Love Rising (An Isla Sagrario Story)

Title:  Love Rising  (An Isla Sagrario Story)

Author:  Piper Vaughn

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  42 pages

Rating:  B List

Quad Shot of Love

Blurb:  An Isla Sagrario Story

In the 1700s on the island of Sagrario, men who love other men find safe haven. For Francis Holland, an escaped indentured servant, Sagrario offers nothing but loneliness. His life begins to change when he finds Wick, a merman, washed ashore.

When Wick awakens under Francis’s care, Francis returns him to the sea at his request. Soon after, they begin to meet in secret, and gradually, Francis blossoms under this new companionship. However, a merman is a difficult creature to entrust one’s heart to. With one trapped on land and the other at sea, the differences in their species threaten to keep them apart forever. It may not be long before Wick is gone, taking Francis’s reason to smile with him.

Review:  I love mermaids! Growing up I was constantly watching The Little Mermaid, not surprising since I lived in a beach town and my best friend was a redhead. So what could be better than a mermaid? That’s right, a merman! So of course the minute I saw this cover I knew I had to read this short story.

Francis lives on an island populated by men that love men but even here he still feels a deep sense of loneliness. As other men find lovers and permanent companions he remains just a one off. This island is his refuge after he suffered years of abuse as an indentured servant. Despite the accepting environment Francis is still alone.

While scouring the beach for usable wreckage items Francis discovers an unconscious merman, who he takes back to his home to recover. Despite not speaking the same language Francis and the merman, dubbed Wick, form a bond that continues after Francis returns Wick to the sea. Can secret ocean rendezvous sustain their relationship or are they forever forced apart by their circumstances?

Of course anytime I read a short story I wish there was more! This book is so sweet and leaves it very open should this become a series later, which would make me very happy! I would love to read more about Francis and Wick, or maybe even some other mermen? But begging for more books aside, this is a lovely short, full of deep emotions, that I especially recommend to other mermen enthusiasts.

Reviewed by Jules