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So this book was a surprise in the best way!

Let me start by saying, I’m not a mermaid person. When I originally saw this book described as a gender-swapped Little Mermaid retelling, I thought, “Eh, not for me.”

Then… when I saw it pitched as “Attack on Titan with mermaids,” I thought… Okay… well THAT I’ve got to see. And this book so totally pulled it off! The dual-POV plot follows a girl struggling with her deep-seated anger with the infestation of cannibalistic mermaids around her small island that threatens to cut them off from the rest of the world, and a merman struggling to escape slavery from the twisted, abusive mermaid queens.

Kenney does NOT hold back with the viciousness of the mermaids as she so vividly paints their world. Perfectly paced, I totally loved the brisk, rich writing style and the intricate and barbaric culture of the mermaids. I liked all the characters from the quietly raging Kestra, to intelligent Mai, and the charismatic ship captain, and the dialogue between them was sharp and fun.

The only thing that didn’t quite work for me was the glimpses of the love triangle that I feel would be further explored in future books. Without getting into spoilers, the chemistry between two points of the love triangle didn’t quite gel for me, and I was a little bit anxious about who the MC would end up.

I felt like the ending tied up the strands perfectly though, closing out the story while leaving room for future tales. As for a content warnings: there is definitely some intense, bloody violence, but language is mild, and romance scenes are fade-to-black, so I’d say PG-13. I would recommend this book to any fans of fantasy with an edge… and extra bonus points if you’re into mermaids!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐  

Thanks for reading!