Alice at Heart

Alice has never fit in. She was raised by her mother's family, who treated her as a chore, and not a family member. Alice has spent most of her life in and around the water, because that's where she feels most happy and at home. She can't explain why she can spend long periods of time underwater, and why she can swim better and faster than anyone else. She just knows it's what makes her happy.In one day, the quiet existence she prefers is brought to public attention when she rescues the young daughter of the governor. Suddenly her abilities are questioned...but the publicity also brings her to the attention of the family she never knew she had, her father's family...water people, or what us landers would call them...mermaids.This is not just a romance, it's a story of learning who you really are and accepting that. There's also a mystery from the past, and lots of old loves to be reunited. For those who have read Deborah Smith's books in the past, you know she always delivers an unbelievably wonderful read. She does not disappoint in this book either. Her writing is lyrical and magical and brings to life the underwater world of the water people. It made me a believer. This is supposed to be the first in the Waterlilies series, and I for one am looking forward to future books hinted at in this story.

I know Deborah Smith professionally, but we're not intimates, and this is entirely unsolicited. I picked up ALICE AT HEART last night, pretty much at random. This book just knocked me out. Absolutely magical and, in my mind, a real masterpiece. Kudos to D.S. for producing something so fresh and so perfect.

"When you love someone else more than yourself, that love makes you the person you ought to be, and you've found the flow of life." --Alice at Heart, Deborah SmithDeborah Smith captures the essence of love, self-discovery, and life with her enchanting story of Alice, an outcast from a family that never took the time to understand her. Smith pulls us into Alice's life by showing us her pain. As readers, we follow the tormented path as Alice discovers her own self worth. We empathize with her desire for love and true family ties. We rejoice as she moves ever closer to understanding the flow of life within her and around her.Thank you, Deborah Smith. The Waterlilies series has become my next favorite series.

I am so impressed with the authors imagination. This book brought the sea and land together in a magical way. The characters were all unique, and wonderful to read about. I have not enjoyed a book this much in a very long time. Reading this book really brightened up a dull winter day. I am very anxious to read book two in the Waterlilies series. Deborah Smith has certainly done an excellent job with Alice At Heart.

This book does a great job of straddling the line between regular fiction and fantasy fiction. You're never quite sure if the characters are what they say they are--descended from mermaids--but they do have some unexplainable talents and it's really fascinating to think of there being a secret society of "Water People" among us. The setting is wonderful and Southern (the Georgia coast) and the three older sisters in the book are like something out of "Designing Women" the way they talk to each other. Plus the main character, Alice, is wonderful and vivid, and the romance with Griffin Randolph is very powerful. I look forward to book two in the series. Also, I read Alice At Heart as an e-book last spring and this paperback edition is different--it has new sections and other things that weren't in the e-book. I love the mythology about Water People in the back of the book.