A review by mrtvavrana
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

2.0

I have been so excited to read Skin of the Sea for so long. The combination of West African/Yoruba mythology, gods, and mermaids was calling out to me. And I loved it! Well, I loved the concept. The book? Not so much. 

 

The story follows a Mami Wata named Simidele, who collects the souls of the dead. One day, by chance, she stumbles upon a boy, Adekola. He´s not dead yet, so she jumps into action and saves him. This puts her life, the life of the goddess Yemoja, and the lives of other Mami Wata in danger. 

 

As lovely as the story sounds, it was slow and dragging at times. The plot was predictable, and the characters one-dimensional. 

 

While I absolutely loved the mythology and the atmosphere Bowen created in this book, I found it incredibly difficult to connect to any of the characters. They are very underdeveloped and flat, yet each has so much potential.

I actually did not even feel a thing when one of the characters died and another was put into grave danger.

 

 

Simi, our main character, is a classic YA novel heroine. She is a strong, independent child who doesn't need anyone, and she can definitely do everything all by herself! Except, spoiler, she can´t.

And then, at the very end,  decides to give up everyone and everything and sacrifices herself because, of course, she is not worthy of happiness.

You know the drill. 

 

The most beautiful part of Skin of the Sea was definitely the mythology. I ended up doing my own research while reading - to learn even more about the characters. Another thing I really liked was how Bowen chose to talk about slavery and the abuse and fates of the kidnapped people. I think this was my first YA book that touched on the topic. 

 

Bowen´s descriptions were really captivating -  they were what kept me reading. Unfortunately, I think that all the worldbuilding is the reason why the story and relationships between characters felt rushed, and why the characters lacked in so many ways. It was also the case of the hinted romance. It developed almost immediately, and it did not make sense or feel real. And while the ending was quite decent, it also felt very rushed.