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

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? No

3.75

The first part of the book was quite promising. It was adventurous, the characters were likable, and there were some great motives. I LOVED part 2 where it expanded more on the magic system. It gave me Starless Sea vibes, which is another of my favorite books. But then the plot got jumbled to me in part 3 (it felt like a too-long movie action scene), the magic was almost never used even though one of the characters had access to it, and some characters were introduced that ended up not being in the story again (like the prince Evelyn was supposed to marry, or Xenobia). I also think the ending was ambiguous…what happens to Rake and Alfie? 

Also, I think Flora and Evelyn fell in love way too fast but more time passed than were shown so it’s possible.

I liked this book and it had the perfect air of adventure I was in the mood for, but it also lacked something big and I can’t pinpoint what.
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