Lorali by Laura Dockrill: Book review

Publisher/Year: July 2nd 2015 Hot Key Books

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: No

Pages: 352

Source/Format: e-arc | NetGalley

(Thanks NetGalley/Hot Key Books!)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion.

*This review may contain spoilers!*

Synopsis

Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.

Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.

But along with Lorali's arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory's bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

My review

Before I started this, I'd been wanting to read a mermaid book for some time, so this seemed like the perfect fit when I saw it up for request on NetGalley. I'd never heard of it before, and I didn't know anything about it apart from the mermaids, but there was SO MUCH MORE.

The beginning of this book was quite slow for me, and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it that much, but it picked up quickly and I could not put it down.

The mixture of mermaids, humans and pirates was something I never thought of before, and certainly didn't know that I needed, but IT WAS GREAT. One of the main things I loved about all of them was their character development, which I didn't expect in a book with so many main characters.

I didn't expect Rory to be as kind as he was, and I have to admit that at the beginning he was a bit shy, and more of a follower than a leader. Also, Lorali did annoy me at times, but I do understand the whole 'mystical mermaid' thing. The band of pirates were my favourite out of the 3 groups, and I found myself looking forward to their bits of the book. All of their conversations were hilarious and Dockrill's incredible description of them and the way they dressed made me wish to see it on the big screen.

This book was a nice surprise, as I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. If Laura comes out with a new YA book, I will be sure to pick it up.

Izzy