Born of Water: An Elemental Origins Novel

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first. *Another* mermaid story? But *Born of Water* hooked me by page three—not with sirens or shipwrecks, but with Targa’s razor-sharp internal monologue. Knorr writes her like a girl who’s spent too long pretending she doesn’t miss the ocean, and Zackman’s performance sells that exhaustion. Her voice for Targa is all clipped consonants and eye-rolls, but when the character finally lets her guard down (there’s a scene in a storm drain—*trust me*—that’s worth the price of admission), Zackman’s delivery cracks open with raw vulnerability. It’s a masterclass in narrating emotional whiplash. The worldbuilding is where things get uneven. The elemental politics are fascinating—a hierarchy of water, fire, earth, and air beings that feels fresh—but the rules of Targa’s merfolk physiology sometimes bend to plot convenience. (How *exactly* does her tail work in a bathtub? The book glosses over it.) And while Zackman nails the dialogue, her male voices occasionally blur together, especially in crowded scenes. Still, the audio production is crisp, with no distracting edits, and the pacing clips along like a riptide. The climax—an underwater duel that’s equal parts brutal and poetic—proves this isn’t just a coming-of-age story. It’s a declaration of war against fate. If you’re tired of fantasy heroes who accept their destinies without a fight, Targa’s your girl. **One warning:** The ending *demands* the sequel. You’ll finish this and immediately check if the next book’s on audio. (It is. You’re welcome.)