“Though magic can shape life and death, love is the one thing it cannot control”

It’s ok to rate books purely on entertainment, right? Until the last few seconds, I enjoyed myself fully, lost within the folds of Henning’s lyrical prose and vivid imagery. Yet still, even with my five star rating, there are flaws. My book club sat there, laying out the land of negativity, only to sit back up and say ‘I really loved this book’. How does this even happen?

Have you ever wondered the story? Pondered how the Sea Witch came to be? In a world of merpeople, why was she so different? With power and vengeance of her own, why did she haunt the cave among other lost souls? Well, her name was Evie once and this is her story.

Villain prequels are gaining steam in the book world. They paint pictures of ordinary people - ok yes, they have powers -  happy and good, until devastation unfolds tearing their world in two, making them into the evil, vile thing we knew as kids.

“She’s the sun and the rest of us are ordinary stars.”

I think this is what makes each story so interesting, the journey from point A to point B and how each author uses their imagination. And I believe Henning did a great job. The original Little Mermaid has little to go on. The Sea Witch hints at her time in the castle, but nothing else. From there, Henning had to sculpt her own cast of characters, melding the world of humans with that of merpeople.

Henning’s choice to have Evie be human was great. She went with writing what she knew instead of competing with the well developed mermaid world created around the Little Mermaid. Not that I don’t believe she could have done her own take, but she took a story with strong ties to Disney, which means strong opinions by the fan base - me included. It could have been a completely different story of she didn’t specifically market it this way. I appreciate that she played it safe and didn’t write that much about the merpeople.

“Don't grant all the prince's requests, darling girl. Men are always asking for more than they should.”

But that choice lended to a few issues.

First, Henning spent so long on one specific scene in the flash backs. One moment, played over and over, and repeated using different viewpoints. This didn’t bow well when the flashbacks started moving forward in time, spending very little on what happened after. They felt rushed without giving the reader a moment to process the information thrown out. Including a big reveal that set up the entire ending.

The big reveal was not the greatest moment for Henning. For the first two-thirds of the book, one idea was shoved down readers throats, until she finally pulled the wool off our eyes and shouted, just kidding. No, not ok. In addition, the sudden change in personality did not make sense in the overall scope. That one person could have such a sudden personality flip lost the interest of the readers, especially those from my book club.

And the last poor comment I’ll make, is as writers, pay attention to all the details and promises that you make to your readers. A few times Henning let characters slip through, saying they would be present at one part, only to have them not even mentioned.

“My heart is not mine to give because it is already yours.”

Don’t judge the book on all my negativity. I’m just saying all this to show my writers what not to do. Because I really loved this book. It sent me back home with the images painted and the imagination Henning used to create her world. I read this book so fast that I was upset when it was over. Plus, I’m a sucker for romance. Ugh. Weak in the knees wanting to cry. Trust me, this will be one read you won’t want to miss.

Love Kait.

Happy Reading.

Reading Challenge: 99/100