Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell (Book Review)

Title: Catch of a Lifetime
Author: Judi Fennell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

My synopsis: Logan wanted a normal life. He had been raised in the circus by adoptive parents and ran away at 15. He was a real "self-made man". The normal he is looking for proves to be elusive though.

It starts when Rainbow (an old girlfriend he knew as Christine) drops off a six year old named Michael with a note telling Logan he is Michael's father. Logan is overjoyed to be a father, but does not know how he is going to watch a child and continue his business. As luck would have it, he discovers a young lady sleeping on his boat by the name of Angel. Even though she is naked and her story is weak, with Michael's insistence he lets her stay and buys her some clothes. Well, it turns out that she is a mermaid and Michael had actually rescued her from a shark the day before, so he knows all about her being a mermaid. She seems to be very comfortable and knowledgeable around children though, so Logan asks her to stay and watch Michael indefinitely.

It isn't long before things heat up between Angel and Logan. It starts innocently at Michael's birthday party when Angel sings happy birthday. She forgot that her singing voice can seduce humans - Logan throws himself at her and even though she is enjoying his attentions, she wants to be wanted/loved for her - not because of her siren song. Their attraction does appear to be mutual and they end up spending the night together - Angel has to return to the sea every two days though, or she will lose her tail forever. Logan catches Angel on the beach and discovers that she is a mermaid. You know how well that goes over.

My thoughts: This was a very cute read - I had to get the images of The Little Mermaid out of my head as that is what I kept thinking of though! When I first started reading this, it was hard for me to accept the talking fish, talking birds, a Mer world in the ocean - and I wondered why it is easier for me to accept "vampires, werewolves, fairies" when I am reading about them? So I went back to the book with more of an open mind and enjoyed it immensely. The author has a very creative imagination when it comes to the under-the-sea Mer world and I liked the visuals that I was able to get from her writing. From the sharks and sawfish who were Ceto's guards (Ceto is a sea monster - because there has to be a bad guy!) to the fish who performed for Ceto and lit up her castle.

There are two earlier book in this series - Wild Blue Under about Angel's brother, Rod and In Over Her Head about Angel's brother Reel. You do not need to read it first to enjoy this one - but I bet you will want to go back and read it after because they are such fun!


Catch of a Lifetime
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Jan 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-2428-7
384 pages