Outrush (Mer Chronicles)

(I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.)Even though I have not read the first two books of The Mer Chronicles, there was enough information for me to understand the history of the siren community, the reason behind their mistrust of humans, and their fascinating extra-sensory ways of perception.WritingErrin weaves a magical blanket of words, which has the power to transport you into her otherworldly domain, sprinkled with the scent of sea and salt, and embrace you in its intoxicating hold. The tender scenes between the protagonists, Maya and Aiden, are vivid and poetic. The writing employs imagery the likes of which I have not seen often. Here’s a sample: “Memories seeped languidly from some buried cistern of her past like it was cracked. Rivulets of recognition wound their way through her mind.”However, the wordiness does slow down the narrative at times, especially when there’s too much introspection going on, making me impatient and tempted to skip a few lines.PlotPlot-wise, the focus is on the romance between Maya and Aiden, and how they fight off objections from various quarters to unite. Of course, there’s a mysterious side story whose resolution we shall see in Book Four.CharactersAs a character, I found Maya perplexing. She asserts that she is a strong-willed woman, yet allows everybody to push her around. She displays immense forbearance for somebody who has been mistreated for years. In a bid to make Maya seem saintly, every other character comes off as selfish and manipulative.Aiden’s extra-sensory abilities were interesting and explained in enough detail to help me visualize the scenes. I found the mind reading scary and intrusive, though. Can’t a partner have private thoughts?Final thoughtsI enjoyed the heady, intense paranormal romance and the vivid introspection and imagery. Outrush works as a standalone book, and has enough teasers to make you want to read all the other books to find out more about sirens and their connection with humans.

I felt like I had been in a college classroom and my brain was tired. The storyline was good but exhausting. Had to read this in small increments. I did not care for the increased sensual descriptions. They were not necessary to the story.

Not my usual genre of reading material. On recommendation by a family member I read Updrift, and then Breakwater, so had to read Outrush, the third book in the series. I'm hooked. The characters, with their identifiable perspectives and traits, are credible if not recognizable, and the plots have me looking forward to the next page. Those are the makings of a really good read. I definitely recommend that even those wary of this genre give this series a try.

Excellent addition to the first two books! I’m absolutely in love with the series.

Highly recommend the Mer Chronicles. The author did a great job weaving the story evolution, from the previous 2 books, into Outrush.