At the age of five, Imogene’s mother, Elsie, brings Imogene to her Aunt Agnes’ house.  Well prepared for a new adventure, Imogene takes an instant liking to the butler, Sampson, but she finds her aunt to be less than welcoming.  Aunt Agnes is cold and slightly foreboding.  Imogene is dismayed when her mother leaves saying they will be reunited in five years.  The only thing Imogene has left is the necklace with two dolphins on a pendant that her mother gave her.

Five years pass and Sampson announces that Imogene is to come with him.  As they near the ocean, her pendant begins to move—it pulls her towards the water.  Imogene follows its almost magnetic pull and finds herself in an underwater kingdom.  There she learns the truth.  Her parents are the king and queen of this magical place, and Imogene is in fact a princess.  However, her evil Uncle Serenito doesn’t know she exists, so she might not be safe in her parents’ arms for long.

 IMOGENE OF THE PACIFIC KINGDOM is the first book in Teresa Saari’s series about Imogene, her friends, and her family.  IMOGENE launches the reader into an amazing adventure that at times seems to move almost too swiftly.  I loved all of the main characters, but wish there had been more time spent beefing up Serenito’s character.  He was evil, that wasn’t hard to understand, but he jumped into the action rather quickly and unexpectedly.  From that point on, things rushed to the conclusion.

Regardless of that minor complaint, Teresa Saari has created a fascinating setting.  I found it hard to put the book down, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.