Siren

Siren
Author: Tricia Rayburn
Series: Siren (#1)
Publisher: Egmont USA
How Received: ARC from BEA
Comes Out July 13, 2010

Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything--the dark, heights, the ocean--but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is until Justine goes cliff diving one night near the family's vacation house in Winter Harbor, Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day.

Vanessa's parents want to work through the tragedy by returning to their everyday lives back in Boston, but Vanessa can't help feeling that her sister's death was more than an accident. After discovering that Justine never applied to colleges, and that she was secretly in a relationship with longtime family friend Caleb Carmichael, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor to seek some answers.

But when Vanessa learns that Caleb has been missing since Justine's death, she and Caleb's older brother, Simon, join forces to try to find him, and in the process, their childhood friendship blossoms into something more.
Soon it's not just Vanessa who is afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes home to a string of fatal, water-related accidents... in which all the victims are found grinning from ear to ear.

As Vanessa and Simon probe further into the connections between Justine's death and the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance, and that will change her life forever.

I shall now summarize Siren in 140 characters or less.

Girl goes to summer house with sister and boys. Sister dies. Girl returns to summer house to find out way. Siren related chaos ensues.

Okay, okay, there's more than that, but that was for those of you who didn't want to read the massive summary that's on the back of the ARC.

I enjoyed it. A smart reader can figure out the plots as they move along in the book - I had an idea of who (because we all know what) is killing the men and what Vanessa's connection to her really was about one third of the way into the book. I knew what would happen with her and Simon. I had a sense about what Caleb had to do with it. As for the antagonist's sister and mother, I was surprised - as was I surprised by what Betty played into it.

I didn't really like the explanation as to how sirens were able to live among the humans - bathing in sea water/relying on salt - and how it became more necessary as they developed, though I accepted it.

I thought all of the characters were rather well developed, though Vanessa's constant lingering fear got to be a bit annoying at times. (Seriously. You've been through hell. 'Boo' shouldn't scare you.)

The only unanswered question was how Justine was communicating to Vanessa. Was she a ghost? A spirit? Was it her own sub conscience? It's not really explained.

All in all, a good read, though; it was nice to read about sirens, which I don't often read about. (Though my friend Liz just brought a siren-esque character into our RP. I wonder if he needs salt water to live?)

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 8/10. Good characters, good concept, with a slightly predictable plot. Sequel, please?
Cover Comments: I love it, except I wish they had done silver-esque eyes, and changed the font.

It comes out at the beginning of July. Be sure to preorder at B&N, Borders, Amazon, or your local indie - and keep an eye out for a giveaway! I have an unsigned ARC of this from the publisher to shimmy out to you guys! (So many giveaways, I know...)

For the record, I now have this song stuck in my head: