Book Review: A Heart for the Ocean by Taylor Lakke

• Review: A Heart for the Ocean
• Series: Serenity #1
• Author: Taylor Lakke
• No of Pages: 203
• Release Date: October 8th 2012 by Amazon Digital Services
• Rating: 3.5 but looking forward to #2!

Synopsis:

Madison McKinsey is an average fifteen year old girl who attends a normal high school in Winter Haven, Florida. Her job is to deliver newspapers to the people in her town, but one day she reaches in for a newspaper and everything changes when she encounters a mystical phenomenon. She travels through time to a place that normal humans don’t know about. She meets Landon Cayne, an older boy who takes her on adventures to the strange seas of this world. She helps him in his quest.It doesn’t take long for Madison to see that Landon is different. He makes her soul sing. She can’t help but feel that she is destined to be with this not-so-normal boy, in this not-so-normal world.

Interview with Taylor Lakke!

Thank you so much for doing this interview for My Seryniti.

Your welcome.  Thank you for making the time to interview me and to read my work.

How did this start for you? Image, Idea, Dream?

I always dreamed of being an author.

Did you have any growing pains with this novel?

Yes, the writing and editing of this work was painless.  However, the self-publishing and promoting has been a challenge.

How would you most like readers to respond?

They enjoyed reading this and they want to read more.

Do you have a message you try to convey when writing a story?

No message…just enjoy reading my work.  Let them be entertained.

What are you reading right now?

“Who Moved My Cheese?”  This is homework assignment for all managers where I work.

Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?

Shelly Crane and Patricia Cornwell

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Working in healthcare during the day and having a fantastic time writing at night.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Yes and a GREAT One at that.

How did you break into the industry?

I am breaking into it now.

What is your writing style? Do you create outlines for your writing or do you just sit and type away?

I sit in front of a word processor and let my fingers go.

Do you listen to music while writing?

Sometimes

What is your next project? What have you been working on recently?

Getting people to review my book and buy my book.   I am also writing my second book in the Serenity Series “Fury from the Sea.”

Now for the silly questions! Hang on to your hat! 🙂

Holding tight.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Eating Ben and Jerry’s “Coffee Heath Crunch”

What is your favorite word?

Passion

What is your least favorite word?

SHOULD

Do you talk to your characters?

Yes and they talk back to me.

What sound do you love?

Ocean Waves

What sound do you hate?

A car horn honking

What’s your favorite time of year?

Thanksgiving

Thank you so much for taking the time to indulge my curiosity!

You are welcome.  Thanks for these interesting questions.   Loved to answer these questions.

My thoughts:

This was a really fun read for me! Firstly, I’m from Florida and now live in the middle of land! Smack dab in the middle! So reading about something as beautiful and powerful as the ocean is definitely a thrill. And overall the story really met up to my expectations. Taylor Lakke is able to add in a certain quality that just brings you back to the ocean as well as keeping the plot pretty light and magical. Best of all, Taylor was able to add in stuff that I didn’t even know about the ocean! Making this a fabulous read.

The two main characters are very cute. And their adventures together are so much fun! And who doesn’t like mermaids?!! There’s more to this book than meets the eye and Taylor does a fantastic job but I’m hoping the second will be a bit more streamlined. There were a few parts where the story felt a bit mired. It may have been the changing of points of view, which was interesting but threw me off  a little. But the writing is definitely there and the plot is good enough to make me want to know what is going to happen next. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and it was such a refreshing change from the young adult love that you see out there today!

So, all in all, paranormal romance that is definitely for young adults but magical and fresh! Really nice and I’m hoping book two is right around the corner!

About the author:

I was raised in the South but have lived in many places around the United States. Reading is my favorite hobby and has been since I was a little girl. I just started writing and am finding pure joy; it is something I was born to do. I love the ocean: swimming, snorkeling, sailing and boating. Travel is another passion I have. When I write I like to chew gum and wear a baseball cap. By day I am a Facility Director in Healthcare and in the wee hours of the night I am living my dream of writing books.

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Tags: A heart for the ocean, Taylor Lakke