The Mer Queen

by Cecily Anne Winters

The Mer Queen is the 2nd book in a dark and enchanting fantasy duology where trust is fragile, magic is dangerous, and love is anything but simple.


After centuries of darkness, merfolk had finally been restored to the shores of the water realm. But our greatest triumph might prove to be our hardest challenge yet, when the heritage hidden in my blood broke forth to claim me, and the sea witch chose to openly attack our people.

With me fighting to survive the trials of divinity, and the whereabouts of the mer king still unknown, the fate of the realm and its people rested firmly on Princess Mira’s slender shoulders.

We had thought we had paid the price of magic already--but what if the magic wasn’t done with us yet?


Get lost in The Overlay Worlds, where magic, mysteries and mermaids collide to pull you into an underwater rollercoaster ride of emotions, action and maybe, love.


Authors This book contains mature content and is best suited for 18+. CWs for violence and off-screen depictions of torture.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2026

About the author

Reading and inventing stories - usually with myself as the hero - have been part of my life since before I can remember it clearly. So what would come more natural than actually write them down?

In my stories you'll find all my preferred things - fantastic worlds, strong heroines, complex characters but also action, adventure and angst. There might even be the occasional romance involved, but first and foremost, I'm writing fantasy stories that I, myself, love to read and I hope that you'll enjoy reading them as much as I have fun writing them!

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Mer Queen was everything I hoped it would be and the perfect conclusion to this duology. From the very first page, I was completely pulled back into this beautifully dangerous underwater world where magic, betrayal, and impossible choices are around every corner.

The stakes were so much higher this time, and I loved watching the story grow darker and more emotional. Mira really shined as a character, carrying so much responsibility while facing impossible decisions. The twists kept me invested, and I never felt like I knew exactly where the story was heading.

The world-building continued to impress me, with the mix of merfolk, sea witches, ancient magic, and divine trials creating such a unique fantasy setting. The action scenes were exciting, but it was the emotional moments and the relationships that really stood out. There were so many moments that had me holding my breath, hoping everything would somehow work out.

If you enjoy fantasy filled with magic, mystery, high stakes, romance, and mermaids, this duology is absolutely worth picking up. It was an emotional, action-packed finale that left me completely satisfied, and I already know I’ll be thinking about this world for a long time.

[Anca Antoci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is NOT the story you think you’re getting… and that’s what makes The Mer Queen so good 🌊🖤

Book 2 in The Overlay Worlds shifts the spotlight to Mira and she carries it. Watching her step into power while everything falls apart around her was so satisfying.

✔️ Weak-to-strong FMC
✔️ Slow-burn tension
✔️ Morally grey king (who finally makes sense 👀)
✔️ Dark magic that demands a price

The stakes are higher, the magic is more dangerous, and the emotional weight hits harder.

If you loved The Mer King, go in with an open mind—this one is bigger, deeper, and all about legacy and power.

Read more at https://www.summonfantasy.com/reviews...

[Lauryn Munro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

ARC Review

I think this book may just not have been for me, I think someone a bit younger would really be into this book!

[Christina's Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this followup to The Mer King!

[Fae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.50⭐️ - people said “you’re not getting the story you think you’re getting” & honestly? yeah … i’m left feeling confused, irritated & dumb 🙂

i think props to the author because i can confidently say that i have *never* in all my years reading had a book make me feel dumb. not even when i’m not feeling good have i ever had this happen & i guess this could be a boasting point for the author? 💀 idk but let’s get on with it …

so Zoe … spent all of book 1 (The Mer King) hating Callan & saying she wanted to be back to being a human with her recent fiancé Aidan, then she kinda accepted she was a mermaid but still hated Callan (though she would admit she felt attracted to him) & in this one she’s *heartbroken* because Callan got left behind in the witch’s cave? why are you heartbroken? maybe sad i could understand, since she knew he was being tortured & such but *heartbroken* because she has deeper feelings for him? oook - but then *also* she develops a crush on like any male Mer she encounters! more so on Theo but still, like even on Malik at a point & let’s not forget her *beloved* Aidan … like are we about to have a reverse harem situation here or what?

& Callan 🤺 😤 there’s not a single redeeming quality in homeboy … like morally grey/black characters usually have at least 1 redeeming quality & i can’t find one for him. he said to be extremely handsome that even his daughter says so? yeah, but so what? idc if he’s the *only* handsome or hot being, homeboy is a dick & idc if at the end he “did the right thing” i don’t like him. he was miserable after his mate died so he made everyone else miserable with him for centuries??? then he knew Zoe was half deity & he was going to choose her as his mate to then have her kılled so he could absorb her magical energy??? 🤦‍♀️ i just can’t with him

Callan also left me confused because did he or did he *not* delude himself into thinking he could love Zoe? he kept going back & forth & also stating he could never forget or stop loving his mate Avalina (deceased) but then went back to yeah i can love Zoe … granted, most of the time he had that idea because it was for the “good of the kingdom” but still like what? & even with the multiple POVs we don’t get to see or know what happened between the last time we saw his POV & how Mira ended saving him at the shore & doing what she had to do to save the realm 🤔 like what happened here? he just became enlightened out of no where or … ???

speaking of multiple POVs, i still enjoyed them! but even having all the POVs available, i still feel like *a lot* of stuff was missing, misguiding & confusing 🫠 one of the many things that left me confused … the mermaid pods! exactly how did they come about? & i know they all “broke” but were they like in “stasis” or were they all “dėad” but with barely enough “life” to be able to supplement magic to the witch? no fůcking clue

the sea witch is so unhinged she is exhausting & irritating. like yeah i get it … she’s mean, she’s bad & she wants to take over the kingdom but as much as she was terrible she was also just plain annoying 💆‍♀️ obviously not everyone needs a “backstory” but maybe giving her a backstory would’ve helped? not to root for her but just as an added “bonus” but then again i doubt that would have changed her end goal which is to be the queen 🤷‍♀️

are we getting books for other *interesting* “side” characters? becuase Theo??? Krieg??? Emmanuel & let’s not forget Irena & Malik! oh! & *of course* Zoe! what the hėll is going to happen to her? definitely NOT be with Callan! But Theo seemed to *really* like her but then we have the whole Aidan complicated (more than we originally thought! IYKYK) story! plus in the end the witch gets away promising to be back & what not sooo now what? OH! & we don’t get to know who the witch’s fated mate was???!!!

the whole Aidan “plot twist” was straight out of left field & adds to my confusion because how is this all happening - seemed like a lot of extra stuff added & since this didn’t go anywhere (for now) it just leaves a huge❓

when Mira said maybe they should allow the witch to be queen “if only by name” i wanted to punch her! girl what? yeah you’re getting overwhelmed by queenly duties but WHAT???!!! how in *any* scenario would letting the most evil being in y’all’s realm (& that’s saying a lot since Callan exists) become queen be better? she’s power hungry & you think she would be content with having just the “name” of queen? bıtch please!

there’s *a lot* of unfinished thoughts, unfinished events & at times unfinished sentences! that contributed to my never ending confusion & make me think i’m just not smart enough for this book? am i supposed to deduce & read between the “waves” or something? like when Callan’s electric magic was flashing & Mira said “he hasn’t really -“ he hasn’t really WHAT??? TELL ME!!!!

at the end of the day … i had a hard time trusting anyone here & now i am second guessing everything & also questioning my intellect which again, NO book has ever done & i honestly don’t know if this should be a good thing or a bad thing but i *definitely* don’t feel good about it but i do find the situation a bit funny because how did this happen? 💀 the plot was plotting but i think my ability to “read between the waves” is just not something i can do because yeah i don’t understand like half the shıt going on 🫠

should i recommend this book because i know others might enjoy it fully & not feel dumb & confused like i am? or should i recommend this book just so others feel dumb with me? 😂 idk … i guess read at your own risk

[Readwithsamijo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, let me get my thoughts in order.

After book 1 I expected this to be more based around Zoe and her background etc and there was plenty to read about it while also leaving us with loads of questions for her future. (Here's hoping book 3 comes haha). What this character went through and still managed to leave us wanting more but more from the sense of hoping for a happy ending.

The Mer queen is definitely Miras book though and I loved that too, just drop all your expectations of what you think you are getting and just read the story for the story.

As for Callan I can actually understand him better now. In book 1 he had insta love with Zoe yet treated her almost with contempt and I was left feeling confused by that. Well that has been sorted and I actually was able to understand more why.

Mira and Antares are just 😍 and then we have Beautiful little Irena. How my heart aches, and her relationship with krieg, definitely pulls on the heartstrings (would never have put a kraken in my falling for category but yeah he completely melted me)

Now I'm over here hoping and praying for another book to tie up the loose ends in my head but knowing Cecily she will just leave me with more haha and I love that about her books and always the description of the overlay worlds totally transported me away from the daily grind to somewhere magical. Sometimes dark and sometimes so pretty

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity of reading early and being on the arc team. I cant wait to see what the future holds.

[Jennifer Amaral · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Vibes first because this one?? MAGICAL, INTENSE, and SO EMOTIONAL 👀🌊🖤**

• mermaids / underwater fantasy 🧜‍♀️
• dark magic & sea witch energy
• trials of divinity
• missing king / rising chaos
• “power comes with a cost” vibes

Yeah… I was hooked immediately.

The Mer Queen takes everything from the first book and *raises the stakes*. The world feels bigger, more dangerous, and way more unpredictable—and I was completely locked in 👀

Mira??
She’s carrying EVERYTHING.

The pressure, the power awakening inside her, the responsibility for her people… and none of it comes easy. Watching her navigate all of that while the world is literally shifting around her?? So good 🖤

And the magic??
Not safe. Not controlled.

It feels alive, unpredictable, and like it’s not done taking from them yet—and that tension runs through the entire story 🔥

Add in a missing king, a sea witch stepping fully into the fight, and a realm on the edge?? Yeah… the stakes are HIGH.

✨ This is a 5⭐ because:
• the world feels immersive and magical
• the stakes are higher and more intense
• the FMC’s journey is strong and emotional
• the tension keeps building the entire time

✨ If you love:
• mermaid fantasy 🧜‍♀️
• dark, dangerous magic
• strong FMCs
• high-stakes, emotional fantasy

This one is beautiful, intense, and completely consuming 👀🌊🔥

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mer Queen is the second installment in The Overlay Worlds series. The first story centered on Zoe and Callan with a slow burn almost enemies to lovers vibe, as Callan turns Zoe into a mermaid against her will following his High Priestesses insistence that he choose a queen.

The second book focuses on Callan's daughter, Mira, and himself. Zoe seemed almost like a background character in this one, which surprised me a lot. I was expecting to see more of her, and while we do get some of her POV, it isn't as much as Mira, Callan, and even Irina.

I enjoyed Mira's POV chapters and watching her grow into her role, the only thing I found a bit odd was her thinking of her father as attractive in his human form and staring at him. Given that she's his daughter it didn't really feel very appropriate, but it didn't put me off the book. I loved seeing more of her relationship with her fated mate, Antares.

Irina's POV chapters were also fun and I'm curious whether she possibly has two fated mates, due to how she's acting around one of the characters. I'm definitely interested to see what happens with that in book 3

[Severine Bambang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you author for this eARC.

I will say that this book is better than the first book.

The most important thing from this book is I could finally understand Callan better.
Why he did that, why he did this.
His characterization with all his flaws is needed to push the idea "Who is the better ruler".
Still, if I was one of the merfolk, I would be very pissed for having him as my king.

Mira is superb. We could see her growth, supported by Tary (and Malik).

Zoe? I guess we will have to wait a third book to know what is actually her role.

Ah... And don't forget the pink mermaid (don't want to spill her name) and the Kraken. I want to know what will happen to them too.

But maybe the author need to reduce the amount of "Wow" factor. I don't know why, everytime I read a scene, the feeling that I get is "wow so magical". But it happened so frequently that sometimes I just rolled my eyes. 😅
Maybe less magical so the reader could get the feeling that it is truly magical?

[Printessan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it 3.5⭐️

I really liked getting back into this world again, especially with the shift to Mira. It was interesting to follow her and everything she suddenly has to deal with, especially with how much responsibility ends up on her shoulders.
This one feels a bit different from The Mer King, mainly because the focus changes. Zoe is still there, but more in the background, which took a little getting used to. I did miss her though, especially after book one.
I liked that there’s more going on with the magic and the overall story this time, especially with the threats around them. It adds more tension and makes everything feel a bit bigger.
This was an engaging read, and I’m glad I got to see how the story wrapped up.

Thank you so much Cecily for letting me be a part of your team.❤️🌺