Reviews

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

thessur's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hanna_chandler's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense 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? Yes

3.5

I find that a lot of people didn’t enjoy this book due to Florian’s flaws and ways of navigating love and relationships, but I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect. Growing up surrounded by criminals and murderers, I found that he was constantly looking out for himself, committing selfish acts, and making impulsive decisions- but all of these things make perfect sense for the character. While it is not the greatest love story of all time, it is sweet and fast and tender and works well in the story. It is very fast, but it suits the book well. Seeing as both characters come from such a traumatic background and are forced together by circumstance, I think it is only natural for them to fall for eachother as they do. They both desperately need a way out of their currently lives, and that was is in eachother. Sometimes it was difficult to keep track of the characters and system- such as Genevieve, Lady Ayer, and the Pirate Surpeme plot, but overall, I enjoyed this book. I do wish that we got more of the mermaids, as there is only small sprinkles- but I can tell that those small sprinkles are a set up for the next novel; especially given the ending. I will eagerly be waiting for The Siren, The Song, and The Spy!

qbg2341's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

frannieman's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

thattheatrekid's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

ggriffin14's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

awanderingweasel's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

sarahp85's review against another edition

4.0

Loved this. It grabbed me from the get go and I didn't want to put it down.
I don't think I've ever read anything like it and I can not wait to read the sequel

hannahhbic's review

4.0

CW child sexual abuse, alcoholism

I otherwise loved this book but removed a star because destroying a child's life like the above CW mentions is not necessary or wanted in fiction. I don't care that they're pirates; that's not an excuse.

withnearshot's review

adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25