Of Poseidon

 Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (hardie Grant EGMONT)

PB RRP $22.95

ISBN 978-1-74297287

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang

www.thestoryline.com.au

Of Poseidon is captivating, funny and thrilling. It holds all the elements of a well-structured story with page turning adventure, strong individual characters, funny and exciting situations including an exciting twist at the end.

I had to read this book twice before I could even think about composing a review. The first time was an obsessive, can’t put down, stay up to the wee hours of the morning kind of read. The second time continued to be an absolute joy as the humour and wonderful moments in the story shone through.

I love the blend of the modern world and ancient myths that run in this storyline. Emma Banks has drawn on Greek Mythology of Poseidon and presented it in a believable modern day setting. Poseidon is the Olympian God of the sea, rivers, horse (he produced the first horse in Athens during a battle with Athena), drought and earthquakes. He is also known as a seducer. Whilst Emma Banks’ Poseidon isn’t as broad she does include elements and adds her own intrigue.

This is essentially a forbidden love story, containing a strong, funny, lovable teenage lead in Emma. We feel her strength of character and unique voice right from page one. Of course the ‘man from the sea’, Galen is depicted as a thoughtful, well-built and utterly attractive outsider. The two hold a physically electric chemistry and have some seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome. Although some serious events are encountered it is done so with gentleness and consistent humour.

Anna Banks has a blog and can be found on Facebook and twitter. You can start at http://byannabanks.blogspot.com.au/

I highly recommend this book. The only problem I can see is we have to wait till 2013 for the sequel Of Triton.