returning to land

Part of Your World – Liz Braswell

Disney, The Little Mermaid, witches, mermaids, retelling, mystery, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9.5/10

Five years gone since Ariel lost against Ursula. Both her voice and her father, King Triton, are in possession of Ursula due to the contact that Ariel had signed that allowed her three days to be on land but the catch was for that Prince Eric would have to kiss her before the sun sets on the third day and the payment for Ursula’s service was Ariel’s voice. When Ariel returned to the Sea, expecting to be punished, her sisters allowed her to be Queen of the Ocean. Her trusty sidekicks and confidants, Sebastian and Flounder, help Ariel speak to the people of Atlantica. When Ariel receives some news of a bird wanting to speak to Ariel, she investigates this. She finds out that after all this time, her father is in fact alive after all. Ariel must use whatever materials she has to try to save him and get her voice back.

I had put a hold on this book as well as the few others of these twisted tales because I wanted to see how this author really can use these Disney stories and add the twists to them. My thoughts on this book is that I felt that the author did a good job with this one as well as the other two I’ve read so far. I can’t wait to possible find more by this author or just the twisted tale series. I loved this book and this one is my second favorite. The first being Straight On Till Morning. The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite Disney stories and reading this twisted tale was enlightening and gave me thoughts about how if it went that way, would there be more movies, or a television stemmed from this concept? Either way I appreciate and love this novel a lot.

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Mermaids are Neat Creatures

The Mermaid – Christina Henry

Sideshows, mermaids, circus, fantasy, fiction.

Rating 8/10

A mermaid becomes curious of land and finds herself realizing she can turn her mermaid fin into two legs and walk on land. She approaches a fisherman by the name of Jack, and he knew she was a mermaid, one that he had caught and released back into the ocean. Jack taught her English and other necessary things for survival. They had lived in the cottage together for a while until he left on an expedition and never returned. Amelia, deciding to keep the name, lives in the cottage and interacts with the village folk. Barnum is looking for a new exhibition and wants a mermaid. He sends his henchman to find a mermaid in the small village that was rumored that inhabits a mermaid. Levi finds Amelia, she at first claims she is no mermaid and the rumors are of drunken fishermen. Amelia decides for herself to go to the Museum and make a deal with Barnum. Barnum is proud of Levi and rewards him. Amelia confronts Barnum about multiple issues and Levi agrees with her points. Barnum fails to see and fails to be reasoned with. Levi has fallen for Amelia and vice versa. They married and had a child together and leave the circus for good.

I enjoyed this novel so much. I recommend this to mermaid fanatics to read this novel. It was well put together and a page turner. There were no dull moments in this novel nor was plain. The way the author told the story and added so much plot made the story interesting. The take on the mythology of mermaids was unique and was not cliché. My only problem with the novel was that it was the stereotypical circus man seeking new attractions was an issue but nonetheless it was a good novel overall.