A review by afi_whatafireads
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

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

3.0

"Because if you act on loving a human, your form will be revoked and you will be nothing but foam upon the sea."


One of my anticipated reads, but sadly, it fell short. A retelling of the Little Mermaid with a South African take, filled with mythical creatures and adventures, but sadly the execution of the book, overall, just fell a little short for me.

Personal Ratings: 3🌟

This book was something that I had high hopes for. A mermaid retelling, with a POC character as the main character? Honestly, I love reading about cultures that I am not usually used to see in books. Its not only interesting, but it serves as a history lesson that I loved to see. Unfortunately, the execution of the book fell short for me and boy, was I dissapointed.

Short Summary
Simidele is a Mami Wata, a mermaid that serves to bring souls lost in the sea, in aiding them and continuing the journey to the after life. When fate has it that she saved a boy, that was still alive, Simidele can't help but save him. Things turned to worst when Simidele found a secret that can ruin the livelihoods of her sisters and her creator, and thus, begins the journey of Simidele and the boy in saving her kind and his as well.

Personal Thoughts

Mind you, this will be a LONG one. Since I had high hopes for this book and just everything fell short, I wouldn't say this would be a ranty review, but more on, how this book could have SO MUCH POTENTIAL but everything, again... just .. fell.. short..

Lets talk about the good things about this book first.

Mythology Wise , I can't say that I am familiar with it so I can't comment on the accuracy of the stories, but really, it was fun to learn a new culture and a mythology that I wasn't familiar with. I spent a few hours looking into the meanings of certain words, the creatures that were introduced and a whole expansion of the Yoruba religion and beliefs. It was something that made me so very invested when I started this book. I loved when authors integrate their culture in the book and in a way, introduce readers in something new and also serves as a representation for people of colour. Would say kudos to this, because I actually read up about the history, myths and the beliefs of the Yoruba. Again, I can't comment on the accuracy in the book, hence, a google search can do wonders, so, my advice, do have a read on it because it is so very interesting.

Well.. That was only the nice thing that I had to say about this book :') Again , all these points on here afterwards are things that I felt had so much potential, but in a sense, the author just went on with the generic route of a YA formula book. 1) insta-romance 2) an overachieving male lead 3) the innocent one 4) the one who would sacrifice everything

I would say the Romance in here was just... so ...... not what I liked. It felt so instant, and not in a bad way. Honestly, the insta-trope its not my favourite tropes, but if done right, it could actually be cute. But for this book, the execution was just iffy and just so ..very.. generic Not only I have no connections whatsoever with the Characters, the romance just felt off. There was no buildup, no indication of love, and just one that I just felt ... eeeeeeh? ... after reading it.

The Writing Style of this book was not very consistent. I would say when the author is describing about the world and the history of the book, it was beautifully explained. However, with the addition of the sudden flashbacks (that really disrupts the pacing of the story) and the inconsistent way in portraying the characters, overall, it fell short.

The Lack of Glossary at the back of the book was one that I felt the author could have put out to be more inclusive. Again, google is just a search away, but really, it would be nice if there is a glossary at the back of the book to make it feel more inclusive to readers. This is not a major problem for me (as I would have googled everything that I am curious about, but not everyone is like me), but I think for beginners or anyone looking to start their first fantasy book would be a tad frustrated with some of the words.

Lastly, the Villain Arc was not very convincing. I always believed, for a book, especially a fantasy book will need a strong villain to complement with the story. For this book, not only that I feel the villain was misunderstood and poorly written, I just couldn't understand nor be convinced of what he was accused off.

Overall, I would say, this book had SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL that I was actually sad that I had to give it a 3🌟. Honestly, if not for the interest that I had with the myths, I would give this book a 2🌟
yes thats how mad I am with the execution of this book

But overall, I would say, this book would be a great first entry book for beginners who are just starting to read a fantasy book. The writing is straightforward, with all the usual tropes that we see in a YA Fantasy and with a very interesting mythology and creatures. Take my review with a grain of salt and do try out this book or have a read on the history and the culture that is integrated in here. A good read for my second entry to Black History Month.

Thank you to Times Reads for generously providing me a review copy of the book.

Disclaimers: All my reviews are my thoughts of the book and according to my personal preferences. Even though I had received a review copy, it does not affect my review and honest thoughts for the book.

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