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chandraleereads's review
3.0
2.5/5 stars. I wanted to love this story, but it was clunky and the whole ending was rushed. I mostly felt *meh* by the end of it.
itsabookthing2021's review
4.0
First off I love The Little Mermaid and when I stumbled upon this I knew I had to read it!
This I think is a retelling but done in away that in my opinion isn't a retelling. I mean we have a Sea Witch and we have a red headed Mermaid but that's it.
Tales of The Sea Witch is a tale of Irsa and Aislin. Irsa (the sea witch) unfortunately suffers a lot in her first 16 years but with Aislin by her side they get through it.
Aislin (the red haired mermaid) marries the Prince and there enlays deceit and deception.
I loved this novel, the plot of the story was simple yet effective. The early years were interesting to read and the twist with Calypso.. Did not see any of that coming and woo, well deserved.
I loved the relationship between Irsa and Aislin, their little set up before she married the Prince was nice and sweet. Janette though didn't feature much, you just knew from the snippets she was a pain in the backside.
The Prince... What can I say about him? Ha! I knew he would turn but I did not expect any of that, ruthless and so so cold.
I found Tales of The Sea Witch a pleasant read and it was easy turning the pages to complete the read in one sitting, I now find myself ordering the next book, because after that ending, things are about to blow up and I need to know!!
This I think is a retelling but done in away that in my opinion isn't a retelling. I mean we have a Sea Witch and we have a red headed Mermaid but that's it.
Tales of The Sea Witch is a tale of Irsa and Aislin. Irsa (the sea witch) unfortunately suffers a lot in her first 16 years but with Aislin by her side they get through it.
Aislin (the red haired mermaid) marries the Prince and there enlays deceit and deception.
I loved this novel, the plot of the story was simple yet effective. The early years were interesting to read and the twist with Calypso.. Did not see any of that coming and woo, well deserved.
I loved the relationship between Irsa and Aislin, their little set up before she married the Prince was nice and sweet. Janette though didn't feature much, you just knew from the snippets she was a pain in the backside.
The Prince... What can I say about him? Ha! I knew he would turn but I did not expect any of that, ruthless and so so cold.
I found Tales of The Sea Witch a pleasant read and it was easy turning the pages to complete the read in one sitting, I now find myself ordering the next book, because after that ending, things are about to blow up and I need to know!!
leanniefae's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this story, but the missing commas, words, and question marks; excessive typos; and dubious character motivations at the end really ruined it for me. It would have been at least 4 stars with an editor. As it is, I'm giving this 3 stars because it was at least an original take on Ursula. Just needs a lot of editorial polish.
20_kiki_01_jinab_04_21's review against another edition
5.0
**I received this ebook ARC from the author in return for giving my review.**
Loved it and am looking forward to reading more about The Sea Witch along with the authors other works.✊
Loved it and am looking forward to reading more about The Sea Witch along with the authors other works.✊
20_kiki_01_jinab_04_21's review
5.0
**I received this ebook ARC from the author in return for giving my review.**
Loved it and am looking forward to reading more about The Sea Witch along with the authors other works.✊
Loved it and am looking forward to reading more about The Sea Witch along with the authors other works.✊
sometimesleelynnreads's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Reedsy Discovery, and Lou Wilham for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.
I know that there have been a few versions of the sea witch origin story, and some of them can be pretty similar which is fine, but I think that this is one of my favorite ones with a couple of exceptions.
First of all, I hate that in this one, we don’t even know if Irsa is her real name because apparently it was forgotten in history. This is what the prologue said and it literally broke my heart because the sea witch is always vilified without any form of humanity attached to her:
Her name – lost long ago to the vagueness and obscurity of being labeled a villain – but for our purposes, we will call her Irsa.
I mean even whatever her real name was something that her grandmother didn’t find particularly enjoyable or agreeing, so maybe it’s a good thing that history doesn’t remember the name she was given by her own mother. But just completely writing her name out of history because the world only sees her as a villain, nothing more, just breaks my heart. She didn’t start off as a villain, and in fact her story before she became this villain that everyone sees her as…. was just heartbreaking. I’m surprised she didn’t turn into a “villain” long ago. We’ve seen others do it but we still remember their names, right?
Anyway that’s just part of the plot that I was sad about, but I think that’s what made me feel for Irsa even more, and not write her off as just another villain that wants to tear the world apart. Which I think was great on Wilheim’s part for bringing some humanity to the situation and really make us feel bad for her as the years go by.
I know that when I first read that Irsa was assigned to be Calypso’s apprentice when apparently the “best” or “most powerful” witch in all of Alon never took on an apprentice in years or something, I was hoping that things were going to be great. But nope, of course not. Because why would a villain’s origin story be full of something good, right? I think the only good thing that happened in Irsa’s life growing up was her friendship with Aislin, and I’m so glad they had each other.
No, every brush of Aislin’s hand, every smile on her lips, made Irsa’s heart flip-flop. She couldn’t explain the feeling, nor did she try to.
I love their relationship, and I was so glad that Aislin was able to see that something was wrong with Irsa and wanted to help save her somehow. She didn’t believe Irsa trying to cover for her abuser, and helped her come up with a plan to get out of that situation without blaming Irsa for being in it. Which can be so hard for people to realize that they do, so it was really nice to see this reflected in this novel.
I would say that the second part that I didn’t like was that Irsa was abused after having to deal with the first tragedy in her life, not to mention the POS “father” that was mentioned a little bit.
Ugh.
But other than that, I really enjoyed this short novel and I think it was a really interesting take on the sea witch origin story. Irsa is pretty damn powerful, and I think that if she was able to truly foster that power without being abused by someone she had to trust with her life, then who knows? Maybe she could have been one of the good guys. But villains are always more fun to read about, right?
I know that there have been a few versions of the sea witch origin story, and some of them can be pretty similar which is fine, but I think that this is one of my favorite ones with a couple of exceptions.
First of all, I hate that in this one, we don’t even know if Irsa is her real name because apparently it was forgotten in history. This is what the prologue said and it literally broke my heart because the sea witch is always vilified without any form of humanity attached to her:
Her name – lost long ago to the vagueness and obscurity of being labeled a villain – but for our purposes, we will call her Irsa.
I mean even whatever her real name was something that her grandmother didn’t find particularly enjoyable or agreeing, so maybe it’s a good thing that history doesn’t remember the name she was given by her own mother. But just completely writing her name out of history because the world only sees her as a villain, nothing more, just breaks my heart. She didn’t start off as a villain, and in fact her story before she became this villain that everyone sees her as…. was just heartbreaking. I’m surprised she didn’t turn into a “villain” long ago. We’ve seen others do it but we still remember their names, right?
Anyway that’s just part of the plot that I was sad about, but I think that’s what made me feel for Irsa even more, and not write her off as just another villain that wants to tear the world apart. Which I think was great on Wilheim’s part for bringing some humanity to the situation and really make us feel bad for her as the years go by.
I know that when I first read that Irsa was assigned to be Calypso’s apprentice when apparently the “best” or “most powerful” witch in all of Alon never took on an apprentice in years or something, I was hoping that things were going to be great. But nope, of course not. Because why would a villain’s origin story be full of something good, right? I think the only good thing that happened in Irsa’s life growing up was her friendship with Aislin, and I’m so glad they had each other.
No, every brush of Aislin’s hand, every smile on her lips, made Irsa’s heart flip-flop. She couldn’t explain the feeling, nor did she try to.
I love their relationship, and I was so glad that Aislin was able to see that something was wrong with Irsa and wanted to help save her somehow. She didn’t believe Irsa trying to cover for her abuser, and helped her come up with a plan to get out of that situation without blaming Irsa for being in it. Which can be so hard for people to realize that they do, so it was really nice to see this reflected in this novel.
I would say that the second part that I didn’t like was that Irsa was abused after having to deal with the first tragedy in her life, not to mention the POS “father” that was mentioned a little bit.
Ugh.
But other than that, I really enjoyed this short novel and I think it was a really interesting take on the sea witch origin story. Irsa is pretty damn powerful, and I think that if she was able to truly foster that power without being abused by someone she had to trust with her life, then who knows? Maybe she could have been one of the good guys. But villains are always more fun to read about, right?
nancyotoole's review
4.0
If you’d have asked me what villain I’d like to see an origin story for, the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid would not be at the top of my list. But I enjoyed Lou Wilham’s first novella, The Curse of the Black Cat, so I figured that Tales of the Sea Witch was worth checking out. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m happy to report that it was completely worth it. I was invested In Irsa’s story from the very first chapter.
We first meet Irsa as a young girl, thinking about her future. When she discovers that she has impressive magical powers, she becomes an apprentice to a wicked witch. The story then follows her through her teenage years and into adulthood as she and her beloved Aislin come up against a world that seems determined to tear them down.
Being familiar with The Little Mermaid, I know that Irsa’s story was destined to be a tragedy, but I couldn’t help but hope for the best for her and Aislin regardless. The underwater world created for this story was unique, and I honestly wish we had gotten to explore more of it. I’m also happy to see that we’ll get to see more of Irsa’s story, as the author mentioned in the end that a sequel will be released. Clearly, Sea Witches deserve happy endings too.
We first meet Irsa as a young girl, thinking about her future. When she discovers that she has impressive magical powers, she becomes an apprentice to a wicked witch. The story then follows her through her teenage years and into adulthood as she and her beloved Aislin come up against a world that seems determined to tear them down.
Being familiar with The Little Mermaid, I know that Irsa’s story was destined to be a tragedy, but I couldn’t help but hope for the best for her and Aislin regardless. The underwater world created for this story was unique, and I honestly wish we had gotten to explore more of it. I’m also happy to see that we’ll get to see more of Irsa’s story, as the author mentioned in the end that a sequel will be released. Clearly, Sea Witches deserve happy endings too.
whit2ney's review
5.0
So this is hard to admit but I’m moved by stories of characters who really get knocked down and pushed beyond the limit. I don’t really like having to read it but it’s authors like Wilham who really know how to describe these events with strength and care.
This story is very much a prequel to the Little Mermaid tale we think we know so well. Wilham’s spin on the fairy tale touches on emotional abuse, gaslighting, and persecution—and how characters like Irsa manage to rise above it all. This isn’t a happy tale but it’s a beautiful one. The world building and character development kept me hooked.
And the romance. Devastating, heartbreaking, magical.
Wilham’s dedication to inclusive characters and storytelling is a win-win. I’m not much of an expert on LGBTQTIA+ experiences, but her tale of Irsa and Aislin documents the ups and downs of knowing who you are and fighting against systems that would rather you give up your voice. (Little Mermaid pun intended.)
This story is very much a prequel to the Little Mermaid tale we think we know so well. Wilham’s spin on the fairy tale touches on emotional abuse, gaslighting, and persecution—and how characters like Irsa manage to rise above it all. This isn’t a happy tale but it’s a beautiful one. The world building and character development kept me hooked.
And the romance. Devastating, heartbreaking, magical.
Wilham’s dedication to inclusive characters and storytelling is a win-win. I’m not much of an expert on LGBTQTIA+ experiences, but her tale of Irsa and Aislin documents the ups and downs of knowing who you are and fighting against systems that would rather you give up your voice. (Little Mermaid pun intended.)
theresidentbookworm's review
3.0
Okay, so who is going to tell Ariel that her mom was a lesbian (bi?) and completely in love with Ursula? Am I going to have to do it? Or maybe Flounder can? Alright, I'm out of The Little Mermaid jokes. Moving on...
I like a good fairytale retelling and especially ones that have a specific, new take on the material. And a sea witch (again, a la The Little Mermaid) falling in love with her best friend? I love to see that sort of sapphic content in my fairy tales. I really enjoyed Irsa and Aislin's story, but be warned. This does NOT have a happy ending.
Ultimately, Tales of the Sea Witch is more interesting in its premise than its execution. I was engaged with the plot and the characters, but I felt like the writing was too simplistic. And since it's a relatively short book, plot threads (particularly Irsa's relationship with her abusive mentor Calypso and the Council's investigation of Irsa for Calypso's murder) are either undeveloped or wrapped up too quickly. Still, if you're looking for a new, queer take on Ursula, Tales of the Sea Witch will do!
I like a good fairytale retelling and especially ones that have a specific, new take on the material. And a sea witch (again, a la The Little Mermaid) falling in love with her best friend? I love to see that sort of sapphic content in my fairy tales. I really enjoyed Irsa and Aislin's story, but be warned. This does NOT have a happy ending.
Ultimately, Tales of the Sea Witch is more interesting in its premise than its execution. I was engaged with the plot and the characters, but I felt like the writing was too simplistic. And since it's a relatively short book, plot threads (particularly Irsa's relationship with her abusive mentor Calypso and the Council's investigation of Irsa for Calypso's murder) are either undeveloped or wrapped up too quickly. Still, if you're looking for a new, queer take on Ursula, Tales of the Sea Witch will do!