Emma (SCR)'s Review of Beyond the Shore and Shadows (The Lena Trilogy, #2)

by Chantal Gadoury

The Merrow Who Angered Poseidon
The Man Who Loves Her
And an Evil that could destroy them both
The Sea Is Calling. . .

Lena—who was born as a merrow but walks as a human—is now in possession of the Magiske Skal: the shell once owned by the queen of the merrows. With its power comes untold danger, and should it fall into the wrong hands, the Fosse-Søfolk will face an evil they cannot overcome. Lord Jarl knows what Lena has, and he wants it for himself.

After running away from the Lundby-Wyatt Inn, leaving behind everything she was familiar with, Lena finds herself in the company of the warm and kind Soren Emil.
When the villagers turn against her and Soren, they’re forced to leave the burning Bror Boghandel behind and escape to a forgotten cottage on the edge of the shore, where no one will find them. Lena knows she must get the shell back to the sea and destroy it, before it falls into the hands of Lord Jarl—or worse, his possessive apprentice, Jace Wyatt.

With the help of some unruly pirates, Lena and Soren journey to the sea, where Lena thought she'd never return. There, she will have to face not only the Sea King’s army, the Fosse-Søfolk, but the impossible choice to sacrifice her own life, or the life of the man she loves to keep the Magiske Skal from the evil that craves it.

What will Lena choose? Who will win the struggle for power?

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Chantal for my copy of this book. I really enjoyed the first book in this series so when I was offered book 2 as an ARC I knew I had to see how Lena's story ended.

I found it really difficult to get into this book because I read the first book 3 and a half years ago and I couldn't really remember it. The book picks up immediately after the first and it throws you right into the action. I did go back and read the last chapter of the previous book again to try to refresh myself but ideally I would have liked to have read the whole book again.

Lena was a much stronger character in this book than in the first. She has had to grow up and be less naive than she was to begin with. I was so pleased to see her stand up for herself on more than one occasion.

There was a lot of romance in this book which I was a big fan of. It wasn't one of those insta loves but more of a slow burn. I really enjoyed seeing these two characters show how they felt about each other.

There were a few times when I felt like Lena was repeating herself which is why this is a 4 star book for me. I loved the story and the addition of pirates was excellent. what's a story about the sea and mermaids without a few meddling pirates!

This is a great fantasy story that will take you on an adventure both above and below the sea.

Beyond the Shore and Shadows (The Lena Trilogy, #2)

by Chantal Gadoury

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on May 19, 2021

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