title: The Ocean Inside
author:  Janna McMahan 
description: McMahan's debut novel is a vividly drawn but uneven love letter to coastal South Carolina. Emmett and Lauren Sullivan's lifestyle has never matched their upper-crust neighbors', but they've been comfortable raising their daughters in their money pit of an ancestral home. Then their nine-year-old daughter, Ainslie, is stricken with a rare form of cancer, and the family is plunged into chaos. Suddenly Emmett is battling a recalcitrant insurance company; the stress of caring for a sick child full-time begins to take its toll on Lauren; and 18-year-old Sloan's college plans are in jeopardy. As the parents' financial and emotional problems consume the family, Sloan finds escape with a new boyfriend whose preppy good looks and moneyed charm mask a dangerous streak. McMahan's descriptions of the Lowcountry and its unique climate and customs jump off the page, but her characters and plot have trouble matching the wealth of scenery. There's emotional sincerity and depth, and ample talent for description and pacing, but the eventual payoff and resolution, though unconventional, falls slightly flat. <i>(Apr.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  **The Aquans 2**
  
  
  **Diamonds in the Sand**
  
  
  Oceanographer Maura Ryan travels to the tropics to meet with her mentor, who
  claims to have made an amazing new discovery. By the time she gets there, he
  has vanished…and in his place are five mysterious men who have a strange
  connection to the sea.
  
  
  As they help her search for the missing scientist, Daq, Janko, Ivar, Ejan and
  Tagin introduce Maura to the uninhibited life they enjoy on the island. Before
  long, they ask her to join them in their balmy paradise, and she is tempted to
  accept.
  
  
  However, Maura can’t help wondering about her new friends’ role in Dr.
  Miller’s disappearance. She has also begun to suspect that they aren’t exactly
  like other men. Can she respond to their desire for her, wondering if they
  might not be what they seem? Should she give into what she feels for them,
  knowing that they might not be human?
  
  
  **Genre:** Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal **Length:**