Arms of the Ocean

By: Jamie Webster, M. Dalto

Narrated by: Sharon Robbins

Nineteen-year-old Tristaine lived a life of bitterness. When her mother abandoned her family, and her father began drinking, Tris discovered the only thing that truly brought her happiness: the sea.

It called to her like a lover and flowed through her like a life force. When her only peace is threatened to be taken away, Tris realizes there is nothing she wouldn't do to remain with the ocean.

Even if it means taking her own life to do so.

But the sea isn't done with her - not yet - and Tris soon finds herself submerged in a world where love, betrayal, and honor stand stronger than any other force of nature.

©2020 Machovi Productions Inc (P)2021 Machovi Productions Inc

Wonderful Performance

This is one of the first audiobooks I’ve listened to and it has definitely convinced me to take on more. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance by Sharon Robbins, and the story was incredible. A new world of listening has been opened for me! Highly recommend.

Beautiful story and great narration!

If you're passionate about the powerful world of the sea, you'll love this one.

New Adult Underwater World

Trigger warnings: suicide, rape, murder. I enjoyed this story and the world-building. I liked Tris, her passion, and her determination. The strong spirit that won't allow her to live in misery, but instead accepts death, or maybe an entirely new life. The land of Inara was enthralling and as a mermaid lover, it was enjoyable to picture. I liked Emriel as well, the selkie prince, proud but kind. In fact, he's nothing like the typical fae prince (you know, the cold and brutal ones). I liked that there was more to the world than we first see. It's not just the underwater world of the selkie, but there is an entire fae realm, and we even have a friendly cat sidhe (another favorite fae creature of mine). The book has some severe content, and not all are pleasant to read/listen to. The betrayal from a trusted friend due to jealousy, the repeated rape, and abuse, even the murder reveal. The insta-love between our main characters seemed cliche at first, but they explained it with the bond-mate explanation, so I'll take it as a finding of your soulmate and not the typical insta-lust. I really enjoyed the audio narration by Sharon Robbins. I will definitely be looking for other books narrated by her. This is a debut novel, so there's no telling if this will turn into a series. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Romance + Selkies

What it's about: The lead character is a young woman with a hard life. Her dad's a bitter drunk, her mom is not in the picture and her brother has already moved on. The story is dark, but with love and hope as well. When she's at the end of her rope, she meets a man who becomes the only person in her life showing support. The romance blooms in that relationship. There is also a fantasy element in the story that involves selkies (a specific type of fae - seal people).

This story is pretty dark. There's a bad guy who is really horrible... he wants to own the female lead through forced marriage, and he is nasty and violent. As the story progresses, it continues to be a mixture of dark and the light. Truly reminiscent of fables of old. The story kept me engaged. The narration is good, the narrator has a nice pace and inflection. Although it is (or sounds like) a lower-cost production, it still works; for me, it was akin to going to a film festival and finding a movie that you really enjoy.

Adult content: This book has adult content and is not for kids/teens. It has descriptive scenes of violence and sex, including rape.

I was given this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Amazing, haunting read of a stirring YA novel

Normally, I am not drawn to books of this type, but the reader of this tale had an evocative and lulling voice that seemed to immediately draw me in to Tristaine's world. The hypnotic pull of the sea was perfectly matched with the voice, and I was able to fall into the mysteries of the story. A perfect summer read! You won't be disappointed!