Its been quite a while since I have been on here but I just wanted to share that this book is free as a Kindle ebook today :)

 My Review of it. (I really liked it XD)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1306800006

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M15QUC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_dzXjzb9XKDSZY

Frances Schmidt is a young woman graduate who has decided to write her thesis on mermaids. Getting hold of source material proves to be tricky Being the only female in her class she feels the pressure to be the best she can be and at the same time keep a low-profile so when she gets a lead about a gentleman living in Maine who collects books about mermaid lore and she decides to travel to there to convince him to let her look at his library. Being a very private man Garett has already turned away others from his library. But Frances has a secret weapon. Her homemade cookies. This breaks the ice and Garett gives in and invites her inside.

She is amazed at the interior and finds that the rumors about his collection of books is true.But she also finds it a peculiar that someone who purchased a house right by the beach would avoid going near the ocean. Garett is in fact a merman and if he cant swim in the ocean he will become deathly Ill. He lives in fear of anyone finding out his fishy secret and even if he starts to have feelings for Frances he could never marry her as he doesnt want to pass on his affliction as he thinks of it. I love books featuring mermaids I really do, thats why its such a pity so many of them end up a disappointments (skeevy or just badly written) or its the same old plot -mermaid falls in love with human and gives up the ocean to be with him. Its not a bad story precisely but the thing is to borrow a quote from Ariel I want more and more in this case is more underwateriness ( Frances is part of the breed of New woman as they were called in the Edwardian era she left her small town and big family to study at university.She has always been told she is plain so when she makes a friend in Garett she is just happy to have someone to talk to.Someone who can appreciate her finer qualities. Garrett had two sides to him not only when it comes to his human self and his mermaid self but he wants to have companionship but at the same time he is afraid of people shunning him if they ever found out his secret.When he was just a baby was left on the doorstep of a lady who took him in and raised him,but when his "affliction" was discovered made him feel like he was some kind of monster. Its a simple sweet story but there is most of the angst comes from Garrett as he has a hard time reconciling his human side and his merman side.

 

He had decided long ago that celibacy was the only honorable path for a creature like him. He could not risk his taint, his disease being transmitted to the next generation. He would not bring another monster into the world. He dove into the water. As always, with the pleasure of the change, he felt his melancholy lift. Down here he could not understand why the dry version of himself loathed his body. He wasn't repellent. He was a strong, healthy merman. His scales were a lovely blue, the color of his eyes. Frances would like him if she saw him, just as much as he liked her.

Its ingenious (be it deliberate or not)to put the setting to the Edwardian era as thats about the same mermaids were coming back in popularity in art,fashion and the new medium - film I really loved the bit about Thoreau and the mermaid. It made me grin. If you are the kind of person who expects to have straight answers to find out where Garett came from (and how his kiss could turn Frances into a mermaid) then youBut I didnt mind it would have been nice to learn the answers but in the end its not really important. If the author decided to write a sequel where those things are answered I for one wouldnt mind,as I would love to spend more time with Frances and Garett. But as it is "In over her head" is a delightful little tale find of a book a bit of historical fantasy for the romance and mermaid (and merman) lovers out there. If you enjoyed this book: Miss Landon and Aubranel by Charlotte English

Set in early 1900s Maine, Frances Schmidt isn’t your average historian. Nope. She’s a woman. She has worked very hard to get her peers to ignore this fact so that she can finish her degree. She’s so close and the last big hurdle is completing her dissertation, one that she has focused on the myths and legends on merpeople. So she must travel to Maine to try to persuade Garrett Hathaway of letting her study his collection of such legends and tales. Since he is a very private person, she has quite a challenge ahead of him.

The bulk of this story is told through Frances eyes and I really enjoyed her character. She’s chosen a field that is male dominated and has a passion for it. Her peers are a mix of men; some support her efforts, some don’t mind her as long as she doesn’t act like a woman, and then there are some who actively try to block or sabotage her efforts. Also, I liked that she isn’t tall and willowy, but rather short and curvy. Some even call her stocky.

Garrett starts off as a pretty ordinary, if a little reclusive. However, he has a secret, one that has both left him lonely and hating himself but also given him such glee. I also suspect it is the reason he has such an athletic body.

The relationship between these two starts off perfectly professionally. Frances stays at a boarding house while in Maine, making sure to leave Garrett’s house each day before sunset. Propriety must be maintained. She initially bribes him with cookies she baked herself. This later turns into a mutual enjoyment of baking. It was quite sweet to watch the romance blossom between these two, and come to near disastrous ruin a few times due to misunderstandings. These two had to work for their love!

Sprinkled throughout the story are tidbits on merpeople – fanciful bits tossed in by the author but then also poems and works by other authors are cited by the main characters. These were especially nice touches.

My one little quibble occurs near the end of the story, and as such, deals with a spoiler. SPOILER ALERT It wasn’t clear to me how or why Frances became a mermaid when she takes a swim with Garrett. He thinks he transmitted a disease to her, but surely he (or other merpeople) have swum with other people and they didn’t run into merpeople. I could have used a few lines stolen from mythology to make this more plausible. Or perhaps some mystical/magical reason for the transformation. END SPOILER

Other than that one minor criticism, I really enjoyed this novella. The mix of merpeople myths, historical fiction, and romance kept me listening and not wanting to set the book down.

The Narration: Anna Starr was a good pick for Frances. She had a solid, no nonsense voice for her that could also be a bit vulnerable when it came to matters of the heart. Starr had a range of voices that allowed both male and female characters to come through distinctly. 

As summer come to an close in the Northern Hemisphere, it time to sneak in that once last trip to the beach, lake, or river. 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you spied your very own merman there? 

You can catch a gander of some amazing heroes of the water in these books at least! 

1.  Seascape by Stephanie Burke 

How sexy can a woman be after being on a hijacked plane and tossed into the deep blue sea? Very, according to the merman she lands on! Storm was minding his business, sunning in the sea, doing what mer folk do on vacation when suddenly love falls onto his lap. Literally.Dr. Elanna Richfield never thought she would see the light of another day. Especially from several fathoms below. But Storm opened up a world she had never seen, a world filled with magical elemental creatures, of unending beauty and mystery.A world filled with political intrigue and danger.Now if she can survive mystical transformations, jealous queens, and the dictates of a ruling council, she may very well discover true passion and desire, within her Seascape.

2. For the Taking by Lilian Darcy 

Loucan is the new king of Pacifica, whose only desire is to bring peace to the island after so many years of war. He has hopes of marrying one of the daughters of the late King Okeana, and the only one remaining is Thalassa. He has reached a dead end in his search until a few memories spark new ideas in him to find her. When he finds her...romping in the ocean with the dolphins, he knows she is what he needs to bring about peace to their homeland.

3. An Elemental Tail by Shona Husk  Free! 

Four hundred years ago, Nik was tricked by his lover and left stranded as a powerless, but immortal, human. Now he craves only one thing: to reclaim the book that was once his tail and become a water Elemental again. Unfortunately, he can only locate the book when someone touches the pages. This time he won't be left high and dry. 

Isla is left a beautiful leather-bound book in her great-aunt's will, perfect for using during her life drawing classes. However, she can't bring herself to mark the translucent pages until a compelling crimson-haired stranger strips for art. 

Nik is torn. Years of enforced humanity have given him a conscience. Despite his best efforts at remaining a heartless water Elemental, he is failing. He is falling for Isla, who has no idea she holds the power of the oceans, and his heart, in her hands.

4. Atlantis Unmasked (Warriors of Poseidon) by Alyssa Day

Poseidon's warriors swore an oath eleven thousand years ago to protect humanity from those who stalked the night. Yet when a woman with an ancient Gift dares to claim the heart of one of Poseidon's fiercest warriors, the world teeters on the knife's edge between desire and darkness.

5. The Nymph King by Gena Showalter 

Females young and old, beautiful and plain crave Valerian's touch. None can resist his blatant sensuality and potent allure…until he steals Shaye Holling from a Florida beach and holds her prisoner in his underwater kingdom.

6. Bliss by Renee Field 

A plague threatens his kingdom but one kiss could rule his heart... 

Kassandra grew up with myths of Titans and Sirens thanks to her father, but never did she imagine one of these mythological creatures would pop out of an ancient book she discovered in the library. Darius is unlike any man she’s known. He’s commanding but loyal to his family and he shows her a secret power she never knew she possessed. When he claims to need her help, Kassandra vows to use her special talents to help. 

Darius is a Titan of the sea, trapped inside a book for a decade when he left his home on a mission to save his world. He’s on a deadly time crunch and fears the plague, which had been destroying his undersea kingdom has spread in his absence, and is forced to bring along Kassandra, knowing it could very well put her life in jeopardy. 

7.  Over Her Head by Nora Fleischer 

Maine, 1905: historian Frances Schmidt travels north in hopes of reading lawyer Garrett Hathaway's collection of books about mermen and mermaids. Ready to charm a crotchety old man, she's surprised to find a handsome young music-lover. But while Garrett seems more than willing to be her friend, he shies from getting any closer. 
Garrett is hiding a terrible secret-- no one knows that he is a merman. When he touches salt water, he sprouts gills and a blue, scaly tail. Despite his growing love for Frances, he is certain that she will see him as a monster if she ever learns the truth. 

8. Immortal Sea (Children of the Sea) by Virginia Kantra 

The island of World's End sets the stage for a dramatic reunion between Morgan of the finfolk and a woman he met years ago-a woman with a startling secret.

9. Waterborne by Katherine Irons