Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

I really wanted to like this book but it fell a little flat for me. That isn’t to say there weren’t parts that I liked, but it wasn’t enough for me to ignore everything else. I thought the premise was interesting and I was kind of invested in some of the characters but everything else seemed kind of disjointed. It took a really long time for the endgame of the story to become clear (and even then it seemed kind of anticlimactic). I felt that while individual plotlines were interesting on their own they were sometimes incongruous with the rest of the story. The beginning and the end were solid but I was kind of lost in the middle.

I really liked Rake’s chapters and I thought his voice was strongest throughout the book. His character had a clear motivation and goal and it was something that I could hold on to. While I did like Flora and Evelyn, I’m hardly ever interested in quick/instant romances so I didn’t really care about that part 😂. I was more invested in Flora’s arc than Evelyn’s, although I was a little lost in the Witch section. I wish there was more explanation on why Flora was a witch and the purpose of it other than a plot device lmao. I wanted to like Evelyn but she just seemed so superficial, an imitation of other YA heroines but nothing really unique about her. I think some of the problems I had with the character voices can be attributed to the writing style. In the beginning it reminded me of reading a fairytale or old legend, and I think that style is good for setting and atmosphere but it has to be done a certain way for the characters to still pop and it didn’t really do it for me. It certainly didn’t help that povs kept getting added. The sea interludes were interesting and I liked Rake but Genevieve’s pov felt unnecessary 😂. And I think it took away from Flora and Evelyn’s development.

The worldbuilding also suffered for it too. We got just enough details to have a setting and a vague plot and that was it. I found myself with so many questions about the history of the Empire and all the different cultures in it. I’m totally down for commentary on colonialism and imperialism but again it was really surface level. The countries that were named were vaguely inspired by real places but the dynamics of everything was confusing to me.
and I also want to know what the fuck was up with the witches. like you can’t just say there’s witches and not explain them or where the magic comes from. I didn’t mind the magic of the sea being kind of mysterious because no one truly understands it anyways but I wish there was some foundational explanation of the world history and magic system bc the information we got was kind of vague.

I know it sounds like I hated this but there were some fun elements to this story but I was ultimately a little disappointed.

Content Warnings

lilycaitlin's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kananineko's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, including the short chapters, focus on pirates and mermaids, the sea as a character, and the way the worldbuilding was developed. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. But ultimately, I don’t think it was super memorable, and I didn’t really care about the characters, unfortunately. For some reason the only character I really cared about was Rake. Honestly, couldn’t really tell you why. The romance was cute, yet a bit rushed. Everything in general felt a bit simplified and not super memorable to me.

I still think a lot of people will love this book, though. If the description sounds interesting to you, go for it!

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ettegoom's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I liked the concept of how magic worked in this world, but ultimately felt that the section with witch and learning magic were a bit pointless.

The witch was all about how Flora had to unlock her power... like Flora had this huge important destiny, and then the only time she used it was to travel to the ship...

. It was interesting at the time, but really didn't need to be there?
The author laid the whole: colonialism is bad, and gender diversity should be normal on pretty thickly. I still enjoyed it though, and found myself rooting for several of the characters.
A nice book for teens.

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niftynaturalist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

If you are a fan of pirate tales then this is for you! This book was much darker than I expected, but a thrilling read nonetheless. A complex story that moves between many POVs and ties quite a few plot threads together, The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea primarily follows bi-gender pirate Flora/Florian and high-born lesbian Evelyn’s fight for survival, self-discovery, and freedom in a cruel Imperial world.m (and their attempt to free a captured mermaid). Each character is complex and flawed, and their relationships are as messy as they are - it made them believable and at times infuriating at the same time.

There were a few plot elements that I felt could have been explored more deeply to round out the novel, but it is still a cohesive read and one that I greatly enjoyed. A word of caution: not all of the relationships in this story have happy endings, and it covers some very tough themes, so I’d advise anyone who is interested to pay close attention to the trigger warnings!

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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I really enjoyed this!

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to YA fantasy in particular, is when I can tell that an author is patronizing or talking down to their reader. I think sometimes the distinction between “accessible” and “clumsily over-simplified” can get muddy.

I notice it in particular when I read an author who’s known for their adult books, but who writes YA every now and then. The writing in the YA book will be so obviously adjusted to what, presumably, the author believes will be more “palatable” to a younger audience. I don’t think that’s always being fair to young readers. There’s obviously nuance here, but I think it can seem to communicate a lack of faith in their ability to understand complexity, dark themes, or challenging language.

This book was a pleasant surprise in that regard. I didn’t feel condescended to as I read, but it was still distinctly easy to read. The narrative flowed smoothly and kept my attention. The characters were easy to care about (I appreciated the expanded points of view as the story went on), and the plot didn’t shy away from dark or heavy material (like the impacts of colonialism, the ethics of survival at all costs, etc).

I also loved that the magic system in this book takes the shape of stories and storytelling; I thought that was really beautiful and unique.

There’s quite a few loose threads left dangling at the end of this book, which I hope get picked up in the forthcoming sequel!

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kibberbl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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audreyreadz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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