A Mermaid's Kiss

Saving the one you love has never been more emotional. Ms. Hill strikes again with Anna and Jonah. The power of love and the limits that are overcome will shock and stun readers everywhere in A Mermaid's Kiss. No joke, this book is guaranteed to drop jaws at the potency of emotions and the vividness of life.

Joey W. Hill proves herself to be a master storyteller in 'A Mermaid's Kiss'. Her lyrical prose is nothing short of magical in it's ability to be both superbly dark and richly erotic while retaining it's fairy tale essence. As a long time fan of the Disney version of 'The Little Mermaid', I've also been aware that the true tale foretells a much more tragic ending whereby the mermaid doesn't marry her prince but instead perishes cursed and broken-hearted. Ms. Hill expands upon this darker original with tragedy destined to fall upon all descendants of Arianne. Jonah, Angel and Prime Legion Commander of the Goddess, has lived a long life drenched in destruction, death, and blood. Having survived a war-torn millennia, Jonah's soul has slowly tarnished with the very darkness he's been fighting and thereby corrupting his faith and love in the Lady. After being mortally wounded in battle, Jonah plunges into the ocean with a sigh of relief; grateful that he can finally find some peace in death. His hopes are thwarted though by a brave and beautiful little mermaid. Anna, a Daughter of Arianne and therefore doomed to tragedy, is still a woman of hope and love. Cursed with the ability to shapeshift into a human, she's lived the life as a being with no true place in the world, an outcast, but one capable of compassionate love and fierce loyalty. Unlike the female ancestors before her, Anna accepts her fate in life to live without reciprocal love while at the same time yearning for it above all else. Given her self-sacrificing nature, it is no surprise that she risks her life from the very beginning for an angel bent on his own destruction. Despite having lived for a 1000 years, Jonah has never truly sought to understand his own soul. The consuming thoughts of war have blotted out the light of the Lady, leaving his heart to ponder and question his own existence and role in the universe. Humans, the Lady's to protect and therefore Jonah's to protect, cease to be nothing other then rats destroying everything in their path. The evil doings of humans call to the Dark Ones, thus rising the armies of angels; guarding them despite the fact that it's this very evil, festering within the human soul, that makes the Dark Ones very existence possible. Jonah is tired of fighting for those that continue to call to the Dark Ones and suffer the inevitable deaths of his sons for the guilt of their loss weighs heavily upon his conscience. He has lost all hope and all reason to fight and to exist. Recognizing the darkness within Jonah, Anna makes the decision to help him at any cost, even her own death. She enlists the help of the seawitch, Mina, and with her guiding visions, Anna convinces Jonah to embark on a journey that will lead her further and further away from her beloved ocean. Jonah decides to accompany Anna and her pursuit of the healing powers of a human shaman not because he wishes to eradicate the poison within him, but because he has found some measure of c

Some books are a treasure and "A Mermaid's Kiss", has found it's way into my chest of keepers. I read Joey W. Hill's, "The Vampire Queen's Servant", earlier this year and while it too, affected me deeply I felt spent when I finished because of the BDSM theme. I think that is the mark of an exceptional author though, one who writes books that you not only pick up again and again but also leave a lasting impression. This story is like a symphony where the music sores exemplifying great emotion and action and then quiets during a less dramatic sequence, then reaches a crescendo through what is a dynamic heart-rendering climax. Ms. Hill has crafted a beautiful, beautiful romance here. As Prime Legion Commander of an army of 10000 angels, Jonah is sworn to the Goddess (the deity in the novel) to protect humans from the "Dark Ones", which essentially is the evil that man lets loose and takes form. Jonah is millennia in age; he organizes his leaders and troops, trains them for battle and nurtures them like children. He has lost many of his comrades in their battle to keep humanity safe. As the story progresses we discover that the loss of Ronin, one of his lieutenants was especially painful. The book opens with Jonah in the middle of a horrific aerial battle; he is outnumbered and loosing ground. It is a spectacular scene with swords and axes clashing, Jonah is a battled honed warrior however through an unfortunate miscalculation a Dark One severs one of his wings. Jonah plummets to earth like a meteor hitting the sea. It is here readers are introduced to Anna a gentle tiny mermaid who is swept into the current caused by Jonah's crash into the ocean. Raised to be fearful of the strength and mythological power of angels Anna is initially hesitant to investigate the whereabouts of Jonah but after finding his severed wing she summons the courage to seek out the badly wounded angel. With the Dark Ones in pursuit and at great physical risk Anna manages to save Jonah by secluding them in a deep underwater cave. Here is an example of Joey Hill's wonderful descriptive prose. Anna and Jonah are inside the cave, they have made love, she is sleeping and he is studying her features: "Her features were so fine, small. He put his finger up beside the line of her nose, just to judge, and it seemed the tip of his finger would almost cap it. Her lips were a tiny bow, and despite himself, he imagined what it would be like to stretch them..." Anna is essentially a pariah amongst the merpeople because of her parental heritage and extraordinary gifts. She is a demure delicate creature who is wise and courageous beyond her young age of 20, she has shapeshifting abilities and is very magical. She is however, very lonely having been devoid of another's touch most of her short life. Unlike many current books concerning shapeshifters, as a reader I wouldn't categorize this book as a "paranormal" story. This is a sensual, magical, romantic fantasy about two beings, one

I absolutely loved Mermaids Kiss. This story will grab your attention from the first sentence and you won't want to put it down. Anna is an outcast mermaid with a warriors hearts, Jonah is an angel warrior in need of healing. Anna is a mermaid with unusual abilities who sees an angel plunge to earth. She decides to save him. I LOVED Mermaids Kiss - it grabbed me as a reader right away and didn't let go. Joey Hill is so good at writing characters that work their way into your heart and that you won't forget them. The love scenes are terrific and the story is intense and compelling. A Mermaid's Kiss is a beautiful epic love story and when I got to the end I was sorry it was over!

Half-human, half-mermaid, kind-hearted Anna has never belonged anywhere. Shunned by mermaid society, she doesn't really blame the others for their unwillingness to befriend her when she suffers from the same curse that afflicts all of the women in her line. When she finds an injured angel, it is that magnanimous heart that compels her to stifle the overwhelming fear wrought by his enemies and help the handsome Jonah - even when he tries to push her away. After centuries of loss and heartache, Jonah has succumbed to a debilitating despair that threatens his very soul. Anna's innocent hopefulness stir feelings in him he thought long gone. But will her light be enough to save this war-weary angel? Oh my. As big a fan as I am of Joey W. Hill's work, I really didn't expect A MERMAID'S KISS. In fact, I'll go on the record right now saying I believe this to be her best work yet. Fans used to her sexy brand of romance will be more than thrilled with that element in this book, but this story is so much more than that. The author has crafted a tale that inspires hope and faith along with love and romance. Truly, A MERMAID'S KISS has a depth to it that touches the soul along with the heart, inciting the reader to embrace their own faith in a benevolent higher power. Jonah is just heart-breaking. His despair is so intense it makes one wonder just how he will be able to find his way out of the darkness that engulfs him. Yet along the way, we see glimpses of his heart that tell us he isn't completely lost, even if he himself doesn't realize it. Anna sees it, though. With her effervescent personality and her ability to find joy in the smallest of things, she is the perfect foil for his darkness, warming Jonah with a heart that is absolutely pure. For a compelling story of faith and redemption infused with plenty of searing romance, pick up a copy of Joey W. Hill's A MERMAID'S KISS! **Courtesy of Wild on Books** Series Order: A Mermaid's Kiss (Berkley Sensation) A Witch's Beauty