Review - The Siren by Kiera Cass

The Siren by Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books (28th Jan 2016)

Blurb:
A girl with a secret. The boy of her dreams. An ocean between them.

Throughout the ages, the Ocean has occasionally rescued young women from drowning. To repay their debt, these young women must serve for 100 years as Sirens, remaining young and beautiful and using their deadly voices to lure strangers into watery graves. To keep their true nature secret, Sirens must never speak to humans, and must be careful never to stay in the same place for too long. But once her century of service is over, each Siren gets a chance to start over – a chance to live the mortal life that was almost stolen from her.

Kahlen became a Siren after her family died in a terrible shipwreck, decades ago. And though a single word from her can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny… and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all of the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

The Selection series was enjoyable and entertaining for me and I liked the entire Bachelor-esque storyline to it. I wouldn’t say that I loved every single one of the books in the series, but it proved to be an instant hit because of the swoony romance and Gods above, the covers are everything. I was thrilled to find out that HarperCollins would be republishing Kiera Cass’s first self-published novel with a brand new cover!

The Siren follows the story of Kahlen, a siren who serves a 100-year sentence for the Ocean after she submits herself to the Ocean to escape death in the high seas. Kahlen and the other sirens’ job is simple: they sing and their beautiful, haunting melody would lure humans to plunge into the Ocean and never resurface. Kahlen’s sentence as a siren is coming to an end, with only 20 years to go, being a siren has gradually taken its toll on Kahlen and what’s worse, Kahlen discovers something that she hasn’t experienced in a very long time: love.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I liked the entire premise of the book. The Siren, which was Kiera Cass’s first ever published book is simply imaginative and otherworldly. I have always been fascinated by merpeople (I have seen The Little Mermaid one too many times as a child) and immediately, reading The Siren brought back a wave of nostalgia. The concept of having a siren as a protagonist was quite interesting because Kahlen could talk among her sisters but when interacting with humans, she can’t risk exposing her secret, so the Ocean forbids the sirens to speak.

Which leads to a really cute romance between Kahlen and this adorable guy who falls head over heels for her. Akinli, intrigued by this strange yet alluring girl, was a goner. I liked how both of them couldn’t really talk but sparks did fly and the romance was sweet and adorable. The Siren is also a book that has strong friendship values that span throughout the novel as Kahlen and her sisters face obstacles in their way.

As this is a love story, Kiera Cass seemed to be in her element as she whips up an unforgettable tale with her prose and descriptions of the lives of a siren. The writing blends well with the story and it was very much a quick read for me because the writing flowed so smoothly, from the start to the end.

The Siren is a tale of accepting your fate but knowing that you are capable of making the right calls and decisions in your life. I liked how Kiera Cass’s cleverly used the Ocean as a reflection of how people are so easily put under the beliefs and conform to them. Kahlen’s story of breaking free from the grasp of the Ocean and finding love was truly a story worth reading. I wish there were more swoony scenes!

The Siren is out now. I'd like to thank HarperCollins UK for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.