Promises Blog Tour Stop

Hello Lovelies!  Today I am super excited to be participating in the Syrenka Series Blog Tour, hosted by Bookshelf Confessions.  I will also be having a tour stop for the second book in the Syrenka series, Betrayal, on September 20, so stay tuned for that as well!!! :)

Promises
by Amber Garr
Series: Syrenka #1
Release Date: December 7, 2011
by Amber Garr

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Sometimes following your heart can end up destroying the ones you love.

When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiancé would make a wonderful husband except that she’s been in love with Brendan, a shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids. Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined.

A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind. With Brendan’s life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those who she once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her friends, but also on her acceptance of a life that she had so adamantly tried to escape.

Promises is the first book of The Syrenka Series trilogy following Eviana and her friends through the perils of growing up in a discrete world that inherently threatens human society.

*A copy was provided by Amber Garr for review purposes*

I haven’t read a lot of mermaid books in my life, so I’m trying to get more into the genre. Promises by Amber Garr seemed to be a great book to read, and it was okay. There were a few things that I didn’t really like, but overall it was a pretty good story.

I’ll just go right into it and rant about the things I didn’t like. The huge thing was the writing. I understand that as a self-published author you have to edit your own work and it’s hard to catch all the mistakes, but this is just inexcusable. I don’t think Garr checked her work at all. The punctuation was horrible, and the wrong words were used. And this didn’t happen only occasionally. This happened at least five times every page. Here are some examples:

“He bent down towards me placing both hands on my arms to hold me up”

~Page 11
Correct punctuation: “He bent down towards me, placing both hands on my arms to hold me up.”

“Aye…cat got yer tongue young maidens?”

~Page 145
Correct Punctuation: “Aye…cat got yer tongue, young maidens?”

Those were two out of five hundred mistakes. And, besides that, the writing was choppy and disconnected. It was sudden and didn’t flow at all.
On the bright side, I did enjoy the story. The idea was really original, and I loved the love-triangle. The story line was good too, and I loved how everything built on itself, and got explained at the end. I do think that the escapes were really easy and sudden and a little to convenient, but that’s okay. I loved the world building and the conflict, the choice between love and fame.

I will say that I am TOTALLY Team Kain! Whoop-whoop! He’s so nice; I don’t understand why Eviana doesn’t want him. But, if she doesn’t want him, I’ll take him :P
On the other hand, I don’t really like Brendan. I don’t know why, I just get a weird vibe. I don’t know for sure, but I’ve got a feeling that he might dump Eviana. That’s not a spoiler because I don’t actually know, but I think it might happen.
And, to complete the cast, I really liked Eviana. Like I said, I don’t know why she chose Brendan, but other than that, I think she was pretty kick-butt.

I really hope that Garr fixes her writing for the next book, because it was atrocious in this one. I hate to bash authors for their writing, but I just can’t ignore it this time. Please Amber, please, just fix it in the second book. :)

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About Amber Garr------------------>Goodreads | Website | Blog | Facebook
Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.