Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: THE MERMAID AND THE UNICORNS by L.T. Getty

The Mermaid and the Unicorns

by L.T. Getty

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GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure

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BLURB:

Daphne’s a typical mermaid, and at least according to her, that’s a problem. She’s courageous and has a beautiful singing voice, but lacks the power of an elemental, the ability to command water with the sound of her voice. Jealous of her best friend, she makes a deal with a sea-witch, only to be betrayed, in place of her beautiful tail and flukes Daphne’s left beached with a pair of human legs. The spell keeping Daphne looking human will become permanent, unless Daphne can hunt down and bring the scheming Lorelei a unicorn horn before the next full moon.

Unable to reach her friends and family for help, Daphne doesn’t know how to walk, much less where to find a unicorn or how to catch one. Even if she’s successful, Daphne’s still not sure if she can trust Lorelei and her pint-sized kraken to keep their end of the bargain and let her return to the sea.

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NOTE: The book will be $0.99 during the tour.

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Excerpt One:

Echor explored a small rocky cave before he chattered. I saw a fish I'd never seen before. He was orange and white!

"You'll see lots as you travel from place to place," Daphne told the small dolphin. "Come, your mother won't forgive me if I let you roam from the pod."

Why hurry? Echor asked as he swam, spinning around different plants and sponges that grew along the rocks, before focusing in on a vibrant snail. It was not a very old reef, though it was well inhabited by many vividly-colored, small fish. The young dolphin seemed to take pleasure in disturbing them and watching them scurry into their small hiding crevices and among the anemones. You're so lucky that you get to stay in your town all the time. This part of the sea is so beautiful!

"I think it would be neat to see so much of the ocean," Daphne said, thinking of her small town of Thranda. Unlike the dolphins, who often travelled long distances in a single day, most merfolk lived in towns unless they left their communities to hunt or travel to another community. She had known members of his family since she was a little mermaid, and only got to see them a few times a year when they passed through her home to feed in a nearby bay. She heard a series of warnings behind her—the other dolphins had detected something with their echolocation. Unless it was something exceptionally large, they should have been safe within the pod, but Echor was very young. "Echor, let's return to your family." The young dolphin had wandered off while Daphne had turned her head, chasing a seal that had left her bob, trying to swim away from Echor.

"Echor!" Daphne called, swimming after him. She caught up to him, then looked over her shoulder as she heard a familiar sound. An orca! Daphne suppressed a shudder. It was large, but far enough away for her to find a hiding space. Still, killer whales almost always travelled in groups. The killer whale dove when he spotted her. She knew the others would want to help, but they were no match for an orca. He swam quickly towards her and Echor. Daphne knew she would be hard pressed to out-swim the large creature.

Hide! the orca told her.

Daphne then saw the immense shadow and wooden keel of a ship following the orca. The killer whale dove deep, though the water was too clear and shallow to truly hide his massive form. A harpoon followed him, missed, and was quickly pulled back to the surface by a rope. Another harpoon plunged into the water, and then another. The rough waters churned green and grey in the ship's wake, and Echor's warning chatter only told her that there was another human vessel. It came from Daphne's left, and it dragged a net behind it.

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Review: Daphne was a mermaid that thought she had the best voice. She was a fish with no powers and jealous of the friend that got all the attention from her power. So, Daphne goes to the sea witch and drinks a potion that turns her into a human. What a horrible thing to be human!

The witch promised to give her back her tail if Daphne retrieved the horn of a unicorn. She had 30 days to do it…or the spell would become permanent. Interesting dilemma.

Story had an easy narrative that’s quite engaging overall. It takes a while for the whole thing to get going as Daphne adjusts to her new body and the habits of humans. Then it becomes a long journey to find a unicorn. There are some colorful characters along the way along with some complex details. It was kind of long and slow at times, but it picked up more as we moved toward an epic battle with the sea witch.

Full of magic, fantasy elements, and, of course, sea creatures, this was a fairly good read.

Rating: 3 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

L.T. Getty is a rural paramedic from Manitoba. She enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy and generally being creative.

Amazon (American)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09F2MRB9N/

Amazon (Canadian)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09F2MRB9N/

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-mermaid-and-the-unicorns

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60006465-the-mermaid-and-the-unicorns