Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion

Are there any book recommendations that circle around mermaids? I don't know, we've read about vampires, ghosts, shifters, and alien species that bring girls to rainbows. But we haven't taken a dive under the sea. Unless you count Bonnie's attempts at encouraging tentacle porn. So how about it? Suggestions or books with mermaids?

Technically this series doesn't involve mermaids, but the lead female is a selkie. I HIGHLY recommend the Jane True books by Nicole Peeler. Tempest Rising is the first book.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63...

I haven't read a lot of mermaid stuff, but that would be a fun selection one month!

I did read this one, Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Jance Davidson. It was a fun read, I liked it but didn't love it. Gave it three stars.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...

@Becky, this selkie one sound interesting. Thanks for the rec!

Amanda, you make a good point! I wonder why there aren't more under the sea romances? Maybe because mermaid sex would be a small challenge to describe? ;)

"In the Dark of Dreams" by Marjorie Liu is part of her Dirk & Steele series. It's a good book, but I actually like some of her others better. The hero is a merman.

"Liu's powerful 10th Dirk & Steele paranormal romance (after 2009's The Fire King) is a satisfying adventure of intense emotion and compelling characters. After a chance beach meeting, young Jenny Jameson and merboy Perrin meet in dreams for years until they find each other in the flesh as adults. Together, they attempt to solve the mystery of a murdered mermaid Guardian and save the world from monsters who wake underneath the sea. Liu provides a delicious treat for those who like their romance based on love, connection, and shared adventures rather than raw lust and conflict. Tension comes from external dangers, and kissing, handholding, and magical dreams overshadow sex. Recurring characters keep this installment connected to the series, but new readers will be able to dive easily into Liu's world of supernatural researchers and explorers."

Anna wrote: "Amanda, you make a good point! I wonder why there aren't more under the sea romances? Maybe because mermaid sex would be a small challenge to describe? ;)"

It would, They could either go the way of Bonnie's tentacle porn or they can go the way of The Little Mermaid where they are in essence a form of shape shifter. Like the movie Splash! When she dried out her fin turned to human legs. I don't know there could be many reasons in a story for why that would happen. I guess I should be adding Siren to the general. Because technically mermaids are also known as sirens.

Becky wrote: "Technically this series doesn't involve mermaids, but the lead female is a selkie. I HIGHLY recommend the Jane True books by Nicole Peeler. Tempest Rising is the first book.

http://www.goodreads...."

Thank looks really interesting, I'll definately have to add it to my to read list and get at it sometime in the future :) Thank you for the rec.

It's not remotely vaginal fantasy, but Carol Shields' The Republic of Love is a love story featuring a woman who is writing a book about mermaids. I read it as a teenager and enjoyed that the protagonist and I shared an interest in mythical creatures!

In the paranormal romance genre, Alyssa Day has a series featuring the underwater warriors of Atlantis. I haven't read any of the books, so I don't know whether these men have fins, scales, etc.

Hmmm.....The Alyssa Day series does seem like a vaginal fantasy book club appropriate pick, with the rock-hard-abs covers and all. :-P

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39...

I seriously think this would be fun to dedicate a month on. I never thought of reading a mermaid romance book. Hell I didn't know it existed till now. An adult version of the little mermaid? Hell yeah! XD

Sea Witch is the first book in her series about Selkies/Finfolk and other fishy types. I've read several of them and enjoyed them.

The Mermaid's Knight sounds interesting but I haven't read it so I don't know how good it is...

If you are after more erotica type... Captive of the Deep She has a few others as well, but again I've not read these so I have no idea whether or not they are good.

I liked The Last Mermaid by Shana Abé?.The Alyssa Day books are ok, but not great. Her writing improves a bit as the series progresses.

And if you like selkies, recommend The Tower at Stony Wood? And I love everything I've read by Patricia A. McKillip!.The Changeling Sea is also wonderful.

Jute wrote: "The Mermaid's Knight sounds interesting but I haven't read it so..."

I hated The Mermaid's Knight with a passion I cannot begin to articulate. The "fairy godmother" character does things that made me want to report her for unethical, anti-feminist, douchey behaviour to whatever institute governs fairy godmother conduct in the field. The "heroine" is too stupid to live in the extreme.

The cover, however, has sent me off on a (as yet) unfulfilled quest to find mammalian mermaids. They have boobs... they must be mammals, right? So where are the mermen with sleek, dolphin-like skin instead of scales? The plus sized mermaids from the arctic waters where you can't survive without a layer of blubber? I gave the book one star just for making me ask these things.

If anyone has a suggestion for mammalian mermaid books (not shape-shifters or selkies)I'd appreciate it.

I just saw a review for A Mermaid's Kiss the other day. I haven read, but it seemed like most of the reviews were positive except for the ones that didn't really like the sex that was in mermaid form. My question: what were they expecting?!

Amy wrote: "I just saw a review for A Mermaid's Kiss the other day. I haven read, but it seemed like most of the reviews were positive except for the ones that didn't really like the sex that was in mermaid fo..."

The first Goodreads reviewer compares A Mermaid's Kiss to Anna Campbell's Claiming the Courtesan - for me, that's a red flag. I read Courtesan when it first came out, and from what I remember, it depicted a violently abusive relationship. Not BDSM, but abuse. And whoa, was it depressing. Count me out, if Mermaid is anything like that.

(Mermaid sex, on the other hand, sounds intriguing.)

Justine wrote: "Amy wrote: "I just saw a review for A Mermaid's Kiss the other day. I haven read, but it seemed like most of the reviews were positive except for the ones that didn't really like the sex that was i..."

Yikes, good to know, thanks!

Joey W Hill's Mermaid series Daughters of Arianne wasn't all that bad. I have read all three, and yes it is odd story, but I didn't find first book all that violent. I would say give it a read and see if you like it. The one I would say is the most violent is the last book, but there is reason behind it, it not just out of nowhere.

I have also read all the other series Joey has written and have fallen in love with all the characters from them.

I love to see the group read one of Joey's books to see if they like the writing. I started with the vampire series and I would highly recommend it for the group. That is if you like strong women who know what they want and men know how to please ^_-

Ok, so I road tripped a little of topic, but all in all give Mermaid's Kiss a try.

mermaids? Was never a big fan of sushi, but i'll give the books a try

Amy wrote: "I just saw a review for A Mermaid's Kiss the other day. I haven read, but it seemed like most of the reviews were positive except for the ones that didn't really like the sex that was in mermaid fo..."

Probably not I-will-have-you-even-if-you-say-no sex in the cloaca.

You may be able to tell that I am not a fan of that series.

I've actually never read tentacle porn (what am I saying, this club is my first time reading romance novels, period), so I'm curious to see what Bonnie brings us!

I saw this Atlantis-themed T-shirt at Teach the Controversy, and thought of the VF mermaid thread...

https://controversy.wearscience.com/d...

He appears to be quite well muscled for a merman, but I suppose he has too much beard for a traditional romance hero.

After reading this thread, I want to do a steampunk mermaid novel or web comic.

Jade wrote: "After reading this thread, I want to do a steampunk mermaid novel or web comic."

I would definitely read a steampunk mermaid novel!

Not mermaids per se, but Mercedes Lackey's newest Elemental Masters book, Home From the Sea features Selkies. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet (this group has added to my TBR list like whoa!) but others in the series have always had a strong romantic thread, though not quite as smutty as this group would probably like!

I just picked up Siren's Call by Devyn Quinn from the library. The back of the book mentions an "archaeologist ex-lover" who finds a clue to the heroines heritage - so it sounds like there could be some interesting world building happening.

I'll come back and report on what I thought of it after I read, but I wanted to mention it since I didn't see it in the thread!

I joined a steampunk group back in October (goodness, almost a year already; where does the time go?). One of the members told me he was working on a steampunk novel involving mermaids. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I'll let him know of your interest. Hopefully, he will finish it soon.

Siren Song not mermaids exactly, it's a siren and a triton. Very steamy and I liked it a lot, though it's short. There's even some tail action!

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38...
Check out this goodreads list

I finally got around to reading Siren's Call by Devyn Quinn and I really liked it.

The mermaids in her books walk on land so there's no answer to the how mermaids have sex with tails, but the hero is not an alpha male, there's a lot of world building where it comes to the mermaid civilization and the romance was more believable than most (IMO).

Even though it's categorized as romance, it felt more like a fantasy novel with romance in it. Definitely recommended!

Over Her Head, Wild Blue Under, and Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell

A series about Mer siblings who find their mates on land.

I enjoyed them.

After reading this thread I looked up more mermaid stories and came across Sirena and the classic Undine. Sirena looks promising after reading a chapter or so...

But does anyone know of a novel involving mermaids, selkie etc that is more of a dark romantic historical fantasy? Like something from a different culture (Chinese, Middle Eastern) etc. I don't know but I'm really craving to read something like this.

I sort of skipped over the books that involved people from the present, or ones about sisters because I'm not in the mood.

Hmm, hopefully someone has written something like what I'm craving for because if not I'm going to write my own story. ^^

Olivia, let me know if you find a book like that to read, I've been craving something along those lines too!

Goddess of The Sea by PC Cast is a great mermaid novel! It's the first in the Goddess Summoning series. I'd love to see the girls review one of those books. They are very fantasy and lots of romance. Strong female lead too. I love them.
Goddess of the Sea

Leah, so far I was able to find:

The Lure of Shapinsay by Krista Holle
Across a Wine-Dark Sea by Jessica Bryan

Hopefully they are good because I just bought them on my kindle.

Thank you, Olivia!

I recommend Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey. It's part of her Five Hundred Kingdoms series, so it's a twist on fairy tales. This one is mostly taken from Russian folklore, so it's nice to get away from the more "traditional" fairy tale retellings. It's a nice, easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But then, I'm a huge Mercedes Lackey fan as well!

I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions - they look interesting!

Heather wrote: "Goddess of The Sea by PC Cast is a great mermaid novel! It's the first in the Goddess Summoning series. I'd love to see the girls review one of those books. They are very fantasy and lots of romanc..."

I love this book! The romance is great and also has mermaid sexy times!
I think they have done another book in this series for the club but it's not mermaids.

I just started reading a series, Awakened Fate series by Skye Malone, it's mermaids and other supernatural beings and pretty good.
I've read:
Awaken
Descend

And I love Shearwater by Derek Murphy but then again all of his books in the paranormal romance genre have been great!

Oh and The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey is really good too!

I just bought a book Lost Voices also about mermaids, but I haven't read it yet.

I hope this is helpful for you :)