Walking on Water

by Matthew J. Metzger

When a cloud falls to earth, Calla sets out to find what lies beyond the sky. Father says there’s nothing, but Calla knows better. Something killed that cloud; someone brought it down.

Raised on legends of fabled skymen, Calla never expected them to be real, much less save one from drowning—and lose her heart to him. Who are the men who walk on water? And how can such strange creatures be so beautiful?

Infatuated and intrigued, Calla rises out of her world in pursuit of a skyman who doesn’t even speak her language. Above the waves lies more than princes and politics. Above the sky awaits the discovery of who Calla was always meant to be. But what if it also means never going home again?

Genres: Fantasy, Transgender, Romance, M M Romance, LGBT, Historical, Bisexual

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2017

About the author

Matthew is an asexual, transgender author from the wet and windy British Isles.

Matt writes LGBT novels, both adult and young adult, and particularly enjoys digging into the weird and wonderful diversity of people all across the sexuality and gender spectrums. When not writing, Matt is usually asleep, or crunching numbers at his day job. Free time is not really a concept here.

He is also owned by an enormous black cat. Approach with caution.

Reviews

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

I read What It Looks Like by Matthew J. Metzger last year and loved it, so I ran to pick up every other book from him that I could find. However, Walking on Water isn't my typical kind of book so I initially passed it up. In the end, I'm glad I gave it a shot, even if I had some small issues with the story.

Walking on Water is a The Little Mermaid retelling, and I think that's important to keep in mind. Though The Little Mermaid is a charming and exciting story, remember that the two main characters fell in love without saying a word to each other, in only a matter of days. What worked for me in a movie when I was a child didn't quite work for me in a book form, mainly because I loathe insta-love. I like my love to come from days and weeks of getting to know one another, and the depth of feeling the two MCs had in Walking on Water from just a short time together felt strange. I get attraction and even loyalty to one another, especially after their shared intense experiences, but love... yeah, I need much more to feel it. However, if you like a vibe that is more similar to the original story, then perhaps you won't mind it as much.

If you ignore the rush towards profound feelings, I think Matthew J. Metzger does a fabulous job with the story. He really has a way with words, and the historical-fantasy element really lends itself to his lyrical, dreamy writing style. The secondary characters felt very developed, and though a few plot elements were left dangling, I think the overall story was moving and effective.

My one other issue, and *warning, this is a small spoiler*, is that one of the main characters has sex with a woman after the two MCs have gotten very involved with each other. The woman part didn't bother me one bit, but I personally prefer my romances to have monogamous MCs during the course of the story unless the story is a menage or polyamory set up (and, truthfully, I tend to avoid most of those). That is just my personal preference, but I'm surprised no other reviewer has mentioned this scene.

I love a book with a trans MC, and authors like Matthew J. Metzger have been paving the way for more authors to veer off of the cis trail, so to speak. This is my 34th book with a trans or genderqueer main character, and I do a little cheer whenever another one pops on my radar. However, you don't have to be an experienced reader of romance with trans MCs to enjoy this one. The story would easily appeal to anyone who loves a good fantasy romance, especially The Little Mermaid fans.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

[Kaje Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes the story of "The Little Mermaid" and turns it into an engaging fantasy that manages a HEA, with a transgender component. Calla is a mermaid whose royal father has said that there is no world above their watery sky and that skymen overhead are a myth. But Calla has never fit in or felt comfortable as mermaid and when a "cloud" sinks to the bottom from that mythical sky, Calla resolves to learn more about where it came from. In that quest, Calla saves a prince from among the skymen - folk who breathe air and turn out to be far from mythical. Calla is intrigued with the existence of an entire world above that the mer-king denies.

With the help of a witch, Calla is given a body that can breathe air, rather than water, and walk, rather than swim. And in the transformation, he is also given a different gift - the chance to live in a form he never imagined wanting, but which suits the person inside far better than the mermaid form ever did.

This story has a realistic feel, carrying the fantasy forward. Although the plot rides on instant love and attraction between the prince Janez and his rescuer, the characters and setting otherwise feel real. From the irascible palace doctor, to the king torn between his brother and his kingdom; from the language difficulties to the shock of a sea-dweller seeing everything from flowers to horses for the first time: this holds together as a believable and engaging story. The characters are interesting, the emotions are palpable, the details are well thought-out, and the conclusion is satisfying.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

5 stars

I cannot begin to explain how incredibly beautiful this story turned out to be. Walking on Water takes a benign children’s tale and turns it into the most romantically lush story of love and loss. When Calla transforms into Held and realizes for the first time that he has always been that man inside, it is amazing. Then the author shows his incredible skill in writing some of the most gorgeous scenes of intimacy between two men that I have ever read. It’s not the physical mechanics of lovemaking that Metzger focuses on, but rather the incredible exploration of the first time one loving hand touches another or as Held puts it—their hands kissed.

For Held, each touch, each moment of physical closeness was new and fresh and real for the very first time. It was absolutely magical to read the descriptive passages when Held and Janez made love. Again, not because the mechanics of what is inserted where, but rather the incredible emotional and physical rush Held and Janez experienced together became the real story. I’m so frustrated here because I know my flimsy words fall way short of expressing how incredibly moving this novel was for me. This story was poetry in motion and it’s all due to this author’s incredibly expressive style of writing.

Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.

[Chris, the Dalek King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll totally admit it, I didn’t even read the blurb of this book before I asked to review it. So it was a pleasant surprise when I started the story and realized that it was a retelling of The Little Mermaid tale with a trans twist. This year has already given me the wonderful Peter Darling by Austin Chant (and if you haven’t read that book, well after you finish this one you should scoot your ass to the nearest bookseller and pick it up) and to find yet another of my childhood favorites transformed into a story that connects to me on a level I never even hoped to have, was exciting.

If you’ve watched the Disney movie, or read the original story by Hans Christian Andersen, you know the bare-bones plot of this book. Mermaid feels out of place, has an encounter with a human prince, makes a trade with a witch to join him on land, and has to win his love or else face the consequences. But there is also so much more to it here.

I think one of Metzger’s strengths as a writer is being able to give his characters such life and personality from the first page. I never have to wait a chapter or two to buy into the story or the characters. They feel, almost instantly, like real people. Calla, the mermaid in this story, is very much another excellent example of that. There were always going to be things about Calla that I connected to, but even without the whole trans angle, Calla is incredibly relatable and believable. Even if Calla lives under the sea and has a tail, not legs. Calla’s story is not a new one for me, but it was written in such a way that I deeply cared from almost the get-go about this fictional character.

There are so many things I could say about this book, but reading this story was such a wonderful experience of finding new twists in the tale, that I kinda have no desire to ruin that for other readers. Some things change, some stay the same, but my god was it never dull or repetitive or expected. It was, in the simplest of terms, a joy to read.

The only reason this isn’t a five-star book for me is because there were some things in the end that didn’t quite tie up in a way that worked for me. Pretty small things, but still enough to knock a few points off the top. There were just some subplots that kinda just never got a payoff, and it left me feeling a little sad that I wouldn’t find out what happened with certain people. But really, we are talking about such minor details, that the rating is more a 4.75, than a 4.5. And they are not things that will keep me from happily rereading this story in the future.

I don’t know what to say other than this is an absolute must read. Especially for those of you who like twists on the stories and fairy tales we grew up on. Metzger breathes new life into a story many of us have read/seen/hear probably hundreds of times, and I can only hope that if the fancy strikes he takes a swing at some of the other tales out there (**cough**Mulan**cough**).

4.75 stars


This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there were ever a fairy tale that deserves to be fractured, it’s Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid; though I do have to give it—and every other Andersen tale, for that matter—credit for forcing me to broaden my definition of a happy ending. He was the master of the tragic happy, for lack of a better description, and The Little Mermaid is nothing if not a heartstring tugging tear-jerker.

Coupling my love of fairy tales with my love of seeing them re-imagined, and then adding to that an author whose work has been on my radar for a while now, there was no way I was about to take a pass on Matthew J. Metzger’s Walking on Water, and it was so, so worth it. Borrowing from the original tale’s tropes and then adding a lush new world and multi-faceted characters, Metzger delivers a story that is both heart-rending and hopeful. Not only is it a beautiful romantic tale, but it is also the story of a man discovering his true self, and is the story of a king’s—and, perhaps more importantly, a brother’s—day of reckoning and ultimate redemption.

Prince Janez is a cog in his family’s machine, beholden to king and kingdom at the expense of not only his own happiness but also in the loss of his brother. Oh, King Alarik is alive and well, don’t get me wrong, but this complicates things all the more because he is a king facing a war and is a ruler who has an obligation to his people, which means he will make sacrifices for the greater good. Sadly, that sacrifice comes at Janez’s expense, and this aspect of the storyline holds true to one of the themes in Andersen’s original tale—sacrificing one’s own happiness for the love of another, and, in Janez’s case, giving up his hope for love in order to fulfill his role as the spare heir to the throne.

Janez is being forced into a marriage of convenience in order to secure an alliance with a kingdom that will serve to reinforce Alarik’s military might. But, it also means that Janez must deny himself the love he has so recently discovered with Held, the man who’d saved him from a watery death. Or, rather, it was the mermaid Calla who’d rescued Janez and then struck a bargain with a witch who’s got an ulterior motive for assisting the little mermaid. Calla has always felt different from the other mermaids, and it’s not until she takes form as a skyman that the truth comes to light. Mistaken for an enemy spy, it is Janez who then takes on the role of rescuer and brokers his savior’s release from the king’s prison.

Janez christens the stranger Held, naming him after the ship it’s assumed he had been sailing on before washing up on dry land. Language being an obstacle but not an insurmountable barrier between them, Janez opens up a new world for Held, and the miracle of it is written with an eloquence that allows the reader not only to sense Held’s awe but to experience it along with him—his new body, his wonder over his physique and what it means to him to finally feel right in this new skin, his discovery of all the sights, sounds and smells of the world. And, of course, Held’s desire to navigate his burgeoning feelings for Janez and to explore the prince’s form in an intimate way are all portrayed in a manner that allows the reader to become acquainted, right along with Held, with this world Metzger has built. This also means, however, that we experience the heartache and fear and danger along with Held too, because his initial bargain with the witch was temporary, and the second would leave him without a solid place in either the mer- or the human worlds.

Unconditional love is a sticking point in this novel, as Calla’s father not only rejects her but is willing to allow her to die before he’d see her take up with a human male, and thus begins the dramatic arc of the story—Calla’s rescue and her beholding herself to the sea witch, Calla returning to the human realms and embracing his truth as Held, Held hoping against all hope that Janez returns the love that Held feels for the prince. It’s all so resonant and everything that makes fairy tales unique unto themselves—they make you hope for and believe in the happily-ever-after even when the dark threatens to consume the light, when the evil attempts to overcome the good. The dramatic peak of the story, which is just stunning in its action and imagery, also becomes a healing moment for Alarik and Janez, the point where Alarik recalls that his blood ties are an unbreakable bond, and second chances are a precious gift.

The cast of Walking on Water is well-rounded and diverse. I especially appreciated Doktor Hauser as the cranky and plainspoken physician whose bark proved worse than his bite. He became not only ally to Janez and Held but their saving grace, and provided, single-handedly, their plausible happy ending while a certain princess provides the means to it. I also enjoyed the warm moments Janez spends with his family—the queen, his niece, his mother. Their scenes served to build our understanding of Janez’s desire for love and family, and I adore the way the author wrapped up the story in a happily-ever-after way for our romantic couple.

If you love a classic fairy tale gorgeously re-imagined, Walking on Water is it.

Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach

[E.M. Hamill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is utter magic. A retelling of the Little Mermaid legend, it’s a beautiful story of courage and love, of two souls who struggle to be true to themselves against expectations of duty and family.

The twist in this tail-tale is that the mer-person is a human in a mer-body—not only that, but a man rather than the mermaid princess the sea king expects them to be.

Oh. So. Good. It had me near tears a few times. Read this now.

[Darina]

Двойственные впечатления. С одной стороны, очень понравилась сама идея транс русалочки. Исполнение тоже на высоте. С другой, середина книги слишком уж близка к оригинальной сказке. В том смысле, что мрак и безнадега. В голове то и дело всплывали кадры из нашего советского мультика. Но самый главный минус – это инсталав. Я понимаю, что все в рамках жанра, но блин, вы знакомы два дня и разговариваете на разных языках, какая тут любовь? Еще мне не понравился принц. Очень непостоянный юноша. Я даже в какой-то момент побоялась за счастливый финал и заглянула в эпилог. Под конец автор отошел от оригинала, реабилитировал в моих глазах принца и даже заставил меня поверить, что герои действительно любят друг друга. Но негативное впечатление от середины это не меняет.

[Sara Codair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up an ARC of Walking on Water. I asked to review it because I love merfolk stories as long as they are not Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and have been hungry for own voices fantasy featuring trans and non-binary characters.

I admit, I was skeptical of the first two chapters because the book was set in the past, in societies that were even more binary than the modern world, especially for princes like the two mc’s.

It’s too easy, when writing women in a misogynistic society, to make women want to be men simply because a society treats them like crap. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case in Walking on Water.

Yes, Calla was oppressed by her controlling father and foiled by her girly sisters. She didn’t fit with other mermaids or accept the role women were supposed to play in her society, but it wasn’t until she found herself in the body of a human male that she fully realized she wasn’t a she, but a he. That moment was raw, beautiful and true. It was uplifting and validating to read about someone discovering their gender as an adult.

From that moment forward, I could not put the book the down. The tension was beautiful, and so was the depiction of two people communicating without words better than many people communicate with them. I kept hoping for a happy ending, and with every twist and turn, I wondered how the characters were going to overcome the obstacles that stood in front of them. As soon as I thought I knew how it would happen, something would change to make me second guess where the story was going. I suspected - hoped - it would have a happy ending. I just didn’t know how the heck the characters were going to get there. I won’t say anything else about the end, other than that it worked.

The prose were as gorgeous as the story, and the voices of the different narrators were so distinct that I never second guessed whose POV I was reading. Each narrator saw the world a little differently because in some ways, they were each from different worlds, and the author stayed consistent with this throughout. It included some stunning nautical imagery. Of course, I won’t deny my bias towards that. The ocean is in my blood. If merpeople and past lives exist, I was probable in a merman in one of my lives…

If you are looking for a good fantasy, a beach read, a romance, a just good rep of a trans character, and/or just something good to read, then you will enjoy this book.

[Leigh Lorien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairy tale retellings aren't always my thing. They kind of feel "been there done that" to me. But not this one! Walking on Water is a delightful queer retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Our main character, Held, starts the story out as Calla, a mermaid princess. When he gets turned human, he ends up in a male body, and realizes that all this time, the reason he's felt odd and out of place among his sisters is because he isn't she after all. The realization is an important part of the story, but does not overwhelm the overall plot. Fantasy is wonderful for trans characters because it often bypasses so much of the "transition" obsession that shows up in contemporary settings, and this is no exception. Of course, given the author, I would expect nothing less than well-executed rep.

Held is an absolute joy to read. Having grown up deep in the sea as a mermaid, he has all the wonder of a child once he's transformed into a "skyman", but no command of the human language or understanding of human culture. The writing captures this in a magical and often humorous way that is further improved if you have any grasp of the German language. His innocent misunderstandings of language (referring to flowers as "bloomings", having misunderstood the German word for flower ("blumen")) and commonplace human things such as ships (which he refers to as clouds, since that is how merfolk think of ships) that get carried throughout the entire book are so precious and endearing, you just wanna wrap him up in a blanket and snuggle him to protect him from the big scary mean world.

In the little mermaid we're all most familiar with, Ariel loses her voice when she becomes human. In Walking on Water, the author has given this complication a creative twist by simply writing it in what is likely the most realistic way possible: Merfolk don't speak the same language as humans. And why would they? This is brilliantly written--in chapters from Held's POV, the characters around him speak German, and he cannot understand them. He merely tries to make himself understood, and to understand those around him. Prince Janez, the skyman Held rescued and fell in love with, is endlessly patient and totally enamored with Held, and his dedication makes him a loveable character as well.

I could probably ramble about this book for a few more paragraphs, but let's just say this: It is sweet and funny and heartbreaking and precious, well-written, creative, with fantastic characters and excellent trans and bi rep. The world is beautifully realistic, both the human world and the mer world deep in the ocean. Highly recommend.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthew is my favourite writer and every book I've read of his I've been unable to put down once I started to read it. I have to admit though I did struggle with the start of this. It's been a long time since I read anything fantasy and I really couldn't get into the book for the first 1/4 of it. But since Matthew wrote it I persisted and once it got passed a certain point I really enjoyed it. Matthew has an amazing way with words and always creates characters that I fall in love with.

[SunShiney10 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Till now i loved every book of the author, but this one... this one just shocked me. After the prince feels drawn to Held and after a lot of making-out HE FREAKIN SLEEPS WITH HIS REGULAR HOOKER! I was devastated, but told myself, okaaaay, they arent a couple yet, so i will survive his misconduct... But then HELD ALSO SLEEPS WITH SOME STRANGE HOOKER! What the hell?! And that happend AFTER Held sacrificed EVERYTHING for the ladiesman... i mean, the super great perfect prince. And the prince wasnt even that much angry about it. Hellooooo?!

After that i just couldnt read on. There is no true love between them. Who knows, if the prince someday finds his first great love this Greta with their child, Held probablys gonna get dumped. Their Affection or rather their lusting after each other just aint strong enough. And NOTHING except a jump back in time could save this disaster of a book. Horrific Story. Just sad.

[Katrina Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted, very human story that will be with me for a long time. I fell in love with the characters and was so enraptured by the story that I forgot to eat and stayed up way too late reading. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book! It is going on my list of favorites and will be getting read again in the future. Besides the fact that this is a great retelling of a Disney classic, it is a beautiful story with a Trans twist. The phenomenal writing draws you into the love story between Janez and Held and makes the reader root for them against every obstacle. Throw in an asexual metamour that wants to be left alone with her books and my little poly heart was singing.

[Lisa Stapleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply mer-mazing!

A fantastic twist on the Little Mermaid tale and beautifully written. I read it in less than a day and am definitely going to have a book hangover after this one! Wish there were more but it is also such a perfect story as it is.

[Laura ~Passion flower]

Walking on Water (ARC) was graciously provided to me by Indigo Marketing & Design for an honest review. Review to follow.

[Coda Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

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a queer little mermaid retelling with a trans character? i loved that held's transformation was going from a female mermaid to a male human. i read austin chant's peter darling before this and that reminded me of that. i love allegories to transitioning when they're tasteful. matthew j. metzger is a trans man himself, you can feel the care put into this novel.

held and janez's relationship was sweeter than ariel and prince eric's. what the love interest was going to be in this was a big worry of mine based on the source material but now i wish i had a janez of my own.

[Liz (Bugetta)]

Thank you, Elusive Elf!