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raen99's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Dysphoria, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Confinement, and Drug abuse
dtierra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, War, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, and Drug use
There are parts of this book I loved but overall I was disappointed by how little time the main characters had together. Most of the book is spent with them apart and it is painfully slow moving. The pace of the book feels all over the place, parts of it move quite fast and other parts move painstakingly slowly. There are some really beautiful lines on the central romance but I wish there was more. I am extremely disappointed bylilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but it had potential for so much more.
I liked the setting and the atmosphere a lot. The world was very intriguing and magical. The book read like a fairy tale... although a gruesome one. I was really shocked by how gruesome this story actually was. There was violence and death and blood and torture on page, and implied rape and assault. Also, topics like colonialism, imperialism, and sexism were present.
What I absolutely loved was the queer representation and diversity. One main character is gender-fluid, the other a lesbian, there is a non-binary side character. And I liked how these were portrayed.
But the pacing and plot was kind of off. I wish we had more times to get to know the characters, and especially more time with the characters interacting with each other. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other, but because most of it happens off page, the romance feels very instant and over the top dramatic towards the end.
The middle part was also weird. I loved the witchcraft element that is introduced, but the magic system is not really explained well. It's interesting, but very confusing. And it's not used enough afterwards to justify how much time we spend learning about it.
I liked the ending and how all the characters and plots came together. It just would have been more impactful if we had more time before to develop more feelings for everyone and everything that was happening.
I didn't mind all those things that much because of the fairy tale character of the book. It just could have easily been a 5 star for me with a bit more substance.
I liked the setting and the atmosphere a lot. The world was very intriguing and magical. The book read like a fairy tale... although a gruesome one. I was really shocked by how gruesome this story actually was. There was violence and death and blood and torture on page, and implied rape and assault. Also, topics like colonialism, imperialism, and sexism were present.
What I absolutely loved was the queer representation and diversity. One main character is gender-fluid, the other a lesbian, there is a non-binary side character. And I liked how these were portrayed.
But the pacing and plot was kind of off. I wish we had more times to get to know the characters, and especially more time with the characters interacting with each other. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other, but because most of it happens off page, the romance feels very instant and over the top dramatic towards the end.
The middle part was also weird. I loved the witchcraft element that is introduced, but the magic system is not really explained well. It's interesting, but very confusing. And it's not used enough afterwards to justify how much time we spend learning about it.
I liked the ending and how all the characters and plots came together. It just would have been more impactful if we had more time before to develop more feelings for everyone and everything that was happening.
I didn't mind all those things that much because of the fairy tale character of the book. It just could have easily been a 5 star for me with a bit more substance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Sexism, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, misogyny, torture/whipping/water boarding, suicide mention, slavery, homophobia, implied rape mention, descriptions of blood and gore
"There's freedom in stories, you know. We read them and we become something else. We imagine different lives, and while we turn the pages, we get to live them. To escape the lot we've been given."
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuoda-Hall is a stand alone fantasy that has everything you could ever want: pirates, mermaids (obvs), magic, nonbinary pirates(!), Sapphic love, spies, and sentient Sea. Do I even need to say more?
No. But I will 😆. We follow Flora/Florian, a gender confused pirate on the Dove who is assigned to watch over an Imperial girl, Evelyn. Evelyn is incredibly sheltered and doesn't really understand the danger she's in, but decides to teach Florian to read, and thus starts their love story. Flora and Evelyn escape with aid from the Sea, since Evelyn figured out how to save a captured mermaid, and though they end up separated, both go through transformations.
I loved the characters in this! Flora/Florian is one of the only Black people aboard, and I loved seeing their journey toward gender acceptance and understanding that they can contain both of their identities. Evelyn is spiteful af and I'm here for it. I love the way Tokuda-Hall uses the story within a story as a device to connect the plot as well as the circular nature of it. The magic being propelled by a story is a love letter to those of us who believe and hold stories in our hearts. Tokuda-Hall shows us that stories can and do change us.
I also appreciated the criticism of imperialism and colonialism and the governments who claim they are "saving" or "civilizing" other nations, when they are in fact the barbarians bent in war and conquest. I almost wish this were a series, so I could continue to follow Flora and Evelyn as well as the Pirate Supreme (who I'm pretty sure is agender 😍).
"There's freedom in stories, you know. We read them and we become something else. We imagine different lives, and while we turn the pages, we get to live them. To escape the lot we've been given."
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuoda-Hall is a stand alone fantasy that has everything you could ever want: pirates, mermaids (obvs), magic, nonbinary pirates(!), Sapphic love, spies, and sentient Sea. Do I even need to say more?
No. But I will 😆. We follow Flora/Florian, a gender confused pirate on the Dove who is assigned to watch over an Imperial girl, Evelyn. Evelyn is incredibly sheltered and doesn't really understand the danger she's in, but decides to teach Florian to read, and thus starts their love story. Flora and Evelyn escape with aid from the Sea, since Evelyn figured out how to save a captured mermaid, and though they end up separated, both go through transformations.
I loved the characters in this! Flora/Florian is one of the only Black people aboard, and I loved seeing their journey toward gender acceptance and understanding that they can contain both of their identities. Evelyn is spiteful af and I'm here for it. I love the way Tokuda-Hall uses the story within a story as a device to connect the plot as well as the circular nature of it. The magic being propelled by a story is a love letter to those of us who believe and hold stories in our hearts. Tokuda-Hall shows us that stories can and do change us.
I also appreciated the criticism of imperialism and colonialism and the governments who claim they are "saving" or "civilizing" other nations, when they are in fact the barbarians bent in war and conquest. I almost wish this were a series, so I could continue to follow Flora and Evelyn as well as the Pirate Supreme (who I'm pretty sure is agender 😍).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, and Homophobia
Minor: Rape and Suicide
shadeyc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
Surprisingly brutal, but thoroughly engrossing. The stories (myths) intermingled were fascinating. I did not think I would grow to like any of the characters, however, I realised towards the end I was reading much faster and thoroughly invested in several people.
Side note - that cover is gorgeous.
Side note - that cover is gorgeous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Torture, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Blood, Grief, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Vomit, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, and Confinement
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.75
This book is a story of magic, piracy, the bonds of family, the power inherent in stories, and fighting for something better than fate wants to give you, featuring a black genderqueer pirate and a lesbian noble lady. It had plenty of action, magic, and emotion, quite a few twists (albeit minor ones), some she-loves-me-she-loves-me-not drama, and was overall very entertaining. However, the worldbuilding was confusing - there wasn't a lot, and the parts that were there were a very discordant combination of generic fantasy and Imperial Japan - and the story itself felt disconnected. Part one was the longest and set up a plot and relationships between the protagonists, part two separated the protagonists and taught one a new skill that's never used again, and part three rushes to the conclusion of the setup in part one. The pacing felt weird - a nice slower-but-not-slow at the beginning, rushed at the end - and most of part two could have been cut without affecting much of anything. It was a good read overall, but most definitely not perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, and Murder
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
writingcaia's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Pirates, Magic, and Mermaids! Also, queer, non-binary and gender fluid characters, it had everything to work but it really didn’t, I didn’t even like the finale, it felt forced and unrealistic even in that fantasy world.
The Mermaids and the Sea and its Pirate Supreme (non-binary) were without a doubt the most interesting part of the story and I just wish the book was more focused on that.
We do have two interesting morally gray characters, especially our Pirate Flora/Florian. It’s an instalove kind of romance but not badly done.
The Witch, seriously why was she even there? She barely makes a show and the magic system and knowledge that eventually she passes on is so little explored as to be easily removed from the story, which is a shame as it could have been an interesting part if only it hadn’t been so blandly and little exposed.
A lot of non-binary peeps are mentioned, although how just by looking at them the characters knew I don’t get. There’s definitely a lot queer representation but it felt somewhat too much or maybe not well explained enough to feel natural, and I don’t mean the relationships.
It was entertaining and not badly written, I can’t say it was a waste of time, but it did disappoint a little.
The Mermaids and the Sea and its Pirate Supreme (non-binary) were without a doubt the most interesting part of the story and I just wish the book was more focused on that.
We do have two interesting morally gray characters, especially our Pirate Flora/Florian. It’s an instalove kind of romance but not badly done.
The Witch, seriously why was she even there? She barely makes a show and the magic system and knowledge that eventually she passes on is so little explored as to be easily removed from the story, which is a shame as it could have been an interesting part if only it hadn’t been so blandly and little exposed.
A lot of non-binary peeps are mentioned, although how just by looking at them the characters knew I don’t get. There’s definitely a lot queer representation but it felt somewhat too much or maybe not well explained enough to feel natural, and I don’t mean the relationships.
It was entertaining and not badly written, I can’t say it was a waste of time, but it did disappoint a little.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Rape
dariusmortee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
A true rollercoaster of a book. Amazing and praise all over.
I must say Evelyn annoyed me a bit, but that may have been intentional and she was a nice contrast to Flora/Florian as a great way to reflect for all of us white girls who grew up loving stories. Especially the ones who also grew up rich.
Flora/Florian was a great protagonist and I loved reading from their point of view. She is the right amount of courage, but without being oblivious to the consequences. His journey of self discovery throughout the book is amazing.
If you like LGBTQAI+ stories, pirates, mermaids and witches this is absolutely a book for you.
I must say Evelyn annoyed me a bit, but that may have been intentional and she was a nice contrast to Flora/Florian as a great way to reflect for all of us white girls who grew up loving stories. Especially the ones who also grew up rich.
Flora/Florian was a great protagonist and I loved reading from their point of view. She is the right amount of courage, but without being oblivious to the consequences. His journey of self discovery throughout the book is amazing.
If you like LGBTQAI+ stories, pirates, mermaids and witches this is absolutely a book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Addiction, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Child death
darkmattersoybean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Sexual violence