My Review: Waterborn by Kimberly James

   
From Goodreads:

"You don’t have to choose. You can be both. The girl with the charm, the girl without. They both suit you." 

Caris Harper lives a charmed life. Literally.

When her dad offers to take her to the Emerald coast of Florida for summer vacation, Caris jumps at the chance. The chance to get answers to questions she’s always been too afraid to ask. The chance to be normal. Isn’t that what her dreams have been telling her, that here in the place of her birth she can be normal? But from the first moment the wind caresses her face and the sun touches her skin, the charm begins to fade, revealing a girl Caris never knew existed, one that is anything but normal. The long-buried Song that awakens is only the beginning of a transformation that will challenge her ideas about loyalty and family. 

Noah Jacobs is a waterbreather—a species of human fully adaptable to life in the water. Like his older brother Jamie, Noah wants to prove they can use their abilities and be heroes in service to their country. When a simple mission goes wrong and Jamie goes missing, Noah exiles himself to the Deep in a desperate search. MIA is a classification Noah is not ready to accept. But instinct can’t be ignored. Not when he hears her Song. Caris is not what he expects and Noah is determined to get her out of his head. Instead he finds himself acting as her mentor and the more time they spend together, the more Noah realizes he just wants Caris. 

When a startling truth threatens their newly formed trust, Noah straddles the line between love and obsession while Caris struggles to find a balance between the girl she thought she was and the young woman she wants to be.

                          My Thoughts:

    This book has been on my To-Be-Read and Must-Buy list for a while, so when the author offered this for Read 2 Review, I grabbed the chance! I never read anything about sea creatures... well, except for Little Mermaid which I watched as a kid. ( I love Ariel! ..and now I am hearing "Part of my world" playing inside my head! haha. )

     I just loved the cover of this book! There's something ethereal about it.Under the sea or the deep was entirely a different world.  It was vast ..deep ...and for me, very mysterious. Many times , this question crossed my very curious mind: Are there any "life forms" underneath other than the sea creatures we are familiar with? Stories of long ago tells us there are mermaids, a half human , half fish...if it was true, then we are never alone?

    I loved  how Ms. Kimberly James described everything in this book. It  opened all my senses. I was surprised I felt the waves like it was slowly caressing my feet ... when the wind blew, I felt it touch my face...and smelled the salty air. Yes, it was that good!  When  Caris Harper  set her foot to Emerald Coast, I  feel I was with her too.

      Raised by her Dad alone, Caris Harper felt incomplete and never normal. When her father brought her to their beach house at Emerald Coast, she felt something.   She heard something  ...as if the Deep was calling her. The  moment it touches her feet , she felt a pull... and  released a Song.. her song.  Caris has her Song and not just an ordinary song, it's a song of a Siren, a water breather. A powerful song that attracts its chosen recipient even against his will. There's no other choice but to follow and obey.

   After Noah's brother , Jaime went missing, he took it really hard. Harboring all the guilt , he became a recluse and choose to live in the Deep. It was only when he heard that distinct Song, her call that drove him to resurface even against his will. He can't  even ignore it... who is she?  Anger and resentment filled him as he goes ashore.... and found Caris lying , eyes closed near the beach. There is really something about this girl, and he can't help it ...he kissed Caris. And Caris thought that this gorgeous guy was nothing but a dream.  This is where their story begins...

   So, it's like a mermaid and ...mer-man story? Well, not exactly. For starters, Caris  ( I just loved the name!) doesn't even know that she's a water breather / siren! She can't even swim?! ( Oh, yeah, how ironic huh?! ) ...and as opposed to how we picture out our typical mermaid with long ,beautiful ,flowing hair? Caris'  hair doesn't grow long ?! So, it's always pixie hair for her. It's a bummer specially when you are constantly tease that you might be a boy?! I could imagine Caris to feel a little insecure, herself.

    And now, let's talk about Noah, oh he is a pretty boy ! Uhmm, I mean ,  a hot water breather! ( like most of the other  water breathers! Hah! ) Yes, there's more of them!  Imagine, lean , just the  right amount of muscle mass on just the right places....*closing my eyes* yeah, I assume a swimmer's body  like ...Michael Phelps?! Tee-hee!  and I forgot to mention, Noah has this glorious long , long hair...like...like.. hmmm.. Brad Pitt from "Legends of the Fall" ( only longer! Hah!) I admit, I'm not really into the super long hair  type of guy... but if Noah looks like this???  I won't complain! hehe!

   No matter how much Noah tried to avoid Caris,  he always end up within her proximity. Well, he can't shut down that song that keeps on bugging inside his head, right? Suprisingly, he felt protective of her. Caris is also drawn to this boy who she rescued from a bunch of losers who tried to beat him up and cut off his hair. ....wait! hair?! What's with this hair thing?!  Curious , are we? Well, you have ro read this book to find it out yourself. I tell you, you'll have a lot of time ( or pages) to know everything  once you started reading this one. It's a long book! 1,300 plus pages on my bookreader!  Oh it's a huge book...but believe me, you'd love every page of it! I never get bored from page one to last. ( I actually want more!)

    I love the pace of the story. It was really descriptive that will sucked you into the story. I don't even know how to swim ( yeah, it's a bummer. Sigh.) but when Noah gave Caris her swimming lessons, I felt   I was actually learning to swim!  ( oh yeah! With a water breather ...a hottie? ) 

     The moment Caris went and embrace the deep after knowing the truth about who she was... she felt she finally belong. The charm weakened then her  hair grew longer, she actually had gills and a web on her foot.. like a water breather . I had a dream-like moment as I read this part. 

      I just loved their underwater moments. The kisses... and literally playing with a pod of dolphins?!  It was way ..way... Swoony! I could totally imagine that scene.. like this... Swoony..swoony..swoony!

  This new, unexplored  slowly growing something she had for Noah gave her mixed feelings. There is hesitation.  She knew  she was falling for him...but Noah?  Did he really felt the same or is it because of her Song? Because he had no choice?  And Noah, will he still felt the same for her if  there is no Song?  All these questions are about to get their answers  as these two learned about self discovery, friendship,love, trust , what family truly means and making a choice.

   Overall, it was a wonderful read. The ending  is what I had in mind. It was perfect! I  would  be so  looking forward to what's next for both Noah and Caris.

    If you are a firm believer of "Happily Ever Afters" like I do... and won't mind swimming ( and probably drown?!)  in an ocean of Swoons with equally lovable water breathers like Noah and Caris... then what are you waiting for? Dive ..ooops! I mean, grab this book fast  and be captivated like I did.

                

                       I'm giving this book:

                     4  Swoony Seaside stars!

****All pictures used in this review are from Google****