In Over Her Head

By Judi Fennell

She’s terrified of the ocean
Marina owner Erica Peck might live near the water, but no way will she ever, ever go in the water. Not since The Incident. But given a choice of facing a bullet or going into the water to retrieve a stolen treasure, she might end up as fish food either way.
He lives under the sea
Reel Tritone, second son of the king of the Mers has always been fascinated by Humans. As the Spare heir, Reel doesn’t have a tail. Or much purpose. But when the devil-may-care ne'er-do-well sees a woman about to become a shark snack, he only has one choice. Even though it’s kinda, sorta, totally against the rules to turn a Human into a Mer, even to save her life.
The OMG-OMG-OMG totally naked tailless merman is a hallucination, right? But it’s all too real when a death edict sends Erica and Reel on a madcap underwater mission to retrieve stolen treasure from a vengeful ex sea-goddess. Even if they survive, how can they stay together when he’s a merman and she’s afraid of the water?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judi Fennell
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781947723160

Judi Fennell

Mergenie Books.

Reviews for In Over Her Head

[sheiladeeth_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It really wasn’t that long ago that I read the opening scene from Judi Fennell’s novel, In Over Her Head, in a Gather writing competition. It was good. Part of me wondered how mermen and romance would sell, but I was definitely “hooked.” And romantic mermen clearly sell just fine as I’ve seen In Over Her Head well-displayed in our local bookstore. I felt that warm glow of “Hey, I sort of know that author,” as I walked past. And now I’ve read the book.(Yes Judi, I know I was going to save it till Christmas, but I couldn’t wait.)I wonder what Judi would be like if I met her. She looks nice in her picture. I think we’d laugh a lot. Certainly her writing has me smiling and giggling at crazy puns and furious, zany conversation. Weird situations, madcap characters and simply delightful asides drive the story forwards. And when Reel (a Mer) asks Erica (human) about magic it’s almost a surprise to see how many impossibilities have somehow become real. (Reel, like his name?)Of course, the fact that Erica hates the water is a bit of a problem as romance presses its cause (and Reel presses other bits). Circumstances consistently drive the couple apart at the most inopportune moments. But eventually they find themselves alone. And then… well, that’s the bit I’ll probably have to censor if my Mum asks to read the book. It’s nicely written, definitely enticing, but still… Afterwards there’s more delightful interplay of characters and a truly satisfying conclusion. Bad guys get what they deserve and good guys… well, you’ll just have to read it to find out. It’s a fun and magical tale, and maybe I’ll manage to wait till Christmas to read Wild Blue Under.

[vampiregirl76 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I first picked up this book I wasn't too sure I was gonna like. But I really loved it. It was a fast page turner that I couldn't put down. If you enjoy reading about fantasy creatures you'll enjoy this one. Some of the underwater creatures remind me of the characters in The Little Mermaid, which I love. But this book is very much for adults. In Over Her Head was a wonderful surprise of adventure, wonderment and steamy fun.

[oregonkimm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love, love, love this book. I don’t read a lot of romance books, but after following Judi Fennell’s book around the book blog-o-sphere—I knew there was something unique about her story. It was fun, witty, clever, sexy, and sweet all rolled into one! I really liked that Fennell used the tension between Erica and Reel as physical chemistry rather than the typical antagonistic – he’s a brooding bad boy, but I love him anyway – theme. Yes, each character has their own issues to resolve, but the push pull relationship between them isn’t quite as rocky as typically seen in these stories.I cannot forget to include a mention of the rest of the characters (those fishy subjects). They were too hilarious. I don’t know if Judi did this on purpose, but I definitely felt as if I was in an altered version of Little Mermaid or Shark Tale. Anyone else feel this? Not that this was a bad thing, it definitely helped me put “faces” on all the names!I tip my hat off to Fennell for creating such a delightful piece of work and I am certainly going to purchase the rest of the trilogy!

[dasuzuki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

More accurately I would rate this a 3.5 stars.This was my first time reading a book about mermen or mermaids and it was a great initiation into the under water world. Reel cracked me up although he was so full of himself sometimes you do want to smack him. From the beginning you feel the chemistry flowing between he and Erica. Not only do you have romance, sea monsters and talking sea creatures but this book also was filled with humor. At first the names of the characters seemed a bit campy, I mean come on a merman named Reel with a brother named Rod? As you meet more and more sea creatures with those ridiculous names you have to laugh. This book also does a great job portraying what sea creatures might actually be saying about humans if we could only understand them. The ending did surprise me. I figured there were two pretty obvious possible outcomes but it wasn't the one I was expecting. The story is fast paced and keeps you going until the end.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reel Tritone is the son of royalty but even being the son of royalty can't help him from receiving slack about being born with legs instead of a tail. Just his luck, Reel is the only mer-person to be gifted with legs instead of a tail. Reel has lost count how many times he has wished to be normal. The only thing that has kept Reel's mind off of the issue is...her. Ever since Reel first laided eyes on her as a little girl, he hasn't been able to get her off his mind. He thinks about her all the time. Erica Peck vowed she would never set foot in the ocean again. Especially not after "The incident" that happened to her when she was a little girl. That was also the last time she was in the water. Now years later Erica finds herself facing her dears head on but not be her choice. Erica's ex-boyfriend Joseph Domenic Camparo has lost some diamonds at the bottom of the ocean. Diamonds that he needs to get back otherwise some very bad men will be after his hide. Being the big macho man that he is, Joey forces Erica at gunpoint to dive down and retrieve them or become shark food. When things go from bad to worse very quickly, Reel comes to Erica's aid but by doing so he puts all of the mer-people at risk. Come take a splash with Reel and Erica in In Over Her Head. Judi Fennell's debut novel. I loved this book. You know when you are looking for something cool and refreshing that hits you in all the right places? Well that is exactly what Mrs. Fennell did for me. Reel and Erica are the updated version of one of the most famous couples...Eric and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. So if you loved The Little Mermaid then you will really enjoy this book. Plus it doesn't hurt that Reel is very good looking or that he and Erica have really good chemistry together.

[faith42love · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This imaginative tale is about Reel Tritone, royal prince and second in succession to the Mer throne. When Reel witnesses Erica Peck bleeding in the ocean and seconds away from a shark attack, he swims into action, saving the damsel in distress. Reel's controversial decision to save a human leads Reel and Erica on "an underwater adventure to recover stolen treasure and battle a sea monster." Erica has been frightened of the ocean since "the incident" she had as a child. Can she bear the world under the sea?I have never read a Mer tale, and in a world where vampire fiction is king I found this book to be quite a refreshing twist in my reading. Although the characters and basic plot of the story stuck to the typical romance novel guidelines, the creativity she put into the Mer world was unbelievable. Using elements of Greek mythology, lost lands and old pirate tales, Fennell submerges the reader into a world of blues, greens and iridescent light. Her descriptions of this underwater paradise are bright and full of delightful images. The beauty will draw you in, the action will get your pulse racing and the sensual scenes will keep your eyes glued to the pages.