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A review by godlizza
The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember
3.0
This is an interesting take on the little mermaid story, but for those going into it thinking it's going to be a romance you may be sorely disappointed. While the bond between the mermaid protagonist, Ersel, and the human girl, Ragna, is the driving force of everything that happens, this book is more focused on Ersel as a character and her journey.
I've seen a lot of reviews saying they thought there wasn't enough development in Ersel and Ragna's relationship, and I'd agree if this was an epic love story (like the blurb seems to think it is), but that's not the case. Ersel states multiple times throughout the book that while she's attracted to Ragna and is inspired by her, she's not in love with her, at least not yet. After her trials with Loki she even says that she didn't do all the things she did for Ragna, she did them for herself. So yeah, it's more of a 'this is what I need right now' kind of relationship than a grand, epic romance. Never the less, I did like the scenes we got between them.
One of my major problems throughout the book was the way that Ersel viewed/talked about fertility and other women. Ersel definitely suffers from 'not like other girls' syndrome. She is resentful of the patriarchal rule of her community and the role expected of women to pump out babies. Instead she wants adventure in the great, wide somewhere, and we love that for her. However, we don't love her looking down on the other women in her community for taking the hand they've been dealt and putting worth on their fertility and ability to find a mate. The girl hate going on here was just weird, considering how the author seemed to want to write some kind of feminist manifesto. I was glad that Ersel came around by the end and saw how she'd misjudged others. Like, maybe if she actually had any women in her life other than her mum she'd realise that she's not the only girl unsatisfied with the status quo.
Otherwise this was an interesting take on the little mermaid, mixed in with some norse mythology, and ladies loving ladies. I liked the twists the plot took, however the story and the world felt under-baked to me and that kept me from enjoying it further.
I've seen a lot of reviews saying they thought there wasn't enough development in Ersel and Ragna's relationship, and I'd agree if this was an epic love story (like the blurb seems to think it is), but that's not the case. Ersel states multiple times throughout the book that while she's attracted to Ragna and is inspired by her, she's not in love with her, at least not yet. After her trials with Loki she even says that she didn't do all the things she did for Ragna, she did them for herself. So yeah, it's more of a 'this is what I need right now' kind of relationship than a grand, epic romance. Never the less, I did like the scenes we got between them.
One of my major problems throughout the book was the way that Ersel viewed/talked about fertility and other women. Ersel definitely suffers from 'not like other girls' syndrome. She is resentful of the patriarchal rule of her community and the role expected of women to pump out babies. Instead she wants adventure in the great, wide somewhere, and we love that for her. However, we don't love her looking down on the other women in her community for taking the hand they've been dealt and putting worth on their fertility and ability to find a mate. The girl hate going on here was just weird, considering how the author seemed to want to write some kind of feminist manifesto. I was glad that Ersel came around by the end and saw how she'd misjudged others. Like, maybe if she actually had any women in her life other than her mum she'd realise that she's not the only girl unsatisfied with the status quo.
Otherwise this was an interesting take on the little mermaid, mixed in with some norse mythology, and ladies loving ladies. I liked the twists the plot took, however the story and the world felt under-baked to me and that kept me from enjoying it further.