For a book with a mermaid as FMC, you’d be forgiven to forget this is a fantasy romance for a major chunk of those 470 pages. The debut outing of Heidi Adams is mostly a steamy fantasy / contemporary romance. One with intense passion and hot spice. And some heartbreak and catharsis for good measure.
Young school boy Karter is strong, athletic, and a musical genius, but he has lived most his life with uncertainty. Unexplainable anger, mood swings and migraines… so much so that his parents took the expected path through therapy and counselling. Not that those helped, Karter surely became adept at managing his episodes and exude a semblance of normalcy through school.
And there is Ella… the answer to all Karter’s questions, who no one but he could see, and she is a meridian, a real mermaid, with a tail and a seashell bra and green eyes and magical powers and the ability to turn fully human temporarily with the Rose Moon. For the uninitiated, Rose Moon is the full moon in June that marks the heat of summers and the harvest of strawberries. It’s not mentioned to be anything magical or fantastical in the book.
Ella and Karter's chemistry is amazing, without doubt. The discover and explore each other in the most literal sense. I loved the initial conflict, the first few hesitant steps they take towards each other. Although when the inhibitions are gone, the walls come crumbling down and the love is explosive and epic. Ella's human form provides a good change of pace from the transformation perspective. It is raw and grounded...you immediately understand this is no Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Karter’s life is way too easy once he is united with Ella. Having a god-bod and a panties-dropping effect on the ladies is understandably part of his charm, that is well established. Then…reaching Hans Zimmer level of success in music almost overnight ensures he has no cash crunch ever, even after leaving college education and a possible lacrosse career behind. The moment Rachel appears in the scene, the rest of the story up until the climactic reveals becomes extremely predictable.
Rose Moon is not just a story of cross species romance with legendary heat, but under the surface there’s a war brewing that threatens to consume the oceans and eventually spill to the surface world. Karter and Ella might bring forth the prophesized forces that could end the war! Yes, there is a prophecy, too.
The war is somehow so far off that it is hardly ever mentioned, thus giving this story a marked lack of urgency. This book explores the romance and the music of the connection between Karter and Ella with exceptional finesse and care. Both the steamy and the softie scenes are delivered well.
A heartwarming and goosebumps inducing piano theme is what this story needs. I went through some of the tracks in the suggested playlists and was pleasantly surprised to discover La Valse d'Amelie - Version Piano by Yann Tiersen. Other extremely well known tracks by Ramin Djawadi and Hans Zimmer also feature in the playlist, however, being already fixed in my heart with different visuals, those didn’t resonate with the Karter and Ella vibes. Still, the playlist was overall good.
Overall, this is a good book and a worthy read for romance lovers out there.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/4gRGmlB
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