Review: The Eternal Sea

After the thrilling journey that led Camille through the dangerous discovery of love, secrets, and a magical stone that grants immortality, Camille has everything she wants. She's escaped the men who wanted her dead, and now she is ready to build a new life with Oscar, her one true love. But things are not to be so simple. Oscar is acting strangely, and before they can even board a ship from Australia back home, to San Francisco, Camille learns that the journey is not over. If she does not follow the magic of the curse of Umandu, her life and Ocar's could be in grave danger.

I really enjoyed the first in this series, Everlasting, but just about gave up on this one. What is the deal in YA books where the guy treats the girl horribly for her own good? There is some reason why she shouldn't love him, so instead of treating her with respect and letting her make up her own mind, he is rude and tries to push her away. I loathe that aspect in storytelling, and this book had it in spades.

And then there's the love triangle. Oh, yay. The plot device authors use when they don't have enough brain power to come up with a story that will stand on its own. So with these two very big strikes against it, my enjoyment of The Eternal Sea was lessened quite a bit.

But then I remembered the books I read when I was a teen. I loved those Sunfire romances, where just about the whole plot was a girl choosing between two boys. So the problem is I'm not a teenager anymore (or an adult who would love to re-live my teenage years). It's not necessarily that the book itself is bad.

There are some interesting and unique elements here, and it's a quick, easy read. So all in all, not entirely a waste of a few hours. It's just definitely not on my list of best YA fantasy.  
Grade: C 
 
Links:
On Amazon: The Eternal Sea 
Author website: Angie Frazier