Today we’re here to talk about Mermaid Curse: the Silver Dolphin by Louise Cooper, in which adopted 11 year old Lizzy learns she’s really the long-lost daughter of a mermaid.

Genre and Target Demographic? • Middle Grade Contemporary Fantasy, younger end (8-11 years)

Part of a Series? • Yes, First in a Series • Followed by Mermaid Curse: The Black Pearl

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaid • Major, Main Character is a half mermaid

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Content Warnings? • Adoption ◦ Birth parents/family repeatedly referred to as Lizzy’s “real” parents/family. • Death of a Parent ◦ Offhand mention of main character’s sister’s birth parents dying in a car crash

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Straight-forward stories • Simple yet well-structured language, especially for early learners • Cheeky, upbeat tone • Breathtakingly beautiful cover artwork • Quick, easy reads that are part of a larger series

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Dislike stories that don’t have an ending • Dislike exposition-heavy dialogue • Would be bothered by adoptive families being repeatedly referred to as not-real • Have read or would like to read the Emily Windsnap series, as you won’t find anything here that isn’t done better there

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, it’s really cute, but it’s an incomplete story without an ending. It’s as though it was a single book chopped up into multiple parts for publication.

Much of the narrative is dedicated to teaching new words in an unobtrusive manner, so it’s great for early language learners. Unfortunately, the rest of the narrative spends all its time ramping up, only to leave the story unfinished. While I realize this is a series, this book literally does not have a middle or an ending, which was a frustrating and jarring experience.

Aside from the lack of an ending (despite the presence of an epilogue), my one major gripe with the story was the gratingly derisive attitude the adoptive parents had toward the main character and her sister. It was more than a little off-putting to have the parents “sneer” at the kids, “smugly” correct them, and flat out tell them “I don’t care what you think.” Any other kids book would depict this as villainous or at least antagonistic behavior, but the narrative repeatedly states that they were exceptionally loving parents. Between the parents’ attitudes and their complete lack of supervision on their daughters, I wasn’t buying the supposed familial love.

Really, I’d rather be reading Emily Windsnap over this. It’s got the same basic premise about the adventures of a half-mermaid, more fleshed out stories, better characters, and more engaging writing.

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THAT SAID…

With vibrant descriptive language and a delightfully cheeky tone, this simple yet earnest tale is sure to entice the littler ones and probably won’t bore the adults reading along too much. As long as you aren’t looking for a complete story, it’s a short, largely inoffensive read.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova, in which a womanizing teenager learns he’s half merman and enters a contest to become the next Sea King.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Contemporary Fantasy (mid-to-upper YA)

Part of a Series? • Yes, First in a Trilogy • Followed By The Savage Blue

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Merfolk, those given special tattoos can shift to human form at will • Humanoids with random sea-creature parts • Nudist Selkies (seal women) • Significant, main character is half-merman, most supporting characters are merfolk of some variety ◦ However, characters in actual mermaid form are fairly scarce and only present in the middle of the book

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Content Warnings? • Ableism • Cheating • Eugenics • Gore (mild) • Misogyny • Sexual Content • Sex/Kissing under the influence • Underage Drinking • Unwanted Kissing

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Petty yet fairly juicy high school drama • Bathtub merfolk • Evocative descriptions • Smell and tactile based sensory language • Dirty/Sexual humor • Fantasy Kitchen Sinks ◦ Featuring mermaids, oracles, vampires, Valkyries, fairies, selkies, werewolves, other shape shifters, etc.

You Should Avoid This Book If You Dislike: • Unlikable characters with shallow or nonexistent motivations • Protagonist-centered morality • Text-dump dialogue • Constant misogyny and over-sexualization of female characters • Disorganized world building • Serious pacing issues • Books with no conclusion

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, this was a frustrating read full of unlikable and uninteresting characters with nonsensical motivations, haphazard world building, laughably bad dialogue, and poor pacing. I dread reading the next entries in the series.

Tristan is a deeply unlikable character whose narration is filled with unnecessary sexual language, ableist and sexist quips, and a generally off-putting attitude. He cheats on his girlfriend, sleeps around, sexually harasses medical staff, kisses his best friend against her will, and is romantically possessive of his best friend despite the fact that he’s dating and sleeping with plenty of other women. This would be fine if there was any reflection on this kind of behavior, but instead his behavior is rewarded and supported by the narrative and the supporting characters. “Oh, yeah, merfolk are just like that.” What.

The world building is hilariously nonsensical. Rather than go into all the disparate details, I will just bring up the one that took me out of the story the hardest. Why on earth is the merfolk kingdom located on the top of a mountain in the middle of an island? Most of the merfolk can’t shift into human form. They have to take a ship to get there. Sure, there’s a shallow lagoon there, but why? Literally, why do the merfolk not just live in the ocean? This is so, so strange, and not in an interesting way.

Also the merfolk (who are the protagonists) routinely murder “deformed” babies with “no sense of speech” that they call merrows (which is just the Irish term for merfolk, so…yikes). Most of the villains that show up are merrows whose mermaid parents were “too compassionate” to murder them in infancy or lock them away in a sunless dungeon all their lives. The protagonists constantly comment on how stupid, smelly, and brutish they are. Yay, eugenics, exactly what I wanted to read about!

As for the plot, don’t be fooled by that blurb. Tristan starts smelling emotions, which lasts for all of two random chapters and otherwise never comes up again. Why is this his special mermaid power? Who knows! It certainly does not encourage him to be more empathetic and less of a jerk to the people around him. The only “battle” he’s involved in aside from one random time he gets jumped by fish people during recess and another at a house party is an arbitrary and convoluted contest. All just so he can have the chance of being the heir to the throne by winning said contest. Poseidon and Triton are alluded to a few times, but otherwise the gods have nothing to do with anything.

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THAT SAID…

Merman protagonists are pretty rare in mermaid books, from what I’ve found, so while the merman in question is rather rotten, at the very least it’s doing something fresh. However, this is not a standalone entry and does not have a satisfying conclusion, so if you want a complete story, you’ll need to buckle in for the whole trilogy.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about Just for Fins by Tara Lynn Childs, in which teen mermaid Lily finally does something proactive (and political) that doesn’t revolve around being kissed against her will.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Contemporary Fantasy (younger YA, borderline Middle Grade)

Part of a Series? • Yes, Third in a Trilogy • Preceded by Fins are Forever

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaid, can transform into a human at will • Major • Main Character and multiple supporting characters • Most of the book takes place in the underwater mermaid kingdoms

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Content Warnings? • Domestic Violence (as a throwaway “joke”)

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Extremely basic political intrigue • Really fancy mermaid kingdoms

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Didn’t like either of the first two books • Want consistent and coherent world building • Want environmentalist plot lines to actually be about environmentalism instead of business and oil apologist talking points

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, this book is basically “Contrivances: The Novel.”

Honestly this story was just really bland and needlessly contrived. The story abruptly shifts into political intrigue without having any clue what makes it work. It just gets so convoluted and silly with more and more “ancient laws” that don’t make sense, and in a blatant and lazy use of lampshading, the characters all call out how little the plot makes sense before they continue to plod along their nonsensical plot lines anyway. The story can’t keep its own world building straight for two consecutive paragraphs and there are retcons and plot holes everywhere. Everyone except for Lily is as dumb as a rock because there was no way to show just how “smart” she was for asking incredibly basic questions otherwise. Also, the book isn’t even trying to be a romance anymore, though honestly considering what passed for romance in this series, that part is a relief.

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THAT SAID…

While I applaud the author for finally having a plot that doesn’t revolve around non-consensual kissing while at the same time managing to make her protagonist actually be proactive and do things, it’s too little and too late to save this series from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about Poor Unfortunate Soul by Serena Valentino, in which Ursula’s convoluted backstory is briefly glossed over in a single chapter while the narrative is taken over by a series of random characters.

Genre and Target Demographic? • Young Adult Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling

Part of a Series? • Yes, part of the Disney Villains anthology

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • Yes, Perspective Flip…sort of

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaid, various sea-creature-human hybrids • Minor, mentioned

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Content Warnings? • Body Horror (mild) • Gore (mild)

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Villain protagonists • The first two books in the series by the same author

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Dislike repetitive descriptions (please, I am BEGGING the author to use something other than the word “beautiful” to describe something.) • Enjoy the story of The Little Mermaid, Disney’s version or otherwise • Dislike incoherent writing • Want a plot • Like Ursula as a character and don’t want to see her character, personality, and story absolutely butchered

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, it’s incredibly repetitive, filled with superfluous characters, and doesn’t really seem to have a plot. This book is borderline unreadable.

Ursula is barely a character in her own book, with huge chunks of the narration dedicated instead to random characters such as a cat named Pflanze, Princess Tulip who was apparently the Beast from Beauty and the Beast’s ex-girlfriend, and a trio of bird-like witches called the odd sisters who seemed more concerned with their missing sister Circe than Ursula.

Speaking of Ursula, she has like…three different backstories all mushed together. She’s a powerful sea goddess who rules the oceans! No, wait, she was raised as an ordinary human girl in a fishing village! No, wait, she actually spent quite a bit of time in Triton’s palace enjoying feasts and such despite the fact that Triton did nothing but demonize and ostracize her! Oh, and her plot to turn Ariel into a human had nothing to do with simply observing Ariel and twisting her wishes, but was just some random idea given to her by the aforementioned odd sisters.

I literally do not care about any of these random people, none of whom even move the plot forward. There is so much overwriting, and excessive infodumping about all these characters who have practically nothing to do with Ursula’s story at all, except she needs their help for revenge against Triton for some reason despite apparently being an “all-powerful” goddess even without his trident.

Bonus, I made a drinking game (with water) out of every time the words “beautiful” or “beauty” showed up, and let’s just say I was very, very hydrated by the end.

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THAT SAID…

The cover is really pretty I guess? I have no idea how this has any positive reviews, or how Disney allowed their brand to be associated with this.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan, in which a smattering of random and possibly magical things happen to an odd family of deeply flawed people.

Genre and Target Demographic? • Adult Contemporary / Literary Fiction / Magical Realism

Part of a Series? • Standalone

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Selkie/Mermaid (used interchangeably, and only in stories) • Professional Mermaid (Human performing in costume) • Both types are fairly negligible

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Content Warnings? • Ableism • Child Endangerment • Death of a Child • Facial Gore • Homophobia • Miscarriage • Neglectful Parenting • Parental Favoritism • PTSD

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Literary Fiction • Magical Realism • Nonlinear narratives • Unreliable narrators • Deeply flawed characters • Lovingly crafted prose • Plot-light stories • Incredibly short chapters • Sapphic representation in main characters • Writing styles similar to Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Want plot in your books • Want mermaids present in your mermaid stories • Unlikeable characters just aren’t your thing • Horrible parenting portrayed as not-that-bad-actually will bother you

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Did I Enjoy It?

Yes and no. TL;DR, I found the beautifully lyrical prose deeply engaging and could not put the book down, but did not at all enjoy what I was reading.

Nothing really happens, it’s not really a plot book. It’s more of an odd collection of vignettes poetically musing about random things about a particular family on a peculiar island. It’s also not really a mermaid book. One character who is a performing mermaid-in-a-costume (which only shows up on a handful of pages at best) may-or-may-not-be an actual selkie, but it’s never made clear, and in the magical realism genre, that’s about the best one can hope for. It’s definitely very well crafted literary fiction, which I’m fairly certain is just not the genre for me.

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THAT SAID…

The writing itself is beautiful and mostly engaging, even if there’s not really a story there underneath, which I think it’s a testament to the author’s skill with language.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace, in which a teenage queen struggles under the difficulties of leading a kingdom of scattered, disparate islands.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Fantasy / Adventure

Part of a Series? • Second Book in a Duology • Preceded by All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaid, with siren powers, sea magic, and the power to become human at will • Presence: Major supporting character present throughout • Caveat: Vataea has a more prominent role in this book than the first, but only spends a single chapter near the end of the book in her mermaid form

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Content Warnings? • Alcohol Use • Blood & Gore • Death of a Parent • Hallucinations • Implied Sexual Violence • PTSD • Sexual Content • Torture

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You Should Read This Book If You: • Really enjoyed the first book and just want to spend more time with the characters and setting ◦ Particularly Vataea, who is and will always be awesome • Don’t mind lots of filler • Enjoy Adalyn Grace’s writing style • Enjoy somewhat decent politicking • Liked the concept of Visidia’s islands and magic and wanted to see more of that • Love particularly well-executed vengeance conclusions

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Really enjoyed the first book but liked where it ended just fine and don’t want to engage with a largely unnecessary Part 2 • Didn’t like the first book • Don’t enjoy plot lines where magical or powerful characters lose their interesting and exciting powers and spend the majority (or entirety) of the story without them • Really like Amora’s crew and their happy endings in book 1 and don’t want to watch her do all of them dirty • Want a larger mermaid presence in your mermaid books

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Did I Enjoy It?

Yes. TL;DR, while it was a bit of a mixed bag that wasn’t necessary to the overall story, I still enjoyed getting more time with the crew and seeing more of the islands of Visidia. Also Vataea got to be a badass, which I appreciated.

Unfortunately, though it really does feel like roughly 80% of this book is filler. The final couple of chapters should have been the ending to the first book, and then the rest of the book wouldn’t have needed to happen. It seemed more like a series of coincidental events rather than a story, and many of the plot points were disappointingly resolved via extremely lazy and disappointing deus ex machina writing. I was also disappointed that Amora got a deeply unearned happy ending, which would have been earned had it come at the end of the first book instead of this one.

Despite all that, it was still a highly engaging read, and I do not regret picking it up. Vataea was still awesome, and though she got done real dirty by Amora, she still got to be a badass. I would absolutely adore to see a spin off of Vataea’s adventures in the future, and would read it without hesitation. I would also jump at the chance to read a genuine sequel should the author ever desire to turn this into a trilogy.

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THAT SAID…

It’s not at all a necessary read, so for people who are only interested in plot, this probably isn’t the book for you. It’s also fairly depressing, dealing with PTSD and intense grief throughout, which does put a massive damper on the sense of adventure and excitement that was so grand in the first book. However, it’s not a bad read, and it’s worth a look if you want even a little bit more of All the Stars and Teeth.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about Mermaid Moon by Susann Cokal in which a half-mermaid takes 24 pages to walk across a beach and literally trip into the barest bones of a plot.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Fantasy

Part of a Series? • Standalone

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • Yes, according to the author, but so incredibly loose (the plot is not remotely similar) that the only thing I could pinpoint as making it a retelling would be the mermaid leaving the sea to go on land. I would honestly go so far as to say this is not, in fact, a retelling.

Mermaid Type and Presence? • “Seavish” Mermaids • Prominent, Main Character, Multiple Supporting Characters

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Content Warnings? • Animal Cruelty, Abuse, and Death • Childbirth • Death of a Child • Floods • Murder and Attempted Murder • Rape • Sexual Assault • Sexism

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Vile Villains • Flowery Language • Fairy-Tale Prose • Slow, Dream-like Pacing • Bone Magic • Soft Magic Systems • Just enough world building to float a story, but not enough to sink your teeth in • Sapphic representation, even if that rep isn’t perfect

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Are averse to sexual violence, even if it occurs off-page • Want a snappier, quick-paced read • Are looking for a character driven story with well-rounded characters • Dislike Purple Prose • Dislike gratuitous descriptions and depictions of bodily fluids, such as urine • Are bothered by openly misandrist and gender-essentialist writing

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, I found it meandering, overly descriptive, and somewhat offensive.

The religious aspects were completely unnecessary and undermined the more mystical world building, muddling whether this story was supposed to take place in a fantasy world or a more fantastical version of the real world. While I did enjoy the more original world building chapters from the perspective of Sanna’s cousins, they often drove the already slow-paced narrative to a screeching halt. I might have enjoyed this story more if it was only from the viewpoint of the cousins and the flashback chapters of Sanna learning magic in the sea, and the present-day plot had been excised entirely. The mystery of finding Sanna’s mother was not particularly compelling, but the mystery of the magic absolutely was.

In addition, the author herself calls this a “feminist siren-song of a fairy tale.” Unless your definition of feminism is casual and blatant misandry, sexual assault as a frequent threat for all female characters, and a world where lesbianism is the only valid romantic or sexual orientation for an entire culture of people not out of genuine love for other women but out of deeply held disdain for men, this book is unequivocally NOT feminist. If I have to read the phrase “the natural limitations of his gender” one more time, I might just throw something. Possibly this book.

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THAT SAID… Published in 2020, this is one of the more recent mermaid novels I’ve read. Speaking from personal experience, the traditional publishing industry is surprisingly averse to mermaid books, which is precisely one of the reasons I decided to start this review series in the first place. There’s a market out there, TradPub, I promise! Even if this particular book wasn’t the right fit for me, judging by the slew of at-least-4-star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, this is definitely the book for somebody. And if nothing else, just look at that gorgeous cover!

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about The Case of the Fickle Mermaid: A Brothers Grimm Mystery by P.J. Brackston, in which Gretel (yes, that Gretel) solves mermaid related crimes and mysteries on a cruise ship.

Genre and Target Demographic? • Adult Cozy Mystery, Murder Mystery, Detective Noir • Nothing particularly inappropriate for children, but unlikely to hold a child’s interest or attention

Part of a Series? • Yes, third novel in A Brother’s Grimm Mystery series • Can be read as a standalone

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional mermaid • Moderate ◦ While she only physically shows up for two chapters, the mystery surrounding her permeates the entire narrative.

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Content Warnings? • Alcohol Consumption & Abuse • Cigar Smoking • Fatphobia • Murder

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Film Noir genre conventions • No-nonsense protagonists • Excellent attention to detail • Cozy mysteries

You Should Avoid This Book If You Dislike: • Wall-of-text paragraphs (that sometimes stretch on for multiple pages) • Slow paced stories • Murder mysteries without much mystery • Protagonists who strongly dislike dogs

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Did I Enjoy It?

Yes. TL;DR, it’s a charming, cozy noir detective murder mystery with a delightfully colorful cast of characters and an inoffensive plot that clips along at a slow but steady pace.

Imagine a hard-boiled detective noir story, but the hard-boiled detective was Gretel from the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale (as the narrative is insistent on repeatedly clarifying) and it took place on a boat in 18th century Europe. It’s all at once gritty and whimsical—an all-around delight.

Gretel’s whole attitude boils down to, “Well excuse me, sir, but I was led to believe this was an entirely different sort of adventure,” and the sheer delightfulness with which the author implements poor Gretel’s mood whiplash and comical mishaps is exquisite.

Now, I do hesitate to call this a proper murder mystery, as only one culprit was ever presented, so the only mystery was how Gretel was going to foil them. What’s more, Gretel got most of her clues from a supernatural entity invisible to everyone else, making her seem less like a clever detective and more like a diplomatic medium.

I must also wonder why Gretel, who in her original story came from a family so poor that the children were turned out to fend for themselves, is so vain and fixated on luxurious material wealth. She seems to care more for elegant dresses and expensive brandy than solving mysteries, which is more than a little off-putting for a protagonist. Especially considering how ungrateful she was for all of her brother’s contributions to keeping her safe and solving the mystery. Perhaps this attitude is elaborated on on earlier installments in the series, but I have no interest in reading them, so I may never know.

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THAT SAID…

While cozy and largely inoffensive, this story is absolutely not a fair-play whodunnit, so if that is the kind of story you’re looking for, you will not find it in these pages.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about Real Mermaids Don’t Wear High Heels by Helene Boudreau, in which Jade the teen mermaid goes to the Bahamas for a tropical vacation and a maybe-murder-mystery.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Contemporary Fantasy • Younger end of YA, 12-14

Part of a Series? • Yes, fourth and final novel in the “Real Mermaids” series

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional mermaid, can shift depending on what they’re breathing • Moderate ◦ Main character is a mermaid, but little time is spent in mermaid form

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Content Warnings? • Ableism ◦ Three straight chapters worth of jokes at the expense of Jade’s Dad’s temporary deafness • Kidnapping • Vomiting

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • The first three books • Slow paced vacation stories or “beach episodes” • Stories about plus-size characters

You Should Avoid This Book If You Dislike: • The first three books • Poor Pacing • Poor Communication

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Did I Enjoy It?

No. TL;DR, too much nothing happened, and when something did finally happen, it was too little too late, ending this series on a whimper rather than a bang.

Honestly, I stopped being enamored with this series and its characters in the third book, and while this one isn’t as infuriating as that one, it is significantly more boring.

It took three chapters and 29 pages for the slightest semblance of a plot hook to appear, and twelve chapters and 108 pages for Jade to start thinking about acting on that plot hook. This kind of bland, too-relaxed pacing is a common yet glaring flaw of far too many “vacation episode” or “beach episode” entries in media, with the most recent example that comes to mind being the disastrously mind numbing Dawntrail expansion for Final Fantasy 14.

The pacing is not at all helped by the excessive overwriting, over explaining, and overly repeated or slightly rewritten phrases. I honestly had to start skimming at the halfway point just for the hope of ANYTHING to happen.

Jade herself thankfully is not as deeply unlikable as she was in Book 3, though she never becomes as endearing as she was in Book 2. At least this time once the plot gets going she wants to help, instead of insisting that everything wasn’t her problem, even though this time it literally wasn’t her problem.

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THAT SAID…

If you are a die hard fan of this series, you may still find something to love in these pages. Or if you’re just looking for something to relax and not think too hard about while you go on your own slow-paced vacation, it might fit the vibe. And though they show up a bit late, at least we finally get a halfway decent villain. Otherwise there’s not much reason to tread through these pages.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about A Prince of Song and Sea by Linsey Miller, in which Disney's version of The Little Mermaid gets a perspective flip and a bit of added depth.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Fantasy

Part of a Series? • Anthology, the Disney Prince series

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • Yes, specifically a perspective flip of the Disney version from Eric’s POV

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaids • Talked about often, but not generally present on-page much

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Content Warnings? • Anxiety and Anxiety Attacks • Death of a Parent (off page) • Hostage Situation • Knife, Sword, and Axe Violence • Maritime Disasters • Mild Vulgar Language (pissed)

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid • Only kind of liked Disney’s version but are looking for something with a little more depth • Kind, gentle, cinnamon-roll male protagonists who are big ol’ softies (and also anxious messes) • Alternate Continuity fics • Mild fictional political intrigue • Pirate fights • Straightforward storytelling • Sapphic rep from prominent side characters • Non-binary rep (side character)

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Don’t want to read another Little Mermaid retelling • Really, truly dislike Disney’s Version of the Little Mermaid • Can’t separate the movie’s canon from this alternate continuity • Would rather not read a male-centric retelling of an originally female-centric narrative • Don’t like stories on the younger end of YA/borderline middlegrade • Want more mermaids in your mermaid stories • Want a lot more depth to a retelling rather than some simple additions and alterations here and there

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Did I Enjoy It?

Yes. TL;DR, while I absolutely had to disregard the movie continuity for it to make any sense, I loved Eric’s personality and character journey and the added depth given to Disney’s version of the tale.

I loved the grand sense of adventure this retelling had, liked (most of) the new characters, enjoyed the bits of political intrigue. The parts that were directly written from the movie were admittedly the weakest, swinging rather hard between massive deviations from the source material and basically verbatim copy paste from the source material. I would have liked it more if it was almost entirely its own thing and merely referenced the movie. My one gripe with the book was naming one of Eric’s best friends Gabriella. To me, Gabriella will always be that mermaid who used sign language in The Little Mermaid TV series. I love her, I love her disability representation, I love that she was based on a real little girl, and I just feel like this Gabriella, while providing some nice LGBTQ+ rep, kind of sweeps over her legacy. I get that more than one character can have the same name, and that this is in an entirely different continuity, but the author could have picked literally anything else and it would have been so much better.

THAT SAID…

This is generally a pretty solid, quick read that’s easy to pick up and easy to put down. Short, sweet, straightforward, and simple, it could either be someone’s laid-back beach read or someone else’s dnf. It really is one of those books that is just going to be either a massive hit or a total slog for different people for different reasons.

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!

Today we’re here to talk about All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace, in which a fallen princess flees her home to put down a rebellion and reclaim her throne.

Genre and Target Demographic? • YA Fantasy / Adventure

Part of a Series? • First Book in a Duology (Followed by All the Tides of Fate)

Is it a Little Mermaid Retelling? • No

Mermaid Type and Presence? • Traditional Mermaid, with siren powers, sea magic, and the power to become human at will • Presence: Plot critical, major supporting character, shows up around half-way • Personally, Vataea is my favorite character in the book, and it’s only a little bit to do with the fact that she’s a mermaid

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Content Warnings? • Alcohol Use (underage) • Animal Cruelty & Abuse (Rabbit) • Blood & Gore • Death • Death of a Parent • Dismemberment • Hallucinations • Implied Sexual Violence • Imprisonment & Incarceration • Intimate Partner Abuse and Violence • Mutilation • Public Execution • Torture

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You Should Read This Book If You Enjoy: • Blood and Bone Magic • Swashbuckling Adventures • “Assembling the Crew” Plotlines • Robust and Fanciful Magic Systems • Protagonists who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty • Powerful and Vengeful women • Actually badass mermaids

You Should Avoid This Book If You: • Are particularly adverse to blood and gore • Are too impatient to trudge through four fairly repetitive chapters of setup before plot happens

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Did I Enjoy It?

Absolutely. TL;DR, while the repetitiveness could have used some trimming, it was thrilling all the way through and filled to the brim with exciting ideas.

I loved, loved, loved this book and can’t wait to sink into book two when I finally get my hands on it. It was so gripping, so exciting, so darn adventurous, that I almost didn’t care how bogged down it was in terms of repetition, or how long it took to get going, because once it got going it did not let up. Simply swashbuckling in the best of ways.

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THAT SAID…

It’s not a book for everyone. While it’s a YA Fantasy through and through, with all the tropes and trappings the age category and genre combo entail, it’s also a (delightfully) gruesome read and there is an abundance of potentially upsetting content (all detailed in the list above). Even so, there’s nothing described in a way that would make it age-inappropriate, and it’s still worth wading through for those in search of a good adventure story.

Bonus: While it’s the first part of a duology, it stands well enough on its own and has a satisfying conclusion. If you just want a solo read and don’t want to bother with a sequel, that’s perfectly doable with this book. Though personally, I’m looking forward to more Vataea, so Book 2, here I come!

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Happy reading for those who dare to delve into these pages, and swift sailing for those still searching for their perfect mermaid tale!