Book Review- Between the Sea and Sky

I just finished reading Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore for a Bloomsbury blog tour.

From Goodreads:

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

I have always loved mermaid stories.  There's just something so magical about a world under the sea.  So I was very excited to read this book.

First off, I have to say that I am a little torn about what age this book is for.  I mean, its definitely YA.  But I can't decide if its for a younger teen or older teen. It's written in a very simplistic tone, so that makes me think its written for the younger teen but then it talks about a drunken man and a little abuse so that makes me think of older teens.  I don't know.

Anyways, I liked Esmerine.  I liked that was curious but still kept the love for her home. I do NOT get what she saw in Alandare.  I know they were friends when they were younger but I feel he was so cold to her when they met up again years later.  I know it explained why he was that way, but I still don't get it.  If I were her, I would have been so turned off against him.  Oh well. 

The ending was predictable in one way, but it was sweet and happy.  Meaning, I knew the end result but I liked how the characters wrapped it all up!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 104
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 84
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 84

*FTC Disclosure: This book was given to me for free by Bloomsbury USA for a honest review.