[Livro] Mer-Charmer, de Amy Bearce

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Título em Português: --
Série: World of Aluvia #2
Autor(a): Amy Bearce
Editora: Curiosity Quills Press
Páginas: 219
Data de Publicação: 9 de Maio de 2016

Sinopse:

Fourteen-year-old Phoebe Quinn is surrounded by magic, but she can’t muster any of her own. Her sister is a fairy keeper. Her best friends are merfolk. And all she does is dishes and housework. When Phoebe finds out a terrible sea creature is awakening that preys upon the peace-loving merfolk, she becomes determined to help them, even though it means going with Tristan and Mina to their home deep in the sea. Beneath the waves, Phoebe learns she’s more like her sister than she realized. The merfolk are drawn to her, and she can sense the magic of the sea all around her. Magic is finally at her fingertips, but that’s precisely why the stirring dark power under the waters decides it wants her most of all. Now she must not only help the peaceful merfolk escape this ancient enemy, she must master her out-of-control powers. If she fails, she will die and darkness will rise and enslave the merfolk once more. But embracing her full power could cost her the very people she loves the most.

~ Recebemos este eARC directamente da editora Curiosity Quills. Thank you! ~

Opinião:
O primeiro livro desta série não foi nada de extraordinário, mas deixou-me curiosa o suficiente para querer ler o segundo – e ainda bem que o fiz, pois este foi melhor que o primeiro.

Enquanto que no primeiro livro tínhamos a história de Sierra, aqui temos a história da sua irmã mais nova, Phoebe. Esta jovem foi muito maltratada no primeiro livro, e mexia especialmente com o leitor pois ela era uma (na altura) criança, muito querida e amorosa, que não fazia mal a uma mosca. Agora, e com a ajuda da sua irmã e dos jovens Tristan e de Mina, a irmã deste, Phoebe aprendeu a lidar melhor com o mundo e tornou-se muito próxima de Tristan e Mina, duas sereias (um tritão e uma sereia talvez mais politicamente correcto?).

Tristan tinha-a salvo no livro anterior e um romance começa a desenvolver-se (tardiamente) entre estas duas personagens. Enquanto que Sierra tinha magia (a sua ligação com as fadas – que é explorada no primeiro livro), Phoebe sempre se sentiu um pouco à parte da família e dos amigos, pois não tinha qualquer forma de magia – ou assim se pensava.

Se leram o primeiro livro, sabem que o namorado de Sierra, o fauno Micah, consegue sentir fragâncias que distinguem pessoas com capacidades mágicas. Neste livro aprendemos que, quando conheceu Phoebe, Micah sentiu um breve cheiro a mar, mas tinha-o relacionado apenas com a magia temporária que os amigos da jovem partilhavam com ela durante os breves instantes que lhe permitiam respirar debaixo de água. Depois de circunstâncias extraordinárias que não irei desenvolver (se não conto a história toda), percebemos que Phoebe sempre tem alguma magia ligada aos oceanos.

Todo o livro revolve à volta do problema que o povo do mar tem – os seus poderes diminuem e há a possibilidade de um antigo monstro estar a voltar à vida depois da libertação de poder e energia que Sierra e as fadas causaram no primeiro livro. Ora, isto parece confuso, não é? Se houve uma libertação de energia e o monstro dos mares a consegue captar, porque não o povo do mar? Pois estes foram perdendo a sua capacidade de absorver e aproveitar a magia que lhes pertencia depois de serem escravos dos humanos durante dezenas de anos.

Phoebe, com a sua magia agora descoberta e outras peripécias, decide ajudar Tristan e o seu povo, pois quer corrigir o mal que o ser humano lhes fez e quer, acima de tudo, agradecer a Tristan e a Mina a sua ajuda pelo seu salvamento das mãos de um homem asqueroso. Mas o povo do mar, com razões justificadas, tem medo que Phoebe os queira enganar e escravizar, e ela quase perde a vida ao tentar prová-los errados. É aqui que toda a aventura acontece, nas profundezas do oceano, com templos destruídos e abismos escuros.

Não vou desenvolver mais o enredo do livro, mas digo apenas que a sua história e a resolução dos problemas está muito bem pensada e acaba por trazer aos leitores, se não o fim que se queria, um fim com que nos contentamos alegremente.

Enquanto que no primeiro livro fiquei um pouco de pé atrás com a escrita que me parecia demasiado juvenil, neste já não me incomodou e deixou-me a querer saber o que ia sempre acontecer no capítulo seguinte. Foi uma história cheia de aventura e um romance muito suave e querido. Ainda bem que continuei a série.

Title: Mer-Charmer
Serie: World of Alluvia #2
Author: Amy Bearce
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Pages: 219
Publication date: May 9th 2016

Synopsis:

Fourteen-year-old Phoebe Quinn is surrounded by magic, but she can’t muster any of her own. Her sister is a fairy keeper. Her best friends are merfolk. And all she does is dishes and housework. When Phoebe finds out a terrible sea creature is awakening that preys upon the peace-loving merfolk, she becomes determined to help them, even though it means going with Tristan and Mina to their home deep in the sea. Beneath the waves, Phoebe learns she’s more like her sister than she realized. The merfolk are drawn to her, and she can sense the magic of the sea all around her. Magic is finally at her fingertips, but that’s precisely why the stirring dark power under the waters decides it wants her most of all. Now she must not only help the peaceful merfolk escape this ancient enemy, she must master her out-of-control powers. If she fails, she will die and darkness will rise and enslave the merfolk once more. But embracing her full power could cost her the very people she loves the most.

~ We received a digital arc from the publisher Curiosity Quills. Thank you! ~

Review:
The first book of this series wasn’t extraordinary, but it left me wanting to know what would happen in the second book. And I’m glad I did read it, because this book was better than the first one.

In the first book, we were told the story of Sierra, and in this one we have the story of her younger sister, Phoebe. This young lady was very badly treated in the first book, and it made the reader feel protective towards her, because she was a very sweet and loving child, that didn’t hurt a fly. Now, a bit older, with the help of her sister and the young merfolk Tristan and Mina (Tristan’s sister), Phoebe learns how to deal with what happened to her and becomes quite attached to the merman and the mermaid.

Tristan had saved her in the last book, and in this one a romance begins between these two characters. Sierra always had her magic (her connection with the fairies), which was developed in the first book and Phoebe always felt a bit left out, from her family and friends, because she didn’t have any magic –or so everyone thought.

If you read the first book, you know that Sierra’s boyfriend, the faun Micah, can smell certain fragrances that distinguish people with magical abilities. In this book, we learn that when he met Phoebe, Micah smelled the sea in her, but it was so subtle he thought it was related with the “borrowed” magic her merfolk friends would give her to allow her to breathe underwater. Something happens and we realize that Phoebe really does have magic connected to the sea and the ocean.

The whole book revolves around the Merfolk’s problem – their powers are diminishing and there’s a possibility that an ancient monster may be coming back to life, after the release of energy/magic/power that Sierra and the fairies caused in the first book. Now, this sounds a bit confusing, right? If there was a release of magical energy, then why can’t the merfolk use it? Well, they lost their ability to channel, absorb and enjoy their magic, after being enslaved by humans for many decades.

Phoebe, with her newly discovered magic and some other adventures, decides to help Tristan and his people, to correct the wrongs mankind had done to them and, above all, to thank Tristan and Mina for saving her from a disgusting man. But the merfolk, with good reason, don’t trust her and they’re afraid that she’ll try to enslave them again, and Phoebe almost loses her life trying to prove them wrong. It’s at this point in the book that all the major adventures happen, so I won’t develop it much more. It’s an adventure full of magic, ancient temples and dark abysses.

The story and the resolution that the author presents the reader with may not be the one we ideally wanted, but it’s a very clever way of solving everything, with an ending that will please most readers.

Although in the first book I wasn’t quite pleased with the writing that seemed a bit youngish, in this one that didn’t bother me and I was always anxious about reading the next chapter. It was a story full of adventure and with a very sweet and innocent romance. I’m glad I read it.

SOBRE A AUTORA/ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy writes stories for tweens and teens. She is a former reading teacher with a Masters in Library Science. As an Army kid, she moved eight times before she was eighteen, so she feels especially fortunate to be married to her high school sweetheart. Together they’re raising two daughters and are currently living in Germany, though they still call Texas home. A perfect day for Amy involves rain pattering on the windows, popcorn, and every member of her family curled up in one cozy room reading a good book.

Find Amy Bearce Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads