A review by pandacups
The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill

2.0

This is a very dark, angry, and frustrating retelling of the Little Mermaid. Under the sea it’s a patriarchal society. The mer-men in this are narcissistic, chauvinistic, and physically abusive. The males, including the main character’s love interest, aren’t that swoon worthy either. Females are only prized for their beauty. The mermaid main character, Gaia (meaning “of the earth”)/Muirgen, is naive, immature, and pines after Oliver, a man she’s only seen once and he is already with someone else. In spite of that, Gaia ends up sacrificing her tongue, voice, and tail for decaying legs to pursue lust and pretending to be something she’s not. Gaia hopes “true love’s kiss” will erase her trauma of being betrothed to Zale. For a feminist tale, I was hoping for the MC to have more gumption. This book was not really for me.

Triggers: men physically abusing women, emotional abuse, swearing, fat shaming, vivid description of a tongue removal, alcoholism, being touched without permission, and attempted rape.