story: 8
First MC: 8
Second MC: 7
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 6
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 5
Hotness: 6
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 2
Annoying: 2
Audio: 8 (2h 53min)
To re-read: 6
Bought the 5 books of this series back in 2015 mainly because Chris Patton narrated the audiobook. Its on the short side because they are 5 installment in total.
hot mer dreams, beach houses, and a jolly Santa.
Book ended with a cliffhanger.
First MC: 8
Second MC: 7
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 6
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 5
Hotness: 6
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 2
Annoying: 2
Audio: 8 (2h 53min)
To re-read: 6
Bought the 5 books of this series back in 2015 mainly because Chris Patton narrated the audiobook. Its on the short side because they are 5 installment in total.
hot mer dreams, beach houses, and a jolly Santa.
Book ended with a cliffhanger.
November 13, 2015
Huh, I wasn't expecting to like this, but I did. Unfortunately, it ended just when it started getting going.
This is like the pilot episode of a new tv series. Just enough to pique your interest, and the episode is over til next week. Guess I'll have to buy the next book soon, before I forget what happened in this one.
This is like the pilot episode of a new tv series. Just enough to pique your interest, and the episode is over til next week. Guess I'll have to buy the next book soon, before I forget what happened in this one.
May 23, 2023
★★★½
________________
Surprisingly good.
[Read for my maze]
Task: Read a book whose author (first or last) starts with X
March 5, 2026
happy mer-march!
this was fantastic and but i feel betrayed after the ending 😭 a cliffhanger noooooo i need to know what happens!
the beginning was so dark and sad, but it helped build gabe’s character and backstory. i think it was a great foundation to the story. this book was too short but i’m happy it’s a series. i’m really looking forward to the second one and getting to know the characters more!
this was fantastic and but i feel betrayed after the ending 😭 a cliffhanger noooooo i need to know what happens!
the beginning was so dark and sad, but it helped build gabe’s character and backstory. i think it was a great foundation to the story. this book was too short but i’m happy it’s a series. i’m really looking forward to the second one and getting to know the characters more!
December 21, 2014
"Book Review for Books 1-3"
My Audible Audiobook Review:
Awesome!
Book 1: Great story about a boy who hates water because of a tragic accident that kill his parents... but somehow he becomes different from that experience.
Book 2: Great continuation.... now we are finding out what is happening to Gabriel... but the professor.... dude... what is up with him?
Book 3: AWESOME!!! Finally we get some back information about Gabriel, the Mers and the settlement... But that Cliffhanger ending... C'mom.... when is Gabriel going down in the sea and meet his family down there? Seriously...
I hope there is only one more book.. because I am ready to meet the Mers!!!
Great narration... Awesome buy, credit or sale for all three books!
My Audible Audiobook Review:
Awesome!
Book 1: Great story about a boy who hates water because of a tragic accident that kill his parents... but somehow he becomes different from that experience.
Book 2: Great continuation.... now we are finding out what is happening to Gabriel... but the professor.... dude... what is up with him?
Book 3: AWESOME!!! Finally we get some back information about Gabriel, the Mers and the settlement... But that Cliffhanger ending... C'mom.... when is Gabriel going down in the sea and meet his family down there? Seriously...
I hope there is only one more book.. because I am ready to meet the Mers!!!
Great narration... Awesome buy, credit or sale for all three books!
June 22, 2022
TRANSFORMATION is only the beginning of Gabriel's story as he learns that he's really a Merman destined to complete his transition into a Mer and live in the ocean forever. The writing was smooth and easy to read but the story just didn't fully engage me. I was also a bit disappointed to learn that the Mer still have legs instead of a tail. We only just meet Casillus at the very end of this one (yes it ends on a cliffhanger) but he seems like he'll be a good fit for Gabriel. Overall, I liked it but not enough to continue the series.
Content Warning: on page boating accident and drowning death of Gabriel's parents
Content Warning: on page boating accident and drowning death of Gabriel's parents
December 31, 2014
This review is for the audio edition of Transformation.
I liked the narrator's voice a lot and he did the words justice. This is just the start of the story and just when you find out something it's over. The other MC isn't even introduced until the very end. So, while I enjoyed it, it felt like the longest prologue ever.
I liked the narrator's voice a lot and he did the words justice. This is just the start of the story and just when you find out something it's over. The other MC isn't even introduced until the very end. So, while I enjoyed it, it felt like the longest prologue ever.
May 28, 2015
when started to read this I was a bit skeptical about the whole Mer thing, because this is my first mermaids/merman book, but am so happy I picked it up, I love the series so far! Can't wait to read the rest and see what happens next! o("^0^")o
October 23, 2015
listened to the audio. Chris Patton is a wonderful narrator, and the mer people the author writes about and their connection a young male who though the was human is addicting. Having to buy each book after I finish the one before.
May 29, 2016
3.5 stars
massive cliff hanger
that said it was an interesting and we'll written story of a young man who lost his parents to the sea but whose own connection with the sea and mer folk is not something he can ignore
massive cliff hanger
that said it was an interesting and we'll written story of a young man who lost his parents to the sea but whose own connection with the sea and mer folk is not something he can ignore
own-tbr
June 6, 2017Can you resist the allure of the mermen? What if I told you it was free today? Here ya go Amazon US
August 3, 2018
I did kind of enjoy reading this first book of the Merman series. However, it was way too short! Book One is actually only 99 pages long. Then as a teaser preview, it is followed by the first chapter of Book Two. After that is a mini-preview of another one of X. Aratare's books (The Artifact-Book One: The Bodyguard).
The story was really just getting started right when it abruptly ends. If that is how short all of the books are in this series, this is not cool. Instead of having a five book series, the entire storyline could have been fit into two novels. And the printed versions are not cheap either! They're nine bucks each on Amazon (and Book Three is $10), so $46 for about 500 pages' worth of story is simply exorbitant. Maybe the reason it was so expensive was the material that the cover is made of, which I must admit is nice and "velvety." But if that's what's raising the price of the book, I'd rather have a cheaply made cover and pay a lower price lol.
A m/m romance series about mermen is so intriguing to me, but I am not a wealthy enough person to drop almost 50 bucks for five short books. I guess I'll have to wait until I get a Kindle to continue this series because the Kindle edition of each book is only like $3. For the time being, I'm going to have to be left wondering what will happen between Gabe and the mysterious, sexy merman.
The story was really just getting started right when it abruptly ends. If that is how short all of the books are in this series, this is not cool. Instead of having a five book series, the entire storyline could have been fit into two novels. And the printed versions are not cheap either! They're nine bucks each on Amazon (and Book Three is $10), so $46 for about 500 pages' worth of story is simply exorbitant. Maybe the reason it was so expensive was the material that the cover is made of, which I must admit is nice and "velvety." But if that's what's raising the price of the book, I'd rather have a cheaply made cover and pay a lower price lol.
A m/m romance series about mermen is so intriguing to me, but I am not a wealthy enough person to drop almost 50 bucks for five short books. I guess I'll have to wait until I get a Kindle to continue this series because the Kindle edition of each book is only like $3. For the time being, I'm going to have to be left wondering what will happen between Gabe and the mysterious, sexy merman.
May 8, 2022
4.5 stars
This is a story about a young man that always has been in love with the sea but the sea is also what took his parents away from him when he was a boy. Since the death of his parents he fears the water but still he is longing for it as well.
When he lives with his grandma over summer he finally gets in touch with the sea again and what he discovers might change his life.
This was really good. It’s just the beginning of an (hopefully) epic love story and it was awesome.
I love how while reading you already expect what is coming and still it was great when it finally happened.
I am definitely going to continue with the next book tomorrow because I want to know where this journey will goes.
This is a story about a young man that always has been in love with the sea but the sea is also what took his parents away from him when he was a boy. Since the death of his parents he fears the water but still he is longing for it as well.
When he lives with his grandma over summer he finally gets in touch with the sea again and what he discovers might change his life.
This was really good. It’s just the beginning of an (hopefully) epic love story and it was awesome.
I love how while reading you already expect what is coming and still it was great when it finally happened.
I am definitely going to continue with the next book tomorrow because I want to know where this journey will goes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews