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alongreader's review against another edition
3.0
A surprisingly grim retelling of The Little Mermaid. There's one male character who is actually nice, and another who might have been if he hadn't gone mad. Almost without exception, the others are self important rapists who have to shut women up in case they discover that they're actually people. Oliver, the exception, is hedonistic, shallow and deliberately cruel to his mother. The females are mostly either cowed or bitter. The Sea Witch is the only person able to speak her mind, and that's because she's accepted banishment in exchange.
The writing is good, apart from a jarring moment near the end when the Sea King is tied up by wrists and *ankles*. He is a *merman*, he doesn't *have* ankles. However, I was reading a proof, so this may have been corrected by the time the book prints; I will check and amend as necessary. (In the published book, he is tied only by his wrists.) Gaia also summons magic powers from *somewhere* for the climax. It's probably meant as a metaphor for women discovering their power or something along those lines. I don't understand, though, since she seems to be an all powerful witch now, why she still has to go along with the deal. The ending also seems to imply that she's going to kill any man she can get her hands on, despite knowing they aren't all raping murderous animals. What will happen if she finds George on a ship?
Well written, but grim, grim, grim.
Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.
The writing is good, apart from a jarring moment near the end when the Sea King is tied up by wrists and *ankles*. He is a *merman*, he doesn't *have* ankles. However, I was reading a proof, so this may have been corrected by the time the book prints; I will check and amend as necessary. (In the published book, he is tied only by his wrists.) Gaia also summons magic powers from *somewhere* for the climax. It's probably meant as a metaphor for women discovering their power or something along those lines. I don't understand, though, since she seems to be an all powerful witch now, why she still has to go along with the deal. The ending also seems to imply that she's going to kill any man she can get her hands on, despite knowing they aren't all raping murderous animals. What will happen if she finds George on a ship?
Well written, but grim, grim, grim.
Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.
annniiieee_333's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i really hated gaia at the beginning, when she would do whatever she was asked and gave in to every man. i then also thought she was really stupid for believing she was in love with a man she 'met' once. then i thought she was even more stupid for giving up her voice and putting her life on the line for this man she doesnt actually know. but the towards the end when she found eleanor in the room of paintings and eleanor spoke of just how badly oliver behaves, causing gaia to pay more attention, i started to love gaia so much. she became strong very quickly and i loved the way she scared and killed her father
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, and Body horror
thepsychonyx's review against another edition
1.0
1.5/5 I got phenomenally bored at points though some dialogue was very interesting. The ending was actually okay and I liked it though I felt a lot of her time overground was a huge waste of paper. Ceto and the mystery of her mother were the two main things that kept me reading whilst her baseless infatuation with Oliver had me rolling my eyes.
mituna's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Bit of a miserable read but I think that's a given with feminist books. The message was very good, if a bit heavy handed, and the ending was a nice twist on the original story.
quequel's review against another edition
3.0
Foi uma leitura divertida, ele tem como proposta ser feminista, mas acho que um livro que faz muito bem em retratar e mostrar as diferenças de tratamento, tem umas frases e passagens muito interessantes sobre isso, o livro só peca em mostrar como combater isso, nessa parte se torna uma combate Homem X Mulher.
zoebasson's review against another edition
5.0
rating: 5/5
reading challenge: 28/75
i LOVED this book. my favourite fairytale ever with the feminist perspective it so dearly needs? yes please!
when i first started the surface breaks, around a year ago, i found it a bit boring, however i was in the middle of a massive reading slump and the pandemic had just started. i canât even remember what i didnât like about it. needless to say, when i picked it up recently, the experience was very different. immediately i was hooked by this under-the-sea world, from the mysterious disappearance of gaiaâs mother to her creepy suitor chosen by the king.
louise oâneill did such a good job of exploring every possible aspect of the original fairytale. i especially loved the relationship between ceto (âthe seabwitchâ) and gaia, in all its complexities. really i just loved ceto in general, and was very happy the copy of the book that i read had an extra chapter dedicated to her story included.
the story was very interesting and entertaining, as well as containing important themes and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the little mermaid <3
reading challenge: 28/75
i LOVED this book. my favourite fairytale ever with the feminist perspective it so dearly needs? yes please!
when i first started the surface breaks, around a year ago, i found it a bit boring, however i was in the middle of a massive reading slump and the pandemic had just started. i canât even remember what i didnât like about it. needless to say, when i picked it up recently, the experience was very different. immediately i was hooked by this under-the-sea world, from the mysterious disappearance of gaiaâs mother to her creepy suitor chosen by the king.
louise oâneill did such a good job of exploring every possible aspect of the original fairytale. i especially loved the relationship between ceto (âthe seabwitchâ) and gaia, in all its complexities. really i just loved ceto in general, and was very happy the copy of the book that i read had an extra chapter dedicated to her story included.
the story was very interesting and entertaining, as well as containing important themes and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the little mermaid <3
neverstopreading's review against another edition
3.0
âLui tace perchĂŠ non ha voglia di parlare, mentre io trabocco di parole che non posso pronunciare. Ho la sensazione che mi riempiano ogni vena, ogni arteria, che lâalfabeto mi si incida nelle ossa, che arricci lettere sul mio corpo. Ă incredibile la noncuranza con cui ho rinunciato alla mia voce, quanta poca importanza le abbia dato. Da quando sono stata ridotta al silenzio, lâunica cosa che voglio è poter parlare.â