3.75⭐️ rounded down (down, down into the dark)

I had a hard time rating this book. It's such a wild mix of brilliance and mediocrity but the last third of the book was so fast paced the good outweighed the bad.

The story is shaped as a documentary. Its approach to the elusive "mermaids" is very scientific; I had to remind myself multiple times I'm reading a work of fiction, not an actual documentary.

(yes, I googled sirenology and yes, I am disappointed it's not a real study).

However, the documentary-style writing was at the beginning a bit tedious to be honest. The pace picked up only after the first half of the book. The text was a bit clunky at times; random dialogue, clichés and repeated phrases were not a rarity. The amount of down down down into the dark's got on my nerves so much I had to pause reading for a day lol

There is also A LOT of different characters: all with their own distinct personalities (and disabilities!!! so props to the author for including deaf, autistic, anxious and characters with chronic pain disability) but at some point I had to check their names and occupation because I mixed everything up (especially the Wilson sisters)

My favorite characteer is Dr. Toth, sassy no-nonsense sirenologist with complicated family bonds and a brilliant mind (and an attitude in a size of the Sun). She was the reason I kept on reading lol.

Overall I would still recommend this book to mermaid-horror fans but not to anyone else 🧜‍♀️

An interesting collection of fairytales, told in its original horror undertones (with a gothic twist!). There is a wild variety of quality; some of them are great but I admit I skimmed over a few further in the book. Would not recommend the book as a whole, however tales like The Bloody Chamber and The Erl-King made this reading worth it.

It all boils down to oppression, poverty and generational trauma, huh A brilliant read, no notes

The best one from I Found series so far. The whole series is primarily set in liminal spaces (or backrooms-like setting). This time we are in puppet hell and two adult grandkids are trying to find their grandpa puppeteer. It's so ridiculous it's good. Recommend for muppet & horror fans or anyone who craves something spooky and campy to read.