It is not a bad book, and the twist is pretty good. The plot, though, is a bit weak, and the book is simply a reason for two people to have sex and sex so rational thought process is out the window and insta love is the sole item on the menu (but this is somewhat idicated by the description).

Two stars because I am tired of books where every other female is evil. But with this note - I will most likely be trying other books in the series. The world building made sense - or at least how the magic works in the book. And Ley does base her version of merpeople on established traditions. (Think of the merman statue in Copenhagen for instance). I liked that as well as the ending.

Honesty, I love the cover too.

Good Morning Readers! Today I am visiting the realm of the Fae in Shatter one of the many wonderful stories in the Souls and Shadows Limited Edition Collection!
Enjoy and don't forget this collection to your shelves!

A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

Darkness has risen, and the shadows are calling.

Face haunting new worlds filled with paranormal creatures and breathtaking romance. Journey with beautiful beasts, sexy-as-sin vampires, soul-searing demigods, shadowy necromancers, and unlikely heroes as they fall in love and battle for good in this collection of fantasy adventures.

Will they survive the shadow’s call?

There’s only one way to find out.

Fans of Jim Butcher and Ilona Andrews will get lost in this heart-pounding magical collection of 25 tales from today’s USA Today bestsellers and talented new authors.

One-Click today to summon your copy and see if you can survive the night.

Featuring stories from...

USA Today bestselling author Heather Marie Adkins
USA Today bestselling author Lori Titus
USA Today bestselling author Normandie Alleman
USA Today bestselling author Nicole Morgan
USA Today bestelling author and RITA Award Winner Sharon Ashwood
Emerald Dodge
S.A. McClure
Anna Applegate
Tamar Sloan
Bella Andrews
Claire Davon
Robert Jeschonek
Candace Sams & Angelique Armae
McKayla Schutt
Julie Kramer
Jenny Foster
Michele Barrow-Belisle
Adrienne Blake
Dani Rene & Cora Kenborn
JT Lawrence
D.C. Gomez
Sabrina Ramoth
Stefan Lear & E.M. Whittaker
Calliope Bay
New York Times Best Selling author Rebecca Hamilton

SHATTER

One lover is lying. The other will kill them all.

Tessa Harrison takes a cruise to Alaska, desperate to forget her latest failed relationship. But just like her love life, the voyage seems doomed. Who is the specter haunting her cabin? And why are there sea monsters circling the ship?

The answer is shattering. Tessa’s ex—better known as the Sea King—is working his magic to win her back. Tessa has powers he needs to invade the mortal realms, and if he was dangerous before, he’s raised his game to new heights. But Maxwell Stokes, captain of the ghost ship Solitude, is a guardian of the gateway between worlds. He’s doomed to sail alone—although that doesn’t rule out unexpected sparks. From their first meeting, he and Tessa clash and steam like fire and ice, enemies and equals. Still, she’s a hazard the captain can’t ignore. She is the key to his success—or his failure.

Tessa is independent, powerful, and caught between two fierce, seductive males. Survival means backing one against the other. Both want her power. Both claim she is the only woman they desire. But which one is telling the truth?

Tessa must choose—and the wrong choice could destroy both worlds.

Desperate to forget her failed relationship, Tessa Harrison takes a cruise to Alaska but the trip seems doomed with a specter haunting her cabin and sea monsters circling the ship. Tessa is caught between two fierce seductive males and surviving means back one against the other. The Sea King, Tessa’s ex, is working his magic to win her back and he’s raised his game to new heights because he needs her powers to invade the mortal realms. Captain of the ghost ship, Solitude, Maxwell Stokes is the guardian of the gateway between worlds and Tessa is the key to his success – or his failure. Tessa must choose but the wrong choice could destroy both worlds.

This fantastic fantasy has it all – underwater kingdoms, magical portals, ghosts ships, dragons, water fae, evil, magic, explosive battles and a love triangle of such importance that lives hang in the balance. The characters are strong, memorable and full of sizzling chemistry and determination while the triangle romance leads them all through an entangled and twisted path full of difficult choices that keeps the emotional turmoil flowing.

The plot and is fast paced and full of adrenaline pumping, hair raising suspense and explosive excitement in a non-stop adventure that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Stunning twists and betrayals rock the very foundations of two worlds and the wonderfully bold and furious characters ensures that readers can’t take their eyes off their electrifying adventure no matter what!

Author's Book Page - Sharon Ashwood -
https://www.rowanartistry.com/book/shatter/

Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45163664-souls-and-shadows

BookLikes - http://booklikes.com/souls-and-shadows-angelique-armae-jenny-foster-julie-kramer-sharon-ashwood-/book,14006839

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/books/souls-and-shadows-a-limited-edition-paranormal-romance-and-urban-fantasy-collection-by-michele-barrow-belisle-and-anna-applegate

Riffle - https://www.rifflebooks.com/books/1046936

Shatter is the 2nd book in the Crown of Fae series by Sharon Ashwood.

.5 Flicker
1 Shimmer
2 Shatter

#3 Smolder (soon)
#4 Quake (soon)

AVAILABLE in ebook

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Souls-Shadows-Limited-Paranormal-Collection-ebook/dp/B07QSC7DNR?_bbid=12279999&tag=individualbookpagesite-20

B&N - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/souls-shadows-lori-titus/1131667387?ean=2940161254059

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/souls-and-shadows

iBooks - https://books.apple.com/us/book/souls-shadows/id1449677000?_bbid=11488809&mt=11

Rowan & Ash Artistry is home to my artistic pursuits. The name comes from Celtic and Norse folklore. Rowan has protective powers and grants true vision. Ash is the mighty tree that links the worlds. Together they invoke strength, discernment, and love of harmony and balance.

I live in the Pacific Northwest in a house crammed with books, musical instruments, and half-finished sewing projects. I have an honor’s degree in English literature but work as a resource manager (aka fun with spreadsheets). I am owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness, who is happy to express his critical opinion with judiciously applied hairballs.

As Sharon Ashwood, I’ve written several urban fantasy romance and paranormal romance series. I won the 2011 RITA® award for paranormal romance (Unchained) and was nominated again for Possessed by a Wolf in 2016 and Enchanted Warrior in 2017. In addition, I won Wisconsin’s 2011 Write Touch Readers’ Award Contest (Unchained) and the 2010 Desert Rose Golden Quill Contest (Ravenous).

Emma Jane Holloway pursues fantasy, history, and steampunk adventures. The Baskerville Affair is just the beginning.

Website - http://www.rowanartistry.com/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1880316.Sharon_Ashwood

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sharon-ashwood

Twitter - https://twitter.com/RowanAshArt

Tumbler - http://rowanashart.tumblr.com/

Facebook (Sharon Ashwood) - https://www.facebook.com/authorsharonashwood/

Facebook (Emma Jane Holloway) - https://www.facebook.com/EmmaJaneHollowayAuthor/

Pintrest - https://www.pinterest.com/rowanashart/

InstaGram - https://www.instagram.com/rowanashart/

Keeping calm was Meri’s life, making others feel it was her job. Loving a Negotiator was her destiny.

Meribeth has been the assistant to a few Alliance personnel, but Negotiator Kao is her latest boss. At his insistence, she had gills installed to enable her to accompany him on wet assignments, but his ulterior motive was not clear until he is out of the armour and his own body is finally exposed.

Vehn Kao has spent years encased in armour as a Negotiator, but the moment he comes out and sees Meribeth with his own eyes he knows that she is everything that he has ever wanted in a woman. She is intelligent, witty, attractive and has a tremendous passion just below the surface that he wants to bring out in an explosive release.

Meri wants to be good at her job and Vehn want to take her calm and shake her up

Review

If you like mer people, you should like this science fiction romance short story. There is all a nice exploration of skin hunger in the romance as well.

A lovely way to spend the afternoon.

3.5 stars
A great series with a rushed ending.
I really enjoyed tis YA series. The fresh look at merpeople and sea creatures was really cool and kept me coming back for more. The character details alone are worth the read. They are believable, functional, and awesome. Mr. Buckley has a wonderful imagination. He also developed some shameful characters that you just love to hate, really love to hate ! LOL
My problems with the book was the rushed pacing. Everything was happening at a semi regular paced then bam, bam, bam, we were at the end. The new characters just never got developed enough and they were so amazing. I loved Husk, he was just getting so interesting and then it ended with him not fully finished for me. I had the same issue with Fantom, why did he just disappear in the book ? It felt like there was a hole. I fell like these side characters need their own book I liked them better than the MCand we got too much of her and not enough of them.

A young woman explores the ancient mysteries of the sea in an unforgettable adventure of friendship and family. Escaping from an abusive past, she finds solace in an underwater world full of beauty, wealth, and power. Discover how her life is transformed as she struggles to find true love in a world that forbids it. This novel has been published as a fundraiser for the International Ocean Institute.

Review 3*

I received a complimentary print copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review in 2013. Unfortunately, due to my rather large reading list, I haven't been able to read it until recently.

This is an intriguing fictional novella. I enjoyed it.

Briony is an intriguing character. I really wanted to like her, but found her to be a little selfish and immature at times to say she's twenty-five years old. After an accident at sea (or was it?) she wakes up in a tide pool, where she finds herself embarking on an amazing adventure. I struggled to understand why she didn't panic at waking in a strange place. My first thought was "Was she drugged?". My second thought was "Who would lie content in a tide pool for hours/days on end without turning into a wrinkly prune?". There she meets Sylvie, a young mermaid and her life will never be the same again.

I started to read this story and quickly became intrigued with the storyline, which was completely different to a typical romance, which is what I was expecting.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of merpeople ever since watching a stop animation tale about The Little Mermaid at school. However, the mermaids in this story are not exactly all goodness and light. They are mostly all females who use their talents to lure ships onto rocks to wreck them and to gain more riches. I did say they were mostly female, but there is one male called Trayo, who is considered a "mistake" by the female mers. I would have liked to have seen more of Trayo, as I think he must be terribly lonely. He protects the females that have the potential to be "mermothers". In other words, human women who, for whatever reason (be it accidental or on purpose) find themselves living in the sea like the mers due to a change in their DNA. This is where I had trouble suspending my disbelief. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and kept reading.

I love the romance angle of this story, where Briony meets Damien and they fall in love. However, I was not so happy with the way the author had the mers forcing Briony to find someone to procreate with in order to increase the mer numbers. I can understand the biological imperative to have babies (I am a female after all), but just because you can't yourself carry a child shouldn't mean that you can force others to do so. I get their mentality, but doesn't mean I liked it. I was also slightly disappointed with the ending, so I do not think I will be continuing this series. Unfortunately, this book was not exactly my cup of tea even though I enjoyed it. Other readers may have a different opinion, so I will leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.

Elizabeth Jane Wolfe has written an intriguing tale that kept me entertained. I enjoyed her fast paced writing style and it flowed wonderfully. This is her debut novella.

There are no scenes of a sensual nature although it's intimated so teens could read it with no problem. I recommend this book to readers who love literary fiction/fantasy genres. - Lynn Worton