Review: Children of Neptune by Makenna Snow

*I received a review copy from the author in exchange for review consideration. This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

Title: Children of Neptune

Author: Makenna Snow

My rating: 3.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Pub. date: June 5th 2017

Publisher: Champagne Book Group

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Jet can talk to animals with her mind, but she gets tongue-tied with someone her own age. She can use her ancient powers to hydroshift, but she's still figuring out how to be smooth out of the water. 

Sheltered behind the palace walls, Jet trains to become queen of a secret island. All that changes when she's forced to accept a mission she isn't prepared for — fitting in at high school. Jet's powers, never before tested, are pushed to their limits. 

Jet learns that handling high school life is just as complicated and dangerous as the mystery that brought her there. Jet's journey leads her to friendship, romance, and her first taste of freedom. But betrayal threatens to take all that away. 

Jet faces an enemy that could cost her everything she loves. She must succeed…or die trying. (synopsis from Goodreads)

I have mixed feelings about this book, to be honest. The world, and the idea behind it, is amazing. The world is unique and really interesting, and I loved getting to know their history. But the execution wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. There was more focus on drama than the actual plot, and I would’ve liked a bit more action. But I still really enjoyed it. It was light and fun and sweet, and definitely worth reading.

I liked Jet.

Jet was interesting enough to read about. Her struggles to make her parents proud, while at the same time trying to find her own place in the world is something I think most people can relate to, so she was really relatable. I also loved her stubbornness and slight awkwardness among others her own age, because it made her even more relatable to me.

I’m not really sure about the romance.

I really liked Will, he’s nice and really sweet, but the romance didn’t have me entirely convinced. While I really liked the building romance between Will and Jet, and the fact that it wasn’t rushed, but took a long time, there was just something I felt was missing. The tension that has the reader holding their breath, waiting for more, needing more, the tension that makes your heart beat faster. This, I felt, was lacking in the whole story, not just the romance.

The plot was a bit slow.

After half the book, I was still waiting for some action. It started out really well, but soon, the focus turned more to drama, and Jet succeeding in school, and while I wouldn’t want any of that gone, I would’ve liked just a bit more focus on the plot. It wasn’t until about 80% into the story that I finally got it, and I finished that part really fast because I couldn’t put it down. It was also there a whole bunch of plot twists appeared, some expected, some completely shocking. The last part of the book was absolutely amazing!

I love the world!

The world is really interesting and unique. I love mermaids, I don’t even know why, but I always have, so when I read the synopsis for this one, I was immediately intrigued. And the twist Snow has in her story, about people not quite human but not quite mermaid, either, makes for a really unique and original story. Plus, I love animals, and I thought their close connection to the animals, and their ability to talk to them, was really cool (God knows I’ve dreamed of being able to do that many, many times).

All in all, an original story that is definitely enjoyable.

Children of Neptune was an original story, with a relatable main character and a sweet romance. It’s a light and fun read, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit lighter fantasy.