Book Review: Siren.

"It was as if Simon had become my nightlight; even when he wasn't with me, he was illuminating the world so I no longer feared it."

Author: Tricia Rayburn.
Release Date: July 13th, 2010.
Description: 352 pages, Hardcover.
Availability: Amazon, $18,64.
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Mystery.
Rating: 4 stars.

Resume: Vanessa Sands and her family spend the summer, every year, in the small town of Winter Harbor, Maine. If Vanessa is easily frighten by everything from the dark to the water, Justine, her older sister, is fearless. The girls usually hang out all summer with the boys next door, Simon and Caleb. After Justine's death, Vanessa starts to uncover some shocking secrets about her sister. She soon realize that nothing is what it seems in Winter Harbor and that she might be in danger.

Review: This novel is written in Vanessa's point of view. Siren is a not an action packed novel. The author took her time to develop and build the mystery that is Justine's death. Still, there is mysteries and thrills waiting for you if you chose to read that book.

The Sands sisters are polar opposites.We get to know Justine mostly by Vanessa and her parents' memories of her. Typically, Justine is build like a YA lead and Vanessa like a sidekick. She is headstrong, ambitious and determined, while Vanessa is more of a pushover, reserved girl. However, Vanessa grows a lot during that first installment of the series.The character of Vanessa Sands is incredibly likable. She is sweet and vulnerable and, although she seems unable to fend for herself at the beginning of the book, she overcomes her deepest fears throughout the story. 

Simon, the male lead of Siren, is an intellectual, curious and shy college student. If Vanessa is attracted very early on to Simon, she restrains herself from acting on it. Their romance doesn't blossom until the end of the novel. Siren is setting itself apart from the other YA books by not having a love-at-first-sight kind of romance. Simon and Vanessa have known each other all their lives, they are good friends and, therefore, know what they are getting into by choosing to be together. Their romance feels more genuine than most of the other YA novels I've read.

Siren is a very predictable. Rayburn's mystery novel is a slow digger. Vanessa's investigation is, at times, redundant and heavy. The book just doesn't provides the thrills it promised. However, the characters are easy to like and relate to. The premise is very interesting and unusual. Diverted are the opinions on the ending, but I liked it. We were left on a twist-ending and a good sequel opener.

Sequels: Undercurrent & Dark Water.