Jenny Reviews Florence

Florence (Florence Waverly #1)
by Ciye Cho
Released: July 1st, 2012
eBook provided by author for honest review

The Blurb:

   Seventeen-year-old Florence Waverly is put of her depth. Literally. Kidnapped and taken below the waves to the mer world of Niemela, she is the ultimate gift for merman Prince Kiren: a human familiar tied to his side. But nothing is what it seems amid the beauty and danger of a dark ocean.
   Every Niemelan has a role to plat, from the mermaids who weave towers out of kelp to the warriors who fight sea monsters. But in trying to survive, Florence will end up in the middle of a war between two brothers: Kiren, the charmer inexplicably drawn to both her and the monsters; and Rolan, the loner who has been pushing her away since the day they met. But in order to take a stand- and find out where she belongs- Florence will have to risk is all, her heart... and her very soul. 

  
   I must admit I was a little apprehensive about reading Florence.I've on;y read maybe two other books about mermaids before reading this one and I had no idea what to expect. How are the mermaids going to be portrayed? Will this hold true to how I see mermaids or will it bash my child heart? And how the heck is a human going to survive in this underwater world among mermaids??
  But all my worrying was unnecessary because Florence was actually pretty great. It's one of the books that you just love and you can't really put your finger on why. You just do. But I guess that doesn't make for a very helpful review does it?
   I think one of the things I liked most about Florence was the world in general. It's just really neat from the protective dome made out of jelly fish to a giant sea anemone thing that hugs everyone while they sleep. Oh! And underwater volcanoes! It was just really neat to see how everything at the bottom of the ocean was woven together to create this world that is rather similar to our own. Even the animals had a place in it all. There's this understanding and harmony between the Niemelans and the animals, it was 
  I loved how the Niemelans themselves were described. They're so colorful. They not just humans with fish tails slapped on where legs should be.
   I know I've gone on about the world of Niemela, but the story is great too, I promise. I love when characters find their niche in unexpected places. While Rolan may have told her several times that every Niemelan must have a role to play and she spent a good part of the book still finding her role, to me it felt like she really did fit in more in this underwater world than she did back on the surface. She adapts quickly and excels at little things that as a human she shouldn't be able to do. I really did spend most of the book expecting Florence to sprout a tail.
  There was very little I didn't like about the book, if anything at all. I was a little confused on what a familiar actually is, but I may have missed the explanation and it really isn't big enough to take away from the story at all.
  Over all I definitely recommend Florence if you're looking for a "fish out of water" or uh, human off land? type of read. (Yeah that was a horrible joke...) And after the ending I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what's in store for everyone in the sequel.