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A review by kazen
Surface Tension by Valentine Wheeler
3.0
2.5 stars
I picked up Surface Tension because it's an f/f romance with bi rep that has mermaids, and I need more of that in my life. It's inspired by The Little Mermaid but goes off and does its own thing.
The good:
- The author is autistic and bi, making for own voices bi rep, yea!
- Serai's yearns to be out at sea and make her own life to get away from a less than ideal father, and she does it. The beginning, where she meets an awful storm with her crew mates on the high seas, drew me right in.
- The Ariel-esque character has the same grotto and love of human objects that you would expect, but with a more scientific bent, which is neat.
- All of the icky parts of The Little Mermaid story are taken out so no one loses their voice to get legs, etc.
- The under sea sections have the germ of a good idea, but...
The not-so-good:
- The setting isn't fleshed out much. It's your typical European fantasy setting - vaguely medieval with a town, castle, forest, and ocean. I wanted more, especially from the under sea sections.
- The one side character with any teeth, Nicholas, could have served the plot better.
-There's a tsunami at one point, and the damage was more fitting to a gently rising tide of mineral water. Tsunamis do not damage so cleanly, I'm afraid.
- I'm not sure I understood the point of the mermaids having four tentacles.
- The end smacks of colonialism, which I did not like or expect.
After such a wonderful beginning I was left disappointed.
Thanks to Nine Star Press and Netgalley for providing a review copy.
I picked up Surface Tension because it's an f/f romance with bi rep that has mermaids, and I need more of that in my life. It's inspired by The Little Mermaid but goes off and does its own thing.
The good:
- The author is autistic and bi, making for own voices bi rep, yea!
- Serai's yearns to be out at sea and make her own life to get away from a less than ideal father, and she does it. The beginning, where she meets an awful storm with her crew mates on the high seas, drew me right in.
- The Ariel-esque character has the same grotto and love of human objects that you would expect, but with a more scientific bent, which is neat.
- All of the icky parts of The Little Mermaid story are taken out so no one loses their voice to get legs, etc.
- The under sea sections have the germ of a good idea, but...
The not-so-good:
- The setting isn't fleshed out much. It's your typical European fantasy setting - vaguely medieval with a town, castle, forest, and ocean. I wanted more, especially from the under sea sections.
- The one side character with any teeth, Nicholas, could have served the plot better.
-
- I'm not sure I understood the point of the mermaids having four tentacles.
- The end smacks of colonialism, which I did not like or expect.
After such a wonderful beginning I was left disappointed.
Thanks to Nine Star Press and Netgalley for providing a review copy.