Shadow in the Sea by Sheila A Nielson is a fantasy mermaid story. The opening made me feel, drat been there done that, but as I read on, I thought, okay this is a bit different. I know it is hard to come up with a unique and original twist on a common theme, but I think Shelia A Nielson was able to accomplish this in a big way.

Accused of murder, Sade was waiting for her death…until she found herself adrift in the ocean. Tossed overboard and meant to die, she was given a second chance. She was washed up on the shores of the mysterious Winwaithe Island.

Sade pretended to have amnesia. She hid from the others, was she also hiding from herself?

She is terrified of the water, yet unable to resist its call.

She knows the value of all life, whether man or mouse, literally.

I love to hate a villain and Captain Westwood fits the bill.

The characters are wonderful, fully developed and complex. They grow and develop throughout the story.

Is Shadow in the Sea predictable…yes and no. There is something extra that I wasn’t expecting and that is always a very good thing. We have some romance, Sade is a young woman after all. She has loved and lost. Tragedy, yes, we have a violent beginning to what becomes an amazing “tail” of love and sacrifice.

I have never entered a merworld so creative and wondrous. I was enthralled, loving the visualization created by Shelia’s words as we entered her underwater world.

A merman with a beard. Clothes. A city. Dancing. Laughing. Children. Let your mind run wild…mine did and I loved it so much I hated for the story to end. Shadow in the Sea, Sade’s story, is Book II in the Forbidden Sea series, but I don’t feel it affected my reading, other than making me want to go back and read Book I, Adrienne’s story, to see what I missed.

I received a copy of Shadow in the Sea by Sheila A Nielsen in return for an honest review.

Stop in to see more at http://www.fundinmental.com ( )