THE SELKIE AND THE SIREN

Carli Macleod, a writer for “Guys for Gals” magazine, is and always has been fascinated by a breed of paranormal creatures called selkies. Selkies are creatures from Irish or Scottish folklore who can assume the shape of either a seal or a human. Her seal obsession aside, she’s ambitious and would really like to advance at her job; the only way she sees that happening is to wow her editor with an incredibly hunky man for December’s cover of the magazine. And the man she was to interview today may just fit the bill and help her earn her promotion...

Dr. Duncan MacDonald is intrigued by the pretty redhead’s proposition. He’s got a weighty responsibility to continue his research and a serious funding problem, so the money the cover model job provides will be more than welcome. What’s not welcome, however, is the growing attraction he has for Carli and his desire to spill all of his secrets to her. What’s a guy to do when what he is, his very essence, stands in the way of his happiness?

The Siren & The Selkie is a tale of two lonely souls, each trying to find their way in the world. Carli has her own set of traumas to deal with, including her slimy boss, and she’s lost her family to boot. Duncan is weighted down by the pressure of finding a cure for his condition and by his research into a special project that will prevent what happened to him and his brother from ever happening to another of their clan again. The emotions portrayed here are gripping, and the story moved along quickly. Add a female selkie bent on having Duncan for her own, a bundle of secrets and a dash of sibling rivalry to the mix and you’ve got plot galore to drive this book. Four Angels!

Reviewed by: Michelle

THE SELKIE AND THE SIREN - Cillian Burns

Fantasy Romance

Jacksonville, Florida - Present Day

Carli MacLeod is building a life for herself, alone. Orphaned after the death of her parents, she has been working to make her dream of becoming a magazine editor true. She works at Guys for Gals, under the dubious management of the current editor, whom she hopes to replace one day. She meets Duncan McDonald, a marine researcher, to interview him for an article she is writing, and her life takes an unexpected turn. Duncan is a delicious mystery. Carli has protected herself since her last experience with a boyfriend, a handsome cheat who put stars in her eyes and then broke her heart with his lies. She is a wary beauty combined with a keen intellect, with the curiosity of a reporter, and packs quite a punch on Duncan when they meet.

Duncan lives for his work, developing a fish immune to pollution and oil spills. His people’s lives depend on it; they are selkies, a mythical race of shapeshifters, whose secrets he must protect. Duncan hopes to find permanent funding, the labs eat money at an alarming rate. Can he really be what he seems, Carli wonders, and more importantly, is he? Carli is stunned by Duncan’s appeal, a perfection of which he seems unaware. Seeing a way to help him and further their acquaintance at the same time, she proposes that Duncan pose as the cover model for the December issue of Guys for Gals, which will pay him a bit of much needed cash and bring them closer together. Duncan is all for anything that will bring him closer to Carli, who is an irresistible siren to him, even if her humanity represents a deadly threat to his well-being.

In THE SELKIE AND THE SIREN, Cillian Burns creates an interesting modern day twist on the old selkie folklore. It is a world so affected by modern pollution and practices that even magical folk are threatened. It is an interesting concept, but the story seems character driven. Not enough space is given to the obstacles that face Duncan and Carli until near the end of the book. Secondary characters present a couple of unnecessary obstacles; the story would have held up without them. Carli is a well-developed character with personality and motivations that are easy to understand. Duncan is a man at odds with his animal nature. Carli is his siren, and once he meets her, his selkie days are numbered. Duncan’s many secrets push Carli away from him, but he never gives up. Each time Carli dances away from him, he pursues her, not certain what he will do with her when he catches her. Don’t worry, gentle reader, he figures it all out in time.

Lisa Baca

Aspiring to be editor of the magazine she works for, Carli Macleod’s life is devoid of love. Reading the wondrous legend of the Selkies, men who shape-shift into seals, she fantasizes over a picture of them.
But all too soon, she is back working on her articles—she knows Selkies do not exist. Her next
assignment takes her to a marine laboratory.Duncan and his younger brother have come a long way to own their marine laboratory, complete with
animal pool. All the way from the Selkie colony... Now a doctor of biology, Duncan wishes to be human and is working on a serum to stop 'the change' each month. After meeting the gorgeous Carli he has more reason than ever to make the serum work.Carli decides Duncan would be a natural for the December magazine cover and talks him into doing it.
Any excuse to spend more time with this sexy man is a plus. She has no idea he is a telepathic Selkie working on a serum to make him human. With some hesitation they strike up a relationship that is put to
the test once his true self is revealed.The characters are likeable. The Siren and the Selkie is a good read and the subject matter is refreshing.
Anyone who loves shape-changers from the sea will enjoy this book.

Wendy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

THE SELKIE AND THE SIREN
Cillian Burns
Paranormal Romance

Within the vast expanse of the sea, I call to you, my love to be. I take the form you know so well, but I dream of great ocean swells taking us together out into its tide, to live amongst the creatures of the sea.

Duncan MacDonald and his brother are Selkies; men that must revert back to their seal form monthly to rejuvenate. They have had to leave their home in Scotland and venture out into the open, managing to survive and find a place in Florida.
Now, adults, they run a lab that contains other real creatures from the sea that they can mentally converse with. Selkies are not allowed to have sex with anything other than their own kind, but that does not stop Duncan from falling for a feisty redhead female.

The Selkie & the Siren is by authoress Cillian Burns. Ms. Burns brought to life this story of myths and fantasy, combining the threads in a winning wave of sexual tension and wonderfully prolific storytelling. It kept this reader fully engaged within the pages of the book.
Dr. Duncan MacDonald is a hardworking and intelligent man/Selkie, and along with his brother he works hard at keeping their lab and animals going at their facilities in Florida. They work toward some very amazing goals.

When a gorgeous redhead and highly motivated magazine reporter, Carli MacLeod has an assignment to write about Duncan and his work, she finds something about this hunk that just calls to her feminine side. She decides he will make a perfect cover model for their magazine and from there; a relationship starts to bloom and grow.

How can Duncan and Carli made this relationship work with all the obstacles that will come between them?

This reviewer loved this paranormal book. It was highly entertaining and a contagious read. If you love fantasy, myths, and creatures from the deep, with a dash of heat thrown in, then The Selkie & the Siren by Cillian Burns will satisfy your craving. Stop by Triskelion Publishing to purchase your copy today!

Reviewed by Janalee
May 2006

© Love Romances, 2001-2006. All Rights Reserved

RT Rating: **** 4 STARS
Category: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Type: Contemporary Romance (Paranormal, Shapeshifter)

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In this beautiful story of passion and love, of hope and resolve, two seals, banished from their homeland for lack of food, find a new beginning in Florida. The brothers are selkies who can live as humans, and their relationships are tender, comical and even frightening at times.

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Summary: Duncan MacDonald and his brother, Alex, drew the short straws when their colony's food supply was dwindling. Finally finding sand after a long ocean swim, Duncan saw their safe arrival as a challenge to accomplish what he must for his people. Twelve-year-old Carli MacLeod read a story that same day about the shapeshifters known as Selkies, telepathic seals who could become human. She was fascinated, and the information stuck in her mind.

Several years later, Carli meets Duncan on a business appointment at his lab. Earlier, she spotted Duncan and Alex during one of their swims, but she isn't quite sure what she saw. She thinks Duncan is hiding something but she has no idea of his real secret. Their attraction is potent and heats up the pages. HOT

—Donna M. Brown