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Fantasy. Romance. Folklore. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: #1 New York Times bestseller A sweeping stand-alone fantasy romance from Kiera Cass, author of the beloved, bestselling Selection series. Kahlen is a Siren�??bound to serve the Ocean by luring humans to their watery graves with her voice, which is deadly to any human who hears it. Akinli is human�??a kind, handsome boy who's everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. Falling in love puts them both in danger... but will Kahlen risk everything to follow her heart? This star-crossed YA romance is sure to captivate readers who grew up loving The Little Mermaid or fans of Jennifer Donnelly's Waterfire Saga. Originally self-published, The Siren has been completely rewritten for this edition. Don't miss The Betrothed, a glittering royal romance sure to captivate Kiera Cass's legion of loyal readers and lovers of courtly intrigue alike!… (more)
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Kahlen and her “sisters,” Marilyn and Aisling, begin the story and you find out quite a lot of how sirens and their lives work. They are beautiful, they can live around regular humans, they can live semi-normal lives, but there’s a catch - they cannot age, which means staying in one place for more than a few years isn’t possible, and they cannot, under any circumstances, speak, laugh, scream, or make a sound outside of a sigh or breath around a human person.
There can be no more than four sirens at a time, and not everyone will choose to live the lives that these girls have agreed to. Their sentence is 100 years, after which the Ocean will return them and they will become normal again, and begin aging from whatever age they are frozen into (almost sounds like a dream come true at times). With only their “sisters” for company, it can become lonely, and for Kahlen that causes daydreams. That is, until one day while sitting on the beach she meets a man. He is beautiful, sad, lonely, in pain, and yet there is something about him that Kahlen can’t let go.
The Ocean warns Kahlen that no matter what happens, those must stay daydreams and she cannot chance their secret by letting her fantasies run away with her. Kahlen decides she wants to make a difference and takes up sign language, which transforms into spending a few years at schools for the deaf teaching children, and later teenagers, that being deaf isn’t always a bad thing.
Kahlen gets new “sisters,” Miaka and Elizabeth, who help transform her into something better than she ever imagined she could be. Miaka is creative and she is also Kahlen’s first “little sister,” while Elizabeth is wild and crazy, and brings out the fun and slightly mischievous side of Kahlen. Aside from Aisling being withdrawn and bitter (think Mr. Scrooge), you don’t know much about her for the most part, but she is a very important piece of Kahlen’s puzzle.
Once this human, Akinli, enters Kahlen’s world, nothing else seems to mean as much. Not even the secret that she is bound to keep, and with less than 20 years left on her sentence, will it all be destroyed because of this? Now Kahlen has found the one thing she has always wanted. Is the life she could have worth destroying the life she does have? Or can she have both?
More than anything, this is a story of love and hope. Whether that love be between sisters, family, lovers, strangers, or even love for yourself; it covers all the bases. Once I started, it was hard to stop, and I really didn’t want this story to end. There were numerous parts where I actually found myself tearing up, and that never happens! Some of these situations made me want to become a siren, and then there would be a moment that broke my heart.
Kiera Cass may be a first-time author, but I pray this is not her only book. This is truly a beautiful story all the way through. I love the imagery; it is phenomenal and almost makes you feel like you’re really there (and let me tell you, there were many times in the Ocean descriptions where the song Dark Blue by Jack’s Mannequin got stuck in my head. Thanks Kiera!).
It’s been a long time since I have seen a first-time author whose writing style is as beautiful as this, and she definitely has not only the talent to be a wonderful writer, but also the imagination to successfully tell a story that is not only entertaining, but also touching.
If there was one book that I would recommend this year so far, it would be The Siren. Just make sure you have time on your hands, because once you start you won’t be able to stop until the very end. Even then, I flipped back and forth over the final pages, hoping that there would be more magically appear before my eyes. After all, this is a fantasy!
This story could be compared to "The Little Mermaid" in several ways and also has many underlying similarities to the "Twilight Saga." Fans of either would enjoy this book. It is also a CLEAN love story; not a trashy one, something that many readers, including myself, can appreciate.
I honestly love how Kiera Cass writes; she just makes you want to keep reading forever.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, though. Maybe 20 more pages could have created a more "full" closure...
Still, this one will probably be one of my favorites this year.
First things first, the cover. Just like her previous books, The Siren’s cover is beautiful and eye-catching. However, the story is a bit darker than her other books.
Kahlen is a siren living with two other sirens – Miaka and Elizabeth. They are daughters of the ocean and as such must fulfill their duties of luring people to their watery graves. However, they are forbidden to speak publicly, or to let other people hear their voices, unless the ocean commands them to. They pose as mute teenagers, trying their best to fit in and have fun while waiting for their 100 years of being a siren to be over. After which they will return to their normal self without any memory of ever being a siren.
Kahlen only has 20 more years left and then she will be free of the ocean’s curse. She is haunted by her guilt of killing innocent people, but then she meets handsome, kind and gentle Akinli. Suddenly, Kahlen’s world is turned upside down and she soon realizes what she’s willing to do to protect the one she loves.
I found the idea of sirens, how they become one, what they are tasked to do, how they live, very fascinating. The story also gives us a different take on the word “soulmates.” I liked the story of Kahlen and Akinli, but I wish there were more interactions between them to substantiate the intensity of their feelings. There were several chapters devoted to conflict build-up, so I wish there were a few more chapters devoted to the resolution.
I felt that the story ended so suddenly, I wanted more. Also, I was wondering where and how are the sirens getting money? Or did I totally miss that info?
That being said, the author’s witty and enthralling writing kept me turning pages, and I finished this book in one sitting.
I was absolutely sucked into this story from page one. The ocean is always something that has seemed so wonderful and majestic while at the same time dark and dangerous and this book really captured that essence for me. Watching Kahlen and Akinli fall for each other in their brief snippets of time together was heart warming and endearing. Akinli stole my heart from the beginning with his mild mannered sweetness and playful disposition. Their separation and Kahlens subsequent heartbreak and torn loyalties was gut wrenching. My only complaint about the book as a whole was the Ocean as a character was very reminiscent of an abusive significant other at times and I sometimes had a hard time really feeling sorry for Her, even in the end. The possessive and fierce love She had for Kahlen was at times overpowering and frightening. Overall, this story was so well written, eloquently capturing the deadly beauty of the ocean and the powerful force of love.