Customer Reviews

The Selkie

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The People, the selkies, are in a crisis. Their numbers are diminishing and no females have been born in decades. Nor have any human women capable of bearing their children have been born either, to their knowledge.

When Hexie weeps into the ocean and accidentally steals Rory's sealskin, she unknowingly completes a ritual that may bring new life to the selkies. Rory comes seeking the woman who has taken his skin, thus binding him to her until it is returned or she is with child.

Hexy is unsure of what to make of this strange man with unfamiliar speech. However, their is a pull between them that is undeniable, and unexplainable. When they come together passionately, Rory realizes that this woman is more than she seems, and might be the hope of his people. Before they can find either happiness or hope, they must defeat monsters who steal souls and find a way to make a terribly mixed marriage work.

***** Those of you who have missed fairy tales will be enchanted by this story set in a time between the old world and the new. Magic and reality mix in a gray area where the only real truth is love. In what seems to be a situation made for heart break and tragedy, joy comes to pass. Hessy demonstrates a strength that is usually displayed in novels such as Tolkien's, while Rory has the charm of a handsome space alien blended with a fairy prince. Fans of pure fantasy and romance both will enjoy this one and be begging for more. The sea truly does hold magic and peace. *****

Scotland, 1929, after the `war to end all wars' and Hesiod "Hexy" Garrow, an American has come to work for a beautiful widow who is renovating her inherited Fintry castle in Scotland. Life has not been going well for Hexy, her allergies are driving her crazy, her boss Jillian has misplaced her fur coat on the beach, her boyfriend has basically dumped her, her last living relative and brother Rory has died in the war and she just can't seem to stop crying as she talks to the sea. After she has wept into the sea, she does find a fur coat, only it isn't Jillian's - it's a selkie's skin.

Packing up the fur and Jillian for a trip to Italy, Hexy remains at the castle to oversee the renovations when she opens the door to a very irate, handsome, and underdressed Scotsman, Ruairidh "Rory" O'Uruisg. What Hexy did not realize is that by inadvertently stealing his fur, along with shedding seven tears in the sea she has summoned this `selkie' to come lie with her. What Rory was not expecting, was that this woman who summoned him would be so beautiful - but what really shook him was the sense that she wasn't at all what she knew herself to be!

This was an amazing, magical, and sensual fantasy bringing some beautiful imagery to mind. Rory, the selkie was intoxicating for Hexy and I quote, "In the space of a few hours, her soul's winter had turned into spring." Ms. Jackson's writing intoxicated me. This was a fast paced beautiful love story with all the elements I look for - handsome lead couple, sensual love play, and edge of the seat thrills as Hexy puts her life on the line to save her `selkie' and her love. I highly recommend this book - beautiful addition to my keeper shelf!

I have to say it: this book was a yawnfest! The story bored me. The characters in it didn't really have depths or layers...they were flat and dull. And none of them had a sense of humour. I felt no empathy for any of them, so whenever they were in peril I just didn't care if they made it through or not. (Of course they always did survive...the hero always saved the heroine in a predictable manner just in time.) Hexy, the heroine, was as dreary as a rainy day, and Ruairidh, the hero, might have come from the ocean, but he didn't rock my boat at all, if you know what I mean. And the passion between them was barely lukewarm at best. The love scenes were about as exciting as watching toast burn, but with much less heat. And worse, those scenes were obscure to the point where I sometimes wondered if they were love scenes at all. Actually, if you're the kind of prude who doesn't like rude words or anotomical descriptions in love scenes then this book is for you. The most provocative word used in it is probably 'skin'. This is so tame, it could almost be made into a Disney family movie.

There were a lot of flaws with the continuity of the story too. The author had problems with consistency. For instance, her Scottish characters slipped in and out of their Scottish brogue like I would slip shoes on and off in a shoestore...one minute they'd be using Scottish words like hae, maun, or tae, then the next they'd be using the English versions: have, must and to, only to slip back to the Scottish words a moment after that. It was totally annoying. And there's another bit, towards the end of the book, that's flawed, where the heroine complains that selkies don't seem to know the meaning of the word 'love'. Yet her selkie lover had talked about love before that...he mentions it twice just on page 149, in fact. Another problem is when the 'sin eater' tells Hexy she is carrying twins. But then, shortly after that, he says "before the babe sickens" as if Hexy is carrying only one child. Is he senile or something? Or is the author? There are a lot more continuity errors, but I won't bore you by going through them all here. Needless to say, the author should have paid more attention and taken more care.

I will say, too, that I got annoyed with the way the author seemed to be showing off by using big words. It is all very well to portray yourself as the type of person who eats dictionaries for breakfast, but it's really stupid throwing lots of big words that most readers won't understand into fast moving parts of the story line. It impedes the flow of the story, and ruins the reader's rollercoaster ride if they suddenly have to stop completely and try to work out what sentences like 'then the sepulchral threnody subsided' actually mean! (For the record, 'sepulchral threnody' means a song of lamentation that sounds as if it comes from the grave...like this author, I like to show off the big words too. But I do think there's a time and a place for them, and if you don't know when the best time is to use them then don't use them at all.)

This could have been a magical story, but the way it was written sucked most of the magic out of it, and just left a hollow, empty void where a good story could have been. Even the front cover was wrong. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous cover, and whoever the girl on it is, she's a stunner. But the heroine of the story has red hair, which makes me wonder who the hell the brunette covergirl is.

I definitely agree with R. Kelley's negative review of this book...R. Kelley, if you're reading this, you're not the odd one out for not liking it any more. And I'm sure there are others of discernment and taste who would agree with our judgement.

There are plenty more fish in the sea, and plenty more books on the shelves...read them instead of this one, and you'll be much happier.

Melanie Jackson gives, once again, an intriguing tale out of the norm. As with Night Visitor, she blends Scottish lore with her own magickal voice and gives you a tale guaranteed to please. She is strong in historicals, but I see a lighter touch in Amarantha and Belle that I think is perfect for her
charming wit and hope to see more in this vein from her.

Hexy is maid to the ditzy blond lady of Fintry Castle, who just HAS to have her sable coat before she can go to Italy. Unfortunately, for allergy plagued Hexy, her mistress left it on the beach (I said she was ditzy), so Hexy must go to fetch it, not realising her snuffles and a couple tears over failed romances that fall into the sea summons forth the Selkie, a Scottish creature of mythology - a half man - half seal that is so beautiful no woman could resist him, or that the 'sable' coat she thinks is her mistress' really belongs to the Selkie. He needs to fetch it back or be doom to remain on land.

Unfortunately for the Selkie, she has packed the coat and her mistress has go to Italy.

It's a delightful, charming tale, with Melanie's deft brushstroke of humour.

Since my great great great...well you get the idea...grandda was said to be a Selkie, I am rather touchy when writers create stories on the lore. Most of the time, I sort of cringe fearing the writers will not show the Selkies proper justice they deserve. When Melanie Jackson said she was doing a book about one, the reaction was different - joy, for I knew Melanie - and her heritage (I have it on good insider info from the Wee People and some odd charater named Malek that she is one of the Fae!!) and her love for All Things Scottish would do right by the Selkies.

Melanie has written a utterly charming tale of a Selkie accidentally called from the Sea...and OH DOES IT STEAL THE HEART!! I applaud Melanie's setting the book in 1929 - seems the romance market considered anything after the Turn of the Century too modern day and not worthy of writing about. So in 1929, Hexy Garrow is maid/companion to widowed, blonde bimbo, who pulls a blonde moment and leaves and her expensive sable coat on the beach of the Scottish Coast. Hexy is sent to fetch it because her mistress is leaving for Italy and cannot leave without her coat.

Hexy's take a few moments for herself at the beach, two shed a few tears - 7 to be exact - for the loss of her brother who drowned, for her failed romance, for the loose morals of today's (1929) young women -- and because her nose is red from allergies. She has no notion the 7 tears shed into the sea summons the Selkie -- in this case one Ruairidh O'Uruisg -- or that the seal coat she mistakes for her mistress' is really Ruairidh's Selkie skin!

For those not familiar with Scottish Lore, the Selkies were/are magickal seals that came ashore, shed the skin and take human mates. They were so beautiful that no one could resist them, but they were only permitted to live on shore for a year and a day before they had to return to the sea. So you can imagine Hexy, a very practical modern-day girl has a wee bit of difficulty dealing with Ruairidh, when he comes to reclaim his seal skin coat. He asserts he has no time to be her lover, maybe later-- when the time is right for such things. He is horrified to to learn HIS coat is on way to Italy via Wales. It is vital he gets it back.

It is a charming romance, whimsical, light, and so true to the ancient lore of Scotland. Melanie's Hexy and Ruairidh are so wonderful, bright and will absolutely steal your heart.

So if you love Scotland, and wish to have a wee grand adventure, I cannot help but recommend Melanie's best book to date. She is simply magickal with a k...but then what else would one of the Fae be???

I have truly loved many of Melanie's works - those pesky Goblins included, but this is by far her best!!

I love fantasy/romance/adventure type novels and I was excited to find a book about the mythical creatures called Selkies, who are a race of beings who (when wearing there special skins) become seals. This book was slow. I felt like I was struggling through the whole novel to find something I liked. The characters all felt like dead weights to me. They were boring and I couldn't form any emotional connections to any of them. When I had about 75 pages left I ended up skimming to the end to see what happened to the characters. I don't know why, but this book just didn't do it for me. I couldn't get into it at all. I am a big fan of romance/fantasy type novels too so I thought this book would be great. I'm not sure what type of person this book will appeal to, but most of the other reviews are positive so it seems I am the odd one out here! :) Anyways, I wouldn't reccomend it, but if you want, go get a copy at your local library.

Being Scottish, and have Selkie ancestors, I was delighted with Ms. Jackson's quaint handling of the Selkie lore. The book was funny, the dialogue engaging, and the characters ones that will touch your heart. I am off to read her Goblins series now, having found this charming writer.

In 1929 Scotland Jillian Foxworthy sends her American servant Hexy Garrow to fetch her misplaced fur coat. Hexy goes to the beach seeking the lost clothing while pondering reality vs. romance. She talks to the sea explaining how she has learned about life from the rejection of her beau for someone with wealth and not from a country rejecting the League of Nations. Hexy then returns to Fintry Castle with the coat.

Not long afterward, a panicked and irate Ruairidh cannot find his skin. He soon realizes a human female has completed the seven tears summoning and absconded with his skin. He follows her scent to demand she give him back his skin and to explain he has no time for the affair that she invoked as he must get back to his people in Avocmar to warn of the pending attack by the Finmen. However, Ruairidh is shocked that Hexy is not a crone, but a beautiful confused woman. Even more appalling is that he desires her and wants her to join him in the ocean where he resides, but somehow she resists his lure though she obviously is attracted to him.

Melanie Jackson's latest fantasy romance deserves cross-genre appeal as THE SELKIE provides readers with a whimsical charming tale. The story line insures the audience believes in Selkie, Finmen, and some other folklore species. The relationship between the magical lead couple is anchored by love though has rocky moments. This augments the feeling of two species crossing unfathomable depths, leagues, and barriers together.

Harriet Klausner

THE SELKIE by Melanie Jackson is not your everyday romance. First, it is set in 1920s Scotland, featuring a heroine who actually works for a living. Second, her hero is a selkie, a gorgeous man who lives in the ocean and can transform into a seal with the aid of a magical pelt. Third, the heroine not only accidentally calls the mythical hero into her life to be her lover, but she ends up being much more than he anticipates - she is, in fact, the means to help the dwindling selkie population survive.

I rather enjoyed the mythical aspects of THE SELKIE. I had no idea what a selkie was until I read this book, which also features fairies who can't cry and evil mermaids. Plus, Jackson easily incorporates the myths into the story, making you accept that a "modern girl" like Hexy doesn't need too much convincing to believe in magic and other-worldly creatures (or monsters).

There were two things, however, that I had issues with. One, Jackson uses bizarre "big" words throughout the story, which were jarring (did she have to choose the hardest-to-pronounce words from a thesaurus to add variety to her prose?). Second, I couldn't help but wonder how much Hexy and Ruairidh really loved each other. From what I understood, he had a special aphrodisiac on his skin that made Hexy all hot and bothered (she actually becomes obsessed with him), whereas Hexy became vital to the selkies for her special breeding capabilities, and not because they liked her personality or anything. These two factors combined made me wonder: if Ruairidh wasn't a walking sex drug and if Hexy were a normal human girl, would their attraction have gone anywhere?

Regardless of these issues, I still enjoyed THE SELKIE. It is well written and reads almost like a fairy tale, yet the heroine is pretty modern. The world that Jackson creates is fascinating, whether it is human or selkie or mermaid (and finman), and the story doesn't drag. In fact, I was so interested I read it in one afternoon. Plus, the selkie, Ruairidh, is a unique hero in a story that stands alone among myth-themed romances.

For those interested in other romances featuring mythical sea creatures, I recommend THE LAST MERMAID by Shane Abe (four beautiful stories) or GODDESS OF THE SEA by P.C. Cast (a fun mermaid switch-a-roo).

I love all of Melanie Jackson books, for she is so good on history, but also because she understand the magickal of faeries, goblins, ghost and in this case Scotland's treasured Selkie. She does right by the lore, close to my heart.

The book is so fresh, so touching. You will adore the Selkie and Hexy and their romance.

A very special book!