Adrianne Keynnman, a fourteen-year-old girl living on Windwaithe Island whose formerly well-off family has fallen into poverty after the death of her father, has grown up hearing stories about the Windwaithe Mermaid, who supposedly abducted a woman a century ago. One stormy night, Adrianne actually sees the mermaid, who tries to abduct Adrianne's nine-year-old sister Cecily. Adrianne is determined to protect Cecily, but the mermaid isn't giving up.
The books in the series:
- Forbidden Sea (2010)
- Shadow in the Sea (2015)
Forbidden Sea contains examples of:
- Asleep for Days:
- Adrianne sleeps for three days after her and Cecily's first encounter with the mermaid.
- In the second book, Sadelyn sleeps for the same amount of time after washing up on Windwaithe Island.
- By the Hair: The mermaid attacks Adrianne and Cecily while they're in a boat in the lagoon. The mermaid holds Cecily underwater, and to make her let go, Adrianne yanks her hair.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Adrianne has long been in love with her childhood friend Denn Young, but he sees her only as a friend, instead pursuing Alpha Bitch Cora Lynn. By the end of the first book, Denn realizes that he loves Adrianne too, and in the second book they're married.
- Claimed by the Supernatural: During Adrianne and Cecily's first encounter with the mermaid, the mermaid grabs Adrianne by the wrist and scratches her, leaving three raised welts that don't seem to be healing as quickly as they should. Adrianne doesn't think it's unusual until she and Cecily visit a fortuneteller, who says that she bears the mark of the Windwaithe Mermaid, just like Lauretta Durran, who was similarly marked a hundred years ago, causing the island to be stricken by catastrophic storms until she agreed to go into the ocean to be the Sea Prince's bride. The fortuneteller screams at the sisters to leave the island before they get everyone killed.
- Domestic Abuse: Shadow in the Sea has Cora Lynn as an adult married to the bully Marcus Stebbs, now a poor fisherman who beats her. Cora blames Adrianne for her awful life because Adrianne stole Denn from her.
- Fictional Sport: In Siarah, a group of mermen play a game that involves batting a ball of light back and forth with their tails, doing lots of impressive spins and dives in the process.
- Gang of Bullies: Ever since Adrianne's family became poor, a group of local boys likes to grab her and drag her into the ocean.
- Gold Digger: Sadelyn Hanson from Shadow in the Sea was the target of romantic overtures by Captain Westwood, who didn't care about her at all and only wanted her guardian's money. Thinking their match was secure, he murdered her guardian for her money. When Sadelyn realized immediately that Westwood was the murderer, he instead pinned the crime on her to protect himself.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: In Shadow in the Sea, Dakarai and Jendayi talk about Araedyn in English, which he refused to learn as a child. Jendayi tries to explain the conversation to Araedyn in the mermaid language, but Dakarai says, "Do not translate for him. Since he chose not to learn the human speech when he was younger, he must guess what we have to say about him."
- An Ice Person: This is one of the powers of Araedyn, the younger Sea Prince. In Shadow in the Sea, he impresses Sadelyn by cupping water in his hand and freezing it into an ice statue of a starfish.
- Kick the Dog: Adrianne's father was Lord Durran's horse master. After his death, Lord Durran replaced him with Master Wickliff, a cruel, incompetent trainer who beats the horses.
- Old Maid: Auntie Minnah, who never married and lives with the family, dotes on Cecily while openly despising Adrianne, and Adrianne eventually realizes why - as the plain, second-best older sister, she reminds Auntie Minnah of herself, and that enrages her.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Adrianne is always dirty and wears ragged clothes, and cut off most of her hair a few months ago to sell it to a wigmaker. The island boys bully her for being ugly. Before she and Cecily go to Lord Graham's wedding feast, their mother fits her old blue dress to Adrianne, curls and brushes her hair, and ties a blue ribbon on top. When Adrianne looks in the mirror, she's surprised to see that she actually looks pretty, although still not as pretty as Cecily. At the feast, one of her bullies starts stammering when he sees her.
- Shock and Awe: In Shadow in the Sea, Captain Westwood is about to kill Sadelyn when Dakarai causes a bolt of lightning to strike from the blue sky, killing him instantly.
- Shoo the Dog: Adrianne is forced to sell her family's beloved dog Lark to another family because they can't afford another mouth to feed.
- Spiteful Spit: At the beginning of Shadow in the Sea, Sadelyn is tied to the rail of a ship, on her way to the town where her murder trial will occur. When Captain Westwood stops to talk to her, she spits on his cheek.
- Struggling Single Mother: Two years ago, Adrianne's father was killed in a horseback riding accident, and her mother became a Sleepy Depressive for the next few months, leaving twelve-year-old Adrianne in charge of the family finances. She didn't understand the need to cut back expenses now that her father wasn't bringing in money, so by the time her mother recovered enough to take over, the family could no longer afford to stay in their home. Now they live in a tiny, leaky cottage, wear ragged clothes, and often go hungry.
- Torches and Pitchforks: After Sadelyn was accused of murder and jailed, a mob tried to storm the prison to kill her, which is why she is sent to another town for a fair trial.
- Tragic Keepsake: The only valuable the Keynnmans didn't sell is a pendant that belonged to their father, and before that to their great-grandmother.
- Underwater City: The Sea Prince lives in a palace in Siarah, a city thousands of feet under the sea, lit by magic orbs that draw energy from the surrounding water. Most merfolk live in towering structures that consist of many houses stacked on top of each other.
- Weather Manipulation: Many of the more powerful merfolk have this power. It was how they forced Lauretta's family to allow her to return to the ocean a hundred years ago. In the second book, Araedyn causes the ship carrying Sadelyn to be caught in a violent storm to cause Captain Westwood to release her.
