Princess of Mermaids by A. G. Marshall
Fantasy. 492 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
A mermaid without a home. A king without a queen. Can two unlikely souls bridge the gap between worlds?
Under the sea lives Fiora, the child of a human and a mermaid. Despite her best efforts, she has never found a place to belong. Worse, the other mermaids have accused her of waking a kraken with dark magic and threatened to silence her.
Permanently.
Above on land lives King Gustave, sworn not to marry until he finds his missing father. After a shipwreck almost kills him, he does find a missing person. Not his father, but a mute girl with haunting eyes and a strange connection to the sea.
Can Gustave unravel the mysteries around her before they both run out of time?
Princess of Mermaids is a retelling of The Little Mermaid and the third book in the Fairy Tale Adventures series. These books take place in the same world, but each novel is a stand-alone with a fairy tale ending. Enjoy them one by one or read the entire series to see how everything connects.
If you like strong characters, sweet romance, and daring escapades, dive into Princess of Mermaids today!
My Review:
Alright, moment of honesty: I have so thoroughly enjoyed the first two books that, despite my clear adoration for all things mermaid, I was a little doubtful that this one would hold up to the other two, especially with Fiora as the MC. But, fear not my friends! Marshall’s got a few tricks up her sleeve!
Okay, so, right off let’s talk about Fiora. In the first book she was overbearing and clearly not the kindest soul in the room. She was competitive and knew exactly what she wanted. She was well-trained and did everything in her power to disqualify anyone who might have gained an advantage over her. What I love most about her in this book? She didn’t change. It wasn’t like, “Oops, my bad, what I really meant was…” No. Fiora was still brash and competitive and fiesty and quick-tongued. She was still the same girl from the Princess Test. We just a better view of her. Getting inside her head revealed the truth we didn’t see in book one, and that was really cool. Fiora was desperate. She needed Alaric and she is doggedly determined when it comes to her goals. That shone through, even as her goals and needs changed. Fiora is a force to be reckoned with, but she didn’t lose her personality. In this book, she was refined and she grew as a person into an even better version of herself, but there was a reason for her behavior and that endeared me to her all the more.
Additionally, Gustave was so charming and adorable and I loved him! He was a fun addition in the second book and I liked how he worked with Carina and Steffan. But seeing him shine in his own right was really fun, too. We see that he isn’t the adventurous, mischievous, brave, and spirited character that Carina and Stefan both are. He has a softer, more steadfast character. And, admittedly, I loved his heart. His heart was golden. Some of my favorite parts of the book were watching Gustave and Fiora interact. The relationship was beautifully portrayed and developed. They grew together and I loved seeing how they reacted to one another. Gustave took off his shoes for this girl!! And danced in his socks for this girl! My heart just melted. <3
I loved the dowager queen. She had spunk! I wish we could learn her story at some point. I’m sure it’s a story to tell. The other characters rounded out the story and set us up for future stories, too. The cast was a ton of fun in this one. It also really made me smile to see a few older faces from the previous books, especially one dark-haired princess from Santelle and one devious thundering voice in the deep! Oh, also, seeing Fiora’s aunts was really fun! I liked seeing more of them and getting to know them a little. I kind of hope we get to see more of them, and definitely more of Zoe!
The story balanced between the sea world and the kingdom of Montaigne, Gustave’s kingdom. The destruction wrought by the kraken in the previous book lays out the background for a hurting kingdom and Gustave’s heart for them was obvious. That’s also part of what I loved so much about him. His dedication to his people and to his family. He was focused on finding his father, but his hands were tied pretty tight by the marquis! The mermaid world was really pretty and I had a lot of fun there. We didn’t spend as much time there as I thought we might, but Fiora carried the mermaid culture with her and that brought a really nice balance to the story, I thought. Also, their songs and sign language and magic were epic! One of the coolest parts of the world, by far!
The plot was fun. This war between doing good for the kingdom, finding his father, and being basically dragged into a marriage by the ever-ridiculous marquis was a fun tangle of a plot for Fiora to be dropped into the middle of. This isn’t your traditional retelling of The Little Mermaid, and yet, Marshall hit on some very, very classic elements that most retellings just ignore altogether. It was a true treat to see the story done this way. The pain in her feet, the need for a human to share his soul, the dagger and hair and everything, honestly. I found it a very clever retelling and enjoyed watching the layers of the series pull back to create a cohesive, intertwining world of stories. Plus, she threw in some pretty gasp-worthy plot twists of her own. I mean, the other woman? That was definitely a tense moment! There’s a story there, too! (I’m thinking maybe Snow White??)
The book was clean, like the previous two, and a lot of fun. No foul language, a very sweet and mild romance (and that development of trust and putting others before oneself! Oh! Loved it!), and pretty mild violence, a kraken attack, some baddies, etc. But all very tactfully written, nothing explicit or graphic. Perfectly suitable, in my opinion, for a preteen.
More:
Book 1 of the Fairy Tale Adventures is Princess of Shadows (5 Stars)
Book 2 is Princess of Secrets (5 Stars)
Book 4 is in the works!
I have rated and reviewed the above on GR. You can click on the links and check them out. The series is very interconnected and I would recommend reading it in order!
On GraceBought
Missed the review of the previous books? Check them out below! And stay tuned! When the next book comes out, I’ll let you know!
Princess of Shadows and Princess of Secrets