The Little Selkie

By K.M. Shea

It is with great reluctance—and a lot of frustration—that Dylan, a selkie, saves the Ringsted Prince Callan when she finds him shipwrecked and drifting in the ocean. The experience is nothing but a bother, so she puts it from her mind and swims off on her merry way. Two years later, while chasing an evil sea witch onto land, Dylan’s pelt is stolen, leaving her unable to return to the ocean in her sea lion body. Rather than serve as the sea witch’s tool, Dylan asks a traveling enchantress to seal her voice. The enchantress complies, and Dylan is taken to the royal palace by one of the sea witch’s minions where she encounters, yet again, Prince Callan.

Between court games, a dangerous brush with a kelpie, and sniffing out the sea withch while looking for her pelt, Dylan’s days are a flavorful blend of treachery and boredom. But during her searches and investigations, Prince Callan befriends her, making her question her loyalties. Dylan always thought her heart was with the ocean, but can she defeat the sea witch and leave Callan forever?

K.M. Shea is my favorite go-to for a good fairy-tale retelling. I love how she’s able to keep true to the heart of a story but gives the reader enough little twists that it’s enjoyable to re-experience the classic fairy-tales. This is by far the best retelling I’ve read for The Little Mermaid. Hans Christian Anderson’s original is depressing to say the least, and Disney’s version is delightful. I really appreciated Shea’s decision to use a Selkie instead of a Mermaid, which to my mind made more sense anyway. This is the fifth book in her fairy-tale series, and I didn’t have high hopes for it, but I ended up loving this story. Mostly because of Dylan. Dylan is awesome. She is a girl who is bold and different. I love that Shea made her a bottomless pit when it came to eating. That was hilarious and endearing. She had so much personality, and a different personality! I had gotten used to the typical Princess who was either sick of being royalty and wanted to be normal, or was pushed around and had to find her own voice (with small variations). Dylan is loyal and knows who she is. She doesn’t care about things that don’t matter to her end goal. Falling in love wasn’t what she was waiting for, it happened and she dealt with it like a person. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed the characters in this book. Also, Callan is a perfect match for Dylan! I don’t want to spoil too much, but he’s just as different as she is and it’s an amazing to see how they work off each other and support/respect one another. Great job Ms. Shea. Bravo!

I give it a 4.25 out of 5 –for awesome original characters!!!

The Little Mermaid

By Jenni James

Is grass truly greener than ocean blue?

Pearl has always dreamed of visiting the land of humans, to walk with them, eat with them, and learn everything she can from them. But no one in the North Seas agrees with her. In fact, they are all convinced that the landfolk are a dangerous, scary group of people who would harm the mermaid if they could.

Keel, the great merprince of the North Seas, has never loved anyone as much as he loves Pearl. He knows of her fascination with mankind and realizes she will never be truly settled until she has walked among the humans. So he finally relents, giving her a potion to grow legs of her own so she can experience the world above the water. He vows to come on land and protect her, as he doesn’t trust humans and never will.

While this fairy tale retelling was more engaging than Jenni’s Rapunzel, I still was a tad let down at what I thought was a sort of cheapened view at what should’ve been a longer novel. It once more felt like the bones of a novel that needed muscle, nerves, and skin. Pearl feels like a half-formed strange character who for no discernable reason wants to be a human; she admits no one makes her feel the way Keel does and yet she is still idiotically obsessed with the land. Keel on the other hand, is a self-sacrificing character that only wants to help Pearl get over her obsession so she might have a chance to decide to be happy with him. The plot had potential but the carry-out was too simplistic for me to feel engaged as a reader. It was too easy.

I give it a 2.75 out of 5

Midnight Pearls

By Debbie Viguie

On the day of the worst storm the country of Aster has ever seen, a lone fisherman finds an unexpected treasure: a little girl. The small girl is paler than snow, has silver-white hair, and long colt-like legs. The fisherman and his wife decide to call her Pearl. Thirteen years pass and Pearl feels so utterly different, not just because of her appearance, but because of her strange dreams. Her only comfort comes from her loving parents, and her only friend, Prince James. Then one day Pearl’s past comes forcefully back into her life, confusing and frightening her, and she has to decide what she really wants…and who she really wants to be.

Well, this is, as the cover says, a retelling of The Little Mermaid, and frankly wasn’t what I was expecting. This book is a prime example of a bad summary on the back. I was totally prepared for something that didn’t happen and so I was disappointed the whole time. And just for the record: I do not believe in love at first sight. This book is an advocate of that, and I was irritated. If you like Romeo and Juliet-like books, then you would like this. I really wish I had been prepped for a different kind of story for Pearl than the one that I was sure would happen. I would’ve enjoyed it more. It’s a quick read, though. I finished in two days at my leisure.