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Nightwind #1
A Ship of Bones & Teeth
Princess Maren is a woman with a secret.
Ten years ago she sold her soul to the sea witch Edonia, giving up a life underwater in exchange for the love of Prince Aerik on land. But after a decade of abuse and misery inflicted by the cruel prince, Maren wants nothing more than to reverse the spell.
An opportunity for escape presents itself when the prince and princess are traveling overseas and are taken hostage by a band of notorious pirates, led by the fearsome Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista. Maren has heard the sordid stories about the infamous pirate-not only is his ship supposedly haunted and crewed by the damned, but that no prisoners ever survive.
Fortunately for Maren, she learns that the captain also has a score to settle with the sea witch. With any luck, Maren may be able to get her old life back, even if it's being held in the captain's wicked hands.
But Ramsay gets more than he bargained for when he learns who—and what—Maren is, and that her appetite for revenge, freedom, and bloodlust rivals his.
Meanwhile Maren finds herself falling for the pirate's dark nature, even as she discovers that Ramsay has a secret more deadly than her own.
Contains mature themes.
Ten years ago she sold her soul to the sea witch Edonia, giving up a life underwater in exchange for the love of Prince Aerik on land. But after a decade of abuse and misery inflicted by the cruel prince, Maren wants nothing more than to reverse the spell.
An opportunity for escape presents itself when the prince and princess are traveling overseas and are taken hostage by a band of notorious pirates, led by the fearsome Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista. Maren has heard the sordid stories about the infamous pirate-not only is his ship supposedly haunted and crewed by the damned, but that no prisoners ever survive.
Fortunately for Maren, she learns that the captain also has a score to settle with the sea witch. With any luck, Maren may be able to get her old life back, even if it's being held in the captain's wicked hands.
But Ramsay gets more than he bargained for when he learns who—and what—Maren is, and that her appetite for revenge, freedom, and bloodlust rivals his.
Meanwhile Maren finds herself falling for the pirate's dark nature, even as she discovers that Ramsay has a secret more deadly than her own.
Contains mature themes.
14 pages, Audible Audio
First published May 25, 2023
3106 people are currently reading
47422 people want to read
About the author
Karina Halle
122 books19.6k followersKarina Halle is a screenwriter, former music & travel journalist, and the New York Times bestselling author of Grave Matter, Blood Orange, & The Royals Next Door, as well as 80 other romances across all sub-genres, ranging from spicy rom coms to gothic horror and dark fantasy. Needless to say, whatever you're into, she's probably written an HEA for it.
When she's not traveling, she, her husband, and their pup Perry, split their time between a possibly haunted 120 year-old house in Victoria, BC, and their condo in Los Angeles.
When she's not traveling, she, her husband, and their pup Perry, split their time between a possibly haunted 120 year-old house in Victoria, BC, and their condo in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,461 reviews
August 4, 2025
A Ship of Bones & Teeth is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but in this version, the mermaid is driven by intense female rage and a desire for revenge. She has a shark as her companion and deeply regrets making a deal with the sea witch Edonia at just 16 years old, trading her underwater life for the affection of Prince Aerik, who ultimately reveals himself to be an abusive asshole. Oh, and she falls for a sexy pirate who kidnaps her.
This book is a delightful mix of The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean, and I devoured it like a delicious piece of chocolate. Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista could kidnap me any day of the week, and I would say, 'Thank you.'
In contrast to Disney's portrayal of mermaids as carefree beings who enjoy swimming with fish and playing, Karina Halle's depiction of mermaids, particularly sirens, aligns with the traditional representations found in centuries of legends and myths. A siren's primary instinct is to entice men to their demise. They seduce, drown, and consume them. This is not something I ever considered while watching The Little Mermaid as an innocent child. Princess Maren has never personally killed a man, but she has consumed some of the organs from the men her mother brought for her and her sisters to feast on.
When Maren's mother goes missing, likely killed by pirates (pirates hunt mermaids for a specific reason that I won’t reveal), she is overwhelmed by loneliness and a sense of aimlessness. Her father and sisters pay her no attention, leaving her to feel as if she belongs nowhere in their aquatic realm. One day, Maren sees Prince Aerik on the beach, and instead of taking his life as she was meant to, she falls in love with him. She strikes a bargain with the sea witch, who takes her singing voice and her ability to ever dwell beneath the waves again. Maren weds Aerik and endures terrible mistreatment at his hands.
Ten years pass. Maren's greatest desire is to find the sea witch, have her undo the spell, and reunite with her father and sisters. One evening, while sailing on the royal vessel with her husband and their entourage, they were ambushed and captured by the most feared pirate crew on the seas, known as The Brethren of the Blood.
There's something not right about her. There's something inside of her that she keeps buried out of fear and I'm starting to see that whatever it is that lives in her and gnaws away at her bones is dying to come out and play.
Maren and Captain Battista find themselves in a battle of wits, trying to suppress their growing attraction for each other. They are both lost souls hiding their true selves from the world, each harboring closely guarded secrets. Maren's sole desire is to shed her weak human form, reclaim her strength as a siren, and return to her homeland. Meanwhile, Captain Battista wrestles with the ghosts of his past, tormented by a personal tragedy, and is on a quest for revenge. Monsters lurk beneath and above the waves. I want to avoid revealing any major spoilers, so I'm restricted in what I can write in this review.
Maren and Captain Battista have now become tied with Violet and Vicente from Sins Duet as my top favorite couple created by Karina Halle. Their chemistry and banter truly captivated me. I am grateful that Karina avoided making the captain a clichéd brooding 'I must always prove I'm an alpha male' type of hero. He's a killer and a deviant, but he has a great sense of humor and genuinely cares about his crew. And he has a Scottish accent. Need I say more? I found this to be incredibly enjoyable, despite the fact that many of my beloved characters met their demise. A character who had the potential to become a favorite was introduced and then killed off in the very same chapter. That's some Tarantino shit.
Little Mermaid? Nah, more like Little Monster. How could I possibly dislike a woman whose best friend is a shark and who has a fondness for cats? Maren is not the type of mermaid you would encounter in Hans Christian Andersen's tale or in a Disney film.
"Hello, luv."
"Hello, Captain."
My personal playlist:
Angus & Julia Stone - Draw Your Swords
Seafret - Oceans
Seafret - Atlantis
Sara Farell - Faded
Tom Odell - Another Love
Florence & The Machine - Over The Love
Billie Eilish - Six Feet Under
Billie Eilish - You Should See Me in a Crown
Dean Lewis - Half A Man
Lewis Capaldi ft. Jessie Reyez - Rush
This book is a delightful mix of The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean, and I devoured it like a delicious piece of chocolate. Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista could kidnap me any day of the week, and I would say, 'Thank you.'
In contrast to Disney's portrayal of mermaids as carefree beings who enjoy swimming with fish and playing, Karina Halle's depiction of mermaids, particularly sirens, aligns with the traditional representations found in centuries of legends and myths. A siren's primary instinct is to entice men to their demise. They seduce, drown, and consume them. This is not something I ever considered while watching The Little Mermaid as an innocent child. Princess Maren has never personally killed a man, but she has consumed some of the organs from the men her mother brought for her and her sisters to feast on.
When Maren's mother goes missing, likely killed by pirates (pirates hunt mermaids for a specific reason that I won’t reveal), she is overwhelmed by loneliness and a sense of aimlessness. Her father and sisters pay her no attention, leaving her to feel as if she belongs nowhere in their aquatic realm. One day, Maren sees Prince Aerik on the beach, and instead of taking his life as she was meant to, she falls in love with him. She strikes a bargain with the sea witch, who takes her singing voice and her ability to ever dwell beneath the waves again. Maren weds Aerik and endures terrible mistreatment at his hands.
Ten years pass. Maren's greatest desire is to find the sea witch, have her undo the spell, and reunite with her father and sisters. One evening, while sailing on the royal vessel with her husband and their entourage, they were ambushed and captured by the most feared pirate crew on the seas, known as The Brethren of the Blood.
There's something not right about her. There's something inside of her that she keeps buried out of fear and I'm starting to see that whatever it is that lives in her and gnaws away at her bones is dying to come out and play.
Maren and Captain Battista find themselves in a battle of wits, trying to suppress their growing attraction for each other. They are both lost souls hiding their true selves from the world, each harboring closely guarded secrets. Maren's sole desire is to shed her weak human form, reclaim her strength as a siren, and return to her homeland. Meanwhile, Captain Battista wrestles with the ghosts of his past, tormented by a personal tragedy, and is on a quest for revenge. Monsters lurk beneath and above the waves. I want to avoid revealing any major spoilers, so I'm restricted in what I can write in this review.
Maren and Captain Battista have now become tied with Violet and Vicente from Sins Duet as my top favorite couple created by Karina Halle. Their chemistry and banter truly captivated me. I am grateful that Karina avoided making the captain a clichéd brooding 'I must always prove I'm an alpha male' type of hero. He's a killer and a deviant, but he has a great sense of humor and genuinely cares about his crew. And he has a Scottish accent. Need I say more? I found this to be incredibly enjoyable, despite the fact that many of my beloved characters met their demise. A character who had the potential to become a favorite was introduced and then killed off in the very same chapter. That's some Tarantino shit.
Little Mermaid? Nah, more like Little Monster. How could I possibly dislike a woman whose best friend is a shark and who has a fondness for cats? Maren is not the type of mermaid you would encounter in Hans Christian Andersen's tale or in a Disney film.
"Hello, luv."
"Hello, Captain."
My personal playlist:
Angus & Julia Stone - Draw Your Swords
Seafret - Oceans
Seafret - Atlantis
Sara Farell - Faded
Tom Odell - Another Love
Florence & The Machine - Over The Love
Billie Eilish - Six Feet Under
Billie Eilish - You Should See Me in a Crown
Dean Lewis - Half A Man
Lewis Capaldi ft. Jessie Reyez - Rush
October 18, 2023
"It's been so long since I've felt this way about anyone," I murmur the emotions too buoyant to keep submerged any longer.
"What way is that?" she asks, her voice breathy husky, hopeful.
"Like you're the moon and I'm the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren." I laugh to myself. "You're right, this is madness an I'm drowning and I don't give a damn. Let me drown in you, will ya?"
I'll never look at fish the same way, ever again.
***
🏴☠️𝗔 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 & 𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛 - 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗔 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘🏴☠️
★𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: ⭐⭐⭐¾
★𝗬𝗔/𝗡𝗔/𝗔: 🅽🅰/🅰
★𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙴
★𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦: 𝙵𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚈 - 𝙳𝙰𝚁𝙺 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 - 𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙳𝚂 - 𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 - 𝙼𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙲 - 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶
★𝗣𝗢𝗩: 𝙳𝚄𝙰𝙻 𝙿𝙾𝚅 - 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽 - 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙴
★𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: 𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴 𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙳 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙿𝙻𝙾𝚃 - 𝙴𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙸𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂 - 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁𝙵𝚄𝙻 𝙰𝚃𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 - 𝙷𝙸𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙽 𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙴𝚂 - 𝙹𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙼𝙼𝙲 - 𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙳𝙸𝙴 - 𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝚈 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂
★𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: 👥👥👥/𝟱
★𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼/𝟱
★𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧: 📜📜📜/𝟱
★𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦 & 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: 💀💀💀💀/𝟱
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧/𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🔥🔥🔥🔥/𝟱 (𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙺𝙸𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙾𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝚂𝙴𝚇 - 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙲𝙸𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙿𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃)
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🚒🚒🚒½/𝟱 (𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝙷𝙾𝚃 𝙽𝙶𝙻 - 𝙴𝚇𝙲𝙴𝙿𝚃 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝚂𝙲𝙴𝙽𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙶)
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬: 💣💣💣/𝟱
★𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🤐🤐🤐🤐/5 (𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚄𝙰𝙶𝙴 - 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝙸𝙲 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚅𝙸𝙾𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴/𝚂𝙴𝚇)
★𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🌻🌻🌻/𝟱
★𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🌹🌹🌹½/𝟱 (𝙸 𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼 - 𝚈𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙰 𝙿𝚄𝙽 - 𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙾𝚄𝚂 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙽𝙴𝚁𝚂/𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂)
★𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: 💔💔/𝟱
★𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘: ❌
★𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: 𝙵/𝙼
★𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗦-𝗧𝗢-𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🖤🖤/𝟱
★𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚:
★𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚: 🎶𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙵𝙸𝚁𝙴 - 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙳 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙺𝙴𝚁𝚂🎶
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
***I always try to be as objective as I can with my ratings for DARK THEMES & TRIGGER WARNINGS, SMUT TECHNICAL CONTENT/INTENSITY, SMUT QUANTITY, ROMANCE QUANTITY, ANGST LEVEL, ENEMIES-TO-LOVERSNESS; the ratings for CHARACTERS, WRITING, PLOT, SMUT QUALITY, ROMANCE QUALITY, are instead tied to my own subjective reading experience and final opinion of the book.
I've finally had some time to actually think about this book and, after a little conversation with my book twinsie Koisty, I can confirm that I liked this a lot, but didn't love it as much as I expected.
Halle's writing is amazing; I highlighted the hell out of this book (so many good quotes!!) and the romance aspect gave me lots of emotions, but I feel like something was missing plotwise speaking, and after my exchange of ideas with miss Fishy, I was able to figure out what that something was.
For one, there seems to be too much focus on telling rather than showing, especially when it comes to focal plot points and action scenes.
There were moments were the pathos was basically oozing off the page, except it all went downhill and fell impossibly flat when the scene required it the most.
A little disorientating, to be honest.
There were times I literally had to go back and check if I was missing someting, because I couldn't comprehend how quickly some conflicts were handled.
Then, the characters. Sure, I liked a lot both Maren and Ramsey, but they both seemed to have layers the author never properly explored. Again, I was told they were and felt a certain way, but I was often not shown so.
The romance was really good and I've grown accustomed to Halle's idea of what a dark romance should be like, so I don't particularly mind how MMC was obsessed with FMC a little after they met or how the fact that they're both fucked up by their past was often used to excuse their present behaviors.
I, on the other hand, would have totally done without a few scenes that had me gagging. I mean, I've read a lot of questionable things and even enjoyed many of them, but apparently I draw my line at . Funny how you never stop learning things, even about yourself lol.
As much as I love my romantasy books with a side of well-written smut, there were a couple times I would have appreciated if the two main characters forgot about their hormones and focused on how to make it out of situations alive.
Weird of me to say this, I know. Mark this day on the calendar because it might be a Halley's comet kind of situation.
I am a bit conflicted about the ratings on this. I'm not sure I liked it enough to give it 4 full stars, but, at the same time, I had fun with it -mostly with the romance and the smut, if I have to be completely honest- and my paperback looks so pretty with all its highlighted lines and colored bookmarks.
I think I'll go with a 3.75 rounded up because my enjoyement, despite very superficial, was real.
I love how Halle never disappoints.
And even when she does, she does it with style.
May 26, 2023
"You are a stunning abyss of a creature…one that I could spend eons swimming in and never get to the bottom of."
—fantasy dark (ish) romance
—found family
—spicy 🔥
—stand-alone
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is a little mermaid retelling meets pirates of the Caribbean and it had me on my knees. A story I didn’t know I needed, this book was the spicy adventure that had me flipping the pages even way past my bedtime.
AND RAMSAY. THAT FICTIONAL MAN IS PHEWWWWWW. 🔥🥵
Maren is a syren who wishes to be a human, after making a deal with a sea witch, she lands on two legs as a human where she falls in love with a prince. A decade passes where a horrific marriage and betrayal lead to her and her husband being on a ship. A ship that is captured by pirates. From there they get kidnapped and meet the notorious Captain Ramsay “Bones” Battista. Tension fills the ship, lust, love, lies, and revenge unveils, the question is, what will Maren decide in the end?
A unique enemies to lovers romance with dark elements, magic, pirates, and syrens, ASOBAT truly sets itself apart. I loved reading every single minute of reading this story, I loved the characters (especially the side characters Nill, Sam, Thane, Sedge, and all of them), and I LOVED THE SPICE. Boy oh boy does Ramsay have a mouth on him, a dirty mouth. And it gave me all the butterflies 🦋. If you’re looking for a sea filled adventure spicy romance, A Ship of Bones and Teeth needs to be added to your tbr.
Check TW first please, I don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable.
The only two reasons I’m giving this 4.75/5 stars is because the overuse of the pet names became a little too much for my personal taste and I do wish we got a longer ending. The final battle was so cool, amazing, and interesting but it felt a bit short. Other than that, this story was a top notch read and had me wanting to go back to the beginning to read it all over again.
All my love is for Maren and Ramsay right now, I love them. 🏴☠️🧜🏼♀️
—fantasy dark (ish) romance
—found family
—spicy 🔥
—stand-alone
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is a little mermaid retelling meets pirates of the Caribbean and it had me on my knees. A story I didn’t know I needed, this book was the spicy adventure that had me flipping the pages even way past my bedtime.
AND RAMSAY. THAT FICTIONAL MAN IS PHEWWWWWW. 🔥🥵
Maren is a syren who wishes to be a human, after making a deal with a sea witch, she lands on two legs as a human where she falls in love with a prince. A decade passes where a horrific marriage and betrayal lead to her and her husband being on a ship. A ship that is captured by pirates. From there they get kidnapped and meet the notorious Captain Ramsay “Bones” Battista. Tension fills the ship, lust, love, lies, and revenge unveils, the question is, what will Maren decide in the end?
A unique enemies to lovers romance with dark elements, magic, pirates, and syrens, ASOBAT truly sets itself apart. I loved reading every single minute of reading this story, I loved the characters (especially the side characters Nill, Sam, Thane, Sedge, and all of them), and I LOVED THE SPICE. Boy oh boy does Ramsay have a mouth on him, a dirty mouth. And it gave me all the butterflies 🦋. If you’re looking for a sea filled adventure spicy romance, A Ship of Bones and Teeth needs to be added to your tbr.
Check TW first please, I don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable.
The only two reasons I’m giving this 4.75/5 stars is because the overuse of the pet names became a little too much for my personal taste and I do wish we got a longer ending. The final battle was so cool, amazing, and interesting but it felt a bit short. Other than that, this story was a top notch read and had me wanting to go back to the beginning to read it all over again.
All my love is for Maren and Ramsay right now, I love them. 🏴☠️🧜🏼♀️
Want to read
May 28, 2023I saw one quote on tiktok…
anyway, on the tbr it goes!
anyway, on the tbr it goes!
January 30, 2025
3.75 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
”Like you're the moon and I'm the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren."
What a wild adventure! I needed a break from heart-wrenching reads, and this dark romance think The Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean was exactly what I craved.
Maren, a Syren, trades her tail and voice for a chance at love with the dashing Prince Aerik. But spoiler alert: life with Aerik is not the fairytale she imagined. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, their ship is ambushed, and she’s taken captive by the roguishly irresistible Captain Ramsey aboard the Nightwind.
There’s drama, danger, and deliciously slow-burning tension! This book has it all spice, enemies-to-lovers, angst, a found family dynamic, high-seas adventure, and a dash of magic. If you enjoy dark retellings with pirates and mythical creatures, this is a fun read
”Then perhaps the both of us are mad, if madness and monsters are one of the same," I murmur.
"But we can be mad together. We can drown in our madness together."
Apparently this is the first book I added to my TBR when I made my Goodreads account lol. 🏴☠️ 🧜♀️ I guess it’s time to finally read it.
🌶️🌶️🌶️
”Like you're the moon and I'm the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren."
What a wild adventure! I needed a break from heart-wrenching reads, and this dark romance think The Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean was exactly what I craved.
Maren, a Syren, trades her tail and voice for a chance at love with the dashing Prince Aerik. But spoiler alert: life with Aerik is not the fairytale she imagined. Just when she thinks things can’t get worse, their ship is ambushed, and she’s taken captive by the roguishly irresistible Captain Ramsey aboard the Nightwind.
There’s drama, danger, and deliciously slow-burning tension! This book has it all spice, enemies-to-lovers, angst, a found family dynamic, high-seas adventure, and a dash of magic. If you enjoy dark retellings with pirates and mythical creatures, this is a fun read
”Then perhaps the both of us are mad, if madness and monsters are one of the same," I murmur.
"But we can be mad together. We can drown in our madness together."
June 30, 2023
tbh this fell really flat for me and felt incredibly cheesy.
June 3, 2023
I am currently on the hunt for a pirate romance so I was excited to read this. I feel like 3 star is a bit generous… but also I didn’t hate this book? I just had a hard time getting into some of the themes. I’m not sure I would consider this a dark romance for MYSELF but the smut was weird at times and some descriptors kinda make me feel icky.
The characters are fun, I just feel like we don’t get too much out of them. This is something I’ve experienced before with standalone novels! There wasn’t any emotional love that ✨made sense✨. It all seemed so quick and irrational and we don’t learn too much about the characters for us to grow attached to them. However it is a quick easy read with a lot of smut if that’s something you’re into. I don’t judge. 🫡
I do feel like this book had lots of potential with pirates, monsters, and some morally grey men with tragic backstories. It just didn’t reach the mark for me. I can understand thought why someone may enjoy it.
I sailed the high seas with this novel but I will now be DISEMBARKING. Farewell. 💀⚔️⚓️🌊🪸🐚🧜🏻♀️
The characters are fun, I just feel like we don’t get too much out of them. This is something I’ve experienced before with standalone novels! There wasn’t any emotional love that ✨made sense✨. It all seemed so quick and irrational and we don’t learn too much about the characters for us to grow attached to them. However it is a quick easy read with a lot of smut if that’s something you’re into. I don’t judge. 🫡
I do feel like this book had lots of potential with pirates, monsters, and some morally grey men with tragic backstories. It just didn’t reach the mark for me. I can understand thought why someone may enjoy it.
I sailed the high seas with this novel but I will now be DISEMBARKING. Farewell. 💀⚔️⚓️🌊🪸🐚🧜🏻♀️
August 6, 2025
Thank you to author Karina Halle and NetGalley for a copy of the e-ARC in exchange for a review. As always, my honest thoughts and opinions are directly below.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
This book is marketed as "The Little Mermaid" x "Pirates of the Caribbean (accurate!) and follows our FMC, named Maren, as she is tricked into making a decision she fears will haunt her for the rest of her life.
After falling in love with a prince who ends up being an abuser, she asks a sea witch, Edonia, to turn her into a human so she can walk on land and claim the man as hers. As the years roll on, she starts to realize the mistake she made and now wants to reverse the spell she asked Edonia for.
However, in the process, both she and her prince, named Aerik, are captured by a pirate ship helmed by Captain Battista. She now has to fight her feelings for the Captain on top of staying alive long enough to gain her vengeance against Edonia so she can return home.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
“Some might say he speaks straight from the devil, but I’m discovering I like what the devil has to say.”
I was honestly surprised when I found this book on NetGalley since I knew it had already been published. I was happy when I was approved to receive a copy of the e-ARC, however, and knew I would be reading it a lot earlier than I had originally anticipated.
I'm going to be honest here. I'm a tad disappointed with this book, even though I do believe it was a good one. I feel that I was expecting more than what we actually received, which is a damned shame, in my personal opinion.
I was not a fan of Maren, personally. I felt throughout the book that she was a petulant child that is now living with the consequences of her actions. I felt the same way after finishing the book, which doesn't sit well with me.
The only two characters I did truly enjoy were Sam and Captain Battista. I also feel that Nerissa, one of the sea witches, did redeem herself in the end. That was a nice touch that I definitely wasn't expecting. I was hoping to see more of her but oh well.
I felt like the last 35% of the book was dragging, but, again, that's just my personal opinion. I'd take it with a grain of salt. lol The book is great but it's just not what I was looking for in a pirate book or storybook retelling. That's what hurts me more than anything.
One of the redeeming qualities of the book, which may sound strange to people, is the smut. I know that's an odd thing to say but I do feel like it was well written. I sometimes feel like the smut in books like this is almost stilted in a way or stale but the smut in this book was very well written.
All in all, I'd recommend the book for the MMC alone. He's just what I needed, even if the book wasn't completely to my liking. Like I say with most of my reviews these days, this is just my personal opinion. Keep an open mind when you read this book because you might enjoy it more.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
This book is marketed as "The Little Mermaid" x "Pirates of the Caribbean (accurate!) and follows our FMC, named Maren, as she is tricked into making a decision she fears will haunt her for the rest of her life.
After falling in love with a prince who ends up being an abuser, she asks a sea witch, Edonia, to turn her into a human so she can walk on land and claim the man as hers. As the years roll on, she starts to realize the mistake she made and now wants to reverse the spell she asked Edonia for.
However, in the process, both she and her prince, named Aerik, are captured by a pirate ship helmed by Captain Battista. She now has to fight her feelings for the Captain on top of staying alive long enough to gain her vengeance against Edonia so she can return home.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
“Some might say he speaks straight from the devil, but I’m discovering I like what the devil has to say.”
I was honestly surprised when I found this book on NetGalley since I knew it had already been published. I was happy when I was approved to receive a copy of the e-ARC, however, and knew I would be reading it a lot earlier than I had originally anticipated.
I'm going to be honest here. I'm a tad disappointed with this book, even though I do believe it was a good one. I feel that I was expecting more than what we actually received, which is a damned shame, in my personal opinion.
I was not a fan of Maren, personally. I felt throughout the book that she was a petulant child that is now living with the consequences of her actions. I felt the same way after finishing the book, which doesn't sit well with me.
The only two characters I did truly enjoy were Sam and Captain Battista. I also feel that Nerissa, one of the sea witches, did redeem herself in the end. That was a nice touch that I definitely wasn't expecting. I was hoping to see more of her but oh well.
I felt like the last 35% of the book was dragging, but, again, that's just my personal opinion. I'd take it with a grain of salt. lol The book is great but it's just not what I was looking for in a pirate book or storybook retelling. That's what hurts me more than anything.
One of the redeeming qualities of the book, which may sound strange to people, is the smut. I know that's an odd thing to say but I do feel like it was well written. I sometimes feel like the smut in books like this is almost stilted in a way or stale but the smut in this book was very well written.
All in all, I'd recommend the book for the MMC alone. He's just what I needed, even if the book wasn't completely to my liking. Like I say with most of my reviews these days, this is just my personal opinion. Keep an open mind when you read this book because you might enjoy it more.
June 5, 2023
This book is dark, hot, and kept me on the edge of my seat. One of my favorite things about Karina’s writing is she is amazing at creating dark and atmospheric words that jump off the page. Maren is a totally baddie and Ramsey is a morally gray pirate captain. The two of them together is explosive.
I didn’t love the way the pirates spoke when compared to the inner monologues. The way the characters thought felt very modern but when they spoke out loud they used more time-specific language. The juxtaposition of the two pulled me out from time to time. The pacing was also a little disjointed at times.
Other than those two things I did enjoy this! Thank you so much to Karina and Literally Yours PR for an arc 🫶 it’s out now!
Read if you like
✨ stand-alone fantasy romance
✨ dark romance
✨ pirates of the Caribbean x the little mermaid
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ revenge
✨ strong fmcs
✨ morally gray mmcs
I didn’t love the way the pirates spoke when compared to the inner monologues. The way the characters thought felt very modern but when they spoke out loud they used more time-specific language. The juxtaposition of the two pulled me out from time to time. The pacing was also a little disjointed at times.
Other than those two things I did enjoy this! Thank you so much to Karina and Literally Yours PR for an arc 🫶 it’s out now!
Read if you like
✨ stand-alone fantasy romance
✨ dark romance
✨ pirates of the Caribbean x the little mermaid
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ revenge
✨ strong fmcs
✨ morally gray mmcs
February 17, 2025
DNF 70% it’s so boring, can’t even make myself speed read the rest.
December 25, 2023
“When it comes to the high seas, not all monsters lurk beneath the surface.”
If you are searching for a delightfully dark/spicy and twisted story to drown yourself in, please board the Nightwind in A Ship of Bones and Teeth! It’s bone-chilling, soul-warming, and heart-pounding all the way to the very empowering ending. Aside from the fact that the main characters Maren and Ramsay (aka Captain Bones Battista) have an engaging monstrous addiction to one another that results in many steamy romance scenes, it’s also ultimately a tale of revenge and freedom from one’s past. I never wanted to put this book down! It had me captivated from beginning to end.
All that being said, please review the trigger warnings prior to indulging and/or committing to reading this book as recommended by the author herself as some content may be found offensive or cause emotional distress to some readers!
This was a complete surprise read/impulse buy for me after I so fortunately stumbled upon this book’s existence on a GR friend’s update! Having just seen the new Little Mermaid movie in theatres just made me feel this was fate that I indulge in a dark retelling of the Little Mermaid. I am glad I saw that first because the twist in this story was deep! This story deserves a 10/10 for creativity! There is magic. Sea witches. Pirates that aren’t your average pirates. The mermaid is not even your average mermaid! She even has a shark companion! Ahh! I love sharks! Let’s just say, I was squealing out loud every few pages with all the little surprises! I even had to use my shark bookmark while reading this book because it seemed so fitting!
Indeed, there were lots of little surprises in this book. Let's just say I now have an open mind about how mermaids have intimate encounters. Ahem!
The cover of the book is even hauntingly beautiful as are the chapter illustrations. The attention to detail was extremely evident. I also really loved that the author included a book playlist from her Spotify at the beginning of the book. I spent about 20 minutes just going through songs and emotionally preparing myself for the story to come. I am also writing my own book, and I have a book playlist too! So, it was so awesome to see this done in an actual published book! Thank you, Karina Halle for such an amazing book! I cannot wait to explore her other books now!
Favorite Quotes:
“I know that this is where I belong, drowning in this madness with her. Two monsters that have found their souls in one another.”
~ Captain Ramsay
“Then perhaps the both of us are mad, if madness and monsters are one of the same. But we can be mad together. We can drown in our madness together.”
~ Captain Ramsay
If you are searching for a delightfully dark/spicy and twisted story to drown yourself in, please board the Nightwind in A Ship of Bones and Teeth! It’s bone-chilling, soul-warming, and heart-pounding all the way to the very empowering ending. Aside from the fact that the main characters Maren and Ramsay (aka Captain Bones Battista) have an engaging monstrous addiction to one another that results in many steamy romance scenes, it’s also ultimately a tale of revenge and freedom from one’s past. I never wanted to put this book down! It had me captivated from beginning to end.
All that being said, please review the trigger warnings prior to indulging and/or committing to reading this book as recommended by the author herself as some content may be found offensive or cause emotional distress to some readers!
This was a complete surprise read/impulse buy for me after I so fortunately stumbled upon this book’s existence on a GR friend’s update! Having just seen the new Little Mermaid movie in theatres just made me feel this was fate that I indulge in a dark retelling of the Little Mermaid. I am glad I saw that first because the twist in this story was deep! This story deserves a 10/10 for creativity! There is magic. Sea witches. Pirates that aren’t your average pirates. The mermaid is not even your average mermaid! She even has a shark companion! Ahh! I love sharks! Let’s just say, I was squealing out loud every few pages with all the little surprises! I even had to use my shark bookmark while reading this book because it seemed so fitting!
Indeed, there were lots of little surprises in this book. Let's just say I now have an open mind about how mermaids have intimate encounters. Ahem!
The cover of the book is even hauntingly beautiful as are the chapter illustrations. The attention to detail was extremely evident. I also really loved that the author included a book playlist from her Spotify at the beginning of the book. I spent about 20 minutes just going through songs and emotionally preparing myself for the story to come. I am also writing my own book, and I have a book playlist too! So, it was so awesome to see this done in an actual published book! Thank you, Karina Halle for such an amazing book! I cannot wait to explore her other books now!
Favorite Quotes:
“I know that this is where I belong, drowning in this madness with her. Two monsters that have found their souls in one another.”
~ Captain Ramsay
“Then perhaps the both of us are mad, if madness and monsters are one of the same. But we can be mad together. We can drown in our madness together.”
~ Captain Ramsay
October 27, 2023
3.5 Nill's Tooth Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5
The whole time thinking about what to write in this review, that TikTok sound clip of "Paige, you were good. I'm waiting for you to be great" played on repeat in my mind, as that is exactly how I feel about this book.
Do not get me wrong, it was enjoyable the same way a Marvel Movie is, and contains so many annotateable and memorable lines. But going in I wanted the next Endgame or Guardians of the Galaxy, and instead was given Black Widow. The one that is not "technically" bad, but it's not "technically" good either.
This book is a Dual POV story that follows Maren, a littlemermaid syren, who was hungry for experience and adventure after growing tired of her life under the sea. She makes a deal with a sea witch to turn her human but is lied to about what life is truly like with feet. Soon Maren finds herself married to an abusive prince, where she is expected to be seen and not heard. On the voyage home, our dear Captain Ramsey captures their ship and takes her and the prince hostage...but soon Maren learns that things are not always what they seem on board with the Brethren of Blood.
Before I elaborate on what kept this from AMAZING I want to touch on what I did like. The worldbuilding is absolutely exceptional. Considering this is standalone, there is not often a lot of time given to this to set the foundation, but it was there. I could smell the ocean, I felt like I was on that Pirate ship. There was a fully-fledged magic system and lore that truly paid homage to the vibes of The Little Mermaid mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean. I also really enjoyed the writing as a whole and the style. It was easy to follow and as I mentioned, the number of lines I highlighted in the book truly gives a testament to how much I enjoyed the general quotability of the book.
It was clear that a lot of time and care was put into understanding the life of a pirate as well as the mechanics of sailing a ship. My vocabulary-loving brain practically squealed at the amount of nautical terms that I learnt reading this.
So why then is this only good? Firstly there are a lot of action scenes in this book but every single one of them felt like they had this intense build-up to a climax that would be instantly over or brushed off very quickly. I honestly thought I must have been missing pages or chapters as the story would move on and not line up. It was like aspects of the plot were just missing, conversations were not had and the consequences of the events weren't ever shown.
We were just told things happened and not shown how they happened. Big events would just be mentioned in a passing line and wouldn't have the reaction expected. I would have not minded this if it happened once or twice but it happened numerous times, to the point that I got frustrated. This bled into the smut and the inopportune time that the smut happened.
There were also factors of the plot and writing that felt like they were added purely to elicit a shock from the reader. Added to create a feeling of being unhinged for the sake of being unhinged.
The relationship switches from lust to love with the main characters feeling very quickly. They both lack some characterization and development. For a captain who has been mourning his dead wife and his daughter for so long to move on almost instantly because he found someone to warm his sheets felt weird. I would have liked to see him going through that emotional struggle to accept this. And I felt that any time anything was borderline serious or crossing into that emotional exploration, it would move on very quickly into action or smut.
The tropes you can expect in this are:
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ The Little Mermaid X Pirates of the Caribbean
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Hidden Identity
▶ Revenge Plot
▶ Morally Grey MMC
Ultimately it's still good...I'll still recommend this as I had fun with it but it had so much potential to be more...
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5
The whole time thinking about what to write in this review, that TikTok sound clip of "Paige, you were good. I'm waiting for you to be great" played on repeat in my mind, as that is exactly how I feel about this book.
Do not get me wrong, it was enjoyable the same way a Marvel Movie is, and contains so many annotateable and memorable lines. But going in I wanted the next Endgame or Guardians of the Galaxy, and instead was given Black Widow. The one that is not "technically" bad, but it's not "technically" good either.
This book is a Dual POV story that follows Maren, a little
Before I elaborate on what kept this from AMAZING I want to touch on what I did like. The worldbuilding is absolutely exceptional. Considering this is standalone, there is not often a lot of time given to this to set the foundation, but it was there. I could smell the ocean, I felt like I was on that Pirate ship. There was a fully-fledged magic system and lore that truly paid homage to the vibes of The Little Mermaid mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean. I also really enjoyed the writing as a whole and the style. It was easy to follow and as I mentioned, the number of lines I highlighted in the book truly gives a testament to how much I enjoyed the general quotability of the book.
It was clear that a lot of time and care was put into understanding the life of a pirate as well as the mechanics of sailing a ship. My vocabulary-loving brain practically squealed at the amount of nautical terms that I learnt reading this.
So why then is this only good? Firstly there are a lot of action scenes in this book but every single one of them felt like they had this intense build-up to a climax that would be instantly over or brushed off very quickly. I honestly thought I must have been missing pages or chapters as the story would move on and not line up. It was like aspects of the plot were just missing, conversations were not had and the consequences of the events weren't ever shown.
We were just told things happened and not shown how they happened. Big events would just be mentioned in a passing line and wouldn't have the reaction expected. I would have not minded this if it happened once or twice but it happened numerous times, to the point that I got frustrated. This bled into the smut and the inopportune time that the smut happened.
There were also factors of the plot and writing that felt like they were added purely to elicit a shock from the reader. Added to create a feeling of being unhinged for the sake of being unhinged.
The relationship switches from lust to love with the main characters feeling very quickly. They both lack some characterization and development. For a captain who has been mourning his dead wife and his daughter for so long to move on almost instantly because he found someone to warm his sheets felt weird. I would have liked to see him going through that emotional struggle to accept this. And I felt that any time anything was borderline serious or crossing into that emotional exploration, it would move on very quickly into action or smut.
The tropes you can expect in this are:
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ The Little Mermaid X Pirates of the Caribbean
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Hidden Identity
▶ Revenge Plot
▶ Morally Grey MMC
Ultimately it's still good...I'll still recommend this as I had fun with it but it had so much potential to be more...
![Profile Image for Lb [worlds longest slump] .](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1757735729i%2F106122777._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 1, 2023
DNF @ 50%
I just couldn’t do it. I reaaaaally hoped that I would like this one. But I think Blood Orange might have just been a fluke from Halle. Cause that book slapped but everything I have read from her since has been a miss. This book just didn’t do anything for me. Le sigh.
To start, for any dark readers: don’t get excited about the trigger warnings at the beginning LMAO they’re just there to catfish you, as another reviewer said 😂 fr
I feel like Halle’s writing in this is just not very good. It’s very info dump-y at the beginning, but honestly this continues throughout the whole thing. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing. It’s needlessly descriptive and repetitive which I found boring. The dialogue was also really long and a lot of it was unnatural sounding. Like… no one talks like that in real life.
I also just didn’t really like the story or the FMC, Maren. She didn’t really have a personality aside from being pissed off and it just grated on me. The plot didn’t hook me. I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters or even find them charming. I actually didn’t even laugh once which is a damn shame. There’s no banter, it’s not intriguing, it’s just meh.
My honest to god most major gripe with this book is that the author had no flippin clue as to what the MMC, Ramsey, actually sounded like. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what his voice was supposed to sound like in my head. So buckle in cause I’m about to go on a rant about that single point HAHA it literally drove me out of my mind.
We’ve got three main contenders here: Scottish, pirate and English 🏴 🏴☠️ 🏴
Our MMC is supposed to have grown up in the Scottish highlands (think Jamie Fraser from Outlander). This was mentioned three times in the first half of the book so it must be a crucial part of his characterisation, right? RIGHT? Well let’s see. To contribute to this we’ve got things like:
- “aye” instead of yes but only… sometimes… for some reason
- “lass”
- “wee”
- and the line “his accent got thicker the more aroused he was” or something to that effect.
Like alright… anyone who’s heard a Scottish person talk knows that accent is STRONG AF. Plus they have their own Scots words so they’re not pronouncing words like “you” and instead pronounce “ye”. So if you want someone to read as if they have a Scottish accent you actually have to spell it out as such. Again, see Outlander (Diana Gabaldon is a queen at writing Scottish accents).
The next contender is pirate (dialect or accent or however it can be classified lmao) and for that we’ve got things like:
- “savvy?”
- “if it be your XYZ”
- “It ain’t going to be XYZ”
- “Yo-ho” YEAH. YO FUCKIN HO.
- “That be true”
Even a pirate accent would say “ye” instead of you. But having these things just randomly thrown in?? It’s like the author googled “thing pirates say” and then just injected them into random spots in the book. It felt so out of pocket with the rest of his speech. As a side note she makes two side characters sing a SEA SHANTY IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE cause yk, pirates.
And then, for the most part, he speaks like just a regular, well-spoken Englishman of the 1800’s-ish. Examples:
- “well suffice to say”
- “I’ve come to rescue you milady”
- “Have you ever considered dabbling in levity […]?”
- “Nay” instead of no… sometimes… even though this is OLD old English
IT WAS SO INCONSISTENT I had no idea who this man was or what he was supposed to sound like. He mostly read as a well educated Englishman who then had random bouts of an identity crisis for gods sake. It was honestly so jarring. The snippets of “savvy” and “poppet” especially are so ingrained with Pirates of the Caribbean in my brain that I literally cannot unhear them and they just made me cringe. It’s just embodying Jack Sparrow a lil too much yk? Like we get it… that’s the only depiction of pirates you’ve ever been exposed to.
I know authors can take creative liberties and while that’s entirely fine can we at least have the main characters accent/dialect/speech be consistent? Like holy Christ surely that’s not asking for much.
Anyway… yeah, I just didn’t like it.
I just couldn’t do it. I reaaaaally hoped that I would like this one. But I think Blood Orange might have just been a fluke from Halle. Cause that book slapped but everything I have read from her since has been a miss. This book just didn’t do anything for me. Le sigh.
To start, for any dark readers: don’t get excited about the trigger warnings at the beginning LMAO they’re just there to catfish you, as another reviewer said 😂 fr
I feel like Halle’s writing in this is just not very good. It’s very info dump-y at the beginning, but honestly this continues throughout the whole thing. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing. It’s needlessly descriptive and repetitive which I found boring. The dialogue was also really long and a lot of it was unnatural sounding. Like… no one talks like that in real life.
I also just didn’t really like the story or the FMC, Maren. She didn’t really have a personality aside from being pissed off and it just grated on me. The plot didn’t hook me. I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters or even find them charming. I actually didn’t even laugh once which is a damn shame. There’s no banter, it’s not intriguing, it’s just meh.
My honest to god most major gripe with this book is that the author had no flippin clue as to what the MMC, Ramsey, actually sounded like. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what his voice was supposed to sound like in my head. So buckle in cause I’m about to go on a rant about that single point HAHA it literally drove me out of my mind.
We’ve got three main contenders here: Scottish, pirate and English 🏴 🏴☠️ 🏴
Our MMC is supposed to have grown up in the Scottish highlands (think Jamie Fraser from Outlander). This was mentioned three times in the first half of the book so it must be a crucial part of his characterisation, right? RIGHT? Well let’s see. To contribute to this we’ve got things like:
- “aye” instead of yes but only… sometimes… for some reason
- “lass”
- “wee”
- and the line “his accent got thicker the more aroused he was” or something to that effect.
Like alright… anyone who’s heard a Scottish person talk knows that accent is STRONG AF. Plus they have their own Scots words so they’re not pronouncing words like “you” and instead pronounce “ye”. So if you want someone to read as if they have a Scottish accent you actually have to spell it out as such. Again, see Outlander (Diana Gabaldon is a queen at writing Scottish accents).
The next contender is pirate (dialect or accent or however it can be classified lmao) and for that we’ve got things like:
- “savvy?”
- “if it be your XYZ”
- “It ain’t going to be XYZ”
- “Yo-ho” YEAH. YO FUCKIN HO.
- “That be true”
Even a pirate accent would say “ye” instead of you. But having these things just randomly thrown in?? It’s like the author googled “thing pirates say” and then just injected them into random spots in the book. It felt so out of pocket with the rest of his speech. As a side note she makes two side characters sing a SEA SHANTY IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE cause yk, pirates.
And then, for the most part, he speaks like just a regular, well-spoken Englishman of the 1800’s-ish. Examples:
- “well suffice to say”
- “I’ve come to rescue you milady”
- “Have you ever considered dabbling in levity […]?”
- “Nay” instead of no… sometimes… even though this is OLD old English
IT WAS SO INCONSISTENT I had no idea who this man was or what he was supposed to sound like. He mostly read as a well educated Englishman who then had random bouts of an identity crisis for gods sake. It was honestly so jarring. The snippets of “savvy” and “poppet” especially are so ingrained with Pirates of the Caribbean in my brain that I literally cannot unhear them and they just made me cringe. It’s just embodying Jack Sparrow a lil too much yk? Like we get it… that’s the only depiction of pirates you’ve ever been exposed to.
I know authors can take creative liberties and while that’s entirely fine can we at least have the main characters accent/dialect/speech be consistent? Like holy Christ surely that’s not asking for much.
Anyway… yeah, I just didn’t like it.
September 9, 2025
Thank you Netgalley and Metal Blonde Books for an ARC of this book!
I'm mad 😭 ..I was so excited for this book for multiple reasons. Pirate of the Caribbean vibes meet The Little Mermaid feels (BUT FOR ADULTS 🌶️🌶️🌶️)is just such a cool concept.
I loved how the The Little Mermaid aspect was portrayed. Showing the reality of an unfortunately high number of realistic "happily ever afters". I do wish The Little Mermaid aspect in the beginning was just a little longer, but only because it was such an interesting play on the original story and I loved it so much.
But my "madness" stems from the fact, that personally the smut absolutely killed this one for me. It oddly felt like it didn't fit in and it took away from the story. Again, at least for me. This is still a book I would recommend to people because I think it's just way too awesome of a concept not to read. And their were things about this I did love. The Pirates of The Caribbean vibe parts were SPECTACULAR (which is a good chunk of this book) It has some of the small details, which I always love.
And I know, I know, you're probably yelling at me while reading this,"BUT IT ADVERTISES AS A DARK ROMANCE YA DUMBA$&" 🗣️🗣️🗣️..... I understand. I promise I do. And I was more than fine with that going in. I love me some Dark Romance smut. But, I just felt overall the smut and the story clashed here. Again, I would still recommend this. And as always, please feel free to come back and let me know if you read this and think differently! Maybe I'm missing something, that's never out of the question.
Overall it's almost as if the plot and storyline were just too good for a smutty fun time.. which clearly isn't a bad thing!!
I'm mad 😭 ..I was so excited for this book for multiple reasons. Pirate of the Caribbean vibes meet The Little Mermaid feels (BUT FOR ADULTS 🌶️🌶️🌶️)is just such a cool concept.
I loved how the The Little Mermaid aspect was portrayed. Showing the reality of an unfortunately high number of realistic "happily ever afters". I do wish The Little Mermaid aspect in the beginning was just a little longer, but only because it was such an interesting play on the original story and I loved it so much.
But my "madness" stems from the fact, that personally the smut absolutely killed this one for me. It oddly felt like it didn't fit in and it took away from the story. Again, at least for me. This is still a book I would recommend to people because I think it's just way too awesome of a concept not to read. And their were things about this I did love. The Pirates of The Caribbean vibe parts were SPECTACULAR (which is a good chunk of this book) It has some of the small details, which I always love.
And I know, I know, you're probably yelling at me while reading this,"BUT IT ADVERTISES AS A DARK ROMANCE YA DUMBA$&" 🗣️🗣️🗣️..... I understand. I promise I do. And I was more than fine with that going in. I love me some Dark Romance smut. But, I just felt overall the smut and the story clashed here. Again, I would still recommend this. And as always, please feel free to come back and let me know if you read this and think differently! Maybe I'm missing something, that's never out of the question.
Overall it's almost as if the plot and storyline were just too good for a smutty fun time.. which clearly isn't a bad thing!!
March 18, 2024
"I'm a Syren. Mermaids are mythical creatures that you men made up, as if there were swarms of females in the seas just waiting to worship you." I let out a mirthless laugh. "Syrens, on the other hand, we don't want to worship you. We want to eat you."
Oh I DEVOURED this. Not only is the plot incredibly epic and a true enemies to lovers romance, but this book is filled with delicious feminine rage. If you love your women monstrous and unapologetic about it, READ THIS. I was literally cheering and dancing around my room throughout this book.
The dynamic and romance between Ramsay & Maren absolutely swept me away. They are both monstrous, they both have a shit ton of rage, and are true equals in every sense of the word. And that truly makes for a fun as hell book couple. But make no mistake, he falls first and harder, as he should tbh.
And the spice?? Good lord I was sweating. Let’s just say this man ✨enjoys eating✨. They literally f*ck at the bottom of the ocean at one point LIKE?!
P. S. I cried 5 times lmfao
Oh I DEVOURED this. Not only is the plot incredibly epic and a true enemies to lovers romance, but this book is filled with delicious feminine rage. If you love your women monstrous and unapologetic about it, READ THIS. I was literally cheering and dancing around my room throughout this book.
The dynamic and romance between Ramsay & Maren absolutely swept me away. They are both monstrous, they both have a shit ton of rage, and are true equals in every sense of the word. And that truly makes for a fun as hell book couple. But make no mistake, he falls first and harder, as he should tbh.
And the spice?? Good lord I was sweating. Let’s just say this man ✨enjoys eating✨. They literally f*ck at the bottom of the ocean at one point LIKE?!
P. S. I cried 5 times lmfao
March 1, 2025
““Like you’re the moon and I’m the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren.” I laugh to myself. “You’re right, this is madness and I’m drowning and I don’t give a damn.”” 🖤
Ramsay…. i fear was every damn thing to me, I love how head strong and powerful the fmc Maren was. Ramsay worshipped her and the air she breathed like this man said she deserves to be a queen not no princess 🧎🏻♀️ i was folding for the things that came out his mouth. i loved the world building and the magical elements and everything about this book. I loved when books make you forget that you are truly in another world 💋 i would highly recommend this, the spice, banter and everything was amazing to me (if you read it and hate it please don’t blame me 😭) 🫶🏻
Ramsay…. i fear was every damn thing to me, I love how head strong and powerful the fmc Maren was. Ramsay worshipped her and the air she breathed like this man said she deserves to be a queen not no princess 🧎🏻♀️ i was folding for the things that came out his mouth. i loved the world building and the magical elements and everything about this book. I loved when books make you forget that you are truly in another world 💋 i would highly recommend this, the spice, banter and everything was amazing to me (if you read it and hate it please don’t blame me 😭) 🫶🏻
May 19, 2023
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is an amazing book that captivates readers with its dark and fairytale-like atmosphere. Karina skillfully weaves a tale that combines elements of romance, action, suspense, horror, and fantasy, creating a unique and original retelling of The Little Mermaid. From the very beginning, the prologue sets the mood, drawing readers into a world that is both enchanting and chilling.
“You’re a fever in my soul, for which there is no cure.”
The character development in the story is exceptional, particularly that of the heroine, Maren. She starts as a meek and scared princess but undergoes a remarkable transformation into a fierce, empowered, and ruthless syren. Her journey is captivating, and readers will find themselves rooting for her every step of the way.
“I make no false claims when it comes to you, luv, you belong to me body and soul, heart and spirit.”
The relationship between Maren and Ramsay, the male lead, is a highlight of the book. Their banter is fun and enjoyable, and their chemistry is palpable. It is refreshing to see their bond develop before delving into the physical aspects of their relationship. The author wisely avoids overpowering the plot with excessive sex scenes, allowing the characters and their personal growth to take center stage. Their love developed organically and I enjoyed seeing them together.
"I've never had an addiction before," he says hoarsely. "But I think you'll be mine."
The story is unpredictable until the very end, keeping readers on their toes. Karina's attention to detail is evident, creating a rich and immersive world that enhances the overall experience. The love, loyalty, and sacrifices between Maren and Ramsay are beautifully portrayed. The absence of unnecessary drama and the logical thinking of the protagonist contribute to a well-paced and satisfying plot.
“Stay with me,” he whispers. “Don’t go back to the deep. Stay with me at the surface. With the sun and the moon and the stars."
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is an exceptional book that takes readers on a thrilling and enchanting journey. Karina's storytelling skills shine through, delivering a complete and well-crafted tale. The character development, intricate plot, and unexpected twists make it a standout read. This book is a must-read for fans of dark fairytales, romance, and fantasy. It is one of my favorite books of the year and I hope Karina will decide to write more books in this world.
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is an amazing book that captivates readers with its dark and fairytale-like atmosphere. Karina skillfully weaves a tale that combines elements of romance, action, suspense, horror, and fantasy, creating a unique and original retelling of The Little Mermaid. From the very beginning, the prologue sets the mood, drawing readers into a world that is both enchanting and chilling.
“You’re a fever in my soul, for which there is no cure.”
The character development in the story is exceptional, particularly that of the heroine, Maren. She starts as a meek and scared princess but undergoes a remarkable transformation into a fierce, empowered, and ruthless syren. Her journey is captivating, and readers will find themselves rooting for her every step of the way.
“I make no false claims when it comes to you, luv, you belong to me body and soul, heart and spirit.”
The relationship between Maren and Ramsay, the male lead, is a highlight of the book. Their banter is fun and enjoyable, and their chemistry is palpable. It is refreshing to see their bond develop before delving into the physical aspects of their relationship. The author wisely avoids overpowering the plot with excessive sex scenes, allowing the characters and their personal growth to take center stage. Their love developed organically and I enjoyed seeing them together.
"I've never had an addiction before," he says hoarsely. "But I think you'll be mine."
The story is unpredictable until the very end, keeping readers on their toes. Karina's attention to detail is evident, creating a rich and immersive world that enhances the overall experience. The love, loyalty, and sacrifices between Maren and Ramsay are beautifully portrayed. The absence of unnecessary drama and the logical thinking of the protagonist contribute to a well-paced and satisfying plot.
“Stay with me,” he whispers. “Don’t go back to the deep. Stay with me at the surface. With the sun and the moon and the stars."
A Ship of Bones and Teeth is an exceptional book that takes readers on a thrilling and enchanting journey. Karina's storytelling skills shine through, delivering a complete and well-crafted tale. The character development, intricate plot, and unexpected twists make it a standout read. This book is a must-read for fans of dark fairytales, romance, and fantasy. It is one of my favorite books of the year and I hope Karina will decide to write more books in this world.
April 1, 2024
I enjoyed this right from the start! A dark little mermaid meets pirates of the Caribbean retelling? YES PLEASE 👏🏻
I honestly had so much reading this! This is one of my favorite retellings HANDS DOWN.
Maren is one crazy fmc 😂😂 but I freaking loved her so much & Ramsey is the perfect combination of dark & scary but will do anything for his woman… and I ate👏🏻it👏🏻up
I love how Karina Halle kept so many little mermaid similarities yet had the story line completely different at the same time. It was honestly so much fun!
Quotes:
“I’ve never had an addiction before, but I think you’ll be mine.”
“Two monsters that have found their souls in one another.”
“Let’s not fight, shall we? Even though I rather like it.”
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves:
- retellings (little mermaid x pirates of the Caribbean)
- pirates, mermaids, syrens
- dark fantasy
- captive romance
- hate to love
- they try to unalive each other
🌶️🌶️🌶️
I honestly had so much reading this! This is one of my favorite retellings HANDS DOWN.
Maren is one crazy fmc 😂😂 but I freaking loved her so much & Ramsey is the perfect combination of dark & scary but will do anything for his woman… and I ate👏🏻it👏🏻up
I love how Karina Halle kept so many little mermaid similarities yet had the story line completely different at the same time. It was honestly so much fun!
Quotes:
“I’ve never had an addiction before, but I think you’ll be mine.”
“Two monsters that have found their souls in one another.”
“Let’s not fight, shall we? Even though I rather like it.”
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves:
- retellings (little mermaid x pirates of the Caribbean)
- pirates, mermaids, syrens
- dark fantasy
- captive romance
- hate to love
- they try to unalive each other
🌶️🌶️🌶️
December 30, 2023
I liked the part where she tore out her abusive husbands heart and ate it in front of him as he died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2025
3.75 stars
Maren was a 16 year old Syren when she traded her mermaid tale for legs. But the Prince she traded it for turned out not to be worth it. Ten years later she is miserable and just wants to return home. When their ship is attacked by pirates, Maren and the Captain don't realize it yet, but they are both searching for the sea witch who changed their lives.
I wasn't sure what to expect when reading this book, but Karina Halle delivered a good time. I could tell she had a lot of fun writing this book, it shows how much she loved the characters and this world. It was a little campy at times (not sure if that was intentional) and it was a wee bit too long for me, but I really enjoyed this darker little mermaid retelling. Definitely read the trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader. Lots of gore and blood among other things in this book. But overall a good time and I had fun reading it.
2025 Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo categories hit: Merfolk, Kissing in the Rain, and Fairy Tale Retelling
Maren was a 16 year old Syren when she traded her mermaid tale for legs. But the Prince she traded it for turned out not to be worth it. Ten years later she is miserable and just wants to return home. When their ship is attacked by pirates, Maren and the Captain don't realize it yet, but they are both searching for the sea witch who changed their lives.
I wasn't sure what to expect when reading this book, but Karina Halle delivered a good time. I could tell she had a lot of fun writing this book, it shows how much she loved the characters and this world. It was a little campy at times (not sure if that was intentional) and it was a wee bit too long for me, but I really enjoyed this darker little mermaid retelling. Definitely read the trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader. Lots of gore and blood among other things in this book. But overall a good time and I had fun reading it.
2025 Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo categories hit: Merfolk, Kissing in the Rain, and Fairy Tale Retelling
Currently reading
September 25, 2025𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗈 𝖬𝖾𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝖡𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖽𝖾 𝖡𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗏𝗂𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖽𝗂𝗀𝗂𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗏𝗂𝖺 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝖦𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖺𝗇 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹
I found a book that’s on my tbr so I decided to apply for it. 🙂↕️ The Little Mermaid retelling is something I’ve never read before so I can’t wait to see how it goes?? Hehe I wanted to try another pirate fantasy after the Daughter of the Pirate King duology, except this is… adult. 😙
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹
I found a book that’s on my tbr so I decided to apply for it. 🙂↕️ The Little Mermaid retelling is something I’ve never read before so I can’t wait to see how it goes?? Hehe I wanted to try another pirate fantasy after the Daughter of the Pirate King duology, except this is… adult. 😙
June 12, 2023
OMG OMG OMG i love love loved this book!!!! think pirates of the carribean meets the little mermaid… what more could you want???? i found it on tiktok from a booktoker named sloan (u better know her) and i immediately downloaded it and started reading. a dark romance retelling of the little mermaid with pirates, sharks, sea witches, and krakens?? touch her and i’ll kill you vibes???yeah my type of book. i am obsessed with the mmc. the mouth on this man, good lord. also i am obsessed with how the author tied nill back into the ending 😭😭😭😭 5/5 stars for me i love her 🫶🏻
April 8, 2024
Hear me out.... vampire pirates 🥵
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2025
A Ship of Bones and Teeth by Karina Halle
3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Won’t you take me to Zesty Town?”
At the beginning of this year, I made a solemn promise to myself that I would read one romance novel. I figure I can’t knock a genre until I give it a try. Here are my findings:
Through the glass doors, I arrived at the new restaurant in town, Zingy’s. After a quick once-over of the menu, I had made my decision and awaited the waitress to take my order.
“Carne asada y mas,” I proclaimed.
“Would you like hot sauce with that?” the waitress asked.
“I would love some,” I replied. “How hot is the green sauce?” I asked.
“Not too spicy, just a little heat,” she answered.
“Ok, give me that one then, please,” I said.
Orb, where are you going with this review? Well, dear reader, I will tell you that the green sauce was flaming hot. Off-the-charts smoldering, somebody-snuck-something-in-it type hot. Surely I was being punked. In comparison, Karina Halle’s A Ship of Bones and Teeth had similar effects on my reading palate. I thought at one moment I saw steam rising from the pages of the book. As I chewed on ice cubes to cool myself off, I tried to dissect the book in the fairest way possible.
First off, I enjoyed the The Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean theme throughout. Swashbuckling blood guzzlers and a siren, not to be misconstrued as fish people, were a flavor I didn’t know I needed in my life. A sea witch grants a young siren her wish to become human-like so she can enjoy romance with Prince Aerik, a guy she fancies. Unbeknownst to young Maren, the prince of her dreams ends up being not too savory, to put it mildly. Their ship gets attacked by Ramsay “Bones” Battista and the infamous Brethren. Ramsay decides to take Maren and her husband as ransom. Let it be known that I enjoyed Maren’s character, and Ramsay, while rough around the edges, proved to be a swell guy as well.
The way the story unfolded kept my interest. My mind wasn’t blown, but I was speeding through this novel as if a mysterious magic hit my sails just right. The interpersonal relationships between the various members of the pirate crew were fascinating. They were family, and the role they played had me questioning what was morally right and whether I was excusing this hooligan behavior just because I had a propensity to like them.
Then it happened. That moment when I felt as if I had overstepped my boundaries. I felt as if Ramsay had me walk an imaginary plank, and I slowly descended into a whirlpool of carnal knowledge. So much sex. It was in a room, at the bottom of the ocean, on an island, tied up, tied down, pummeling my mind. Please, don’t get me started on Ramsay and his cheesy pillow talk either. However, I admit to chuckling a couple of times.
So coming from a background of never having ventured into this sex-charged stratosphere, dare I say the “relations” took away from the story immersion. Then again, I wonder if this wasn’t my fault for not knowing what I was getting myself into. Upon reflection, I was entertained. That is all I can ask for. I may need to learn to walk before I run when it comes to the romance genre. Shocking? Most certainly. Fun? Yes, most definitely. Next time, I may skip the hot sauce, though.
Many thanks to Metal Blonde Books for the ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Won’t you take me to Zesty Town?”
At the beginning of this year, I made a solemn promise to myself that I would read one romance novel. I figure I can’t knock a genre until I give it a try. Here are my findings:
Through the glass doors, I arrived at the new restaurant in town, Zingy’s. After a quick once-over of the menu, I had made my decision and awaited the waitress to take my order.
“Carne asada y mas,” I proclaimed.
“Would you like hot sauce with that?” the waitress asked.
“I would love some,” I replied. “How hot is the green sauce?” I asked.
“Not too spicy, just a little heat,” she answered.
“Ok, give me that one then, please,” I said.
Orb, where are you going with this review? Well, dear reader, I will tell you that the green sauce was flaming hot. Off-the-charts smoldering, somebody-snuck-something-in-it type hot. Surely I was being punked. In comparison, Karina Halle’s A Ship of Bones and Teeth had similar effects on my reading palate. I thought at one moment I saw steam rising from the pages of the book. As I chewed on ice cubes to cool myself off, I tried to dissect the book in the fairest way possible.
First off, I enjoyed the The Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean theme throughout. Swashbuckling blood guzzlers and a siren, not to be misconstrued as fish people, were a flavor I didn’t know I needed in my life. A sea witch grants a young siren her wish to become human-like so she can enjoy romance with Prince Aerik, a guy she fancies. Unbeknownst to young Maren, the prince of her dreams ends up being not too savory, to put it mildly. Their ship gets attacked by Ramsay “Bones” Battista and the infamous Brethren. Ramsay decides to take Maren and her husband as ransom. Let it be known that I enjoyed Maren’s character, and Ramsay, while rough around the edges, proved to be a swell guy as well.
The way the story unfolded kept my interest. My mind wasn’t blown, but I was speeding through this novel as if a mysterious magic hit my sails just right. The interpersonal relationships between the various members of the pirate crew were fascinating. They were family, and the role they played had me questioning what was morally right and whether I was excusing this hooligan behavior just because I had a propensity to like them.
Then it happened. That moment when I felt as if I had overstepped my boundaries. I felt as if Ramsay had me walk an imaginary plank, and I slowly descended into a whirlpool of carnal knowledge. So much sex. It was in a room, at the bottom of the ocean, on an island, tied up, tied down, pummeling my mind. Please, don’t get me started on Ramsay and his cheesy pillow talk either. However, I admit to chuckling a couple of times.
So coming from a background of never having ventured into this sex-charged stratosphere, dare I say the “relations” took away from the story immersion. Then again, I wonder if this wasn’t my fault for not knowing what I was getting myself into. Upon reflection, I was entertained. That is all I can ask for. I may need to learn to walk before I run when it comes to the romance genre. Shocking? Most certainly. Fun? Yes, most definitely. Next time, I may skip the hot sauce, though.
Many thanks to Metal Blonde Books for the ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
August 5, 2025
⋆౨ৎ 3.25⭐️°⟡˖ ࣪
okay rating this book is actually a really hard thing do to bc the spice in this book (and there is a looooot) made me feel uncomfortable. but if we ignore that, the story was actually really good.
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆tropes
~ dark romantasy
~ enemies to lovers
~ morally grey
~ victim gets revenge
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆characters
Maren: i'm not so sure what to think about her but she definitely is a really strong fmc and the fact that she's a mermaid is really cool.
‼️Spoilers‼️
Ramsay: ughhh well where do I start? I hated him with my whole soul in the first half of this book. He calls people his property and to prove it, he's branded Maren. He locks her in cages, keeps her captive and needs her mermaid blood because it gives him special strength. Despite everything he thinks she belongs to him and that he has some kind of claim. I wanted to throw the book on the wall just bc of his disgusting behavior. In the second half he finally accepted that Maren is a wild and indepentend woman and he threats her loving. I still hate him tho.
(end of spoiler)
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆story
Please only read this book if you like Dark Romantasy and spice bc I wasn't prepared for the amount of spicy chapters and the way some people are killed there🫡🫡 but if we leave that and some red flag characters outside, it was a really exciting story also bc I have never read a pirate × mermaid book!! it was cool to read a romantasy book that takes place in the ocean.
☆ i would recommend this to Dark Romantasy lovers but personally I'm not gonna read the second book :)
thanks for reading xx💕
okay rating this book is actually a really hard thing do to bc the spice in this book (and there is a looooot) made me feel uncomfortable. but if we ignore that, the story was actually really good.
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆tropes
~ dark romantasy
~ enemies to lovers
~ morally grey
~ victim gets revenge
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆characters
Maren: i'm not so sure what to think about her but she definitely is a really strong fmc and the fact that she's a mermaid is really cool.
‼️Spoilers‼️
Ramsay: ughhh well where do I start? I hated him with my whole soul in the first half of this book. He calls people his property and to prove it, he's branded Maren. He locks her in cages, keeps her captive and needs her mermaid blood because it gives him special strength. Despite everything he thinks she belongs to him and that he has some kind of claim. I wanted to throw the book on the wall just bc of his disgusting behavior. In the second half he finally accepted that Maren is a wild and indepentend woman and he threats her loving. I still hate him tho.
(end of spoiler)
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆story
Please only read this book if you like Dark Romantasy and spice bc I wasn't prepared for the amount of spicy chapters and the way some people are killed there🫡🫡 but if we leave that and some red flag characters outside, it was a really exciting story also bc I have never read a pirate × mermaid book!! it was cool to read a romantasy book that takes place in the ocean.
☆ i would recommend this to Dark Romantasy lovers but personally I'm not gonna read the second book :)
thanks for reading xx💕
September 5, 2023
3.5 rounded up to 4. Preemptively stating that there are some spoilers in the below 😇
I always thoroughly enjoy Karina Halle books, and this one was no exception. This book is a combination of a fractured reimagining of The Little Mermaid and of the Pirates of the Caribbean. This is also an extremely dark book, and I really appreciated the really detailed trigger warning that Karina Halle put at the beginning of the book. I don't think I've ever seen a content warning this intense. Basically, Karina Halle doesn't want to hear anyone's shit if you get triggered or upset by anything in this...she did warn everyone 😂
Plot
In the prologue, we learn that at 16 years old, Maren is the 3rd-in-line syren princess, and she feels ignored by her father and sisters. After she grows infatuated by a human man who she watches on the beach, she begs a sea witch to turn her into a human by trading her fins/gills/tail/syren song/immortality for a human lifespan, legs, and the love of the man on the beach.
The story begins 10 years after Maren made this deal with the sea witch. Unfortunately for Maren, after she became human and met "Prince Aerik" (the man who she had been obsessed with from afar), she learns he is actually a cruel man, and she spends 10 years married to this very abusive man.
While on a voyage with Prince Aerik and the Royal navy, their ship gets attacked by pirates, and Prince Aerik and Princess Maren are taken as hostages to be held for ransom by the pirates. This is where we meet Captain Ramsey who becomes infatuated with Princess Maren, and he has an agenda of his own which involves hunting down syrens. We also learn that Captain Ramsey and his whole crew are not humans--they were all born as "Brethren" which are basically vampire/zombie hybrids. It's all very The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean coded, as promised, which I fucking loved.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed it. It's very dark, as promised. There's a lot of really fucking fucked up shit that the main characters do to each other and to others. Ramsey literally brands her with his initials to show that she belongs to him, Maren shreds Ramsey's entire body/face to pieces, , a few kids die, etc. If you can't handle that stuff, I don't think this book is for you (and that's OK).
I really enjoyed watching Maren get her "monster" back and become vicious again after becoming so lifeless while suffering Aerik's abuse for a decade. I think Maren and Ramsey are actually written to be perfect for each other, which I can't always say about every book couple. Both Maren and Ramsey had fabulous character development and arcs throughout this book.
I did get a little annoyed because the MCs had sex at like 40% of the book, and then there were basically sex scenes every like 3-4 chapters after that. By 75% into the book, I was skimming over all of the sex scenes. With the exception of the time they literally had sex while she's in syren form (with a tail/no human vagina) and he's a human man, all of the sex scenes were pretty repetitive and the same. I was a little bored of the sex scenes.
The one thing that frustrated me with this book is that there were periods where it was extremely slow, and then all the sudden it would be super fast and good again. It was a rollercoaster to read. For example, the beginning is slooooow moving because the story had to set the foundation a bit, but then I thought the book got really good between chapters* ~10 - 15, 22 - 26, 31 - 36 and then 40 - 42.
*For the record these chapters are all complete estimations because I'm doing this off memory without the book in front of me, but this is what it felt like. Everything between these chapters just dragged a bit for me.
Anyways, I enjoyed it. I probably won't re-read it, but I'd recommend it if you like very dark fantasy romance. I'm not sure if I've ever read another The Little Mermaid x Pirates of the Caribbean crossover retelling. Good summery pirate/mermaid story with lots of 18+ content and a lotttt of content for my dark romance girlies.
I always thoroughly enjoy Karina Halle books, and this one was no exception. This book is a combination of a fractured reimagining of The Little Mermaid and of the Pirates of the Caribbean. This is also an extremely dark book, and I really appreciated the really detailed trigger warning that Karina Halle put at the beginning of the book. I don't think I've ever seen a content warning this intense. Basically, Karina Halle doesn't want to hear anyone's shit if you get triggered or upset by anything in this...she did warn everyone 😂
Plot
In the prologue, we learn that at 16 years old, Maren is the 3rd-in-line syren princess, and she feels ignored by her father and sisters. After she grows infatuated by a human man who she watches on the beach, she begs a sea witch to turn her into a human by trading her fins/gills/tail/syren song/immortality for a human lifespan, legs, and the love of the man on the beach.
The story begins 10 years after Maren made this deal with the sea witch. Unfortunately for Maren, after she became human and met "Prince Aerik" (the man who she had been obsessed with from afar), she learns he is actually a cruel man, and she spends 10 years married to this very abusive man.
While on a voyage with Prince Aerik and the Royal navy, their ship gets attacked by pirates, and Prince Aerik and Princess Maren are taken as hostages to be held for ransom by the pirates. This is where we meet Captain Ramsey who becomes infatuated with Princess Maren, and he has an agenda of his own which involves hunting down syrens. We also learn that Captain Ramsey and his whole crew are not humans--they were all born as "Brethren" which are basically vampire/zombie hybrids. It's all very The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean coded, as promised, which I fucking loved.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed it. It's very dark, as promised. There's a lot of really fucking fucked up shit that the main characters do to each other and to others. Ramsey literally brands her with his initials to show that she belongs to him, Maren shreds Ramsey's entire body/face to pieces, , a few kids die, etc. If you can't handle that stuff, I don't think this book is for you (and that's OK).
I really enjoyed watching Maren get her "monster" back and become vicious again after becoming so lifeless while suffering Aerik's abuse for a decade. I think Maren and Ramsey are actually written to be perfect for each other, which I can't always say about every book couple. Both Maren and Ramsey had fabulous character development and arcs throughout this book.
I did get a little annoyed because the MCs had sex at like 40% of the book, and then there were basically sex scenes every like 3-4 chapters after that. By 75% into the book, I was skimming over all of the sex scenes. With the exception of the time they literally had sex while she's in syren form (with a tail/no human vagina) and he's a human man, all of the sex scenes were pretty repetitive and the same. I was a little bored of the sex scenes.
The one thing that frustrated me with this book is that there were periods where it was extremely slow, and then all the sudden it would be super fast and good again. It was a rollercoaster to read. For example, the beginning is slooooow moving because the story had to set the foundation a bit, but then I thought the book got really good between chapters* ~10 - 15, 22 - 26, 31 - 36 and then 40 - 42.
*For the record these chapters are all complete estimations because I'm doing this off memory without the book in front of me, but this is what it felt like. Everything between these chapters just dragged a bit for me.
Anyways, I enjoyed it. I probably won't re-read it, but I'd recommend it if you like very dark fantasy romance. I'm not sure if I've ever read another The Little Mermaid x Pirates of the Caribbean crossover retelling. Good summery pirate/mermaid story with lots of 18+ content and a lotttt of content for my dark romance girlies.
October 3, 2023
I love retellings and this one was quite enjoyable. It was a bit darker than The Little Mermaid tale we all know and love. For one, Princess Maren wasn't a mermaid. She was a Syren—vicious, man-eating, creature of the sea. She felt unloved and ignored and wanted more. After a glimpse above the sea, she found the sea witch and made a fool's bargain to get legs, have the prince fall in love with her, and get her happily ever after.
Too bad nothing happened the way she wanted them to.
Prince Aerik was abusive and after 10 years of it, Maren had practically accepted her lot in life. When they're captured by pirates, she finally had a taste of freedom. And the first person to see her, to actually see her is the captain of the ship, Ramsay.
I loved Ramsay. He was hilarious, without intending to be. He was loyal, honorable, and yet he was an outcast leading a group of outcasts. There is so much more to learn about him, but I'll let you discover all of the magic of him and this story for yourself. Enjoy!
Too bad nothing happened the way she wanted them to.
Prince Aerik was abusive and after 10 years of it, Maren had practically accepted her lot in life. When they're captured by pirates, she finally had a taste of freedom. And the first person to see her, to actually see her is the captain of the ship, Ramsay.
I loved Ramsay. He was hilarious, without intending to be. He was loyal, honorable, and yet he was an outcast leading a group of outcasts. There is so much more to learn about him, but I'll let you discover all of the magic of him and this story for yourself. Enjoy!
June 22, 2023
Excellent mermaid retelling. Not dark really IMO. I’ll read the next for sure.
June 2, 2023
This book is SO GOOD!! And it’s a stand-alone so we get the most satisfying conclusion. I love it!!
In this world, mermaids are actually vicious Syrens who eat the organs of men. Maren is a Syren who traded her tail/voice for a chance to be with the handsome human, Prince Aerik. Life with Aerik is NOT what she wanted (he SUCKS) so she’s miserable until she finds herself kidnapped and taken prisoner on Captain Ramsey’s ship, the Nightwind.
This book has spice, enemies-to-lovers romance, found family, pirate life, abuse, grief, character growth, and magical creatures.
I LOVE the “If you’re a monster, I’m a monster. Let’s be monsters together” dynamic between Maren and Ramsey. Their bickering/banter and angsty tension is the best.
This book is pretty dark/violent/gory so proceed with caution. (:
In this world, mermaids are actually vicious Syrens who eat the organs of men. Maren is a Syren who traded her tail/voice for a chance to be with the handsome human, Prince Aerik. Life with Aerik is NOT what she wanted (he SUCKS) so she’s miserable until she finds herself kidnapped and taken prisoner on Captain Ramsey’s ship, the Nightwind.
This book has spice, enemies-to-lovers romance, found family, pirate life, abuse, grief, character growth, and magical creatures.
I LOVE the “If you’re a monster, I’m a monster. Let’s be monsters together” dynamic between Maren and Ramsey. Their bickering/banter and angsty tension is the best.
This book is pretty dark/violent/gory so proceed with caution. (:
December 5, 2024
I really enjoyed this.
Bursting with female rage yet i was enchanted at times. Woah.
4 stars
3.5 on the spice scale
CW: so many, check out the authors notes
Bursting with female rage yet i was enchanted at times. Woah.
4 stars
3.5 on the spice scale
CW: so many, check out the authors notes
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