Siren by Tricia Rayburn

I was excited to discover that Siren had hit the shelves a little early. Siren which is set to release tomorrow July 13th made it to my local Borders a little early so I snatched it up immediately and devoured it this weekend. Siren was a welcome change from my usual paranormal topics. It seems like a lot of books I have been reading lately are about vampires, werewolves/shape shifters/immortals etc… so murderous mermaids was definitely a change.

Tricia Rayburn has delivered a great story with characters you can really connect with. The heroine of the story is Vanessa Sands. Vanessa is your typical seventeen year old girl except that she is afraid of everything. Even the water that she used to love now terrifies her. Vanessa seeks comfort from her older sister who has always looked out for her. Justine is beautiful and fearless, everything that Vanessa wishes she could be. When Justine’s body is discovered, the authorities determine that Justine is the victim of a tragic cliff-diving accident. Vanessa is not convinced because while Justine is fearless she is not stupid. Something happened that night and Vanessa is determined to find out. Her only lead is Caleb, Justine’s boyfriend. But when Vanessa seeks Caleb out, she soon discovers that he disappeared right after Justine’s death.

Caleb and Justine were crazy about each other. Is it his grief over losing the love of his life that drove him to run away or is it someone/something else that he is running from. Vanessa teams up with Simon, Caleb’s older brother so get to the bottom of what is happening in Winter Harbor. The bodies of men keep washing up on the shores of Winter Harbor grinning from ear to ear. Simon is looking into the strange weather conditions and Vanessa is looking into an even stranger family. As they get closer to the truth, Simon and Vanessa also get closer to each other. Sometimes when you are seeking answers you discover things you never expected and never wanted to know.

I loved the romance in this book. The attraction between Simon and Vanessa is intense at times (which I love). I will say that there are some things that are left unexplained in the story, but I hope that means that there will be another book on the way. Siren was a quick read. I lost some sleep last night because I refused to put it down until I had read every last word. I highly recommend it!