Water Dreams, (Love’s Siren Song Book 1) by Katherine Eddinger Smits is a Paranormal and Paranormal Romance Event pick #pnr #paranormalromance #mermaid #mustread #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Title: Water Dreams, (Love’s Siren Song Book 1)
Author: Katherine Eddinger Smits
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
Water Dreams is an award-winning finalist in the Fiction/Romance category of the Best Book Awards.
She’s human. He’s Nerei. What happens when they fall in love against his species’ laws?
In the small Florida town of Tarpon Springs, Nik Aronopulos avoids water like the plague. She never goes to the beach and shuns restaurants with views of the Gulf of Mexico. So, when a merman shows up at her doorstep, insisting they need to study her, she’s stunned. There’s nothing special about her…
…or so she thinks.
Bas is an arrogant, dark-haired merman tasked with obtaining Nik’s cooperation at all costs, even if it means being untruthful about the extent of the ‘study’ they need to conduct on her. But he’s willing to do and say whatever he must. She’s the Nerei’s only hope at overcoming their greatest weakness. Although they can shapeshift to look like humans and have advantages over land dwellers, their dependence on water keeps them from freedom. There’s just one problem – the girl he’s meant to capture under false pretenses is hooking his heart.
When Bas is shot by a bullet meant for Nik, she must face her greatest fear to help him – the ocean. Her decision plunges her into a desperate journey where her desire for self-preservation is weighed against her growing feelings for this merman who had once meant her harm…
…and what this might mean for all of them.
Excerpt:
Eventually, Bas woke up. One minute he lay loosely in Nik’s arms, half-floating in the water, half propped up. The next moment he was awake with his face a fraction of an inch from hers, looking intently into her eyes.
Nik knew what was about to happen. She could have stopped it, but she didn’t. Bas leaned forward and gently kissed Nik on her lips, which had dried and cracked from the long immersion in salt water. His were soft, full, and tasted like oranges. She could have sucked on those lips all day. She thrilled with an immediate, exponential, and overwhelming reaction.
Nik jerked away from Bas. Holding her hand to her mouth, she stared at him.
“What the hell was that?” Nik knew it was a kiss, but she didn’t want to believe it had happened. She had never had that kind of reaction to a kiss before. She never wanted to experience it again. It made her feel wildly out of control and blissfully insane. She never wanted it to recur, but at the same time, she desperately wanted it to happen again, immediately. Then Nik thought about Rowan and her feelings for him. She decided she must be the biggest jerk in the world.
Bas had recoiled from Nik at the same moment she had pushed back from him, like two magnets repelling each other. They no longer touched. Bas looked as horrified as Nik felt. They stared silently at one another. She couldn’t think of a single word to say, and apparently, neither could he.
Then Nik heard strange, echoing cries. The sounds seemed to come from below them. She shook her head in confusion, trying to make her ears do a better job of locating the noises. She couldn’t figure out which direction the noises originated from, but her ears had not deceived her. Soon heads popped up all around them. The Nerei had arrived.
Most of the Nerei were unfamiliar to her, but Nik recognized Deme and one other, the first to make eye contact with her.
“Finally,” Nik said to her. “Now you can take care of him, and I can go home.”
The Nerei was a female Nik had seen before—she was the woman Nik had seen with Bas at the Epiphany celebration, the woman she had assumed was his mother. She looked at Nik, her expression neutral. Nik had the sense the Nerei thought Nik pathetically slow-witted. Nik guessed she was, compared to the Nerei.
“How do you propose to transport yourself to land?” The Nerei asked Nik.
The Nerei was right. Nik was out in the middle of the ocean, exhausted, dehydrated, and lost. Without help from the Nerei, she would die within hours.
While this sank into Nik’s muddled brain, the other Nerei took hold of Bas and began swimming away. Nik realized they intended to leave her there. “Wait,” Nik called. “What about me?”
“Now, you wish to be in our company? In the past you have refused us.” The Nerei female tossed her head and joined the group towing Bas, who appeared to be unconscious again.
That pissed Nik off. “That is totally unfair. You people have lied to me, kidnapped me, made deals with kidnappers to capture me, and now, after I saved one of you from certain death, spent all night in the water keeping him alive, and swam with him into the middle of the ocean so he could get help, now you lose interest in me? Great, leave then. I’ll figure out a way to get back to land on my own.”
When Nik yelled, Bas opened his eyes and waved his arms around, calling her name. The Nerei tried to soothe Bas, but he called louder and struggled against the Nerei who held him.
Possibly wanting to appease Bas, they swam back to where he could see Nik. Bas told the other Nerei she had saved his life, and he was not going to allow them to abandon her. After some heated discussion, the Nerei decided to take her with them. Nik thought it was more to shut Bas up than concern for her.
The female who had spoken to her grabbed her arm and towed Nik along beside her. Too tired to protest, Nik allowed herself to glide through the water in a half daze.
The group swam together in formation, leading, then following as they had the time they had towed Nik on the kayak from Rowan’s cabin to Tampa Bay. They moved like a school of fish or a flock of migrating birds, leaders breaking through the water, followers drafting, taking turns towing both Nik and Bas, moving together like one creature, so connected they seemed to think as one. Perhaps they linked their minds. They did not speak or call. They swam in one powerful unit, picking up speed until they traveled so rapidly, it was like flying through the water.
Nik worried they would take her to an underwater habitation of theirs where she wouldn’t be able to breathe, but she didn’t spend too much time dwelling on it. She couldn’t do anything about it. If she refused to go with them, they would leave her out in the middle of the Atlantic where she would surely die of exposure, drowning, shark bite, or all three.
Nik lost all track of time as they sped through the water. She slipped into a half-aware state, concentrating on keeping her nose above water so she could breathe. Nothing else mattered.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://bit.ly/firstNereistory
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3QUwU57
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Water Dreams is for anyone who has ever dreamed of being a mermaid or merman and who loves to read about star-crossed lovers, mythological beings, and a world where fantasy intertwines with contemporary reality.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs April 8 – April 15, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on April 16, 2025.
Author Biography:
From an early age, Katherine Eddinger Smits was captivated by fairy tales. After devouring the Brothers Grimm and similar collections in her school library, she eagerly explored mythology, legends, gothic romance, fantasy, and science fiction—her curiosity for otherworldly stories knew no bounds.
Growing up near Florida’s Weeki Wachee mermaid attraction, Katherine spent countless hours swimming in the springs, pretending to be a mermaid. Though she once hoped to audition as a Weeki Wachee mermaid, her true wish was to become a real one—a dream that, unsurprisingly, never came true.
Social Media Links:
Website: Katherine Smits Website
Facebook: Katherine Smits Facebook Author Page
Pinterest: Katherine Smits Pinterest Boards