Review: The Lure of Shapinsay

Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant. 

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure. 

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

Nancy's Review:

When I first saw the cover of this book I thought that it looked like a romance novel, and while it wasn't, romance was a very big part of the story. Of course, I had no idea what to expect from the book since I had never read about about selkies. Actually, I had never heard of them. I didn't know what they were and because of this, I was a little bit confused at the beginning. However, the selkies were very well explained and by the end of the book I felt like I really knew and understood them.

The book moved pretty fast, which I actually liked because it didn't dwell on small details and I got to really see the big picture. The Lure of Shapinsay was about the romance between Kait and Eamon and speeding up the lesser important details really showcased this. I didn't feel like anything was ever left unsaid that would have been essential to me connecting with the book. This allowed for many things to happen without the confusion and annoyance that you feel when authors either move so slow that you feel like you aged ten years by the end, or when they go so fast that you don't even know what you just read.
Moving on, I was completely surprised with the problems that the main characters had in their relationship, something that I wasn't expecting at all. Because this is young adult, I was expecting them to be all lovey-dovey all the time... when this didn't happen, I was so happy! I love when characters are miserable, I LOVE it. I find this very enjoyable, even though some people might not agree. I just feel that it makes characters seem more human to me when they experience real emotions and not the fake "we're happy all the time" thing.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed The Lure of Shapinsay and I highly recommend it! It was fantastically written and the old Irish way of talking was awesome. I hadn't ever read a book like this and I'm really happy that I had the pleasure of reading such a great romantic young adult book. I know I didn't say much about what really happened in the book, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone!

10/10