"Mad Sea" By: K. Webster - Book Review

Oh my gosh this book was ADORABLE. I absolutely loved it. I’m usually not a huge fan of short stories and novellas, but my obsession with mermaids and being a K. Webster fangirl trumps that hang up. Not to mention, the cover is just too cute. With shorter stories I’m usually left feeling a little cheated and this wasn’t like that. While I definitely wish it could have been longer with the details more expanded upon, I adored the ending and was felt as though I read a complete story. And what a sweet and fun story it was.

Madden Finn is a big, rough and tough president of a biker gang who sneaks off every Sunday to get a pink froyo and see Hali, a girl that works there that he’s infatuated with. He doesn’t ever really talk to her and he’s sure that she doesn’t even know he exists. On one of his visits, a nosy patron points out that he should just ask her out and he’s a little mortified. It gives Hali a nudge though, because as he’s leaving she meets him outside.

“All you have to do is ask, you know. I won’t bite,” a sweet voice says with a chuckle from behind me as I straddle my machine. “Well, I won’t bite that hard.”

I snap my head to the vision gracefully making her way over to me. “Ask what?” I grunt.

Unafraid of my gruff exterior, she sashays right up to me and invades my personal space. I’m about three seconds from hauling her onto this bike with me and taking her home.

“Ask in the next five seconds, and the answer will be yes. Ask me after, and it will be no.”

With her out of the yuppie froyo shop, I’m a little more in my element. I flash her a smug grin. “Will you marry me?”

Her green eyes widen with surprise, and she giggles. “Oooh, you’re a sly one, Madden Finn. Here I thought you were shy but no, you knew exactly what you were doing!”

I can’t help but laugh with her—it’s infectious and I want to be tainted by her. “We’ll deal with that answer later. Can I take you to dinner one night?”

“I suppose so,” she says, “a girl has to eat.” She hands me a green napkin with her phone number written in pretty flourish across the front. “Text me and let me know when.”

With a wave, she turns and starts away from me, but I’m quick and snatch her wrist. It’s tiny in my massive hand and I easily bring her toward me. I don’t say anything but press a soft kiss to her palm that smells like dessert toppings.

“I’ve been waiting twelve Sundays to do that.”

That first encounter had me grinning so big. When we see into Hali’s life, she clearly has some secrets. She ran from a controlling father and a when she came here she met her roommate Steffan who has a weird stalkery obsession with her. Over time, her and Madden see each other more and more and her roommate loses it one night. She calls Madden to come over and he takes her back to his place. Madden has always kept his life in compartments and separated, but it’s getting harder to do that with Hali. He wants to leave this town and start over with her somewhere. First though, he wants to tell her something. He doesn’t want there to be any secrets. This makes her nervous because she knows he will be expecting her reveal secrets of her own.

His arms wrap around me and he tugs me to him. Our lips connect for a hurried, hungry kiss before he pushes away just a little. Water rivulets run down his temples, his dark hair hangs down past his brows, and his lips are pulled into a frown. Whatever it is that’s upsetting him is upsetting me too. I’m on the verge of tears.

“So you know I’m adopted right?”

Chewing on my bottom lip I nod.

I don’t know where I came from or anything. My adopted mother says there isn’t much to know, just that she took care of me. Truth is, I don’t think she legally adopted me. You see…”

“Yes?”

He kisses me once more, as if I might disappear simply from him thinking about what it is he wants to tell me. Surely, it can’t be that bad can it?

“I don’t think I’m human.”

I just had such a fun time reading this adorable little book. It was a perfect little fairy tale with the sweetest happily ever after. I usually go for dark and disturbing books, but this really pulled out the romantic lover of fantasy out of me. Fantasy used to be all I read before I got sucked into dark romance and I have to say, the erotic factor in this book was so different and fun. I really enjoyed that part. If you want a short, unique, naughty little fairy tale that’s so sweet it’ll make your teeth hurt, you will adore this just as much as I did. I would recommend this to all romance readers and that very rarely happens. Five stars for sure on this one.