Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Sail to My Heart: An Adult Folk Tale about a Fisherman, a Mermaid, and an Unexpected Life's Lesson by Patty Lesser is a fantastic story that explores themes of rejection, anger, and a fisherman’s journey to beat failure. Jim Moore, commonly known as Dim Jim, has lived all his life in the small village of Kirriemuir, but he is tired of his life, tired of being the runt-of-the-litter, the laughing stock of everyone. A man with neither friends nor family, no one in the village respects him and they find ways to humiliate him whenever possible because of his apparent failure in life. It is 1764 and while at the village’s bar, he overhears a conversation about the Green Tail and the men at another table talking about how elusive it is. Jim Moore finds the answer to his predicament that same moment. He leaves the bar with the resolve to capture the great elusive Green Tail. But once at sea, a storm breaks out that nearly kills him. He doesn’t just escape death but makes an amazing discovery that changes his life and wins him the respect of everyone in the village.

Jim’s story is the tale of someone who rises from being a pariah to a position of strength, commanding the respect of everyone and having women flock to him at his command. He hasn’t forgotten how many people used to treat him in the past and is bent on exacting revenge. But his quest for revenge drives him down an unexpected path. Patty Lesser creates a world that readers will delight in; a small village that reflects the realism of simple people. The setting is colorful and it is interesting to notice the life in this locale. The writing has a magic of its own, with characters that are real and that evolve through a landscape that readers can easily visualize. Sail to My Heart explores the deep desires of the human heart, its pain, and the experience of ridicule and rejection. But it is a story of imaginary people living through a magical event. Spellbinding and hard to put down.