Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre: YA, Scifi/Fantasy, 4 Stars

People who should read this: People who love fairy tale retellings, the sea, and historical based pieces. 

*I was given a free copy of this book to write an honest review* 

Though I had the release date for Sea Witch Rising on my calendar, I wasn’t rushing off to read it. I was surprised when the publishers sent me a copy and a little worried. If it was just going to be the same story told in a different voice… lets just say, I didn’t want to write a bad review when I got a free copy. That doesn’t mean that I won’t do it though.

So I took a deep breath… prayed to the book goods...and dived right in.

Why was I even worried again?

The more I read and searched for the similarities between the two stories, the more their differences were shoved into my face. Take away things like mermaids, a kingdom under the sea, a sea witch, and a sea king and these two stories could not even be compared. Where one is all colorful animation and happy endings, the other is dark and real and forces you to cry and have all the feelings. 

Yes… all the feelings. This isn’t your childhood story. True love doesn’t always exist.

Henning never got stuck in the rut of what has already been told. She didn’t even go near that story. Which begs to question, could this even be considered a retelling? The first book is indeed an origin story, but this one leaves the well known trail so much that you can’t even make the connection anymore. First off, who is the little mermaid? Is it the protagonist, Runa, or her sister that actually goes to land for true love? My head is swirling with questions. 

Ok…. down to the writing facts.

First off, I liked the first book a lot more. Easy enough to notice when you see that I gave Sea Witch five stars. Five very well earned stars. Something was just missing for me in this second book. Maybe it was because I was speed reading Sea Witch Rising and I missed the part between points A and B. One second, two of the characters felt like separate people until they weren’t anymore. Do you see what I did there? I’m not trying to spoil the book for you. I just never got invested by the time I needed to be and I felt a little gypped. 

Second, you must read the first book first. I can talk all day long about Sea Witch Rising without a single spoiler. If you didn’t know there was a sea witch living under the sea than where have you been? What did you watch as a child? This book can stand all day on its own. But if you want to get the tiny details and connections between the two books that Henning so thoughtfully crafted, you must read the books in order. I almost wish I had reread the first book. Maybe that could have solved all my problems. But who has time for that when their TBR is starting to take shape and threatens to kill you? 

So what are my exact feelings?

I feel like I’ve been beating around the bush, and, except for my star rating, I haven’t actually told you my thoughts.

I enjoyed it. I never really wanted to put the book down. The scenes are action packed and the ending is sweet and a different type of happy ending than you’re probably expecting. Henning did a great job crafting a wide cast full of strong women. She also made the point that choosing love doesn’t mean that you’re weak. It could mean the exact opposite. It’s choosing one’s own destiny that’s the hard part. 

But the true talent is the magical world that Henning created. She spent great detail crafting the underwater kingdom - something barely touched on in book one - and she mixed it into the real world with U-boats, war, and technology. 

So even though book one will always hold a special place in my heart, book two was a good conclusion. The ending and plot were unique and I was never bored. 

Happy Reading 

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 72/100