The Book Diva's Reads

3.5 star read

Lorelei Clark is interested in becoming the best classically trained soprano she can become. She spent much of her childhood devoted to singing and becoming a better artist. When she was offered the opportunity to study at a small but prestigious conservatory in Maine she was ecstatic. Her mother was anything but happy and refused to even talk to Lorelei before and after she left for college. Lorelei's father had always been her most devoted supporter, and when he dies in a freak accident in her arms she is devastated. After her father's funeral she returns to school but her mind simply isn't on her studies. When she receives a letter from a maternal aunt, inviting her to come to Cape Cod, Lorelei thinks this may be the answer to her prayers. Within a few scant months, Lorelei had started college, suffered the traumatic death of her father, reconciled with her mother only to separate from her once again over a difference of opinion on Lorelei's future. Perhaps this visit to long-lost relatives to the Cape will provide just the distraction Lorelei needs and allow her to focus on her future.

Little does Lorelei know that her entire life will change after she arrives at her aunt's home in Cape Cod. First Lorelei is introduced to an aunt and cousins she never knew she had. Second she is told that her family lineage includes sirens. Her love of singing and water are part of her siren nature. To say that this is a little hard to swallow is putting it lightly. Adding insult to injury, Lorelei is told that she has to go on a mission to assist in the transition from life to death for a group of merchant marines on a cargo ship. This may be the biggest trial that Lorelei faces in life...or is it?

Serenade is not just a coming of age story, but a story of family, heritage and the idea of free will. Ms. Kiebel has deftly incorporated the mythic sirens into a story that also includes messengers, banshees, an Idis, the Elysienne, and even Valkyries. I found Serenade to be a rather fast-paced read. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first read the blurb and saw that the story included the rather fantastical element of sirens. Serenade is part coming-of-age, part fantasy, part heroic quest, and part self-realization/awareness with a touch of romance thrown into the mix. If you're looking for something a little different and enjoy reading YA or NA books, then you'll definitely want to add Serenade to your TBR list. (Trust me, you don't have to be a young/new adult in order to appreciate this story.) I can only hope that there will be more Lorelei stories coming in the future.