I missed this kind of story, it kind of reminded me of the old school Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy books, which I missed, especially in this age when every Romantasy is filled with royals, intrigue and enemies to lovers plots.

The tone is lighter, the world building interesting but not that intense as to make your head hurt. And it has a fast paced, modern feel to it. Considering I am obsessed with anything sea world and mermaids related, I ate this up! The history of the underwater world and kingdoms, the different gods and magic systems, the prophecy, the found family, it all made for such a well balanced story. And there is the slow burn Romance, which has a fated mates but forbidden feel to it. Every time Zoe and Baxter get closer, some cataclysm happens. The academic setting makes for all the information and worldbuilding to fall naturally into the story. It's not info dump if he is a professor and she is only now learning about the world she came from and what she represents for the ocean, right?

I will admit I didn't connect to the main character, Zoe, as much as I would have hoped, and I kept feeling like something was missing on the personal/relationship front. But a quick, enjoyable read nonetheless. My favorite partwas when she was swimming in the depths of the ocean, meeting merfolk and other creatures and the way the color of the mermaid tails represented their power and title. So fun!

Thank you for the ARC

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm so sorry I couldn't finish. DNF at 12%
This book is supposed to be New Adult. I'm learning that just means middle grade writing with probably some spice. Very weird dynamic.
The dialogue was so clunky, it read like a first draft or outline. I actually loved the premise but couldn't get through the actual writing.
Editors are not an optional part of the publishing process.

Quite solid read. Nice sort of urban fantasy/ Fairy tale re-tale. Interesting characters. Open ending. I like author's style. Keep my eyes open for Ms Sauer other novels.

DNF. The way that this was written was not the best, It felt very heavy and unable to be followed. I got about 3 chapters in before I had to DNF as it gave me a headache. The writing style was very run on and not well articulated.

This was my first DNF of 2024.
I really wanted to like this, but I just really couldn’t get into it unfortunately.
This is a YA book but didn’t read as YA.
The general plot is good but it was just to childish for my liking.
I’m so sorry

Thanks Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

4.25 stars
This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed the bits of history that the story kept and the bits that were altered were so interesting. The idea of reincarnation is so interesting and I loved how the book kind of adapted that and put twists into it with magic. Pacific Tails centers around the previous mermaid queen, her murder, her reincarnation as Zoe and the quest for her and her guardian (who happens to be her love interest) to save her dying kingdom. I felt this story had so many aspects that it delved into that made it such a fun and entertaining experience. I personally love reading about mermaids because there are so many twists/legends/myths that can be adopted to a story to make it so unique. Sauer did an amazing job at creating a backstory for the different mermaids (who are referred to as tails), their abilities, the different kingdoms and the impact that the global warming and waste is having on the ecosystem.
Where I found that the story might have fallen a bit short was in the romance aspect, it didn't feel forced per say but I felt that anytime that Zoe and Baxter had an argument, it was blown out of proportions by Zoe, like she made the issues into a much bigger deal than it had to be. Overall this was such a fun read and I'm really looking forward to seeing where Sauer takes this world.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this ARC to me for a

This was my first read of 2024, and I must say I'm disappointed. I found this book to drag. If I DNF books I would have, it just didn't hold my attention. Pacific Tails is classified as New Adult, but it didn't read that way. It seemed somewhat childish at times.

The plot is about an unsolved murder of the mermaid queen. Zoe, who is the reincarnation of Melantha (the queen), must find five stones to reclaim her rightful place. With the help of Baxter, her guardian, they must find all five stones before their 30 days are up or they both lose their lives.

Zoe, the main character, was jealous and borderline toxic. Telling Baxter (the love interest) that he couldn't be friends with a female he'd been friends with for years just because Zoe didn't like her. Throughout the book, I honestly felt bad for Baxter because he didn't have friends and felt alone. The one friend he does have Zoe turns around and basically demands them not to talk. That's a no from me.

During the book, they are on a timeline that both their lives depend on, and Zoe just runs away for a whole week! When she finally comes back, she's mad at Baxter...like what!? She makes a comment about not understanding how he has a right to be mad. Baxter was worried about her, too. This makes it worse because he cares about her, but I don't see the efforts made on her side. It seems that she shows a lot of self-interest and doesn't take her responsibilities seriously. Zoe tells Baxter she doesn't even want to deal with him and then spends two days ignoring him and wallows in self-pity. Finally, in the end, they agree to work together to achieve their goal.

I've been looking for a decent mermaid book recently, so have read anything I can find. While this one is not written for a YA audience, it definitely reads more like a YA book. It took me a while to get into it but the ending was satisfying. Overall, this was a good read albeit a little younger than what I was expecting.

This was a NetGalley review.

A mermaid “tail” *snickers in pun*, that gives you mystery and murder with a slow burn romance.

The story is one that builds upon itself and the TENSION.

I cannot wait to see how the author grows this story and provides more. It’s a classic introduction into the genre/series book which tells me that the second part of the duology will have all of the information/depth that seems to be missing.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I did not like this. I struggled through this. Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Michelle Sauer, NetGalley and Books Go Social for an ARC in exhcnage for an honest review.

Already Available

A fast paced mystery about Zoe who is believed to be an ancient mermaid queen. Good mystery. Some characters need a little more development but overall an enjoyable read. Thanks #Netgalley and #Booksgosocial for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

✅ Mermaids
✅ Royal murder mystery
✅ Reincarnation
✅ Professor/student relationship
✅ Ending
⛔️ Character development
⛔️ Romance


I really enjoyed aspects of this book. It was an intriguing storyline. I loved the murder mystery. I loved the heist/scavenger hunt. It was decent world building - I liked hearing about the other mermaid realms. I liked the wide variety of characters. I loved that different color tails meant different things. I also liked the ending. It wasn’t a cliffhanger but set things up nicely for a book 2.

My biggest problem was that most of the characters felt underdeveloped. I didn’t really connect with any of them. We were told things about them instead of being shown who they were.

For the romance, I loved Zoe & Baxter’s relationship in theory but it seemed to evolve out of nowhere. There was zero tension or build up. It definitely felt more YA than NA.

CAWPILE score 8.00

I haven't read a fantasy book with mermaids for a very long time, so it was quite refreshing. It has mystery, murder, some spice, magical powers (I liked the magic system).
All in all, a nice story and an easy read if you want something new.
The relationship between the FMC and the MMC felt a bit weird to me, and the epilogue kinda rushes it too much for my liking.

Thank you to Michelle Sauer and NetGalley for giving me an e-copy of this book.

"An unsolved murder of a mermaid queen. A shattered stone pendant cursed and lost. A kingdom's existence in peril.
All of it, dependent on a college student and gifted swimmer, Zoe Vaughn, who thinks her life is falling apart.
Jealous teammates have accused Zoe of using performance enhancing drugs, sinking her dreams of competing in the Olympics. Now, as their relentless bullying continues, she's ready to uproot her life in California and move across the country.
But hours before Zoe's flight, something happens that changes those plans forever. Sparks literally fly between her and Baxter, her mythology professor, who confronts Zoe with the truth that her incredible talent beneath the water has a supernatural explanation.
Baxter declares that Zoe is the living reincarnation of Melantha - Mermaid Queen of the Pacific Ocean - who was betrayed and murdered nearly a century earlier. He also claims to be Melantha's guardian - an immortal tasked with reuniting five sacred stones that can restore Zoe as the rightful queen before her kingdom is lost forever.
But the time to do that is running out, as there are sinister forces who'll stop at nothing to prevent the Mermaid Queen's return. With her life on the line, Zoe must work with Baxter to find all five stones scattered between land and sea and fulfill her destiny - or condemn her mermaid kin to enslavement for all eternity.
Pacific Tails is a new adult, fast-paced urban fantasy adventure that is set in a world where myths intertwine with reality. Ride the wave of a thrilling mystery and quest-based novel, filled with mermaids and other unexpected creatures such as immortals, ghosts, demons, and werewolves."

I love this book, I can't get to the next one. This was so easy to read and I was hooked from the first chapter. It is very captivating.

This story was really good and I loved the character build, the variety of mermaids introduced and the image of the underwater realm that was built into my mind as I read along. Assuming there is to be another book in the future and very much look forward to it and learning more about the mermaid queen as she comes back into power and her relationships.

Mermaid story, first in a planned duology, this book was nothing particularly crazy but I really enjoyed it! Sometimes you just want something that is an escape into a different world, and this one was absolutely that. The main characters were interesting, and were well developed throughout the story.

There are definitely some unanswered plot points I will, be interested to learn whether they are answered in the next book, but this is one I would read again.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was meh. Maybe this is more effective as a YA than a new adult book because it didn't click for me.

Pros:
*I love the cover art and the simplistic artwork on the title page
*I'm grateful that the map included New Zealand because some maps leave it off like it's just some random island
*Perhaps this book will be well-timed to appeal to fans of the new live-action Little Mermaid movie

Cons:
*There were random irrelevant descriptions of objects in a room that didn't contribute to the story (for example, a chandelier imported from France)
*Why oh why do the mermaids have makeup on?!
*If you read the digital version in dark mode, you miss the crown art at the header of each chapter
*While Zoe is technically no longer Baxter's student, I was put off by their romance

Conclusion:
While the mystery and adventure aspects were enticing enough to keep me reading, you can tell this is a debut novel in desperate need of editing. It has the potential to be an amazing book and duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to the eARC!