Year of the Mer

by L.D. Lewis

A dark, bloody epic fantasy reimagining of The Little Mermaid that goes far beyond the fairytale to explore family legacy, war, and what we will sacrifice for vengeance—the perfect read for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and Circe.

The fairytale mermaid Arielle might have gotten her happily-ever-after, but her granddaughter Yemi is having a much harder time. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated years ago, her mother is slowly dying of a poisoned wound, and she faces whispers and slights from her own people. Yemi has been raised as the shield of the kingdom and is soon to inherit the throne, but she cannot shake her fury at how Ixia has treated her family after all they’ve sacrificed. Only her patient mother and steadfast personal bodyguard (and fiancée), Nova, help Yemi rein in that fury...most of the time.

When the kingdom’s discontented rumblings reach a fever pitch, a coup erupts and Yemi’s throne is usurped, stripping her of her family and forcing her into exile. Now, only one being has the power to help her: Ursla.

Like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted by a deal with the sea-witch. With powerful and ancient magic behind her, Yemi could avenge her family, take back her throne, and protect the love of her life. But she should know more than anyone that there is always a price. As much as Yemi wants vengeance, Ursla has been waiting a very, very long time for her own—and it may take more fortune than Yemi possesses to keep her from losing everything all over again.

Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Queer, Lesbian, Adult, Fiction, LGBT

400 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 7, 2026

About the author

L. D. Lewis (she/her) is an editor, publisher, and Shirley Jackson award-nominated writer of speculative fiction. She serves as a founding creator and Project Manager for the World Fantasy and Hugo Award-winning FIYAH Literary Magazine. She also serves as the founding Director of (Hugo-nominated) FIYAHCON, Researcher for the (also award-winning) LeVar Burton Reads podcast, and pays the bills as the Director of Programs and Operations for Lambda Literary. She once chaired a Nebula Conference and Tech Directed a Nebula Award Ceremony (but hasn’t quite won a Nebula), and she runs the Ignyte Awards alongside Suzan Palumbo. She is the author of A Ruin of Shadows (Dancing Star Press, 2018) and her published short fiction and poetry includes numerous appearances in online publications, as well as Scholastic and Neon Hemlock anthologies, and Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming. She lives in Georgia on perpetual deadline, with her partner, two cats, a coffee habit, and an impressive LEGO build collection. Visit ldlewiswrites.com to learn more.

Reviews

[Book Riot Community]

Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:

I once read a horror story by L. D. Lewis that frightened me so much that I put the book down for a full year before picking it up again. This is a violent, dark sapphic extension of The Little Mermaid tale that will for sure keep you reading up past your bedtime. We know how Arielle got her fairytale ending, but Yemi, her granddaughter, is living a much different life. Yemi’s father, the king, was assassinated and her mother is dying. A coup forces Yemi into exile and the only place she can think of turning to is to Ursla, the sea-witch. Yemi wants vengeance and so, too, does Ursla. Will Yemi be tempted by her own rage and Ursla’s power? —Patricia Elzie-Tuttle

[Zana]

DNF @ 52%

I usually love anything dark fantasy, but I wasn't really feeling this. Usually when I DNF, I'm either mad at the novel or bored out of my mind. But I felt absolutely nothing here.

The more I read, the less excited I became about the way that the plot unfolded. The premise grabbed me until the intro started out with a heavy lore infodump. Add in the spoiled brat of a main character and my interest tanked pretty quickly.

The writing style wasn't my favorite either. Is it technically purple prose? It's full of unnecessary modifiers which really hindered the pacing and turned the whole thing into such a slog to read. The inciting incident happened at like 30% in. By that point, I stopped caring.

It was like the author used a lit fic writing style to write genre fiction. If it was a different fantasy story altogether, this might've worked out. But this was your average revenge story with a boring and immature FMC, so there was a tonal mismatch that took me out.

At least I tried, I guess. (But at what cost?)

Thank you to S&S/Saga Press and NetGalley for this arc.

[Bailey Chadwick]

DNF at 60 pages

[Ladz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intricate, compelling, and exhilarating, YEAR OF THE MER is everything I want and more in a sapphic continuation of The Little Mermaid. Lewis crafts a maelstrom of familial love, ancestral hurt, and alluring magic in a world where instead of happily ever after, true love's kiss sparked political conflict for generations to come.

[Syndrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through "Year of the Mer," L. D. Lewis has crafted an engaging story that is both a dark re-imagining and a sequel to a well-loved fairy tale. This is not the story of The Little Mermaid that many of us grew up on, but a story of how the selfish choices of one Mer girl ended up causing strife and political unrest across multiple nations—both on land and in the sea—for many years to come.

Not only do we get to see how Arielle's descendants are living as a result of her decision to leave the sea to live as a human, but we also get a lot more insight into the character of the sea witch, Ursla, herself. Lewis has clearly put a lot of thought into this tale and has created a fascinating lore for the world itself as well as managing to give Ursla a proper backstory—something that I was especially interested in.

I found the pacing to be absolutely perfect here and I'm impressed at just how much story was packed into just 400 pages. Things do start off a little slow as we're introduced to the general setting, characters, and conflicts, but once the action kicks in, it really kicks in. I was personally happy to have had the slower start to really get myself oriented with the story and get some real insight into the character's personalities as well. (Also, this is only the first book of a planned duology, so we have plenty of time to see more action with book two!) The characters themselves were properly fleshed-out as well and each one really stood out as a unique person in the story. We really get to see their beliefs and ideals come through in the choices they make, as well how their interpersonal relationships occasionally make choosing the "right" path a bit of a struggle.

Overall, "Year of the Mer" was a riveting story packed with anger, trauma, revenge, and love—both familial and romantic. I'll probably be thinking about this one for a while still as I eagerly await the second book, because that ending especially has left me wanting more!

[Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.]

[Megan Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very slow start for me, and some of the writing and phrasing felt awkward, which made it a struggle to get through. Unfortunately, the opening didn’t read as meaningful world or character-building so much as an information dump, paired with extended dialogue that didn’t seem to move the story forward. I was hoping for richer lore, more history of the wars, deeper insight into the courts and political structure, but instead was given a largely unlikable main character and a lot of unnecessary fluff.

Around the 35% mark, the pacing begins to improve, though I didn’t find myself truly engaged until about 60%, when the storyline noticeably shifts. Because of this structural change, I think the story may have been stronger if the duology were edited and condensed into a single standalone novel. After reading other reviews, it’s clear I wasn’t alone in struggling with the pacing—many readers point to the same 35% mark—which suggests the opening could have benefited from tighter editing and reduced filler.

That said, I do think this book will find the right audience. Readers who are especially drawn to Disney-inspired lore, queer romances, and are willing to commit to book one as setup for book two may enjoy this story more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for this ARC edition in exchange for an honest review.

[jlreadstoperpetuity · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW: Pub Email, Year of the Mer

“Being a fairy tale princess does not guarantee a peaceful throne.”

🗓 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: April 7, 2026
📚 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Year of the Mer (Year of the Mer Duology #1)
👑 𝗔𝘂t𝗁𝗼𝗿: L. D. Lewis

✨ 𝗤𝘂𝗂𝗰𝗄 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗒 & 🍵 𝗧𝗲𝗮 𝗧𝗁𝗼𝘂𝗀𝗁𝘁𝘀
Yemi is the granddaughter of a fairy tale mermaid who thought she’d gotten her happy ever after. But Yemi’s life is far from smooth. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated, her mother carries a poisoned wound, and Yemi has spent her life holding together a kingdom that barely appreciates her efforts. Raised as both shield and heir with Nova, her loyal bodyguard and fiancé, at her side, Yemi’s simmering anger and political tensions finally erupt into a coup that forces her into exile. As she faces betrayal and loss, ancient magic and dangerous pacts may be the only ways to fight for her throne and the people she loves.

This was a rich and layered fantasy with a lot on its narrative plate. The mix of personal anger, family legacy, political upheaval, and deep magic gives the story weight and drive. At times the worldbuilding felt dense, especially early on while establishing all the stakes, which slowed the pacing for me a bit, but once the action and conflicts picked up I found myself drawn into Yemi’s journey. The characters are complex and the stakes feel genuinely high, even if some plot threads took longer to click into place. Overall it’s an immersive start to the duology with a blend of classic fantasy and mythical legacy energy.

🫶 Thank you to @titanbooks for this gifted copy!

🌊 Fantasy with mythical legacy
⚔️ Political upheaval and exile
💔 Family and betrayal
🧙 Ancient magic and consequences
👑 Complex heir drama
✨ Rich worldbuilding

[Kim Layman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was stoked to read this story. I love retellings, and couldn’t wait to see how this author gave The Little Mermaid a fresh, new spin. But unfortunately, it just didn’t work.

First off, the story dragged for the first 1/3. You meet Yemi, and her guard/fianceé, Nova, and get an introduction to the kingdom. While that in itself isn’t bad, the way the story is told, and flows, makes it hard to keep interested.

30%-ish into the novel shows the first signs of conflict, and the storyline becomes more Interesting. You want to see how Yemi will handle what has happened to her and her kingdom. And then it slows down again. It is also hard to care about Yemi as a character because she’s completely unlikable. The author gives her no real redeeming qualities, and she’s just awful those around her-especially Nova.

This story truly ramped up after Yemi finds out the truth about her grandmother, Arielle, and chooses to seek ultimate revenge. It’s like a train wreck waiting to happen, and even though you want to look away, or hope than Yemi will have a breakthrough and redemption arc, you’re left greatly disappointed. I know that the author was going for feminist rage, and rising above the ashes, but this story, and FMC, fail to deliver on that mark.

This retelling had a lot of promise, and could have been a killer story. But it was far from that.

Thank you NetGalley, and Saga Press, for my arc. My opinion is my own.

[Kori Sulewski (korireads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A stunning cover and an overall cool premise (dark, sapphic Little Mermaid reimagining??) that suffers from an extremely unlikable FMC and slow pacing. Unlike most reviews, I actually enjoyed the first 30%. I wanted more from it, sure, but I was intrigued enough. But then it lost me… there are cars and trains and photographers but then also palaces and queens and magic… and not nearly enough Mer. The book never figured out what it was going to be and left me feeling super disconnected by the end.

Thank you Saga Press for the physical ARC!

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I originally liked the idea behind this book. I agree that Ariel (Arielle) coming on land and marrying the future King could have unforseen ramifications on the political landscape. However, the author's contempt for the source material was off putting to say the least. They seem to dislike both the original Hans Christian Andersen and the Disney version of the Little Mermaid. This made the tone unenjoyable for me, since I do enjoy both of those and the original Ariel is likeable. There are lots of weird digs at the original characters and the new characters are extraordinarily rash and hard to root for.
Additionally, the plotting is weirdly paced. I could've started the book at the last 60% and enjoyed it. There's a lot of info dumping early on when I didn't care about the story yet.
The idea is creative and the intent seems interesting, but the execution wasn't there for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Giselle]

Omg a dark reimagining of my favourite fairytale, THE LITTLE MERMAID?! Yes please!

[RachelZ]

DNF - 20%

Th premise of this book was what enticed me to request it from Saga Press as an ARC. It was a Little Mermaid retelling, sounds great right? The story actually focuses on "Arielle's" granddaughter, Yemi, who is one of the most insufferable, bratty, obnoxious characters, I have ever read. There was no appeal to her at all. Even Nova, her fiancee and bodyguard, was super horny all the time.

The world building was interesting until a point. It seemed steeped with magic and folklore in the beginning, but then Yemi steps on shore and into a...car? There was excessive infodumping but not in the parts where it was needed. There was a whole scene of Yemi trying to get a beer at a bar which felt like it was just added in to get to one plotline and it really wasn't super necessary.

Overall, I gave this book a shot, but there was nothing really likable about the characters or the story for me to want to continue.

Thank you to Saga Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review

[Siavahda · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

I really wanted to DNF midway through the first chapter, but after the (longer) second chapter, I’m tapping out.

One thing is purely my own fault, though: for some reason, I assumed that Yemaya, the granddaughter of Arielle, was a mermaid and at least the first chunk of the book was going to take place underwater. No idea why I thought that, and that was completely incorrect; Yemaya is bipedal and lives on land. Don’t know if she gains a mermaid tail later.

Things I didn’t like that did not come from me making dumb assumptions: the worldbuilding is interesting but deeply odd. Cars and (landline) phones and cameras exist, but, while guns exist, they’re not any kind of widespread. On the one hand, I like the wish-fulfilment of this, but on the other hand, I’m struggling to make it make sense. The setting feels hugely messy because of this; we have characters saying ‘yikes’ and radio, but they sail wooden ships. It doesn’t feel cohesive, just really confusing.

There are also things like – once a monarch is crowned, no one outside their inner household ever sees their face again. They always wear a mask, even within the palace. When they host feasts, they don’t eat, because the mask can’t come off. This…is a completely unbelievable way to run a monarchy. a) hosting feasts is a huge diplomatic thing and if you don’t eat at said feast you’re sending a very bad message to the guests you presumably want to think well of you, and b) more importantly, how can anyone trust a monarch they can’t see?! What noble or ambassador or businessman can EVER be sure they’re talking to the actual monarch and not a body-double? How can you make treaties or sign deals or ANYTHING?

I assumed that living like this would mean the monarchs regularly, you know, go about incognito, because no one will recognise them without the mask, but from Yemaya’s thoughts that’s not it, she really will be wearing the mask for the rest of her life once she becomes queen.

Yemaya is going to be marrying another woman. Very cool! But I’m baffled that this has apparently made no difference to the religious and political factions that are unhappy because Yemaya has Mer blood. If Yemaya adopts, or her wife acts as surrogate, won’t the next heir be Mer-blood free? Or will Yemaya be pregnant and give birth (in which case the baby would have Mer blood)? Maybe this is clarified later in the book.

Yemaya and Nova – her bodyguard and wife-to-be – are not the kind of characters I like reading about. Yemaya hates being a royal, doesn’t want to be queen, and other than interacting with the military has no interest in the role. She’s horrifically rude/tasteless at an important dinner just because she’s bored. She drags her feet at everything. I know why this is a popular character type, but to be honest I’m incredibly bored of it. If you’ve been raised from birth to all this responsibility, shouldn’t you be inured to it by now? Shouldn’t you be at least tolerable at playing nice with nobles and whatever? How have you not learned manners yet? Nova is hyper-competent, but also very…blase about everything? The book goes on and on about how she never leaves Yemaya’s side…and then almost immediately she wanders off, leaving Nova unguarded, because they’re on a military ship so the whole military is supposedly guarding her. But…there’s no military guard on Nova’s door? You wandered off with no one to replace you? What??? It’s a lot of stuff like that.

Then there’s the prose, which is full of really odd or awkward phrasing. Occasionally I genuinely didn’t understand what was being said. Examples below. (Usual caveats apply: I read an advanced reader copy, there’s no telling what’ll change between what I read and the book in stores on release day.)

scents of tobacco and hearth and of bergamot someone was wearing poorly.

‘someone was wearing poorly’ sounds very awkwardly phrased to my ear.

When frustrated by a bunch of military leaders, Yemaya thinks

You need these people, she calmed herself. If no one else.

I really can’t figure out what this means – I get that she’s reminding herself that these people are important, but what does the ‘if no one else’ refer to? She can’t actually believe it doesn’t matter what the rest of the military thinks of her? Or the civilian populace? Or the nobility? Or – you get it.

“We’ll prepare the final report for the generals by arrival tomorrow.”

Very odd phrasing, possibly a typo?

Night had fully descended, and all was dark but what the moon graced.

‘It was dark except where it wasn’t.’ Okay, snark aside: does this not mean it’s a well-lit night?

But what else is there ever to do at sea but callous your hands and trade make-believe?

That ‘ever’ is jarring.

Of a painting of a dead man, the book says

The Bear King stood in immortal silence,

I think I understand what this means, but ‘immortal silence’ is deeply weird phrasing.

Roughly half of [the nation] hated the throne, but was just too depleted to fight about it anymore.

‘Depleted’ seems an odd way to say that?

The present military force was by default deputized into the Qorrea’s protection,

Qorrea is the equivalent of princess in this setting. From context, this line is supposed to mean that while the Qorrea is with the military, the military is supposed to protect her. But in that case it should be ‘deputized to the Qorrea’s protection’, not ‘into’. ‘Into’ makes it sound like the Qorrea is protecting the military.

allowing her mind to wander to the soft, wet mischief to be made in the nooks and crannies of the late Bear King’s ship, should she ever catch his daughter in the proper mood.

This is where I wanted to DNF. ‘soft, wet mischief’? If I had a paper copy of this book this is where it would be defenestrated. Definitely in the top ten grossest ways I’ve ever heard sex described, thank you not at all!!!

“We know her future is coming fast. And she is loved with us.”

This is a military commander saying they know the Qorrea will take the throne soon, and it’s fine because the military likes her. But ‘loved with us’ doesn’t make sense there. ‘Loved by us’, maybe? I’d have gone with ‘And among us, she is loved’ personally.

And the truth of anything was that any word spoken by anyone had the potential to be a lie.

Don’t disagree with the statement, but very awkward phrasing.

When speaking of a landmark,

They shielded the palace atop the cliffs from naval attack and marked minutes to the city’s docks.

I think I understand what’s meant here, but ‘marked minutes’ feels incomplete. ‘and marked that viewers were minutes from the city’s docks’, maybe, something like that.

“I’m fine. Not thrilled to get back to the Rock of course, but…” She shrugged, which was its own end to the sentence.

‘which was its own end to the sentence’ sounds horrible to me.

Nova’s dark brown eyes warmed like amber in the sunlight as she inspected Yemi for lies.

‘inspected Yemi for lies’?

Speaking of the country’s population,

Most of the people had at some point earned their livelihoods from these waters.

‘these waters’ meaning the sea. This line has been driving me bonkers because Ixia, this nation, is not an island – and even if it WAS, surely it would have to be a TINY island for most of the population to be involved with the sea? Imagine saying of Ireland, ‘most of the people had at some point earned their livelihoods from the sea’. It would be nonsensical. And Ixia isn’t an island, from comments in the second chapter it seems to have a land border with another country. So how does this work? Is Ixia a tiny strip running along the coast, just a few miles wide? I’m baffled and I can’t drop it.

the blinding, impossible shine of his spear

‘shine of his spear’ just sounds wrong.

Nova, who was giving her a yikes look

Hate that super-modern note, don’t like it at all.

The palace itself was a sprawling compound in the shape of interlocking squares built from pale stone, adorned with ornate porticos and laced with intricate gardens that told the story of bored royals with green thumbs going back centuries. In the summer, the stone became highly reflective as it warmed, making it seem like the walls were made of forest.

The first sentence is way too long; the second is confusing. If the stone walls are pale, how do they look like a forest? It’s at the top of a mountain, what are they reflecting? The forest is below them.

“What do you think is the slowest we’ve ever walked?”

“Does standing still count?”

There’s a lot of banter like this, which strikes me as very modern and also really stupid. You’re supposed to be the next queen-and-consort! Why do you sound like moody teenagers?

The Qorrea has apparently returned with the rest of Her Majesty’s navy from an exercise we’ve been told was “exploratory of the roots of our famished seas.” Good news, you think, Max?

What on earth does ‘exploratory of the roots of our famished seas’ mean?

“I’m ridiculous?” Van nearly shrieked.

This is the second-in-command of Nova’s spy network. And it’s kind of emblematic of the book: being funny takes precedence over things making sense. It’s funnier to have a histrionic second-in-command than it is to have, you know, a really good one who isn’t an idiot.

“You’d be…amicable to a dissolution of the monarchy?” [random stuff here]

“If you tell someone they’re a god from birth, indoctrinate them, steep them in that reality, give them immeasurable power and influence, and then suddenly tell them they’re not because you’ve changed your mind, thereby fucking up their entire reality, how well do you expect that should go?”

I don’t understand this as a response to the question. And there’s a lot of moments like this, where something is said that, to me, doesn’t match up to what they’re responding to. I don’t know if it’s genuinely bad writing, or if I’m being Very Autistic, but it’s exhausting. In this example, Yemi/Yemaya is the one speaking, and she doesn’t believe she’s a god, so what is she talking about?

Two chapters in, and I’m out.

[Joana Parreira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish to thank NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5✨

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Tropes:
The Little Mermaid retelling (60 years later)
Dark
Actions with real consequences
FMC royalty x FMC queensguard
Political intrigue
Revenge
Bad deals
Curses

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Content warnings:
Dead body description; Racism and racial slurs; Sexual references and innuendo; Sexual content (fade to black); Animal sacrifice (off page); Assassination; Mutilation / body horror; Stabbing; Explosion; Body possession; Death; Death of a parent; Terminal illness; Gore; Blood; War; Gun violence; Grief; Cannibalism

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What it is about:

This book is not a fairytale, and is not exactly a retelling. This book explores how fairytale characters make poor choices and ultimately face their real consequences, beyond the happy endings we are familiar with.
This story takes place 60 years after The Little Mermaid. The main character is Arielle’s granddaughter, a rage-driven girl with anger management issues, and very focused on revenge. Their kingdom is nearly at war, and the same goes for the Mer people, whose throne Arielle left unattended.

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What I think:

The premise is interesting, and I am tired of books with characters displaying red flags that don’t face any real-life consequences and miraculously change for the sake of the plot. But we all know real life is different. And this book seems to be more realistic regarding that, by showing how Arielle’s choices affected her lineage, and her people (both on land and in the sea).

I did not relate to the main character (Yemi), but I don’t see this as a negative. I understand this is part of the plot and the author’s goal. I am hoping there will be a lesson to learn from this, perhaps some character growth in the second book, and/or some real consequences.

I could see the conflicting desires Yemi and Nova had for their future together. Nova is very loyal, too loyal, refusing to leave Yemi alone to the point of sacrificing her own wants for Yemi’s. It is cute, but Yemi does not deserve this girl, and I hope this gets set right in book 2 (hopefully in a realistic way, not in a Nova-was-able-to-change-her way). But I have faith in this point based on the author’s note.

I also appreciated that romance was not a big part of the book.

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What didn’t work:

This being said, I felt like DNF’ing this book so many times, and I had to drag myself to finish it.

Why? Because it is slow-paced. I went through the book wanting to see her making a bad deal and its consequences and how it would unravel afterwards, only to find out this is right at the end. Everything that you see in the description of the book is exactly what happens in the book. Usually, the description presents a premise for the story, its events happen early on, and set the mood for the rest. In this case, the description presents exactly what happens throughout the entire book. The first 1/3 was very slow and more introductory to the world and its characters. At about 30% of the book, she flees the country. We have to wait until 60% of the book to see her strike a deal with Ursla - a first deal, nothing major. She then strikes the real deal, and only does her part at about 85%, which is when things get mildly interesting, but it is already too late. And right at the end, we see the consequences of her decision. Maybe my expectations could have been better managed with a more mysterious blurb.

Additionally, in the beginning, there were times I was confused and had to reread the prologue and Chapter 1. Some family names appeared without introduction: the first mention of the Blackgate royal family was confusing, as I thought it referred to royals from a neighboring country. I inferred that Qorrea was a title a bit too late - at first, I thought it was a name. The beginning could be improved with some polishing: some paragraphs start abruptly, missing a connection to the previous thought. For example, in chapter 4, “the rock’s library was the single most complete repository [...]”, it was not clear they were in the library; the transition was confusing. As a first-time reader of this story, it felt like there were missing pieces, where the author has the knowledge and assumes we have it too, leading to some back-and-forth to understand what it all means.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 for me.
This was definitely an epic fantasy so if that is not ur jam this may not be the book for you because it can feel like a heavy read at times. Now there were a lot of things I liked but some things didn't quite hit the mark.

This book definitely took the little mermaid story and expanded upon it in a way that was really cool and I loved the concept and I think that was executed well. It was really cool to explore the idea of what happens next and the consequences of those choices and the effect they can have on the generations to come and how while you may prosper from your choice's others may suffer because of them. I also appreciated that the way the author did their worldbuilding which is the info dump style. That way is just my preferred method, and I think it was done well especially for an epic fantasy bc I understood this world, how it came into being and the conflicts that were going on and once I understood that I could focus on the actual details of the story which as an epic fantasy were dense at times.

I also really liked Yemi the FMC and queen to be, and I felt like her choices were ones I would make. Now that's to say I have no desire to be in a position of power, and I know I am not suited for it, but I understood Yemi and her rational. Because for me I will take care of everyone but if you turn your eyes to hurt those in my community especially my family/friends well let's just say that the taking of a tongue would be the least drastic thing I would do. Maybe that's just proof that both of us are not suited to being in charge but oh well. It also really annoyed me that everyone around her was so risk adverse and war adverse which yes war should always be a last resort, but when you see the sparks of a fire you have to actively take measures to put out the fire. You don't take a wait and see approach or half measures and hope it doesn't fame into an inferno destroying everyone and everything you care about.

Now where it didn't quite hit the mark for me is that that while I appreciated the info dump at the start the first 30-35% of the book the pacing was really really slow. Even though things were happening it just felt like the story was dragging. It really started to pick up at the 35% mark but that last couple chapters were my favorite. I also want to say the romance in this book is not the point of the story it is very much a subplot which I wouldn't have an issue with except for me Yemi and Nova have almost no romantic chemistry for me at least. Now Yemi is the queen to be, and Nova is her bodyguard and their relationship felt more like work besties that are ride or die in the workplace even though Nova needs to check Yemi at times but out of work outside of work events they wouldn't hang out. The chemistry for me just barely there for me romantically and what was there felt more like a business friendship if that makes sense. I did like that no one questioned their relationship and eventual marriage and that it the norm.

Overall, this was a really interesting book that I think I will read the next book even though I did struggle at times with it because I am very intrigued with where the story is going to go as this left on a very interesting cliff hanger.


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This book is about Yemi who the granddaughter of the legendary mermaid Arielle is, but she has never known a fairytale life. With her father assassinated, her mother dying, and her people turning against her, the future queen of Ixia is fueled by fury only her fiancée and bodyguard Nova can steady. But when a coup to steal her throne occurs just days after the passing of her mother, Yemi is forced into exile. And who is there with waiting arms...Ursla. Just as with her grandmother the sea‑witch is offering her a deal. A deal that would offer her just enough power to reclaim her kingdom and protect the woman she loves, but as with every bargain it has a cost. Because Ursla has waited generations for her revenge, and Yemi may lose far more than her crown if she accepts the deal.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Heather Pacella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Year of the Mer is based on a fascinating premise - what if we could see the outcome of The Little Mermaid beyond the "happily ever after"? In the land of Ixia, Arielle's granddaughter, Yemaya, is in line to become the next ruler of the realm. Though she occupies a privileged position of power, her life has been more tragic than most. Her cherished father was assassinated years ago by those intolerant of Mer ancestry on the throne, and her mother was severely wounded and poisoned in a similar attack. As the effects of her mother's poisoning progress beyond treatment, Yemi must prepare to ascend the throne at a time of growing unease in her nation. Restless and at their breaking point after decades of bloodshed, there are those in Ixia who believe the only path to future peace is to remove Yemi, and therefore her bloodline, from the throne. When this restlessness boils over into a coup, Yemi is forced to go on the run with Nova, her bodyguard and beloved. As she confronts her Mer heritage and attempts to take back her throne, she meets the feared sea witch Ursla, who is as dangerous as she is powerful. Much like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted to make a bargain with the sea witch, once and for all avenging her family and establishing herself as the rightful, unquestioned ruler of Ixia. However, Ursla has been making deals with desperate humans for centuries, and Yemi soon realizes that any deal she makes may cost more than she is willing to pay.

As someone who grew up as part of the prime viewing audience for Disney's The Little Mermaid (and, like the author, also had some *strong* second-hand embarrassment/concerns about the way Ariel behaved), I was immediately drawn in by the premise of this book. The first prologue, detailing the gods of the land, hints at a great expansion of the story's mythology, and I was really excited to see where things would go. The beginning of the book (~35%) was quite slow, describing the history of the kingdom and setting up the conflict to come later on. Though it was perhaps a bit too slow, I enjoyed seeing the time and detail the author spent on establishing Ixia and its current political climate. However, the rest of the book, specifically Yemi's journey through exile to achieve vengeance, did not work for me at all. Yemi, even giving her grace for her tragic past, is a deeply unlikable character. I usually don't mind disagreeable characters, especially if they are flawed and you can understand why they behave how they do. Unfortunately, Yemi doesn't quite meet that mark. She flits around from one location to another, being incredibly rude to everyone she meets and then acting shocked when they are not willing to aid her in her quest. The worldbuilding also becomes a bit under-baked in the back stretches of the book - I really wanted to get more backstory, especially on the Mer kingdoms and their history with Ursla, but the plot moved on from them very quickly. Though you could argue that Yemi gets her comeuppance in the end, it wasn't enough for me to enjoy the story overall. However, the ending of the book is quite shocking and seems to set up an interesting premise for the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Marie Grim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This title was a DNF for a variety of reasons, at approximately 30% in, and I will rate it 2/5 in respect to that.

This is written in third person omniscient with a few POV chapters interspersed. There is robust LGBTQ representation, with the FMC being in a same sex relationship and multiple nonbinary characters. This is not a spice book, but instead references sex with euphemisms or off-page engagement.

I really wanted to like this, as I loved the idea of a dark Little Mermaid retelling. But alas.

The prologue starts out strong, with interesting lore surrounding the Old Gods and a delightfully eldritch fantasy vibe. If the rest of the writing had matched that, I would have loved this book. Unfortunately it transitioned to a mish mash of fantastical and modern in a way that just did not mesh well. Technology is a major part of the story, with cars, radios, phones, discussions about guns and other modern-setting ephemera abutting against said eldritch gods and wooden ships. Urban fantasy is not my typical genre, but I have enjoyed several that I have read, mostly because the world-building felt cohesive. This does not.

A pet peeve of mine which will probably not bother other readers is going straight to military command figure and lingo in order to establish character credibility. As a female veteran, I am very picky about this structure and language and I did not care for the way it was used. It’s the same sort of rationale as to why doctors don’t watch hospital shows. The language in general was very stilted, with odd modifiers attached after dialogue, and unconventional grammatical constructions.

One example that made me squint: “Selah winced. Yemaya was comforted slightly to have stung her.”

Another is when the FMC Yemaya is telling everyone to get of her mother’s room after she is found dead, and the text is in caps to convey shouting but then says, “she repeated.” afterwards.

“Soft, wet mischief” also made an appearance as a euphemism for sex and that yicked me hard.

The author also describes a lot of Yemaya’s actions “lazily” or “casually” which I am assuming was an attempt to make her feel “devil-may-care” but instead enforced an apathetic and spoiled attitude.

I found the characters generally annoying and the voices of Yemaya and Nova indistinct from each other. The author attempts to generate tension with dramatic blow-up style character events from the get-go and they collectively fall flat. Yemaya in particular is brash, rude, and unkind to her partner Nova. I also did not enjoy the bodyguard romance trope as it is full of power imbalances that are toxic and I do not like reading those.

The pacing was glacially slow, and made the unpalatable characters worse.

This book is not for me, and I will not recommend it.

[BoetBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this is incredibly intriguing - I've been enjoying retellings, and I was ready for a dark version of The Little Mermaid.

I enjoyed seeing the darker side of the repercussions of Arielle's decisions long ago, and I love witchcraft. Unfortunately, I struggled with a handful of things that hopefully won't be an issue for everyone.

The pacing was a bit slow for me. I found myself checking my percentage, and around the 35% mark is when things started shifting into gear, but 60% is when it started picking up a bit more (it slowed down again for a while, though). There was a fair amount of filler as well. I think with some further editing, this could be a standalone instead of leaving us on a cliffhanger.

Usually, I can handle pacing if I'm loving the characters, prose, and atmosphere, but I struggled a bit here as well. I found myself confused about this world - it seemed ancient, but yet there were cars, radios, and guns (I don't know why this threw me off so much), I didn't understand the magic/powers. The prose were a bit confusing at times, and I found myself rereading sentences trying to understand the intent.

It's been a while since I've had an MC I wanted to smack. Some people may like this - in some ways, it was nice to mix things up from having an MC make smart decisions. However, Yemi was so selfish, rash, reckless, delusional, and unnecessarily rude I couldn't find myself enjoying her at all. She treated her partner with such disrespect that I wanted her to give up on their love. I will say I was proud of her partner for standing up to her a few times - but nobody should put up with that, Yemi did not earn the loyalty she was given from a select few. There is a dual POV, but I didn't think that added much.

Ursula was, unsurprisingly, my favorite character. I'd love a book with her as the MC. Of course, she has tricks up her sleeve! I again wanted to smack Yemi for blindly trusting her when she clearly has a history of deceit. I enjoyed Ursula calling Yemi out a few times -

"If nothing else convinces me you are hers, that reckless selfishness is unmistakable."

"Your problem, child, is that you're so caught up in what you believe you are owed, it has never once crossed your mind that anything you desire should be earned."

There are some badass battle scenes, which helped amp up the action - things get a bit dark on occasion, so be cautious of your comfort level.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark fantasy continuation of The Little Mermaid, told from the perspective of Arielle’s granddaughter, Yemi, who is next in line to the throne. After years of peace, unrest begins to grow within the kingdom due to Mer blood sitting on the throne, eventually leading to Yemi’s claim being challenged. Determined to reclaim her throne and take her revenge, Yemi will do whatever it takes, even make a deal with a sea witch.

The premise immediately pulled me in but the delivery made it difficult to stay engaged. The moments that did capture my interest were too few and far between, though when they did hit, they hit. I just wish there was more of that.

The pacing of the story felt uneven, with very little happening in the first third of the book. Once the story picks up, the world begins to open. We get glimpses of different regions and how Arielle’s decisions affected more than just her family and the human kingdom. The brief glimpses of how those choices shaped the political tension of the kingdom were some of the more interesting parts of the story. I wish the book had explored that history in more depth.

At times the story was difficult to follow due to sentence structure and the number of people, places, and concepts introduced quickly, some of which felt underdeveloped or unimportant.

Yemi was a difficult main character for me to connect with, and I understand that was intentional. She's entitled, selfish, and arrogant, which made the story harder to get through. Every character in the book seems to walk on eggshells around her, and she’s described multiple times as a tyrant, which made it difficult to feel sympathy when her throne was taken.

The dynamic between Yemi and her long-time partner and bodyguard, Nova, also felt incredibly toxic. Yemi constantly asserts her authority over Nova, while Nova is the opposite in temperament. She’s thoughtful, compassionate toward the people of the kingdom, and a consistent voice of reason.

The real strength of this book is in the action scenes. They’re intense and genuinely exciting, you can almost feel the thirst for revenge that drives Yemi.

While this didn’t work for me, there are elements that other readers might still appreciate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sudenmorsian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yemi is the crown princess of the kingdom of Ixia, and she is angry. Her father has been murdered and her mother is slowly dying of poisoning, all because of who they are. Yemi’s grandmother was the mermaid Arielle, made human through the sea-witch Ursla’s magic, and since then, a faction of Ixia has been waging war against the royal line, seeking to dethrone the rulers descended from the Mer. Yemi feels a powerless rage; she can’t change who she is or who her grandmother was, yet all her parents ever wanted was to be accepted. But how can you be a good ruler if a portion of the population thinks there’s something fundamentally wrong with you?

I loved the queernormative world of Year of the Mer, featuring a Black sapphic main character. This book doesn’t contain romance in the traditional sense because Yemi has been engaged to her fiancée, Nova, for 12 years. Instead of reading about falling in love, we see how two people in an established relationship manage things in a time of crisis, even when they disagree on the best path forward.

The book starts a bit slowly, and in the beginning, we meet many side characters who all play smaller roles later on. While I wasn’t immediately drawn in, the premise was so interesting that I wanted to continue anyway, and I’m glad I did. Things pick up a bit in chapter 3 when we get to see the first glimpses of the plot to overthrow Yemi’s family, and the story really takes off in parts two and three.

I really loved the themes and the world-building. I felt I could understand the motivations of the main characters and why they made the decisions they did. Yemi, especially, has to decide quickly how to react to events while missing crucial information because people like to keep their secrets. Her decisions are not always the most sensible, as she is coming from a place of rejection and trauma, and she wants to make sure her parents’ sacrifices were not in vain, so she is willing to take big risks.

I can’t wait to read book two, I need to know what happens next!

Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley!

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

So, the first thing I have to say about this book is the unfortunately, the pacing draaaaaaags so much. I only did not DNF the book within the first 18% because I saw some reviews that said the plot picked up a lot around the 30% mark, so I hung in there, and yes the plot got way more exciting at that point, and at the 65% mark, but it took so long to get there. The worldbuilding and prologue about gods and mer vs. humans was actually pretty interesting, but unfortunately, the story is all told from Yemi's POV, and to be honest, in any other story, Yemi would probably be the villain. She's a quarter-mer princess who hates most humans and her subjects and thinks that they should accept her rule out of sheer fear; some of this is somewhat understandable since her father died in an assassination plot and there is a lot of anti-mer sentiment among the human populace, but she definitely doesn't help matters by beating people up at bars for talking shit about her family, ripping out tongues, and reveling in carnage. Honestly, I'm not surprised the Drakes make a coup attempt. In fact, again, in another book, this would be a very reasonable plot given that the heir to the throne has a terrible temper and is so violent. I did wonder if the entire point of the story was to make Yemi the villain protagonist and have her go totally dark-side--and to be fair, the story seemed to somewhat be getting there at the end but then Ursula took over her body, so that seems to grind that plotline to a halt.

The romance between Yemi and Nova was also just bland. There is no conflict at all over the idea that Yemi, a princess, wants to marry Nova, her bodyguard. What, shouldn't they be trying to make marriage alliances given how pissed off so many of the noble families are that Yemi's mer grandmother Arielle just swept in and made the king fall in love with her?

Personally, I think this duology should have just been one book given all the pacing problems throughout. Still, if you want a very dark Little Mermaid take, you can take a look at this.

[Ash Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know the story of the little mermaid, but what happens after happily ever after? What legacy does this leave? The ripples of this choice have changed the tide of worlds, both on land and in the sea. What happens when even after years people still refuse to accept anyone tainted by Mer blood on the throne? Year of the Mer explores the turmoil and consequences that follow this well known story.

Year of the Mer is an epic, dark and bloody Fantasy. Yemi is Arielle’s granddaughter. Through her Mer and royal lineage she has inherited a kingdom struggling to recover from war and a growing number of subjects who resent her family, heritage and throne. Her father is dead, her mother slowly dying from an assassination attempt and political dissent is growing. The country is divided, over religion, the Mer and what the future should look like. Tradition and modernity collide violently.

When Yemi is preparing to be crowned a violent coup forces her into exile with her guard and fiancé Nova and Cutter. Sepaated from both threads of her heritage Yemi knows only Ursula can wield the power to take back her throne, but every deal with the sea witch has a cost. The drowned mother is always starving.

Exploring family legacy, ancestral trauma and the cost of revenge. Ancient power, bitter grudges and ambition collide in the fight for the throne. Yemi has lost everything, she is fuelled by rage. She will do whatever it takes to avenge her family and reclaim her birthright. As she learns more about herself, her family’s history and her Mer blood the lines between friend and foe begin to blur.

Year of the Mer is instantly arresting with an intricate and fast paced story that keeps you hooked. The world building is rich and diverse.
The world is queer normative and the characters are complex and compelling. Courtly intrigue, conspiracy and betrayal clash against grief, ancient magic, deadly pacts and the need for revenge and justice. Change is coming, but who will be the one to deliver it?
The ending floored me and I can’t wait for the second book!

[Saren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark, sapphic reimagining of “The Little Mermaid,” Year of the Mer takes place 2 generations after Arielle comes to land and her granddaughter, Yemaya, is next in line for the throne. This is a story about the consequences for both land and sea about one Mer’s decision to leave the ocean generations before, and is the first book in a duology.

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued, and I jumped on the chance to get an arc. Yemi and Nova, her guardian and fiance, must face the consequences of Arielle’s actions years later. Yemi is forced from the throne and into exile, and her decisions will change the course of humans and Mer.

I loved this story. The curse on Yemi’s mother, the revelations about Selah, Ursla’s backstory. The politics, the themes of familial legacy, rage, the magic system, the rich world building.

I struggled with the pacing initially, and found the first few chapters informative but hard to get through. It improved about 25% in, but the story really doesn’t start to come together until around 60%. I also found Yemaya to be insufferable and rash much of the time. While I do think that’s fitting for her character, I also felt that it was overdone. She was completely unable to slow down and listen to her loved ones. I enjoy an unlikable main character, but this was a bit much. Equally, I found Nova’s inability to understand Yemi’s needs and Yemi’s difficulty relating to both Mer and Humans frustrating. I had hoped to also get a bit more history on the wars that are mentioned and more of an insight into court structure and why some of the traditions are there (the Queen always being masked after coronation, for example.)

While I think this book could have benefited from pulling out some of the filler, overall I really enjoyed the story, and that ending left me wanting the sequel right away. I’ll be picking up a physical copy for sure, and I really look forward to seeing what happens next.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the arc - I received an early copy in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded down.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up where they walk, up where they run, up where the kingdom is overthrown and the new Queen is out for blood….

As the granddaughter of a little mermaid turned Queen, Yemi has big shoes to fill and when a series of events leads to her assuming the throne she finds legitimacy threatened and with few allies she seeks out the sea witch who may be the only hope for righting a wrong but who can you really trust in a world of snakes and vipers?

Like many of the reviews below this book is a bit of a struggle in the beginning. There’s a lot thrown at you to digest and then we are off at a pace that i both couldn’t keep up with while also finding myself putting down and letting my mind drift elsewhere. It does pick up , for me it was closer to the last quarter , and while I enjoyed the more graphic conclusion I’m not sure it saves the story as a whole.

I will argue for Yemi who is not a likeable character yet I liked her in this. She is bloodthirsty and cruel with little remorse and she doesn’t care who she hurts in the process. This usually does more harm than get her what she wants however I respect her consistency. That being said she absolutely doesn’t deserve the loyalty given to her by Nova and I say loyalty in place of lover because apart from a few kisses this comes off very one sided as allies instead of romance and I’m not sure a sequel can or will work to save that.

I enjoy that this is a next chapter like retelling of The Little Mermaid in that we don’t get a play by play of the story we know so well but instead get something new born out of the consequences of those choices and I wish the beginning had more of a hook to keep me engaged because this could be a really great more adult leaning story and I’m sad it just misses the mark.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

[Read.With.Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reader beware: This is not your average little mermaid retelling

Year of the Mer is a dark, layered reimagining in which the Ariel we know and love is not the lovestruck heroine of the story, but a selfish and reckless girl who destroyed not one, but two kingdoms, and left her descendants to deal with the consequences, including decades of war.

Yemi, her granddaughter, is angry, grieving, and burdened with the weight of a kingdom that resents her bloodline. Between political unrest, a dying mother, and the shadow of her grandmother’s legacy, she is a protagonist fueled as much by vengeance as by duty.

Full disclosure: I started the book assuming Yemi was meant to be the hero, but it quickly becomes clear that this story takes a darker turn, showing how history and trauma ripple through generations, and how easily grief can harden into blinding rage and revenge.

There were times I wanted to scream at Yemi, moments when I was frustrated with her and did not even like her very much. Thankfully, Nova’s chapters provide balance, offering the heart and bravery that help ground the story.

One of the book’s biggest strengths is its worldbuilding. The mythology of the Mer, the politics of the kingdom of Ixia, and the lingering presence of the sea witch Ursla create a world that feels both ancient and volatile. Lewis also leans into the darker side of fairy tales, giving the story a tone that is often brutal, emotional, and morally complicated.

That said, the book can occasionally feel dense, particularly in the early sections where the political tensions and history of the world are introduced quickly. But once everything clicks into place, the narrative becomes something you can really sink your teeth into (if you read it, you will get what I did there). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Smallbob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Many, many mixed feelings about this one.

The premise sounded enticing, but I almost immediately lost faith in it when it became clear that the author absolutely loathes the original fairytale. (I am not exaggerating; she as good as says so in the author's letter at the start.) To me, the story of The Little Mermaid is about identity and the desire to belong, so I found it infuriating every time the characters in this book disparaged Arielle's "selfishness". I don't understand the urge to critique fairytales on the basis of political socioeconomic repercussions or whatever, because, to me, that is not what fairytales are about. Perhaps if I did not have established feelings/opinions of the original tale I would not mind so much, but I did, so I do.

Barring my personal feelings about The Little Mermaid, the writing as a whole is also lacking. The dialogue is awkward and stilted, and there is way too much infodumping. All the worldbuilding lore is dumped in the opening chapter, and it's a confusing mess. Literally every single character Yemi encounters gets a full physical description and background story. And any time a character does something, like making a gesture, or a facial expression, or literally anything, the narration explains why they do so.

What kept me reading is Yemi as a character. Yemi is furious about everything, for the loss of her father, for the way she is viewed for being part-mer, for the expectations placed on her, for being forced to be the bigger person, for the way no one understands her. She makes terrible decisions and actively chooses to cause harm, but I can see where she is coming from, and it makes for good entertainment. It could be argued that Yemi is morally gray, or even straight-up a villain protagonist, and, well, I love protagonists who are a little evil.

There is a really good book somewhere in here, under a few more rounds of editing, but as it is, it's not very good.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Year of the Mer! I was so excited about this book, as I love queer retellings and epic fantasy. However, I'm afraid I'm DNF'ing at the 50% mark.

Year of the Mer is a realistic, verging on grimdark, story of how the grandchild of a mermaid becomes a despot and is then overthrown. Yemi is not the little mermaid we're familiar with. Instead, she is angry, full of hatred, a monster rather than a Disney princess. And Yemi has good reasons to feel angry, namely constant bigotry and the assassination of her parents. But this leads her to acts of tyranny and horrific violence.

Even ignoring Yemi's despotic tendencies, she's a terrible choice for monarch. Governance bores her, she despises the majority of her subjects, she's rash, and she's both politically clumsy and unwilling to take advice. Her goals seem to simply be gaining power and control, with no desire to improve her population's living conditions or the economy. Meanwhile the love interest Nova, who is also her bodyguard, recognises Yemi's brutality but continues to enable her.

When the eventual coup happens, roughly 40% of the way into the novel, I almost felt relieved. It's hard to root for a main character who would be the villain in most books.

At the same time, there are things that I like about the novel: the queer-normative world, the mythology and lore, the concept of exploring the after-effects of a fairytale. I also liked the idea of a fantasy world with 20th-century technology, although I felt that it made Yemi's despotism seem even worse. And while the writing was a little unpolished and the pacing a little slow, I think that would have been fine had I been more invested in Yemi.

[DoinBookishThings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so this one hurts a little because I wanted to love it so bad… like dark mermaid retelling?? sapphic?? morally gray?? Sign me UP.

But this just… didn’t hit for me. 😭

Yemi as a main character was really hard to connect to. I like messy, angry, morally gray girls but this felt like it crossed the line into just… exhausting. Every decision felt impulsive and frustrating and I spent most of the book wanting to shake her a little like girl please just THINK for two seconds.

And the pacing?? Oh my god. This took forever to get going. I kept waiting for that moment where everything clicks and I’m locked in, and it just… took way too long. By the time things finally started happening I was already kind of checked out.

Also I’m gonna be honest, the romance did absolutely nothing for me. I wanted tension, chemistry, SOMETHING. But Yemi and Nova felt more like… coworkers going through it together than people actually in love 😭 which was such a letdown because sapphic fantasy romance is usually an instant win for me.

And I think part of it is I went in expecting something more atmospheric and emotional, and instead it felt really dense and heavy on politics and worldbuilding. Which isn’t bad!! Just not what I personally wanted from this.

Overall it’s not a terrible book, it just really wasn’t for me. If you love super political fantasy with a very morally gray (and very frustrating) main character you might like it more than I did, but yeah… this one didn’t land for me unfortunately. 💔

[maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Year of the Mer is a dark fantasy, sapphic reimagining of what happens after the end of The Little Mermaid and Arielle’s happy ending. Following Arielle’s granddaughter, Yemi, as the kingdom is on the brink of civil unrest and her mother is slowly dying from a poisoned wound.

I had such high hopes for this one and I did debate whether or not to DNF this near the 50% mark, however I ended up continuing and while things picked up after the halfway point, I think ultimately this book wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the exploration of political intrigue and the premise of the book exploring The Little Mermaid tale, however the pacing was all over the place for me. The first third consisted of a lot of heavy info-dumping and while I don’t necessarily dislike this format, nothing was truly happening until the 40% point when the actual plot of the story really picks up (and for me that was way too late in the book for everything to start unfolding).

As for Yemi’s character, while I can see how she could eventually be a very interesting morally grey character to explore later down the line, her arc in this book seemed so flat to me and disjointed in a way that I just couldn’t quite fully root for her journey. Also this might have been a case of differing expectations, but for a Little Mermaid reimagining the book actually doesn’t really spend a lot of time in the ocean and I had expected it would have been more sea-based based on the premise.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for the e-arc. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Alex M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher; all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. To be completely honest, the premise had me assuming this would be a more fluffy YA story – it is not. It is very much a dark adult book, and it’s a very cool reimagining/continuation of Arielle’s story. I found the main character interesting (though not likeable) but felt like the rest could have used more fleshing out, including Nova, her love interest. Their relationship felt a little off to me; it didn’t feel super intimate or passionate, and the question continually lingers for the entire story: did Nova only develop feelings for Yemi because she was essentially raised to be her main defender/bodyguard, and how separate are those two things? I didn’t like it; I was honestly kind of hoping they’d split up because it would’ve felt logical – they do almost nothing but fight for the majority of the book.

There are a whole lot of morally gray characters here (including Yemi), which I personally love. I also enjoyed the insight and lore we get into Ursla and the underwater Mer nation, and I found the addition of making Yemi’s lineage affect her with a sort of blood rage pretty cool. I’m not sure why so many people seem to have found it slow – I thought the pacing was perfect, and I was hooked from the first pages.

If you like dark reimaginings of fantasy tales, definitely check this one out.