Silent Mermaid by Brittany Fichter
Fantasy. 436 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
How does a silent mermaid win a war of song? How does she break the siren song of another that holds her beloved captive?
After being touched by the sun at birth, Princess Arianna has grown up imprisoned between two worlds, neither fully mermaid nor fully human. Her life is one of solitude and dreams. But when she loses her family and her kingdom in a war between man and merfolk, she is forced to flee into the arms of the very people who want nothing to do with her kind. Her only hope of protection lies in the penniless prince that she once saved and his two boisterous nieces.
Prince Michael is at his wit’s end. After the great maritime war, he must clean up the pieces of neglect, folly, and evil that his grandfather has left behind. With his people starving and his treasury nearly empty, the familiar girl from the past that falls piteously at his feet cannot be afforded his attention. He has only the resources and time for the barest of good deeds to pay back that which she gave him. But the more Michael begins to hear the girl beneath her silence, the more he realizes she just might be the distraction he cannot survive without.
All the while, a darkness is beginning to poison the ocean, and an evil foreseen by neither Arianna nor Michael threatens the very existence of both peoples. If they wish to restore their kingdoms, Arianna and Michael will need to reassess their alliances, their beliefs, and an ancient prophecy that’s been all but forgotten. Most importantly, however, they will need to decide whether or not they can move past their personal pain and trust one another. Because if they can’t, everything and everyone they love will fall.
Buy Silent Mermaid to escape into the world of the Classical Kingdoms Collection, a set of fairy tale retellings for grownups who still believe in sacrifice, true love, and the magic of happily-ever-afters. Silent Mermaid is fifth in the Classical Kingdoms Collection but can be read as a stand-alone book.
My Review:
Oh. My. Word.
Kay, this one was amazing. I mean, Fichter does amazing work anyway, but I adored this stunning retelling of The Little Mermaid. I just finished the novel and I want to go back and read it again! I distinctly remember looking down at around 30-40% and just being giddy that I knew I had so much more left to read! Then around 60%, my heart sank just a little cause I knew I was over halfway through, but still so enthralled in the story that I couldn’t put it down. I borrowed this one on my kindle, but I plan to buy a physical copy asap just so I can read it all over again whenever I want!
The plot follows the classic Little Mermaid tale, but in such a beautifully unique way! I loved the prophesy that Fichter intertwined and the way she expanded on the classic elements and deepened them, drawing the reader into a much more significant story. The political upheaval and intrigue, the contrast between the sea and sun worlds were compelling and intriguing. The pirates added a whole new layer to the story, too. Oh, and Michael’s nieces and the sea witch were such cool characters that drew the plot to new depths.
I can honestly say I just drooled over each of the characters in this one. The prince had so much more depth than any Disney prince ever did (as much as I love them!). He was a bit of a puzzle to me, and I loved trying to solve him. I loved learning about his motivations and his family really made him the kind of man you can look up to and respect. His younger brother and his nieces drew the kind of Michael out that I just loved. Lucas was precious and I am so stoked to read his story!! His mother even drew out a side of him that added yet another layer to him. His past relationships, which we didn’t get to witness as the reader, shaped him and we got to see the effect of them on him. Similarly, our mermaid had a brother whom I would have loved to see more of! (We need a story with him and Michael!) I was rather curious about Arianna’s parents (and her grandparents and aunt and uncle, for that matter). I could have dug more into their backstory and am still kind of stewing on what of it we did get–not that it was an unsatisfactory amount. Fichter writes the kinds of characters that inspire me to find the best in others and to be the best I can be myself. She writes the kinds of characters I want to surround myself with, to be lifelong friends with, and the kinds of characters I thoroughly enjoy reading about.
Hand in hand, the worldbuilding in this book was to die for! I could spend an eternity swimming around in Fichter’s sea! I really, reallyhope she does a follow up one day! The mermaid culture she created was thrilling! I want to know more about the Deeps, spend more time in the mercourt and the villages to see how the charm makers make their charms and how the korses run their community. It was such a lively and vivid picture to behold. I loved the oddity of Arianna and the struggle she faced as a result of belonging in neither world. I truly related to her through most of the book and appreciated her vulnerability. I thought her silence was beautiful and I liked seeing how she navigated around it, and how others navigated around her. I liked how that drew out her strengths and contributed to some of her insecurities, too. She fascinated me, honestly, and I commend her on her poise and bravery. She was fierce and loyal, loving and kind, and, again, the kind of character you strive to be. Her struggle with her faith and the Maker was different than Fichter’s previous books. I liked seeing how she grew. She handled pain in much the same way that many of us do, but she also learned to grow and to trust. I thought it was fun to see the world through her eyes (and, of course, I loved seeing it through Michael’s!). The surface world was just as detailed and colorful as the sea world was. I hope we get a glimpse of the Sun Palace as it thrives again in the future!
Another absolutely excellent addition to the Classical Kingdoms world and to my fairy tale repertoire. I will treasure this one and read it over and over and over again. Thank you, Mrs. Fichter, for breathing life into this story and sharing it with the world.
No foul language, some mild fantasy violence–not graphic–and a sweet, realistic, simmering romance! Nothing more explicit than a kiss. I’d be fine giving this to an early teen or probably even pre-teen. And I’d recommend it to any fairy tale, mermaid, fantasy, or simply story-loving reader! I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this one, guys, and you will, too.
More:
Book 0.5 (a novella) in the Classical Kingdoms series is The Green-Eyed Prince (4 Stars)
Book 1 is Before Beauty (5 Stars)
Book 2 is Blinding Beauty (5 Stars)
Book 3 is Beauty Beheld (5 Stars)
Book 4 is Girl in the Red Hood (4 Stars)
Book 6 is Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers (5 Stars)
Book 7 is A Curse of Gems (5 Stars)
Book 8 is Neverland Falling (5 Stars)
Book 9 is Breaking Neverland (5 Stars)
Book 10 is The Sentinel’s Song (4 Stars)
Book 11 is The Seven Years Princess (5 Stars)
I have read and rated the above on Goodreads. Check out the links for more info.
The Becoming Beauty trilogy should be read in order; however, the others are technically standalones. That said, I’d still read them in order since there is some crossover between characters.
Here is a picture of the reading order as posted by the author:
On Gracebought:
If you missed it, be sure to check out the reviews for the previous books in the series here on GraceBought! And stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book!
The Green-Eyed Prince, Before Beauty, Blinding Beauty, and Beauty Beheld