A review by mcfoster
The Sea King by C.L. Wilson

5.0

I actually read this one before I read The Winter King, showing that this book does indeed work well as a standalone.
Here, seemingly mild Summer is courted by the warrior merman (without a tail!) Dilys. We see Summer overcome her fears about using her powers and her attraction to Dilys. Ms Wilson delivers all the ingredients of a good fantasy romance: great chemistry, enjoyable characters and a good dollop of danger, plus a (mostly) happily ever after. Dilys's efforts to woo Summer are very sweet, especially the technique that involved butterflies.
For those who want a change from Eurocentric fantasies, this one has a culture that has strong Pacific Island elements, despite the cover art depicting Dilys as somewhat Greek. I'm always picturing him as Samoan and/or Maori (but I'm from New Zealand, after all!). Ms Wilson throws in snippets of a made-up language with a vaguely Pacific sound - but don't let these put you off; it's easy to figure out what they mean.
There's a teaser at the end - and I hope we get the third in the series before too long.