My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Sea Witch is both a retelling of the Little Mermaid story and an origin story of the Sea Witch. I love fairytale retellings, so when I saw this book and its gorgeous cover was available as an audiobook from my library I immediately borrowed it. While this story wasn’t perfect, I enjoyed the way that the author reimagined this classic tale and the dimension that she brought to the characters. It was a challenge to rate because my feelings about it varied wildly. There were times when I was completely engrossed in the stories and characters so it was a 4/4.5 star read, but others that made me cringe or drift off like a 2 star read. As a result, I settled with a 3.5-star rating.
The plot was a little slow in the beginning, you may need to give the book some time to find it’s footing and pull you in. If you are a reader that will put a book down if you haven’t been hooked in the first chapter, try giving it a little more of a shot before you make your decision. There are many points that can drag and overall the pacing is very slow. It is also a vastly different story than the classic Little Mermaid tale you may be familiar with (and I mean the actual original, not the Disney version.) I believe that it will make the read tough for some readers that may have enjoyed it otherwise.
While I enjoyed the characters, I wasn’t in love with any of them. They were relatively well developed, but for some reason, I just didn’t form any strong connections. Yes, I liked them but no I probably wouldn’t remember anything about them in a year. To be honest, I can’t remember all of their names now. Evie, Anna, Nikolas (this is probably spelled incorrectly because I only listened to the audiobook), and whatshisface… I know it begins with an E or the sound of an E. Eeker? Gosh, that cannot be spelled correctly. Other reviews tell me it is Iker. WEll there you go, four main characters and I had to legitimately think for a minute to remember their names and couldn’t tell you anyone else in the book. That is my problem. No one particularly stood out, beyond perhaps Nik – as he was allowed to be a romantic, cinnamon roll which we don’t see enough in male leads.
I enjoyed the twists and turns in this story, even if the drama and stakes didn’t really appear until the last 2/3 or 3/4 of the book. I worry that many people will not make it to that point and put the book down long before it can make an impact. Hopefully, you’ll give it a shot but don’t put too much pressure on the book and just let it slowly sweep you away.
Same same sameeeeeeeeeeeeee to all of this. The characters were just okay. Didn’t love them fully. I was actually okay with the slowish beginning because you as you said, you have to set up the story. Wonderful review, Kyera! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person