“Not Only for ‘Paranormal Romance Girlies’”: A Review of Submerged (A Something in the Water Story) by Ashley Castañón

 

(self-published, 2025). ISBN: 979-8-9989790-2-6

First novels are a very big deal, especially when the Author’s Note at the conclusion explains that it was five years in the making. That it wasn’t always easy. That there was lots of support and assistance from family and friends and moments of tear-provoking doubt.

I wrote my first novel 17 years ago. Although I’d already had four nonfiction books published, I still remember the disappointments. The struggles. The moments of tear-provoking doubt. And the celebration when the author’s copies arrived.

I have written fourteen books, fiction and nonfiction, since, and each one feels like it’s the first.

I briefly met Submerged’s enthusiastic, well-spoken author several weeks ago at an indie author event in our local town square. She spent some time looking over my books, selected two, and asked if I wanted to do a trade. Knowing only a little about what she wrote—Ashley is NOT one of those authors who goes into way too much detail when asked what their books are about—I readily agreed.

Submerged is a book that, were I to find it on a bookshelf, I wouldn’t figure was for me—a White, middle-aged, heterosexual male. After all, the dedication is to “paranormal romance girlies.” That’s my daughter and daughter-in-law, who occasionally bring my wife into the fold if the story “isn’t too spicy.” The introduction also references “book boyfriends,” of which I think I understand the meaning…

Nevertheless, appreciating Ashley’s enthusiasm and the courage it took to ask an old, grey-bearded author if he wanted to do a book trade, I took my read, and this review, as an opportunity to both expand my horizons and bring a new author to the attention of the readers of my reviews. In order to ensure I’d succeed, I entered the story of a young Hispanic man with something to prove who’s suffered repeated losses and the Selkie with whom he falls in love with an open mind and open heart.

I’m very glad I did.

At times, Submerged reminded me of Splash meets Pretty Woman (as a screenwriter, I’ve been trained to spontaneously, organically generate binaries like this to prep for pitches), with the obvious homages to The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Anderson much more than Disney). I was well familiar with the legends and lore of Selkies, having told a story dozens of times a decade ago about a Selkie on my haunted ghosts walks and pirate tours on the North Carolina coast.

Ashley brings a lot more to the story of these human–seal shapeshifters than I had time or reason to. The details are impressive, although they never bog the narrative down.

The story itself lives and breathes in Magical Realism. Other supernatural beings, such as Sirens and Orcs, make appearances throughout the story. No one is overly (or actually even a little) nonplussed by their existence, which also serves to move the story along. The abuela of the male protagonist is well-aware of the actual state of things. She also provides a lot of Mother Wit and Wisdom while serving as our guide to Latinx culture.

By the way, if you don’t know the meaning of abuela (or the other Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout the book) there’s a handy set of translations at the front.

Woven into this nontraditional Splash-like love story (with its expected attendant villains) are sociopolitical and economic elements that I found to be both refreshing and inspiring. Slumlords driving up prices of rentals is a subject with which many of us are concerned. Greed, human trafficking, domestic abuse, and transphobia also undergird the story to varying degrees, and many of the women in the story, who are rightfully distrustful of men due to physical and emotional trauma visited upon them and their friends and family, unapologetically seize the stage with forceful warnings aimed at the male protagonist. That wasn’t easy for this middle-aged, White, heterosexual male to encounter. My heart often went out to Caspian (a nod to the prince in CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia?), as the Selkie’s girl-gang put him through his paces and kept him on his toes.

It’s not all serious social issues, though. There’s also plenty of food, fashion, fun, and frolicking. And just a touch of “spicy.”

Submerged has plenty of mystery boxes and reveals, and I found myself reacting like Caspian’s abuela—which makes total sense knowing what I know of the serendipities, happenstances, and symmetries that are always operating in the background IRL (thank you to my Gen Z child Jo for teaching me this shorthand. IYKYK).

For a first-time novelist, Ashley Castañón demonstrates a strong talent for story structure, pacing, and character. These feel like people she knows, in one form or another, and they are easy to root for—or against, as the given circumstances demand.

I mentioned that Ashley selected two of my books. Along with Submerged, I also received the sequel.

I look forward to making time in late fall/early winter to see how Ashley progressed as a novelist and what happens next in the “A Something in the Water Story” universe.