THE SIREN

A chaste forbidden romance between a siren and a human in this re-edited rerelease from The Selection (2012) author Cass.

When the ship that Kahlen and her wealthy, white family are passengers on is hit by siren song, luring everyone overboard to their deaths, Kahlen’s desperate prayers for life are answered—by the Ocean. Three sirens explain the deal: Kahlen will live for 100 years as a siren, serving the Ocean by singing humans to their deaths, and then go free; if she refuses the deal, she dies. Eighty years later and in the thoroughly wired present, Kahlen grieves the lives she takes while loving the Ocean as a mother. With her multicultural-in-name-only siren sisters (Japanese, African, and Indian characters alongside a number of white ones), Kahlen interacts with humans carefully (with feigned muteness, as their voices are dangerous). Then she meets sweet, slightly goofy Akinli, a blond, white college boy, and they fall hard for each other. While the romance comes on fast, it’s based on more than physical attraction. All Kahlen ever wanted was love and to be a bride, but she still has 20 years of service before she can rejoin humanity. The value she places on heterosexual romance coexists with her sisters’ differing priorities, character-specific rather than universal. Still, despite their more varied life interests, between pretty dresses and endless pining, this one is best for hopeless romantics.

A frothy little stand-alone fairy tale.