A review by aspynjaye
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

This novel has a very strong concept of what it wants to be, but sorely lacks in the execution. The writing is pleasant line-to-line, but hollow and one-dimensional page-to-page or chapter-to-chapter; villains are cartoonishly evil and the protagonists are in love because we're told they are. The most interesting POV was introduced half way through, and the attempts at wrangling ideas of gender are heavy handed and clumsy. A fine read, but not a good one.