Decadent Thursday - Slack Tide by Vanessa Barger

Welcome to Decadent Thursdays!

Happy Thursday! It's Tamaria and I have a treat for you today!

I'm reviewing a book from Decadents YA line today, Bono Books. 

Lately I've been reading books about selkies. Those who don't know what a selkie is, they are seal shifters. They shed their pelts (seal skin) when they come on land. They can live on land and in the sea.

This book was recommended to me in the Decadent Publishing Facebook Group. 

Title: Slack Tide
Author: Vanessa Barger
Pages: 172
Genre: Paranormal romance, fantasy, YA 

Source: Purchased

Price: $4.99

Blurb:

At a time when most girls are worried about prom dresses, Lorelei Stamper is worried about losing her skin—literally. Receiving a sealskin from her Aunt, her world is changed. Not only is she a selkie, but she holds the key to breaking a curse affecting all selkie.
Now, monsters are stalking her, forcing her to decide if she will end the curse before she even really understands what’s happening. When Declan, one of two bodyguards sent to protect her, wakes her sleeping heart, she must try to balance love, surviving her senior year, and deciding whether she wants to be human or not. No matter what she chooses, the fact remains that breaking the curse demands blood. Hers.

Dear Lorelei,

This is a family heirloom. It’s sealskin from your great-great grandmother. Whatever you do, don’t lose it. Always keep it hidden, and above all else, never put it on.

Someday I’ll tell you the story behind it. Until then, keep it safe.

Love,
Aunt Celeste



I snorted and put the note aside. Sealskin? Why on earth would anyone wear it anyway? Wasn’t that illegal?

I peeled away the paper, revealing a soft, mottled brown pelt. As I brushed the short hair, a tingle moved up my hands, flowed over my body, as if I’d walked through a field of static electricity. The scent of the sea intensified, and I had the uncanny urge to pick up the skin and rub my face on it. It was like being handed a piece of a dream I couldn’t quite remember. But I knew I liked it.

“What did Celeste send this time? Something—” my mother, Miranda Stamper, stood, mouth hanging open, unable to finish her sentence. She stared at the skin like it was a snake, poised to strike.

“It’s sealskin. I don’t get it. Her gifts are usually weird, but this really tops all.” The nonchalance in my voice sounded strained, even to me. I offered the article to my mother, though I didn’t want to. My arms shook with the effort of ignoring the urge to cradle it to my chest.

“Put that back in the box, Lorelei. Never take it out again.”

My mother trembled, her eyes never leaving the fur in my arms. She looked fearful and backed up a step, brushing a hand over her eyes. Her voice shook. “I said, put it away.”

Shoving it back into the box, I couldn’t resist dragging my fingers over the skin one last time as I closed the flaps. As soon as it was out of sight, the compulsion to touch it lessened, but didn’t leave. I could still feel it, thudding like a strong bass beat in my chest.

~My Review~

I haven't read a YA story in a long time. Slack Tide drew in instantly and Miss Barger took me on journey that was both magical, heartbreaking, and heartfelt. One minute I was laughing and the next sobbing.

You can't help but feel everything that Lorelei is feeling. Her family life was very difficult. She never felt her mothers love. She 's just finding herself and everything she knew about herself changes when she find out that she is apart of a legend.

 Decaln I fell in love with immediately. He's your typical teenage boy (well sort of). He's very into Lorelei and she's drawn to him, but fights it with everything she has in her. Declan at times isn't completely honest with her and her reaction to what she finds out sets off a chain events.  

Will the legends come true and her blood be spilled, or fate will step in a change everything?

I would love to see another book on selkies from this author. I give Slack Tide 5 Stars!

I am a Young Adult author who teaches high schoolers all about technology education (and yearbook!) in rural Virginia along the Chesapeake Bay. I am the owner slave to one cat, Molly, who looks a little like a cow when she gets a haircut, and write in myfree time. I am actively involved in the YA Fiction Fanatics critique group, which is dedicated to helping its members produce the best MG and YA novels they can write. This past summer I finally bit the bullet and also joined the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators).

I’ve currently finished four manuscripts, and I’m working on several more. I love writing, and my goal is to be able to do this full time someday – or at least as a published author enjoy it as a second job. I also love long walks on the beach discussing Shakespeare while sipping large fruity drinks with little umbrellas.

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