Sirein

Alien Fairytale Romances

by S.J. Sanders

Dry ground is a dream, one owned by few on Terra II. Ever since losing contact with Earth, much of the surviving human colony has known nothing but life on the open water. Land is for the ruling class who govern the planet and regulate trade, a place the seaborn have never seen. For them, survival in the harsh conditions of open water and the dangers rampant in the floating cities is a daily struggle. For some, the wavelanders, survival comes at a cost of personal freedoms, where the community thrives due to its strict traditions. For Nerida, life as a wavelander means marriage to a man she hates and whom she will do anything to escape. Although travel alone in the expanse of the Greater Sea means certain death from pirates and the creatures that dwell out there, it is a risk she is willing to take. Despite the risks, it is also a life of loneliness and isolation until she is saved by a being who rises from the depths. A male unlike any other she has ever seen before. He calls her his mate but a possible future between them is threatened when she is forced to confront everything she ran from.

Ji’wa is a Sirein who is plagued with responsibilities in a life that he never wanted. For generations, the Sirei have lived in spaceships looking for a new home for their species after escaping a dying world. When dire situations force them to make their home on a watery world dotted with land, the orders are to stay clear of the dangers above the seas and especially far away from the beings who dwell above the waves. When Ji’wa saves a finless land-dweller, he cannot forget the strange being nor ignore the call of the mating bond. Attempting to mate with the alien female carries many risks, but he will embrace them all for a chance to be with her...but will he be able to claim his mate before the sea demands his return?

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance, Monster Romance, Spicy

266 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2020

About the author

S.J. Sanders is a mom of two toddlers and one adult living in Anchorage, Alaska. She has a BA degree in History, but spends most of her free time painting, sculpting, doing odd bits of historical research, and writing. While she has more research orientated writing under another pen name, her passion is sci-fi and paranormal romance of which she is an avid reader. After years of tinkering with the idea, and making her own stories up in her head, S.J has began to seriously pursue writing as an author of Sci-fi Romance utilizing her interests in how cultures diversify and what they would look like on a extraterrestrial platform to humans interacting with them and finding love.

She can be found on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Author-SJ-Sa...

And follow her blog at https://sjsandersromance.wordpress.com

Reviews

[Ana M. Román · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un retelling diferente que me gustó mucho. Ya conocía a la autora y sus historias distópicas y de aliens siempre me parecen diferentes.

En este caso estamos en una colonia en otro planeta, Terra II, un planeta más hídrico que terrestre, donde nuestra protagonista vive entre un grupo de habitantes del mar que se rigen por unas costumbres de lo más arcaicas, aunque estemos ante algo tan avanzado como es una colonia en el espacio. Hay que tener en cuenta que esta colonia perdió toda comunicación con la tierra generaciones atrás. Así que ese regreso a los “orígenes” está bien justificado.

Por otro lado, Jiwa es un comandante de una raza de otro planeta, los Sirein, que llegan a Terra II en un intento desesperado por echar raíces en otro planeta tras la destrucción del suyo.
Cuando Jiwa ve a Nerida sabe que ella es su pareja, y que es ella o ninguna así que se dispone a ganarse sus favores, en el tiempo límite de que dispone y enfrentándose a la desaprobación de sus superiores.

Debo reconocer que sí eché algo en falta más profundidad de las gentes de Sirein. Me hubiera gustado más interacciones con ellos y saber aún más de ellos. Pero aún así, es una lectura que me gustó, me atrapó y me entretuvo bastante después de una gran sequía lectora.

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kinda disappointing for me. I really liked the first part of the book and Nerida making hard choices because I invested in her as a character. I just didn’t invest as much in the love story. The main characters both had abysmal communication skills and so basically barely knew each other by the end of the book beyond “we shared a boat and I think you’re hot”.

Spice: 2/5

Triggers: violence, gore, forced marriage, sexual harassment of minor by adult, malnutrition/beginning stages of starvation, animal attacks, hunting, dystopian government, references to DV, reference to possible pregnancy

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Again, the poor editing was bad enough to be distracting.

I liked the heroine in this book, but never became particularly invested in the romance.

[Corda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing story from SJ. Loved the world building, the characters and the love. All the feels.

[Jayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a little mermaid retelling! I enjoyed reading it but I'm not a big fan of the instant attraction/mate trope. The heroine and hero both felt a little flat to me. I'd have liked to see their characters built up more outside of their relationship. The electric/lust pulses were really interesting, too. As always, the author comes up with some really unique ideas. Her books always feel new and different, and I like the fact that she isn't afraid to make her aliens monstrous or traditionally unattractive

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

Quite boring

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had so many typos tho

[Mei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting worldbuilding!
And a very nice reinterpretation of the Little Mairmaid with a twist!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/7/2020)! 🎁

[☾All of Meg☀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Meh, it was entertaining enough but there was elements that felt generic and lacking. It could’ve been better and more polished, but it had potential.

[Nancy Reads Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life on the open water sounds tough for Nerida, a wavelander. Not only that, she's promised to a man that makes her skin crawl. Escape means a life alone on the water and many dangers. Ji'wa and his people discover Terra II and have just arrived with plans to make it their home, after generations in star ships. Ji'wa is fascinated with Nerida and follows her. He saves her from dangerous sea life and pirates. Nerida has activated Ji'wa's mating instinct and he has limited time. Ji'wa is willing to sacrifice everything for her. Along the way we also get to know Ji'wa's best friend, Ger'se. Sanders gave us some hints at his story, too. I'm hoping that's coming in 2021!

I really enjoyed this book. It was reminiscent of Tiffany Roberts' Kraken series, which I love. The artwork on the cover of this book really brings Ji'wa alive. I referenced it several times while reading. Sanders creates some good suspense which made it a real page-turner. A must-read for all of you mermaid/mermen fans! 4 stars

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!!

I superrrrr loved this story!! The characters were very nicely portrayed and I loved the realness they had as individuals!! The FL was sassy and strong and the ML was smart and charming. I loved the friendship between him and his bestfriend they were very relatable. The scene in the storm was amazing!! Not saying more than that to prevent spoilers. The only problems I had was a very slow beginning. Usually I finish these books really quickly but the beginning was hard for me to get over. There was also A LOT of spelling and grammar errors. Small things like a word added twice or missing an 's' and sometimes the wrong pronoun or missing pronouns. A few mistakes I can overlook but this book had a lot like it was written in a hurry and someone forgot to proofread it. Other than that I loved the storyline and how the alien culture was portrayed!!

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do humans have inhabited another alien planet that is kind of like the movie Waterworld there’s more water than land. The female main character is betrothed to someone that she needs to marry at the age of 21 but she cannot stand him. He is a very aggressive man, and she feels that her life will be miserable with him, so she makes a plan to escape on her wedding day which she does. She escapes on the boat that they were going to live on that was fully equipped since they were going to leave for their honeymoon right after. So she leaves her family and everything she’s known to escape the bad marriage, she is at sea by herself for a couple of weeks. Then the male main character is an alien that they are looking for a planet to land on and they just so happen to land on her same planet. He is a mermaid man, and he finds her, his alien species mates, so it is kind of like an instant attraction. He has to her. But she is also kind of instantly drawn to her but since he is an alien, she is weirded out by it. He does a deal with somebody on his ship, so he can spend time with her so she can fall in love naturally with him Kind of like the little mermaid where he only has a month to make her fall in love with him and have sex. If not, he dies from the pent-up frustration you could say shins of falling in love with him the sex is towards the end of the book, show me like two scenes, the guy she was running from find her but they run away and he gets eaten by a giant kraken. Her and him live happily ever after it was OK.

[JML · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 & 1\2fabulous 🌟's for this alien fairytale

I have to say one of my very favorite fairytales beside Beauty and the Beast was the Little Mermaid. So beautiful yet so heart breaking so I thank you very much for giving your version a much happier ending that made me sigh with relief and smile with happiness. Love triumphed over all and sometimes that's exactly what you need to read about. Nerida is a young wavelander her people as well as some elites that live on the only bodies of land are what's left of colonists that left Earth generations ago. Life is difficult on the seas and there are many dangers . Nerida ha been looking forward to her coming of age and possible marriage until she actually meets him. He turns out to be cruel and selfish and one her wedding night she flees out into the dangers of the open seas and a lonely life. Ji’wa, a commander of his people the Sirein an aquatic species whose home world was destroyed. They come to Terra II to build a new home. When Ji’wa is out exploring he comes across Neri and knows he's finally found his mate now he has to convince her that he belongs to her as well. When he saves her from a dangerous sea monster they begin a journey of discovery that leads two lonely hearts to join and best as one. It's a beautiful tale of love unfolding amid danger , adventure and passion. A terrific read totally recommend💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[Gabbibuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another equally fascinating fairytale retelling by Sanders! Such a unique concept, not to mention the incredible world-building. Contrary to Red , based on a post-apocalyptic Earth, here we follow life in one of the many colonies humans formed after the fall of their home planet. Terra II is mainly a Waterworld, with minimum land areas and vicious native predators.
I love mate romances, and this one was no exception. Their interactions were so cute and sweet from the beginning! But I don't know how I feel about Ger'se "happy ending". Still, I hope we get more stories in this world as we did after Red, either about other sirei or mogma (which kind of reminded me of the Atlavans).
As I always say, her editing and storytelling keep getting better, enhancing the reading experience every time. That would be the main difference between Red and Sirein. I always devour S.J. Sanders' books and become sad when they end, but thankfully she has many releases planned for the upcoming year! I cant wait to see how she keeps growing!

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is often the case in real life - love can conquer all, if you let it. Why is it that dystopian worlds almost always have the women back in the old days when we were objects and the property of the men. Although I have read a couple where the men were the ones that were property and objects and woman ran the world. ( A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer & Ritual of Proof by Dara Joy).
Merida and everyone else on the planet are Earthlings. It's basically a water world and a large percentage of the people live an houseboats, brave the seas and the denizens of the sea (who are the stuff of nightmares - that will eat you). They are like nomads of smallish groups that occasionally meet up with other pods to exchange goods and seek marital alliances. Her father made a poor choice for a mate for her and she managed to escape in the boat belonging to her fiancé.
Sirein and his people have spent several generations seeking a water world that they could thrive on. This is a really good story, I would venture to say that good and interesting stories are all that S.J. Sanders writes.

[Dashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 60% thru

This was a short story but even so I couldn't finish it. The beginning was well throughout. The author gave back stories and lately Iv been enamored with stories about sailing and the sea so I was happy about that too.

Many descriptions of the characters and wildlife were introduced which I always appreciate. Although this author I have found seems adds extra features that are unnecessary most of the time.

The story was going quite well until Ji'wa first said something to his mate. Pretty much hey my name is ______ I want to make you mine, physically and spiritually. Ok maybe not just like that but anyway it felt unnatural and strange. The dialog was painfully juvenile and it ruined the story for me. Unfortunately I almost quit reading right then. Even so Ji'wa was very sweet and endearing.

The little mermaid reference were also strange and unnatural. Honestly this story had a unique setting but it got ruined by trying to force a fairytale in places. One thing I will say about Sanders is she gives the alien's quirks that make my heart melt. Ji'wa and the snapping of his tail or how he wraps it around his mates ankle. It really makes him one of a kind.

[Brielle S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

This was a slow burn but as a huge little mermaid fan, and lover of smexy aquatic/alien men, it was sooo worth it. Now, I have to be honest, I never read the original little mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, so the only Easter egg I understood was the "return to seafoam" bit. But don't worry! This has a wonderful HEA. It's short and few spicy scenes are great, and the attention to detail is fantastic, but I still have no idea what the sea creatures look like. I've got it in my head that one looks like a sea serpent, another like a gronckle mixed with a marlin with tube-like tentacles, and then a lizard kraken, lol. Idk my mind works in mysterious ways 😅
POINT BEING this story was great, even though, in my opinion, it had very few little mermaid vibes and more toward alien vibes. I get the water world idea, but they were all still aliens and I would actually have loved to see more of this, but I get that it's a stand alone. Still, I didn't really care that about that, this is wonderful work; I enjoyed it immensely. 🥰

[Kellie Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

This is actually my first alien romance read, so I don’t have anything to base it on. I did enjoy it. It was quite different from what I am used to in a couple of ways; first being it is a slow build up to the steamy scenes. Most of the books I have read those scenes usually take place somewhere in the middle of the book and this one it was much closer to the end. It isn’t a bad thing at all, just different. Second, he’s quite the gentleman. Wow he was polite, didn’t want to push her into anything, just wanted things to naturally happen. He’s a great guy!
The characters were wonderfully written. I loved that Nerida is such a strong female lead! The other characters were great…like I said the main male is such a gentleman and his best friend is a loyal guy with a great sense of humor. The world building is amazing down to the sea creatures that everyone tries to avoid.
I would recommend this to people to read for sure.

[Jannie Cv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating reading!
I enjoyed the concept of not-so-little mermen rather than mermaids. The fact that they arrived from a far distant alien planet - better yet!
Ji’wa and his friend Ger’se are so intriguing! I love learning about their culture, and watching them in action.
On her own to escape an undesirable, dangerous situation, Nerida proves to be a very capable young woman, with the strength of mind to survive the loneliness.
When Ji’wa meets Nerida, he’s quick to recognize their connection. Nerida needs more time. When they finally get together, boy, do the sparks fly! A truly enjoyable, exciting story with dangers from the denizens of the deep as well as some vindictive human sharks!

[Megan Hull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waterworld meets the little mermaid

This was very reminiscent of the '90s Kostner movie Waterworld, only add in more tech and alien merpeople. The only reason this isnt a 5 star is because with as much traveling and danger as there is on the high seas, the author seems to jump around in places with whole weeks and months just flying by. Other then the time jumps that the author thought was needed to move the story along, it would have been nice to see a little more build up for the main characters or a little more danger, as its alluded to out on the open seas. Otherwise a very enjoyable read.

[Grendaycita Segovia · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Sirenito donde estás?

Una historia curiosa y linda, de cómo dos seres se van enamorando poco a poco. El romantico Sirenito y la confusa Novia Fugada.
De manera tranquila con sutiles momentos de acción, nos cuentan la reinterpretation al estilo alíen de “La Sirenita” pero con un final feliz.

Por la portada del Sireno desnudó puede dar una idea de libro erotico pero no, esto es romance puro, con una superficial escena sexual.

Lo que si le falto, fue la información de los sirens, hay muy poco, no conocemos más que una que otra cosa básica de ellos, uno se queda ansiando más.

En resumen es una trama ligera, dejando un sentimiento cálido.

[Pidge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mythical love story like no other

She does it again. I don’t know how this one slipped by me. Firstly, while beautiful as a standalone I would be tickled pink to see a sequel.

This was such a beautiful love story. You wouldn’t think, going into it, that it would be a slowburn. But Ji’Wa takes his time to romance his mate, while also a steadfast protector, being exactly what she needs in a partner. Loved the action scenes as well! I was a little confused trying to keep the sea monsters apart while reading but it didn’t take away from the story.

5/5 would recommend!

[Jordan Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed but eh

It starts very slow. The spicy part is not till the very end and for a SJ Sanders book I expected A LOT more spicy then what this book offered. The chapters aren’t split so you don’t know who’s really thinking or talking till a paragraph in- and guessing.
Good story but just felt like it lacked a real ending or real plot if that makes sense.

I’m glad I’ve read some of this authors other stuff because of this was the first book, I wouldn’t have read her other books.

[Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous!

I have a love hate relationship for The Little mermaid. There is so much to like about the story itself but at the same time it's a very sad and dark story and it's original form. Disney added the happily ever after but it's been a long time since I could relate to Ariel since she's basically a teenager with all the drama and passion that teenagers have. This story took those elements gave them an adult spin, with super hot aliens. I hope that someday we come back here to read about Ger'se and his human.

[V.P. Nightshade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Mermaid?

The little alien merman that is. I liked this slow burn story, though I would really like to see a follow on story that had more world building from the sirein perspective. There were a lot of questions for me on the record keeper: what exactly was she? How was she made? Splicing DNA like the mogma? If so, for what purpose? This would be an excellent opportunity to answer these questions: a story centered around Ji'wa and Nerida's babies? What does a sirein/human hybrid look like anyway?

[Charde Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whole new world!

SJ Sanders does not disappoint with a whole new world and new characters to love. A human takes off for a better life in a mostly water world! She is saved by an alien male who recognizes her as his mate. And the adventure begins. Loved the world building and the uniqueness of the aliens. Great plot and of ciurse a hea! Hopefully there will be another featuring his beat friend!!

[RJ Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure! Sanders is a solid resident of my must-buy list and I’m always eagerly awaiting the next book. I like the that she spins on classic fairytales and gives it a new look. Not only does it nod to the little mermaid (Ji’wa and the Sirein are much more interesting in my opinion) but Nerida and her family actually give me Hawaiian vibes (if we’re talking Disney movies I’d equate it to Moana). Definitely worth reading!

[Jaynie Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My words feel inadequate.

I don't feel I have words big enough, or deep enough, or strong enough, or descriptive enough to express the fullness of this story. The characters have depth, the setting is full and understandable, and it made me feel like I had accomplished something when I finished the story. Please read. It's more than worth your time and effort. Thank you for Kindle Unlimited.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

great story

This was a great story for us who love stories about aquatic alien/monsters. This isn’t a ,instep story persay but I lump them in one category. It is a sweet story that has tropes that we love but it also has some world building that reminds me of one of my fav TV movies. It was different am I liked that. Just be warned it a.is a really slow buildup and only two love scenes but worthwhile and a swoon worthy HEA. Hope you enjoy this light-hearted tale.