The Mermaid’s Tale by L. E. Richmond
YA Fantasy. 288 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
A Tail Could Tell a Tale
Locklyn Adair has never fit in. The legs she inherited as a result of her great-great-grandmother’s curse make it impossible for her to belong under the sea. When her niece is also born without a tail, Locklyn is determined to save her from similar rejection by sending her to the only place in the Undersea Realm where legs are acceptable—the Lost Island of Atlantis.
Darin Aalto would do anything to protect his family, even spearheading an impossible quest to find treasure that has been lost for over a hundred years. But when his best friend, Locklyn, joins his crew, his ability to keep her safe—and his shot at winning her heart—comes perilously close to being swept away.
A family curse, lost treasure, unrequited love, and a race against time intertwine as Locklyn and Darin seek to save their family, their kingdom, and eventually the entire Undersea Realm without losing each other.
My Review:
I am sooooo upset!
Okay, so a day later, I’m still upset XD I thought I was getting into a nice, mermaidy adventure–my favorite! Now I need Book 2. Asap. AND I no longer trust Richmond with my reader emotions.
Hear me out, so I’ve been in a pretty big reading slump lately (for a few reasons), and my best friend suggested we buddy read this (cause I love mermaids and she bought the book and we wanted to read it before attending Realm Makers this year). Well, quite by accident, I left her in the dust and read the thing in two afternoons…
And the first half was good. I was intrigued. I liked the worldbuilding and still want to learn more. (I listened to the audiobook, and I always miss little details in the audiobooks, so I’d like to reread it and get a physical copy.) I enjoyed the characters, even if I wasn’t really sure where the plot was going (I didn’t even bother to read the synopsis). I was vibing with the romantic ship, even though there was far more romance-genre story than adventure-genre story, which I hadn’t anticipated. (Gotta say, I do love me a good two POV story!) And I was hooked in for the second half! She got me. Well done.
The twist y’all. Okay, that was cool. I wasn’t prepared for the final twist there at the end. I can totally dig it. I’m bought in enough to see where this adventurous plot goes. It’s cool how the story feels like it starts small, but she incrementally grows the stakes and world and plot throughout the whole book.
All sounds good so far, yeah? THE TRAUMA! Maybe it’s because two (completely unrelated) stories I’ve read prior to this have similar elements, but I was upset by a certain sumsumthing in the end which shall not be spoiled. And it happened quick, too! Anywho, that’s all I’ll say for fear of spoilers, but just know: I. Am. Upset.
There were a few minor transitions between scenes I struggled to follow, but I’m willing to bet that’s because I listened to the audiobook rather than reading a hard copy, like I said. I did get a little tired of the (pardon the pun) romantic ships passing in the night over and over and over. I’m all for some good, old-fashioned Jane Austen tangled up misunderstandings, but this did feel a little overdramatic at times. The MCs argued a lot and I honestly wondered why they were so incapable of having like a real conversation (especially all of a sudden since for two decades prior things seemed to be all fine). But other than that, it was a fun, quick, traumatizing (jk…only partially) read.
Content: there’s no swearing, some mild fantasy violence, and clean (albeit mildly dramatic) romance. There’s a sort of, not really, maybe? love triangle kinda tryna happen? And a creeper character the MC fights off pretty well (more than once). Nothing ever really happens, but he clearly doesn’t have good intentions and he does make her uncomfortable for his own amusement. I’d probably feel fine giving the story to a 14+ reader.
More:
Book 1 of the Chronicles of the Undersea Realm is The Mermaid’s Tale (4 Stars)
Book 2 is The Locket’s Revenge
The Locket’s Revenge comes out later this year, so stay tuned for updates on that one. I’ll definitely be picking that one up. This series must be read in order! Check out the links above to find more info on Goodreads.