Reviews

Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller

caroreads97's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

gkepps's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

pizzamyheart's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I had low expectations for this book but pleasantly surprised. Keeping in mind that it's for a younger audience, it has a small charm and innocence to it. Some traditional tropes like the female friend who can weild a weapon, easygoing pirates, a prince going around saying "I'm a prince." and being left ok by said pirates. But also some fun plotpoints like a misisng mother, a curse, explanations for some of the prince's actions that were left out of the movie. 

Overall this asks the question "What's the prince's POV." and rather than starting immediately at the start of the film, it takes time to lightly set up the world and characters. 

For the most part I could do without the new cast of characters. They brought nothing to the table and it was a chore to read their parts which felt rather forced. But Eric and the kingdom/friends actions around the curse was an interesting plot point and brought enough fresh life into what could be a completely flat tale. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent

whitjones14's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Very cute - read in 2 hrs 

vixvista's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Solid fluff read. Unexplored concept. Wasn’t bad at all—had good, setting-appropriate prose—but wasn’t outstanding. Eric was built as a more interesting character with his own plights and motivation, which was intriguing. Adds original side characters that include a sapphic couple that isn’t touched on too significantly, but is still present. The romance between Ariel and Eric is presented in a way I found sweeter than the movie, which definitely buffed my rating.

jayykitty's review against another edition

5.0

First and foremost, a huge thank you to Disney publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC! This book was a little slow at first BUT once things become familiar it really picks up. Some people may not like how similar it is to the movie but I loved seeing the events through Eric’s eyes! I think I may have to rewatch it with this plot in mind… anyways, I’m here to say, this book doesn’t disappoint, especially if you’re a huge fan of the movie!

jhartreads's review against another edition

3.0

Cute and an interesting twist to the original but it feels weird to take away the focus from Ariel...

jazzblades's review against another edition

This was fine. I picked it up on a whim from the library because of the cover and it's a retelling of the movie from Eric's POV. The first 100 pages or so were a bit of a struggle to get through. And honestly the best parts/scenes to me were the things that were taken from the movie. This was mostly just kind of a meh read for me. It was entertaining enough. It was kind of boring and I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters, so I didn't really care about the romance. Didn't really care about the plot very much either. Also the action scenes to me weren't well done. Unfortunately not a hit for me. I am willing to give the next book in the series a try just to see, but if I don't enjoy it, I probably won't continue.

kamelleruano's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this retelling of The Little Mermaid, especially as retellings of these quintessential childhood tales start to become more normalized. I think it was beautiful that Eric finally received his character development outside of his interactions with Ariel. Like I wish that there was more attention to it before in the movie, as there would have been so much more information to work with. I actually enjoyed everything and I'm only putting it at 4 stars because it follows SO closely to the movie, though I really liked it. The new twists and characters we meet make this worth reading though. I wish these were the characters pushed into the movie, they would've given it a lot more depth.

atharshlakshmi's review against another edition

5.0

the kind of book i love

"best friends going on an adventure to find something that is too dangerous"

it's so refreshing to read from Eric's pov as we have only seen him from Ariel's pov. we all know who Ariel is and how she was cursed but we get to see Eric going through this adventure and falling in love with Ariel and then finding out it all out. eric was head over heels for ariel and who wouldn't. their interactions were truly so precious and ariel is so PRECIOUS