For starters, what immediately drew me to this novel was the cover. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it's inevitable.
However, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get into this book. It's not that the writing was bad or that the premise was uninteresting. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I actually think the plot of this book is its strongest point. The concept of pregnant African slaves being thrown overboard and their children becoming mermaids is horrific, but compelling in the most morbid sense. It's a warped origin story for the mermaids for sure, but it's not something that I've seen done in a mermaid book before. Add in the plot line of the Historian who holds the memories of her fellow mermaids, and you have yourself a solid novel.
Unfortunately, as I said, I just couldn't get into this book. I'd read a page and then immediately have to reread it. To be honest, I felt a little lost throughout much of the book. In the first pages, I feel like I'm just thrown in without much context, and it was pretty jarring. I think maybe that's why this novel couldn't hold my attention.
Would I recommend this book to other people? Yes. But I think it's also important to have somewhat of a grasp of the premise beforehand so you know what you're getting into and whether or not you should pick it up in the first place.
However, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get into this book. It's not that the writing was bad or that the premise was uninteresting. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I actually think the plot of this book is its strongest point. The concept of pregnant African slaves being thrown overboard and their children becoming mermaids is horrific, but compelling in the most morbid sense. It's a warped origin story for the mermaids for sure, but it's not something that I've seen done in a mermaid book before. Add in the plot line of the Historian who holds the memories of her fellow mermaids, and you have yourself a solid novel.
Unfortunately, as I said, I just couldn't get into this book. I'd read a page and then immediately have to reread it. To be honest, I felt a little lost throughout much of the book. In the first pages, I feel like I'm just thrown in without much context, and it was pretty jarring. I think maybe that's why this novel couldn't hold my attention.
Would I recommend this book to other people? Yes. But I think it's also important to have somewhat of a grasp of the premise beforehand so you know what you're getting into and whether or not you should pick it up in the first place.