Wednesday 11 January 2017

Lorali - Book Review


Lorali - Book Review
Laura Dockrill
YA Fantasy
UK PUBLISHER: Hot Key Books

Synopsis:
Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place, is discovering where she came from.

Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and has become human.

But along with Lorali’s arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the sea coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory’s bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collard shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

Review:

The first time I picked up this book, I gave up after fifty pages. I recently tried again, and this time I persevered through the beginning - with its heavy accents, unique view points and unusual prose - and I eventually fell into the books rhythm. My confusion cleared and at last I became engrossed in the story — which turned out to be extremely unpredictable and entertaining.

During a freak rain storm, Rory finds a naked girl hiding under the pier near his house. Taking her home, Rory discovers Lorali is no ordinary girl, but a mermaid princess on the run -- and a group of blood-thirsty pirates are hunting her. 

Vowing to protect Lorali, Rory is swept into world he never imagined existed. A world where legends are real and deadly. But can he protect Lorali from the dangers ahead? Or will love drown him as bit by bit, he loses his heart to the girl from the sea?

I ended up really liking this book. It’s author, Laura Dockrill, really has a flare for details and the story was brought to life in a really plausible way. Threaded between the chapters were news reports, forum discussions and messages - all gushing about the mermaid craze rocking the UK - and if a mermaid really did float herself down the River Thames, I could totally picture this big media-craze happening.

However for a fantasy, this book was surprisingly reality based which helped keep the plot grounded and relatable. It was also a story that teased the senses. With bold words and descriptions, I could practically smell the salt and feel the grime coating the pirates. I thought how the Harpies were depicted was particularly well done, and I loved the tragic backstories woven around each mermaid.

This book is also told from multiple points of view - one of which is the Sea! I particularly enjoyed the Seas perspective since through it, we got a lot of delicious insight into each character, as well as the backstory of how the Mermaids came to be.

The idea of mermaids being “salvaged” humans really appealed to me, and I thought their tails changing colour, creating a tapestry of the their personal stories was particularly invent full.  

Otherwise in terms of characters - they were all interesting but I didn’t really connect with any of them in particular. Instead it was the ideas presented in this book that I enjoyed. The imagination, world building and backstory — these were things that kept me reading. 

In terms of style, this book reminded me a lot of Sally Green’s Half Bad trilogy, something unique with prose that people will either love or hate. For me, I definitely fall into the first category, and despite my issues with the beginning, I’m really glad I gave this book a second chance. 

3 stars! 

24 comments:

  1. I love when you can push through and it pays off in the end. So glad you ended up liking this!

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    1. Me too! Pushing through really paid off - and it also counted toward my British Book Challenge! :)

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  2. I'm glad your perseverance paid off this time around!

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    1. I'm really glad it did - I've pushed through some books that I wished I had just given up on. Glad this one proved to be different!

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  3. Nice! I am an ending girl so as long as I can get into it at least half way through, I'm good. I am always on the lookout for mermaid books (I just like the concept) so I may have to try this one. Brilly review!

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    1. Thanks Melissa - this is actually one of the few mermaid books I read and I did enjoy it. As I said it was a really reality based sort of read, I'd be curious to read more by this author.

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  4. Sounds like a pretty interesting read, although I always get a little bummed when I can't really connect to any of the characters. May still give this one a try though. Great review!

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    1. The characters were interesting, they just weren't my drive for reading it. But the world building is pretty amazing! Definitely worth the read!

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  5. I don't think I've ever read a mermaid book and this sounds like a fun story to start with. I was a fan of the Half Bad trilogy so I don't think I'd have a problem with the writing style if it's kind of similar. Thanks for the review!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Lindsey :) And yeah its an interesting read all right. I also really liked Sally Green's half bad trilogy - I just found the beginning of Lorali really confusing though. Once you work out who everyone is and what their motives are however, the story is much smoother sailing!

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  6. I have not read too any mermaid books, but this one sounds really interesting. I like that the author paid a lot of attention to detail. Great review!

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    1. The details were one of my favourite things about this book. It really helped bring the story to life!

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  7. Glad you ended up enjoying this, despite struggling at the start! I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book and I am very much a character person, so not sure how I'd feel about it, but thanks for your review!

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    1. I also saw a lot of fixed reviews - one of the reasons it took me so long to pick it up. Still I'm glad I have it a second chance too

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  8. I love that you picked this up again and it turned out to be a great read. I have had this on my TBR for far too long so I will have to pick it up soon! Thanks for linking up x

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    1. There was a lot about this to love - I guess the first time I tried reading it I just wasn't in the right frame of mind? Do you ever find that with some books - that you have to been in the right mood to get on with them?

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  9. I'd completely forgotten I have this on my shelf. Really glad you gave this one a second go and ended up really liking it. I didn't know it had other forms of text in there aside from normal prose. I'll be picking this one up from my shelf soon!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! Its worth the read - even if you only reads the chapters from the Seas POV. The forum posts in the book are also really entertaining!

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  10. I haven't heard much about this but I've wanted to read it since I met Laura Dockrill a year or so ago. She's super lovely, plus the cover is gorgeous and the concept is really interesting so I might give it a shot!

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    1. Funnily enough - I met Laura Dockrill a few years ago too - which was one the reason I was so interested to read this book. She has a very intriguing personality! And I love her style :)

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  11. It's great that you gave it another chance and ended up really liking it! I'll have to add this one to my wish list since I really loved Half Bad.

    Thanks for linking up on Saturday Situation!

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    1. Thanks Lori - and yeah definitely check this one out as it really is worth reading. Although I cant wait to see what Sally Green comes up with next!

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  12. I hadn't heard much about this book before reading your review but it sounds like a good read. Great review!

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    1. Thanks Michaela - I was never really into mermaid books but this one had such a unique perspective.

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