Review by sagec_13 - The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

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sagec_13 's review for:

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

5.0

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

“Powerful things, stories. If you care to listen to them."

QUEER PIRATE ROMANCE!!!!!!!!!!

okay, now that I have your attention 🤭

An absolutely INCREDIBLE story!!! I love a multiple POV, and that lent itself well to explaining the world without a huge lore dump at the beginning. If you're looking for a very queer story about pirates, and magic, and storytelling, this is absolutely the book for you!

It follows pirate Florian— born Flora— as his life aboard the Dove is thrown into chaos by high-born Imperial daughter Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a passenger on the ship on her way to an arranged marriage. Tasked with guarding Evelyn until his fellow pirates show their true colors and detain their wealthy passengers as slaves, friendship blossoms between the two, and then more. They encounter mermaids and witches and embark on the adventure of their lifetimes as they are forced to face their own identities and forces that conspire to keep them apart.

I adored the representation in this book: a Black genderfluid MC, a Japanese-coded sapphic MC, nonbinary major side character, Black major side character, and several Japanese-coded side characters.

This book does open with a very intense scene aboard a hostile pirate ship, but that only drew me in more! Maggie Tokuda-Hall built an exquisite world of pirates and mermaids and magic as you’ve never seen before. I’m infinitely glad my partner recommended it to me, and I in turn fervently recommend it to all of you!
CWs to keep in mind: blood, injury, and graphic violence; murder; references to slave trade; allusions to rape and rapists; alcoholism; some descriptions of torture

Content Warnings