Surface Tensions

Surface Tensions
By G.R. Jordan

4 Stars

From the start this title sucks you in, creating interest, and reflecting human nature.

As Mermaids are sighted near a Scottish Island, a town becomes divided, between those who want to wipe them out, and those who want to save the creatures. This is all compounded when first a merman, then a fisherman. Amongst it all, there new relationships are formed, and heroes emerge.

The story is cleverly written, and rolled out for the audience. The characters, certainly the man character, which there are several are slowly introduced, and their character developed.

What I really enjoyed about the book, was the way it reflected human nature, with many attacking the unknown and the mob mentality.

It is an easy read, that is enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

#SurfaceTensions #NetGalley

Reviewed by Heath Henwood
www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

So, what did I like about it?
G R Jordan is a new-to-me author but I was impressed with his writing style and the prose he used; I found this story intelligent, the characters compelling (even those I didn’t like) and liked the way he reflected all of human nature within these pages.

Primarily, I think that this story is a lovely gentle British comedy drama and I really enjoyed reading how the tail unfolded (pun definitely intended), how each character had their own chapters so that we could get to know them and the way that, throughout the story, we were given insights to help understand what it means to live on an island as part of an insular community. We are introduced to quite a few of the main protagonists of this story, the islanders and liked that some resonated with my own personality while others rubbed me up the wrong way; all were complex creations who felt very real and believable.

Surface Tensions wasn’t what I was expecting – it’s NOT a paranormal romance between a human and mermaid – it's a story about the human condition, about how different people react to the unknown, what’s different or new, and it also highlights the comparisons between island life to that on the mainland. I didn’t know what to expect, where Mr Jordan would take us; I had no idea how the story would climax and who would come out on top.

Surface Tensions has made me chuckle out loud, made me rage with indignant frustration, put a soppy smile on my face as well as had me holding my breath, on the edge of my seat.

So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
So, now I have to be honest and say why Surface Tensions had me dithering between a 3 or 4 star rating from me.

I am probably being rather mean to Mr Jordan and doing his book a dis-service but I need to explain, the dystopian type themed books are not my cup of tea. I don’t like reading stories where everything is as bad as it possibly can be because of the inevitable brutality of our species. Mob mentality really frightens me, when a group of people assemble because they're emotional and angry about something, it only takes one act of violence to whip the crowd into a fury and I know that this viciousness, this sense of righteousness is just there barely below the surface - that's the horror story right there! I find it very hard to read stories that contain scenes of this nature, and at times, Surface Tensions did make my heart and soul weep; it’s why it took me so long to read, I had to keeping putting it down, breathe and step away from the story. I need my fiction to take me away from the horrors of the human condition, perhaps I should be praising Mr Jordan for getting me so emotionally connected rather than penalising him…

So, basically what I’m saying is...
I did really enjoy this book. It’s got everything that I look for in a good story; adventure, great characters, action, humour and a sprinkling of romance.

I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal mysteries and dramas and I can confirm that the content (e.g. language, violence, sex, etc) is not horrific due to the lack of graphic blood or explicit sex scenes, although I would suggest that the target audience is older owing to the tension and thriller aspects of the story.