Shining Sea by Mimi Cross was not really a hit for me. I think it is more YA than the more adult contemporary reads I'm generally drawn to read. There wasn't anything bad or off-putting about the story of these sisters, or the themes involved. It just wasn't for me. I always appreciate an author who writes about music and the relationships characters have with music. This one just won't be a book I'll be recommending to other readers like myself. Again, I believe I'm simply not the intended audience. I'm sure many younger, or just those who enjoy YA contemporary romance, readers will enjoy it much more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mimi Cross, and Skyscape for the opportunity to read and review this title.

3 stars because it wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't the book for me.

I am finding this book difficult to review, there was nothing wrong with it, just wasn’t really for me. It was a bit slow, a bit boring, I thouhgt there would be more fantasy. The pacing was a little all over the place. It jumped around a lot and I felt that it was missing some information. Books often jump time for the story, a few days here, a couple of weeks there, but here is felt disjointed.

It’s probably better suited for people who enjoy romance as the main genre, where as I prefer it as a side genre. The characters were fine, but none shone for me, they were all lacking a little for me.

Overall it was fine, but not a book I would rush back to.

3 out of 5 stars

This story was ultimately not for me. I appreciated the authors descriptions of music and a small coastal town, but the relationships didn't sing to me. Probably a good match for bigger fans of YA romance, or folks who enjoy contemporary high school settings mixed with their fantasy more than I do.

I tried SO hard to get into this novel, because I love sci-fi/fantasy and YA, but the plot just didn't captivate me as much as I was hoping.

Throughout most of this novel I was extremely confused, but also intrigued. I wanted to figure out what was going on and thought I had enough to make my own conclusions several times, but was quickly corrected when I discovered the truth. I thoroughly enjoyed not being able to figure out every twist and turn. Not a huge fan of the story ending, but the writing and plot was very good, so I have to give 5 stars. I would have written a different ending, given the chance. The romance side of the novel was way different than in books I usually read. It was sort of a nice change, but I still feel like there was so much left to be tied up at the end. I still wonder if there will be a book 2...
Either way, most of the characters were realistic and I loved a lot of them. The writing is immersive and the story interesting. I would highly recommend this novel.

This book was nothing like I expected, and somehow so much better. Please write a sequel!

Fans of Twilight will enjoy this book. A traumatized sister has Arion and her family moving to a new town where she makes new friends. She falls hard for a mysterious surfer guy who has some otherwordly secrets to hid from her.

This book has a really cool premise, and some interesting characters.