Hello Everyone :)
I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review today here on The Preppy Book Princess.
I recently finished Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, and as a huge Little Mermaid fan, I knew I had to share what I thought about it with you all.
Sea Witch by Sarah Henning:
Source: Bought For Myself
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: July 31st, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis:
Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.
Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.
A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.
But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
The Little Mermaid is my all time favorite Disney movie, and I'm always on the lookout for new mermaid reads. When I first discovered this one, and learned that not only is it a Little Mermaid retelling, but that it's Ursula's story, I was instantly intrigued. Unfortunately, after finishing it, I really went back and forth as to how I felt about it. On the one hand, I really enjoyed getting an in depth look into Urusla's story, and what drove her to become the villain she was. Was she truly as evil as we were always led to believe, or was there more to her story than first meets the eye? I'm happy that Sarah Henning chose to tackle this story idea, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations for it.
First of all, the story does drag a bit to start out with, and I was having a bit of a hard time staying focused on what I was reading. Secondly, I thought some of the magic use was weird, and not described in a way that really made sense to the story. Thirdly, I wasn't a fan of Evie's romance that occurs throughout a large portion of the book as it really felt like instant love. Lastly, I sometimes found the writing style wasn't my favorite as it didn't really keep me engaged throughout the entire story, and instead the story was told in a way that most of the action doesn't occur until the last hundred pages or so.
Now that being said, I did still really enjoy certain parts of this book. I loved the setting, it was vividly described, and I felt like I was right there experiencing it with the characters. For the most part I really enjoyed both Evie and Nik as characters, and the beautiful friendship they've managed to hold on to over the years despite societal norms. When the big plot twist happens, I was literally shook. I hadn't seen it coming at all, and I was quite impressed that the author was able to surprise me as much as she did. Lastly, I loved seeing that Sarah Henning gave the sea witch's story a background, and showcased that, at one time, she felt remorse and compassion over her difficult decisions. By the time I got to the epilogue, my heart was literally breaking for these characters, and the tough choices that have led them to become what they are now.
Taking everything I liked and didn't like into consideration, I really went back and forth over whether to rate this three or four stars. In the end though, I decided to go with the lower rating, as I just wanted a bit more than it delivered, and found it to be a tad disappointing. Still a really enjoyable read though, and a fresh look at the beloved fairy tale.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review today here on The Preppy Book Princess.
I recently finished Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, and as a huge Little Mermaid fan, I knew I had to share what I thought about it with you all.
Sea Witch by Sarah Henning:
Source: Bought For Myself
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: July 31st, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis:
Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.
Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.
A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.
But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
The Little Mermaid is my all time favorite Disney movie, and I'm always on the lookout for new mermaid reads. When I first discovered this one, and learned that not only is it a Little Mermaid retelling, but that it's Ursula's story, I was instantly intrigued. Unfortunately, after finishing it, I really went back and forth as to how I felt about it. On the one hand, I really enjoyed getting an in depth look into Urusla's story, and what drove her to become the villain she was. Was she truly as evil as we were always led to believe, or was there more to her story than first meets the eye? I'm happy that Sarah Henning chose to tackle this story idea, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations for it.
First of all, the story does drag a bit to start out with, and I was having a bit of a hard time staying focused on what I was reading. Secondly, I thought some of the magic use was weird, and not described in a way that really made sense to the story. Thirdly, I wasn't a fan of Evie's romance that occurs throughout a large portion of the book as it really felt like instant love. Lastly, I sometimes found the writing style wasn't my favorite as it didn't really keep me engaged throughout the entire story, and instead the story was told in a way that most of the action doesn't occur until the last hundred pages or so.
Now that being said, I did still really enjoy certain parts of this book. I loved the setting, it was vividly described, and I felt like I was right there experiencing it with the characters. For the most part I really enjoyed both Evie and Nik as characters, and the beautiful friendship they've managed to hold on to over the years despite societal norms. When the big plot twist happens, I was literally shook. I hadn't seen it coming at all, and I was quite impressed that the author was able to surprise me as much as she did. Lastly, I loved seeing that Sarah Henning gave the sea witch's story a background, and showcased that, at one time, she felt remorse and compassion over her difficult decisions. By the time I got to the epilogue, my heart was literally breaking for these characters, and the tough choices that have led them to become what they are now.
Taking everything I liked and didn't like into consideration, I really went back and forth over whether to rate this three or four stars. In the end though, I decided to go with the lower rating, as I just wanted a bit more than it delivered, and found it to be a tad disappointing. Still a really enjoyable read though, and a fresh look at the beloved fairy tale.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
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