Book Review: Florence by Ciye Cho

Title: Florence

Author: Ciye Cho

Series/Novel:  Florence Waverly Series (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 240

Publisher: Studio Amazepop

Year Published: 2012

First Line: “I positioned the rifle against my left shoulder.”

“Seventeen-year-old Florence Waverly is out of her depth. Literally. Kidnapped and taken below the waves to the mer world of Niemela, she is the ultimate gift for merman Prince Kiren: a human familiar tied to his side. But nothing is what it seems amid the beauty and danger of a dark ocean.

Every Niemelan has a role to play, from the mermaids who weave towers out of kelp to the warriors who fight the sea monsters. But in trying to survive, Florence will end up in the middle of a war between the mer and the Darkness. A conflict that will push her between two brothers: Kiren, the charmer inexplicably drawn to both her and the monsters; and Rolan, the loner who has been pushing her away since the day they met. But in order to take a stand and find out where she belongs—Florence will have to risk it all: her life, her heart and her very soul.”

My Rating: 4.5/5

I would like to start with this book was requested by the author for a review. That being said it doesn’t change the fact that this is still an honest and opinion based review. Those who have read frequently know that all my reviews are based on opinion.

Now onto the serious stuff. This book surprised me in many ways. First off the way the setting was described as well as the passing of time. The way that the characters look and were portrayed throughout the book. These two things along with how the plot itself played out.

To start with, the setting in this story is really untouched territory for me. I think I have read one other mermaid based book but that was probably about 7 years ago. It is completely up to the author how the city of Niemela looked and how it was described. It’s up to the reader to envision the authors words. Ciye Cho did a lot of describing in this book and that helped me as a reader to understand the world he was creating. This was a very interesting idea and the idea of how the city was versus the darkness outside of it was both interesting and terrifying. The only thing that made me upset about the setting and timing was the timing itself. The days seemed to long in the book. I realize that this is something that is difficult for authors to use as the characters are made to pass through the days. This reason alone is why the book lost .5 points for me.

The characters were another untouched area. What a mermaid looks like is really up to your imagination. And once I got used to how the author described the mermaids and mermen, I enjoyed the creativity. The colours themselves were at first hard to comprehend but after given time a delight to imagine.

Lastly, the plot. This book had many unexpected twists and turns which I did not anticipate. That’s what I love to read about. At the beginning I was sceptical as I thought this book was on a sure path but as I read I became increasingly intrigued.

THANK YOU CIYE CHO FOR BUILDING A WHOLE NEW WORLD IN SUCH VIVID COLOUR!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Florence by Ciye Cho

This book is once that was requested by the author and I’ve finally had a chance to read it. As mentioned above although it was a request all things stated are honest opinions of my feelings towards the book.

This book was unmarked territory for me. I have read one other mermaid series, around when I was 12 so that’s while ago….. And it definitely captured my attention. At the beginning I thought that this book had a set path, but by the end I was intrigued and left wanting more. My favourite part of this novel was the way things were in such vivid colour in contrast to the darkness. It was both interesting and hard to comprehend. After I was able to imagine the characters, their personalities helped to keep my interested ignited.

♥Characters♥

♥Florence: As usual, the main character grows and changes throughout the book. I’m happy she didn’t change to much though. She was able to stand up for herself by the end and what she believed in but she still had an interest in photography and reading as far as I could tell. I was also happy to see that she made her wait out of the love triangle, at least I hope she did. Who knows… there is a book 2!!!!!!

♥Kiren: Ok so I thought she was going to end up with him for sure. He seemed the obvious choice for her to be with. Sociable, charming and easy to look at. I was pretty surprised when we see him talking to the Wise Ones, ok surprised isn’t quite the right word, I was angry. Anger and shock are emotions so good, but also made me put the book down and go for a walk. Hopefully even though he survived the Darkness he doesn’t give over to the Wise Ones.  I believe he thought he was doing the best for his people.

♥Rolan: I thought he would be such a tool. I’ll be honest, I judged immediately. But then he turned out to be guarded, but sweet generally. His anger came from trying to protect his own. And who can blame him with the past he had. I do hope that he can protect the kingdom, but the odds aren’t really in his favour, are they?

♥Yolee: I wonder how old she would be and whether or not she had ever considered the thrown? I don’t believe she had, but I believe she will stand behind Rolan through the war that has erupted.

♥Serillico: She is a heartless piece of work. I can’t say I wasn’t happy when she died. In fact it didn’t bother me in the least. If anything I may have celebrated with a tiny bit, like a small dance around my dorm room.

♥Iriego: He seemed like a heartless man at first, but I warmed up to him. He does what he believes best for his people. Even though that almost meant putting Florence down like an animal.

♥Dorsimer: I guess not everyone can live during a war, but it would be nice if he could have.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 46

“I recognized Malachiro and Pahlo. Yolee pointed out the others: Haralo, Juren, Piriko… it sounded like she was reading from an Ikea catalogue.”

♥Pg. 63

“‘They’re beautiful,’ I whispered. Maybe a little dangerous too, I thought. But then again, the words beauty and danger seemed like synonyms in Niemela.”

♥Pg. 82

“I was the only girl from a faraway world. Unique. Maybe even interesting.

 I could be exotic, ethereal, graceful…

Alas, that was when my toe bumped into a barnacle on the whale’s tail. I lost my balance and yelped.”

♥Final Line: “That… and the distant roar of Rolanama.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo