A Tale of the Fisherman's Daughter

Author: Paul K. B. Mercer

Book Format: ePub (Nook)

Obtained: From Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My Rating: 2 stars

Pages: 338 on my Nook (662 according to Goodreads)

Published: November 19th 2012 by Itoh Press

Synopsis:

A young Italian woman will go to any lengths to achieve her goals, even if that means committing cold-blooded murder from the unknown and powerless to the highest levels of government. Is there anyone who will dare stop her reign of terror and bloodshed? How many will be found dead before they discover who she is? Will the power she has amassed grant her freedom?

Review:

I chose this book from a list offered by the publisher for review. Based solely on the synopsis, I felt that this book was going to be exciting and full of action and adventure. In the end, I was right, but then again, I was wrong.

The main character, Angelina, left home at 19. She was tired of living as a peasant, working on an olive farm and living in a small fishing village in Italy. She felt that there was a better life for her out there somewhere, so she told her father goodbye and left, without saying a word to her mother. Soon thereafter, she was in the wrong place at the right time and ended up joining a Mafia family. After proving her worth, and proving that she would do “anything” to get ahead, she was soon one of the top members of the “family” and the Mafia Boss’s lover.

When disaster strikes the “family,” when the top henchman suddenly remembers what happened to him and his real family years ago, all of the “family” is murdered, except for Angelina. After escaping the tragedy, she goes and has her face surgically altered, and successfully changes her identity and becomes Victoria. In order to test her new look she revisits her home village and shows up at her father door. She learns that her mother died years ago, and that she has a little brother.

After confirming that her new identity is good, she sets off for the United States, which is where her new identity is from. Upon arriving in America, she seeks out one of the Senators that is running for President (he was also a target of the Mafia earlier in the book) and weasels her way onto his campaign staff. During this time she has a fling with the sitting President, who happens to be a bachelor, and finds out that he will run for a second term if there was no other choice. Upon hearing this information, she kills the Senator and kind of forces the President’s hand in running for the second term. Where, soon after, he takes her as his wife.

Being the First Lady is not enough for her. However, she finds that her further goals and want of power will be hard to come by for her secret is trying to reveal itself. And, soon she realizes that all the power has her about to crack up.

I gave this book 2 stars, but I honestly believe that it could have been 4 stars, easily. I liked the plot, the action was good, and the author was able to keep my interest for the most part. However, what made me give it a lower rating is because of a few mistakes I felt the author made in writing this book.

One: He dedicated an entire chapter to building up a character whose only purpose was to be killed off the next time he was mentioned.

Two: He did another deep character buildup for a character that was only in the book to eventually support one of the candidates running for president.

Three: Although I know this is a work of fiction, some events should be researched more and be portrayed a little more accurately. The author was claiming that America’s Presidential inauguration happened right after the vote in November when it isn’t held until January of the following year.

Four: The pacing of the book was off, I felt. There were some chapters that were too long, uncomfortably long. And there were some that I felt were rushed. I actually felt that the final 8-10 chapters were a little rushed.

With that being said, I feel that, with a little more editing and condensing, this book could have been an extremely good bit of fiction. When the pacing was good, it was a page turner that I did not want to put down.

Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Q&A With Nikki Rae

Q: The main character in your story, Sophie, suffers from a very rare condition, an allergy to the sun. Why did you choose solar urticaria? Do you know anyone who really has it, or anything similar?

A: Sophie had always been allergic to the sun. No one really knows what it is, but Solar Urticaria is the closest they can come to an actual diagnosis. I thought I was really brilliant, making up something so complex, then a friend of mine read Sunshine, and asked how I knew about her condition. Haha. She had this disorder all along and I didn’t even know about it.

Q: It is believed, by some, that authors incorporate some personal experiences into their writings; are any of the situations with Sophie based on anything that you personally went through?

A: Yes. I’m one of those people that just can’t help it.  Parts of my life, my past, my character, always seep into my stories.  Some of it is intentional. I use it to heal from things that have happened to me, or to better understand a situation. But most of it isn’t done on purpose. I’m sure if I gave the series to a therapist, they’d have some interesting comparisons between the books and my life to tell me about. ; )

Q: In Sunshine, Sophie gets physically ill whenever a male figure come in contact with her, with the exception of those that she is really close to, but in Sun Poisoned she does not. How do you explain the change in character of her character?

A: In book one, Sophie gets physically ill when men she doesn’t know invade her personal space. During the course of Sunshine, she tries to get past that, especially with Myles. In Sun Poisoned, she still gets a little uncomfortable with male strangers, but she’s trying to move forward and not be that person anymore.

Q: Sophie obviously loves music, and can play anything on her piano by ear; are you a musician? If so, what instrument? If not, what made you decide to give this unique talent to Sophie?

A: No. I can’t play anything. Not for lack of trying (I’ve tried guitar and piano NUMEROUS times and failed). I’ve always admired musicians. Sophie’s talent was inspired by one of my idols, Amanda Palmer. I gave Sophie this talent because she is so closed off. She needed something to express herself, a space where she felt secure and not afraid to feel. Music was the perfect choice for her.

Q: Through previous discussions, you have told me that there is going to be a third book to this series; are you finally going to reveal what really happened to Stevie? I felt this was a very important part of the Sun Poisoned storyline, and that there is more significance to it.

A: Yes. Many things are going to be revealed in book three: what happened to Stevie, why Sophie’s past comes into her life again, and a lot more. There’s also going to be more questions because of how book two leaves off. Of course, no question is going to go un-answered, but Sophie’s going to face a lot more complications. Not just in her personal life, with everything.

Q: What can you tell us about the new book? Are you going to introduce new characters, or are they going to stay the same?

A: I’ve started a little bit of the new book. I can say that it’s already more intense than the other two. It’s a little more urgent. There are strange new things happening while Sophie’s trying to figure out the stuff that has already been going on. Sophie is changing, and more than in just one way. Myles is also changing. We find out a lot about him, and some of it shocked even me.

 Though I still don’t know a lot about it, I can say that it’s probably going to be my favorite yet. Myles also has a few chapters in his point of view, which is interesting and revealing many things he’s been hiding, to say the least.

So yes. Book three is going to be intense.

Q: How many more books do you see in this series?

A: I’m actually not sure. Usually, by the time I’m half way through a rough draft, I’ll have an idea of whether I can wrap up the story in one more book or if I’ll need more time. Right now there’s only three, but there may be four. I’d like to say that I can’t see it running for more than four books, but you never know.

Q: Is there anything else that you are working on?

A: Always!

I’ve been working on short stories a lot in school. I’m working on a long-short-story that’s set in the same world as Sunshine, called The Donor, and I’m really in love with it and can’t wait to share that too.

In addition to that, I’m working on a spin off book. Two characters we meet in Sun Poisoned, Evan and Ava, are getting their own story that takes place before anything in The Sunshine Series happens. It’s going to have more horror elements, and it’s probably going to be for a slightly more mature crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about a story. There are times that I have to stop writing to take a breather. I’m excited to share it. : )

Q: Are you planning to release these books in paperback, and, if so, do you have any idea as to when it might be?

A: Yes, yes, yes. I have been dreaming about paperbacks FOREVER.

Sunshine is going to be out in paperback by October (hopefully sooner!), and I'm aiming for Sun Poisoned to be in paperback by Christmas, but nothing's set in stone yet.