Review: Siren by Tricia Rayburn
Reviewed by Cal C.
Siren, Tricia Rayburn’s first novel aimed at Young Adults, falls pretty squarely into a familiar genre for its audience: supernatural romance. Vanessa Sands has always played second fiddle to her gorgeous, fearless, outgoing older sister, Justine, but they were still remarkably close. One night, however, after a fight at home that reveals Justine’s relationship with Caleb Carmichael to her whole family, Justine runs away… and washes up on the beach the next morning, dead, leaving Vanessa and the rest of her family bereft and confused. While Vanessa’s family returns home, she opts instead to return to Winter Harbor for the remainder of the holiday season to try and piece together any explanation she can for why her sister might have killed herself.
The romantic aspect is pleasantly underplayed for the first two-thirds of the book as Vanessa investigates Justine’s death and Caleb’s subsequent disappearance with Caleb’s older brother, Simon. The investigation keeps the plot moving along at a healthy clip, but Rayburn smartly keeps the pacing extremely measured, more concerned with introducing and building up all the important characters and locations than with revealing and combating the titular monsters. Vanessa and Simon have an easy chemistry, but it’s the scenes where Vanessa is alone, facing her fears without her big sister for the first time, that really sell the character.
Unfortunately, however, the final third feels extraordinarily rushed. Relationships that had been building slowly are suddenly laid bare, while conflicts we had only just begun to understand consume the whole story. The climax seems rushed and a bit cluttered, and the villains are given extremely short shrift. Finally, a late-game twist doesn’t entirely mesh with what we’ve seen before, and casts some characters in an entirely different light.
Ultimately, Siren is an enjoyable mystery/romance that falters as it approaches the finish line, but remains a satisfying read. Rayburn displays confidence and skill when approaching the book’s quieter moments, which makes her handling of an underused and potentially fascinating mythology all the more disappointing. Despite its flaws, however, Siren is a quick, engaging book you won’t want to put down.
Check out Tricia’s blog, Maggie Musings & More.
Cal is a young, underemployed librarian and a frequent contributor to Read/RANT comic book reviews. He’s currently living in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, with his family and using the post-grad-school grace period to read and write as much as he can.
This book was provided free of any obligation by EgmontUSA. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
by Christine Johnson is an exciting, new twist on werewolves. In Johnson’s imaginative world, only females can ever be werewolves. If a werewolf becomes pregnant with a male child, it will abort itself. Werewolves worship a Goddess, the Creator, instead of the Christian God, and participate in rituals that have something of a Wiccan feel to them. Some of the mystery behind the werewolves is taken away when the author tries to describe how the werewolf teaches herself to shift between wolf and human form. I would have preferred if the author had left this part out, however, to add to the mystery and magic behind werewolves.
did for vampires.
was easily one of my favorite young adult books. Cassel Sharpe is a great protagonist. He’s smart, clever, and cynical, but at his core, he’s a good person. Although the reader knows at the outset that he has committed a horrible crime, Holly Black manages to make him a sympathetic and relatable character. 
. On the surface it is a fantastical adventure tale complete with magic, all powerful God-like beings, immortality, and even swords. But if one looks a little deeper, he or she will see that this story is also a Christian allegory thick with symbolism and metaphors. Some of the symbols are easy to decipher, such as the Good Prince (Jesus Christ), the Good King (God), and the River (Holy Spirit). Other meanings are not as easy to unravel, such as the Dark Prince. My first instinct is that the Dark Prince is Satan, but when his true name of “Adam” is revealed and he later says, “All I want is to be free. To be left alone. Please give me one more chance. I know I can do it this time…” I immediately thought of Adam the First Man and his failure to heed God’s warning about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Could the Dark Prince be the Adam from Genesis, or was he Satan? Is Boyd trying to say that Adam and Satan are the same?
is a book that a church book club or a youth group might find great value in reading together. Someone who is just learning about Christianity might have some difficulty in understanding and deciphering the message, but at the same time it could be a valuable introduction to believing and trusting in God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
, by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy, is fast paced and action packed with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to heighten the suspense. Although the book is classified as Christian Suspense, I was surprised to find that the Christian precept didn’t appear until about halfway through the book. 
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