The Night the Sea Kept Me: An MM Monster Romance

by M. Anderson

The ocean demands a sacrifice, but it gave me him instead.



VAELIS
I never believed the myths of the deadly Mourning Tide—not until the current dragged me under. One moment I was fighting the violent waves, bracing for the end, and the next, I was breathing in the arms of a creature born from the Abyss. Kael is terrifying, otherworldly, and the only reason my heart is still beating. But surviving the storm was just the beginning. Now I’m caught in the middle of a breathtaking, dangerous underwater war, and the only thing keeping me alive is the gentle shark-mer who has already claimed my heart.



KAEL
The deep makes no exceptions, and my kind is bound by its unforgiving laws. The reef above brings only ruin; the city of betta-mers is poison to us all. Yet, when I watched Vaelis sinking into my domain, a brilliant crimson blooming in the water, my instincts rebelled. I defied our oldest, most sacred rule to claim a Vael a monster like me does not deserve, tying our fates together. The sea demands payment for my defiance, but I will tear apart the ocean itself before I let them take him from me.



TOGETHER
As the politics and hidden underwater dangers rise to the surface, Vaelis and Kael must decide if their forbidden connection is worth risking it all. The Night the Sea Kept Me is a sweeping, multi-POV MM romantasy that plunges into a world of deadly myths, underwater war, and a love that defies the darkest of fears.




What to Expect:

Genre: Epic MM Romantasy / Fantasy Romance
Tropes: Forbidden Love, Opposites Attract, Hurt/Comfort, Monster MM Romance
Spice Level: Multiple open-door scenes, medium/mild, focusing on emotion
Perfect for: Readers who crave atmospheric, mythic fantasy worlds paired with a deeply emotional, character-driven love story and a touch of heartfelt open-door spice.
Outcome: An immersive, high-stakes magical adventure with a hard-won, satisfying Happily Ever After.

Genres: Mermaids

ebook

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

M. Anderson (or just Em) writes spicy, heartfelt MM romance for readers who crave "squishy," feel-good love stories that still pack a serious emotional punch. Whether you are looking for the laugh-out-loud humor of her earlier works or the deep, soul-stirring emotions of her latest releases, Em’s books are grounded in cozy, character-driven charm.

She got her start building a community of dedicated readers on Wattpad, where she discovered her passion for writing flawed, highly relatable characters. Today, her books explore the healing power of nature, found family, and love in all its messy, beautiful forms—taking readers on journeys from slow-burn childhood romances to darker forbidden loves.

Em doesn't just write her stories, she is also an artist. She illustrates her own book covers and creates custom artwork for her worlds, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves alongside characters who feel like old friends.

Click the "Follow" button for updates on her new releases! You can also see the artwork that goes with the stories and connect with Em at authormanderson dot com, or author.m.anderson on IG and TT.

Reviews

[Ashley H · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review. 5 ⭐️ 2 🌶️ (but who even cares cause their love was literally more precious than anything i could write)

Honestly wow, like I have no words. I absolutely LOVE Kael & Vaelis… their love was literally the most beautiful thing 🥹

Kael is this quiet predator, feeling useless and alone & just a drift… Vaelis his sun.. his bright shining light in the dark both of them drawn together by lets call it fate or destiny because they were perfect for one another. Helping the other find them selves and learn to love who they are and realize neither is a monster or useless or just bait.. damn I cant even put into words how much their story was absolutely beautiful.
I cried happy tears, sad tears, i yelled at my kindle and characters in the book i fell in love with Bolt & Pip who just are the best of friends to my sweet cinnamon roll Kael..

There were a few characters i disliked and was like nope no they wont get their redemption from me but one did & im happy to say they did..

Love, longing, tension and yearning, War & betrayal.. this book gave me everything i thought it would and the some 🥹😭 Im actually sad that I finished it. I will absolutely recommend this to Romantasy readers who love a good plot and a beautiful story.. Little mermaid meets Mortal Engines

[elias · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book so bad guys. forbidden mer-folk romance? absolutely up my alley!! and I did enjoy the first 20% or so, but then it just fell through so quickly. firstly, why are we using the word “thigh” to describe part of a tail? the whole point is that you don’t have thighs? then we’re using “gothic cathedral spires” to describe a hydrothermal vent. we live underwater and we don’t HAVE gothic cathedral spires. don’t get me wrong it’s a good metaphor, but we can’t be using random words when we’re in a totally different setting. and then “smog” was used a lot to describe pollution in assuming, but we’re underwater we can’t have smog??? if we’re gonna have pollution that’s fine but let’s use a term that doesn’t have to involve air.

and there were just too many inconsistencies throughout the story. first, it seemed like the mourning tide was going to be a main focus/plot point, but it barely got brought up?? then it seems like we don’t really know much of humans (they’re called walkers and “fallen suns” are used to described sinking ships) and that human objects are rare, but then all of a sudden we’re using the term “human” and we have underwater machinery??? that confused me the most. we went from having knotted kelp barriers to machines and skiffs and all these random mechanical things. that’s what got me the most, why did the first half of the book not establish this advanced technology and then have it appear randomly?? it just seemed totally random.

another inconsistency that bugged me (specifically in the later half) was that Vaelis could easily handle the pressure of the trench, where as Mira had to take a potion? like yea Vaelis had spent some time in more pressure but not long enough to have that type of resistance?? that made no sense to me.

overall it just felt like the plot was all over the place. the mourning tide wasn’t even a major plot point, and then were fighting a battle, then trying to fix kael’s voice, then another battle, then all of a sudden we’re going to find a new shell?? and then we don’t get another mention of the mourning tide until the EPILOGUE and all of a sudden it’s actual some sort of creature and the we’re just gonna leave it and whatever?? I genuinely don’t understand what the entire point of it was. I ended up DNFing at 320 pages because I just couldn’t handle the back and forth anymore. the writing itself was nice, very flowery and descriptive which I like, but the actual execution/plot just really needed some work.

[Rage · Rating 1 out of 5]

First I wanted to say - Thank you to the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
My review is my own thoughts and views on the book.

I really wanted to like this book. I had been so excited because there really isn't an M/M merman romance out there that I have found. And the art is beautiful! So Stunning! I follow this author on instagram and their artwork is fantastic. I will continue to be a follower and even read more of their work so I can follow their growth.

My problem is with the story.

The thought was there, but the execution was not. There was a hope that it would get better as I kept reading, but sadly none of my concerns were solved by the ending of the book. I'll get into each part of the story that I had issues with, but I wanted to state that there will be a lot of spoilers after this.

I think this story needed some more time with beta reading and really needed some sensitivity readers. First I'll start with why I think it could've used more time being read by beta readers. There were a lot of slip ups. Like at the part where they wouldn't see each other for two days because of the tide, Vaelis forgets his bag and comb with Kael, but yet somehow the next chapter Vaelis has the bag and comb, even though they hadn't seen each other yet and wouldn't until the next night.
Also the first part of the book, the little intro, makes no sense. It doesn't add anything to the story at all except for the character that we learn is trapped in the shell. It is a pointless opening and could've been left out since the character is mentioned a lot in the book anyways.
The tides and overall political aspect needed way more explaining. It felt like everyone in the story just accepted that the tides were dangerous and that the Vael hated the trench people, but for the sake of the development of the story.. Why did the tides change so quickly and why did the Vael hate the "evil" trenchers? It was lacking to just say that the mer of the deep were just evil and killed before. It needed more development.

Now why I think it needs more sensitivity reading. Kael is a scarred individual and obviously had some form of neglect as a child. He is quiet, but is desperately seeking companionship that he doesn't get from his family. Nothing is explained about how he feels about these subjects and its like his scars don't matter at all. It felt like poor taste to just brush all of his trauma aside like it didn't matter at all.
Then halfway through the story.. He loses his voice and hearing. There are so many times that he "hears" things while he actually can't hear. It bothered me so much as a deaf person myself. "The words appeared in my head" is a cop out and I hate it. I liked that the author tried to add in a part where Vaelis and Kael start to make their own way to communicate, but it didn't matter because not even a few pages later they magically get his voice back. Ugh... I feel sad.

The writing overall is great and the story keeps pace well and kept me interested. I think the book just needed more love from an outside perspective. The characters didn't really grow and the story felt lacking in a lot of ways. My dislike of the story isn’t any reflection on the author and their writing. I think with more support, this author could really shine!

Thank you again for allowing me to read and review.

[Mayami · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️, maybe a 🌶️.5

For me this is more little mermaid meets Mortal engines. That is a hard combo to put together but the author sure did. “I am the light and the song, he is the shadow and the silence.” “He is silk and light, I am rock and pressure.” This book reads like poetry. It’s very beautiful writing. It definitely requires your full attention though.

I ended up loving both MCs so much! Vaelis has tried to turn his beauty into a weapon. Kael doesn’t believe he could be anything else BUT a weapon. Poor baby Kael needs to give himself more love. He is so pure, loyal, gentle, honest, brave, giving, selfless, loving, with a grueling lack of self worth. Vaelis definitely likes to toot his own horn but you know why and where he’s coming from. He’s vain but also determined, insightful, creative, clever, a hard drive, and refuses to just leave his blinders on. He has the heart of an artist and someone who knows there is more on the outside than what has been shown and forced onto him.

Mira, you feel so conflicted about. She loves deeply, a sense of responsibility, oaths, and morality engrained but has her own issues with that. It’s a character you hate and admire at the same time. You wonder what you would do in her shoes, with the background and information that she has. But, by god, she is determined! And jaded. Still want to bludgeon her though.

Bolt is such a b*tch, I love him! Such a riot. Dry humor, but no hesitance at all to help when it’s needed. Hilarious banter there! And a headstrong shrimp who gets upset if you mess with his stuff! At the 60% mark, I was thoroughly having fun. I want a Pip. I think we all deserve a Pip. This is a weird found-family but I cannot complain. “Broken things fit together in beautiful ways”. They absolutely all fit together and you just enjoy it when they’re all together.

Just a personal thought, I think we should get back to titling chapters more, so thanks to the author for that. I would have loved to have seen this turned into a trilogy or a series. I think there could have been a way more world building here, getting a more detailed glimpse into each MC’s daily life and what-not, the city and city life, and this world-ending climax at the end. I indeed wanted more. Not because I thought it was lacking, but because I loved the characters and the environment.

Just like the author stated, this has minimal spice. My only want is that there was more details during their relations. This is a merman romance so the biology is a bit different so I was hoping for some blatant descriptions, but that is just me. It never refracted from the plot or left any blanks. Just wanted more personally. I was left confused about the Mourning Tides part. What caused the horrible events in the opening chapter? He was in a trance and pulled to my understanding. It’s more of the how and why.

Will definitely recommend this book to romantasy readers. I loved the ideas (betta and shark), the flow of it all, and the characters, especially the mains. Happy to have read it. 💜🌊🧜‍♂️💙

[neeshreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice:🌶️🌶️.5/5

Romantasy readers, this is the perfect read for Mer-May! We are given: Howl's Moving Castle meets The Little Mermaid – so a cool mashup of mermaid steampunk vibes, the writing is absolutely beautifully with poetic and lyrical descriptions of the atmosphere, a character-driven romance rooted in a fragile trust between supposed enemies that is filled with tension, longing and yearning, an ongoing war, betrayal, heartbreak, and a hard-won HEA.

💙MM Romantasy
🦈Cinnamon Roll Shark-Mer
🧜🏽‍♂️Mischievous Betta-Mer
💙Forbidden Love & “Mine”
🦈Heartfelt Spice
🧜🏽‍♂️Opposites Attract & Size Difference
💙Hurt/Comfort
🦈“Swim” & “Catch Me” Chase
🧜🏽‍♂️Found Family Complete with a Snarky Electric Eel & Cute Cleaner Shrimp
💙Hard-Earned HEA

Vaelis, a betta-mer whose beauty is a weapon to wield from his gilded cage, has curiosity and rebellion in his veins. He never believed the myths of the deadly Mourning Tide until it dragged him under and he’s prepared for the end…until Kael. Kael, a shar-mer born and forged into a weapon of the deep’s making, defies his people’s rules and saves the gorgeous mer sinking into his domain. Now, their fates are tied together and their hearts are beating in tandem, but war is on the horizon between their people, and choices have to be made. Is their forbidden connection enough to change the tides, or will they be ripped apart by the current?

My. Heart. I am team Kael and Vaelis forever. These two were opposites, yet kindred spirits – both men struggled to love who they are, to accept what has been taught by their elders, and were desperate to find a purpose. Kael feels he is a monster and Vaelis feels he is useless bait, but together, they are a beautiful balance of light and dark. When each man declares what he sees when he looks at the other? I’m not crying, you are. Their love blossoms despite the danger, the pull they feel toward one another cannot be stopped, and when forces try to break them apart, you will be absolutely gutted, devastated, destroyed…broken. What Kael and Vaelis have is transcendent, the way they actively choose one another had my heart bursting out of my chest, and when the spice develops, it’s everything you could have hoped for.

[✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ ARC review ✨

🧜🏼‍♂️ The Night The Sea Kept Me by M. Anderson 🦈

"The night I met you in this very fissure," Vaelis whispers, his voice breaking slightly. "That was the night the sea kept me."

WOWIE. what a beautiful read for monster loving May (though Kael baby is NOT a monster, no matter what those at the Reef say!!) this is the second book i’ve read from M. Anderson and something about her writing just adds so much depth to the story, with breathtaking artwork to go with it! this was my first mer.. merfolk? book and IM IN LOVE.

this story is about Vaelis, a beautiful betta-mer from the glittering gilded cage known as the Reef … and Kael, a rough around the edges shark-mer from the deep trenches. they are complete opposites, with Vaelis being a rare Red Prince from a world of vanity and warmth and Kael being a sharp apex predator from the cold depths of the waters where Vaelis’ kind do not dare to go.

when Kael saves Vaelis from another predator one day, Vaelis begins to question everything that he’s been taught about the ‘monsters’ from the trenches. honestly the true ‘monsters’, were his own people.. or at least, the Elders at the Reef. i won’t go into much detail, but there’s a betrayal that occurs when Vaelis gets put on the front line during battle and it just proves how little they care about him. it makes me so sad.

there are so many things i loved about this book, the first of course being the love shared between the MC’s, but the second.. is Mira’s character growth. Mira is Vaelis’ protective best friend, who truly believes that Kael is a threat to him and does something drastic in order to try to ensure that they won’t see each other again. at first, i HATED her for what she did! but then i realized that she truly was just trying to protect Vaelis. she more than redeems herself though 🤍

there were some unexpected things that happened in the story that kept me on my toes, but you’ll have to read to find out what 🤭 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

some tidbits:
🧜🏼‍♂️ shark-mer x betta-mer
🦈 found family
🧜🏼‍♂️ Pip, the fierce warrior 🦐
🦈 hurt/comfort
🧜🏼‍♂️ Bolt, the sassy Eel ⚡️
🦈 the sweetest spice that had my heart aching
🧜🏼‍♂️ a hard earned HEA

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying this book had all the ingredients of something I would have loved. Pretty illustrations. Gay MCs. Mermen. A sort of nautical steampunk vibe. A storyline similar to the webtoon “Castle Swimmer” (more on that later). So, why didn’t I like it?

First, while this wasn’t something that directly contributed to my score it was still so annoying that it got to the point where it pissed me off. This is how many times the following words were said throughout the book:
Kael: 323
Vaelis: 408
Thick: 248

Like come ON. Use a different descriptor. There was a page where it was said FIVE TIMES. FIVE. ON A SINGLE PAGE. It got to the point where the word didn’t even look real.

Along with that, there were so many phrases that were just repeated. For example, “The sound holds no grief. It holds nothing but boredom.” was used and then half a page later it was used again. This happened several times that it started to feel less like humany mistakes and more like…a lack of care? I don’t know how to explain it. This book desperately needs a proofreading.

Other than those two big things, these were the things that made me not like this book:

-The plot. The book starts off with a pretty clear and interesting plot. Vaelis is a pretty prince and Kael is a wicked beast and they fall for each other, but in a bout of jealousy the fellow betta-mer Mira poisons Kael. After that, things start to get a bit murky but there’s still a decent plot beneath that turbulence. But at around the 70-75% mark it just falls apart completely. I don’t know what happened. I can’t tell you what the characters’ goals were. It just crumpled and I am left with more questions than answers. What was the Mourning Tide really? (Whales? I don’t know). Why did it cause that prologue character to be hypnotized almost? What was with the witch, and how did she become like that? What even were Mira’s goals? Was the witch her mother? What about Kael’s family and people? What about the sharks vs bettas? What…was that ending? I don’t understand anything and nothing felt resolved. Also, none of this felt like it took place underwater. None of it. You could ignore the fins and pretend this took place on land and it would read exactly the same.

-The characters. They all felt very shallow and one dimensional. The three MCs followed very stereotypical archetypes which I just didn’t vibe with.
Kael: big dumb brute who can’t speak in full sentences and is a bit of a “savage.” Comes from an “uncivilized” people who only knows how to kill. Um.
Vaelis: pretty protected prince who has had everything handed to him. “Tames” Kael and teaches him a new language.
Mira: in love with Vaelis and jealous of Kael. Evil witch woman.
Why does that lowkey sound like the Disney Pocahontas movie?
Also, Vaelis’s name. His people is the Vael. He is Vaelis. That’s like an American being named Americais. It was kind of confusing.

-The characters continued: description version. None of the character descriptions matched their art. From my understanding, this is what they looked like:
Kael: massive. Dorsal fin. Long unruly and tangled black hair. Sharp teeth and dark eyes. Grey skin. Shark like tail.
Vaelis: tanned skin. Smaller but toned. Red hair that’s long and silky. Wears pearl dust to look paler. Light betta like tail with red spots.
Mira: dark skin. Muscular. Coiled hair.
That is not what they look like at all. Why describe Mira with coiled hair if her art has like loose beach waves?

-“Castle Swimmer.” For those of you who haven’t read it, the webtoon is about a shark prince who ignores his orders and leaves to go on a mission with a merman who has rare, shiny scales. Together they have to hunt down a nautical-steampunk creature. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
I’ll just leave it at that.

Also, I find it funny how red is the first color to disappear underwater due to light refractions and whatnot. I don’t think any real research was done.

Overall, this has the potential to be a fun story. It would probably do better as a series so things aren’t super rushed and confusing and left with plot holes, and it does need a good proofreading. It could also benefit from a good sensitivity read (for the LGBTQ+ elements, the deaf/hard of hearing elements, and for the marine biology elements).Thank you again to the author for the arch in exchange for an honest review.

[Anushka Bagde · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go to books have been romances but my second is fantasy because I love the world building and the depth of creation that comes with fantasy books. It's so uplifting and inspiring and intense and you just go along for the ride. The ride is often where I get tripped up so I'm very picky about the fantasy books I read and I will for sure say that this book was the perfect combination of romance and fantasy and one of my new favorites ❤️. Em has done a wonderful job of building this world of different species and ways of life in a way that is original and makes one feel connected because it's so diverse, like life is. Em celebrates the complexities of life and how one can be resilient and I was there for every bit of it!

I loved Vaelis and Kael's romance, how it begins and how it progresses. It's such a beautiful story because it pairs suffering and loss with joy and empowerment. The story embraces the idea of being yourself and taking up space, with all the spicy and hot scenes that had my face warming! Em, this was a wonderful story, thank you for choosing me as one of your ARC readers! For anyone who was interested in the blurb above and have read all the way to here, go run! and grab your copy when it's out on May 19th!

[SparksJoyCon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was given to me as an ARC, and I thank the author for it. My thoughts are my own with no bias.

I give it a 4.25 stars. The author markets it as Howl's Moving Castle meets The Little Mermaid. Given that I have never seen Howl's Moving Castle, I couldn't tell you what inspiration was pulled from there. I have a few guesses.

Plot-wise, I enjoyed the story. There were some plot points that seemed to be left to the wayside (i.e. The Mourning Tide which seems like a big deal at first, but I guess it isn't?), however. I like the concepts being used and how they went about solving their problems.

The interlude was my favorite section, and game me some Lion King vibes. It was a nice way of introducing characters and explaining how they got there in the first place.

The spice is more towards the end, so if you are looking for erotica, this wouldn't be it for you. But it is earned, and the tension throughout the book was quite surprising especially who it was coming from.

My rating comes from thorough reading as well as pure vibes because that's how I read it.