This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, so I was exceptionally excited to get it in one of my Shelflove boxes! Unfortunately, it took me a while to actually read it! But read it I have! And really, what’s not to like about a Little Mermaid retelling?
Princess Lira is a terrifying Siren, nicknamed The Princes Bane, due to her taking the hearts of princes for her birthday. Prince – or Captain – Elian is our handsome prince, dedicated to hunting down and killing the Princes Bane. Throw in a curse, a fun pirate crew and some intrigue and you’ve got yourself quite a decent tale! And a decent tale I quite enjoyed.
It’s a stand-alone, which is a nice change from reading series for me. But while it was an incredibly enjoyable story, I did feel like it tried to wrap up too quickly at the end. There was a lot of set-up, but I personally felt the final battle was over too quickly. I understand there’s only so much you can fit in a stand-alone novel, but there we have my opinion!
I also really enjoyed the progression of Elain and Lira’s relationship. I didn’t feel like it was insta-love at all. In fact, it was definitely more like insta-hate! So watching them move from wanting to kill each other to having a relationship was really natural. And of course Elian is a tiny bit of a babe.
The retelling aspect of the story was very well done. It wasn’t your standard Little Mermaid, and I especially loved the twist that 1. She hated humans, and 2. The Sea Witch was her mother. That especially added a deeper familial issue to be dealt with. If you like retellings, mermaids and pirates, I would definitely recommend this story. It gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars from me. Grab a copy here!
Let me know if you’ve read it and what you thought. Or tell me some great other retellings you’ve read!
Happy readings
X
Bec's Bookish Reads 