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Entwined Tales #5
A Little Mermaid
All Clio wants is to make her crush—a fellow merman prince—notice her. She isn’t interested in the people on land, much less a certain Prince Lukas, who was stupid enough to fall off a ship on his birthday. But when a bumbling fairy godfather misunderstands her, Clio finds herself in the worst situation imaginable—stranded on land with her tail and voice gone.
And her troubles are just beginning. Not only must Clio learn how to behave like a human, but she also needs to discover the identity of a mysterious assassin, all while guarding herself against flirtatious advances from Lukas, the very person she wants to avoid.
A Little Mermaid is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own, but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.
And her troubles are just beginning. Not only must Clio learn how to behave like a human, but she also needs to discover the identity of a mysterious assassin, all while guarding herself against flirtatious advances from Lukas, the very person she wants to avoid.
A Little Mermaid is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own, but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2018
386 people are currently reading
854 people want to read
About the author
Aya Ling
14 books440 followersAya is from Taiwan, where she struggles daily to contain her obsession with mouthwatering and unhealthy foods. Often she will devour a good book instead. Her favorite books include martial arts romances, fairy tale retellings, high fantasy, cozy mysteries, and manga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
January 31, 2020
Research, Reality Check and Revise! And Remove from this series.
The first problem with this book is that it is supposed to be about Martin. This is book 5 of a series about 7 siblings and their problems because of the gifts bestowed by the fairy godfather. Martin is supposed to be the hero and focus of this story. Not only is the story told from the point of view of the little mermaid but Martin isn't the hero of the story. He is just a random secondary character. I kept waiting for the lame mermaid to pick Martin over the boring prince but she didn't. So this book doesn't really fit in this series and Martin was cheated out of his happy ending.
Sadly that isn't even the worst of the problems. This story simply wasn't well thought through. It makes Disney's Little Mermaid tale seem realistic by comparison.
The merfolk have musical instruments such as flute(how do you play a wind instrument under water?); violin and organ (won't the wood warp underwater?); drums (won't the animal hide stretch and rot underwater?)and harp (the ocean can't be good for those strings.)
One mermaid mentions smoked salmon. How can they smoke anything underwater?
They mention soaps and dyes are much sought after in the mer kingdom. How do you dye clothes underwater? Why and how do they swim in dresses and other clothes? How do you store soap underwater and doesn't it pollute the ocean?
Clio smoothes her dress. How do you smooth soggy fabric underwater?
Tears trickle in Clio's eyes and she hides them. How can tears be seen underwater?
The human prince lives in a palace with a hundred servants yet the housekeeper somehow finds time out from running such an estate and managing those servants to wait on Clio hand and foot. She dresses her and does elaborate hairstyles. How does she find the time and why doesn't she have a maid perform those duties?
Clio saved the prince's life but doesn't tell anyone. Suddenly her sister knows.
Mer-babies are mentioned as being superior to humans because they can float mere hours after birth. How is that an accomplishment? Fish are born floating. You don't learn to float. Are they born sinking?
The second time Clio has to go down stairs on her new legs she acts like stairs are an incompetent invention and a major obstacle which she never saw before . But she had gone down them without comment or problem the day before.
Clio mentions she hasn't practiced drawing much or read much unlike her sister who likes to curl up in her undersea room with a book. How do they have paper underwater? Later she gives her sister some drawings to take home with her. Ironically her sister gives Clio gold in a waterproof bag. Apparently gold unlike paper, soap, dyes and musical instruments must be protected from oceanwater.
Nerissa tells Clio she shouldn't break her spell by killing the prince because she would bring war between their kingdoms. (Not to mention murdering innocent people is bad.)
Lukas tells someone Clio used to dance. Clio determines her sister must have told him that. Lukas never met her sister. If Lukas had met Clio's sister he would know she was a mermaid princess with only temporary legs. Why then would he recommend her to a dance troop?
Clio does two legged piorouettes which is impossible. Clio learns to dance professionally in two weeks because she has been dancing as a mermaid since she was three. Fish tails don't use any of the same muscles or movements as legs so this is ridiculous and impossible.
Clio does a complicated dance routine on the sandy beach. In real life walking and running on the beach is hard. Piorouettes would be impossible.
Clio randomly, mentally calls out to Lukas despite there being no sign of mental telepathy or any reason to believe he could hear her.
This book needs serious research, reality checks and revisions to be a decent book.
The first problem with this book is that it is supposed to be about Martin. This is book 5 of a series about 7 siblings and their problems because of the gifts bestowed by the fairy godfather. Martin is supposed to be the hero and focus of this story. Not only is the story told from the point of view of the little mermaid but Martin isn't the hero of the story. He is just a random secondary character. I kept waiting for the lame mermaid to pick Martin over the boring prince but she didn't. So this book doesn't really fit in this series and Martin was cheated out of his happy ending.
Sadly that isn't even the worst of the problems. This story simply wasn't well thought through. It makes Disney's Little Mermaid tale seem realistic by comparison.
The merfolk have musical instruments such as flute(how do you play a wind instrument under water?); violin and organ (won't the wood warp underwater?); drums (won't the animal hide stretch and rot underwater?)and harp (the ocean can't be good for those strings.)
One mermaid mentions smoked salmon. How can they smoke anything underwater?
They mention soaps and dyes are much sought after in the mer kingdom. How do you dye clothes underwater? Why and how do they swim in dresses and other clothes? How do you store soap underwater and doesn't it pollute the ocean?
Clio smoothes her dress. How do you smooth soggy fabric underwater?
Tears trickle in Clio's eyes and she hides them. How can tears be seen underwater?
The human prince lives in a palace with a hundred servants yet the housekeeper somehow finds time out from running such an estate and managing those servants to wait on Clio hand and foot. She dresses her and does elaborate hairstyles. How does she find the time and why doesn't she have a maid perform those duties?
Clio saved the prince's life but doesn't tell anyone. Suddenly her sister knows.
Mer-babies are mentioned as being superior to humans because they can float mere hours after birth. How is that an accomplishment? Fish are born floating. You don't learn to float. Are they born sinking?
The second time Clio has to go down stairs on her new legs she acts like stairs are an incompetent invention and a major obstacle which she never saw before . But she had gone down them without comment or problem the day before.
Clio mentions she hasn't practiced drawing much or read much unlike her sister who likes to curl up in her undersea room with a book. How do they have paper underwater? Later she gives her sister some drawings to take home with her. Ironically her sister gives Clio gold in a waterproof bag. Apparently gold unlike paper, soap, dyes and musical instruments must be protected from oceanwater.
Nerissa tells Clio she shouldn't break her spell by killing the prince because she would bring war between their kingdoms. (Not to mention murdering innocent people is bad.)
Lukas tells someone Clio used to dance. Clio determines her sister must have told him that. Lukas never met her sister. If Lukas had met Clio's sister he would know she was a mermaid princess with only temporary legs. Why then would he recommend her to a dance troop?
Clio does two legged piorouettes which is impossible. Clio learns to dance professionally in two weeks because she has been dancing as a mermaid since she was three. Fish tails don't use any of the same muscles or movements as legs so this is ridiculous and impossible.
Clio does a complicated dance routine on the sandy beach. In real life walking and running on the beach is hard. Piorouettes would be impossible.
Clio randomly, mentally calls out to Lukas despite there being no sign of mental telepathy or any reason to believe he could hear her.
This book needs serious research, reality checks and revisions to be a decent book.
April 13, 2018
A Little Mermaid sparkles with magic and whimsy. It's a delightful retelling of a beloved classic with a few fun twists. For lovers of mermaids, faerie tales, and light-hearted stories, this one is sure to have you floating with fancy!
This one was such a fun tail (😉), pun intended. I have always loved mermaids, and The Little Mermaid was one of my absolute favorite Disney movies as a child. Aya did such a great job with bringing this tale back to life for me as an adult, and giving me that childhood nostalgia.
She was able to capture the essence of the Entwined Tales series by bringing in familiar characters, including our beloved Grumpy Faerie Godfather. But, she also added her own spin on things and made her author voice heard. I enjoyed her cheerful writing style and the way she brought Clio to life without her being able to speak.
Clio was so adorable. She was a love stricken teenager with a carefree life. I loved how her character changed and grew as the story went on. She was a little whiny at times, but she called herself out for it, which made me admire her even more.
I thought Aya brought joy and vividness to the tale. It had humor, charm, and happiness. It captured the heart and soul of the original tale, and kept me in a cheerful mood the entire time. If you loved the original tale, or the Disney version, you will love this one! 4.5 stars!
This one was such a fun tail (😉), pun intended. I have always loved mermaids, and The Little Mermaid was one of my absolute favorite Disney movies as a child. Aya did such a great job with bringing this tale back to life for me as an adult, and giving me that childhood nostalgia.
She was able to capture the essence of the Entwined Tales series by bringing in familiar characters, including our beloved Grumpy Faerie Godfather. But, she also added her own spin on things and made her author voice heard. I enjoyed her cheerful writing style and the way she brought Clio to life without her being able to speak.
Clio was so adorable. She was a love stricken teenager with a carefree life. I loved how her character changed and grew as the story went on. She was a little whiny at times, but she called herself out for it, which made me admire her even more.
I thought Aya brought joy and vividness to the tale. It had humor, charm, and happiness. It captured the heart and soul of the original tale, and kept me in a cheerful mood the entire time. If you loved the original tale, or the Disney version, you will love this one! 4.5 stars!
Thank you to the author for providing me with this free e-copy in exchange for my honest review!
June 25, 2020
So this book was not about one of the woodcutter’s children who Mortimer gives bad or unwanted magical gifts too so it really should not have been part of this series. Martin was a secondary character in this book and barely even mentioned and definitely did not get his happily ever after as he should have. I did enjoy the book and reading about Clio and her adapting to the human world though. It was a great Little Mermaid retelling. It just did not fit into the series. Also the author should have made the book a little longer. There were parts where the book just jumped ahead and didn’t make sense for a while. For example one knows that Clio is a princess or Thalassa or that she is a mermaid then suddenly Lukas starts acting like she’s a princess and calling her a princess and knows where she comes from. Later it’s discovered that Mortimer told him and he just went along with who Clio had said she was but there’s no change in anything or conversation about who Clio is or what Lukas knows. He just suddenly knows and Clio is ok with that. Also the assassination attempts are resolved in an awful way. I mean it builds up the suspense and then suddenly they’re just saved and it’s over. It was very unclimatic and a great let down after the story was picking up so much. Finally I also hated how Clio hated humans so much. I mean the whole first part of the book is her thoughts about how awful humans are and how she can’t believe she’s stuck in such a horrible and awful place and then suddenly she just likes the humans so much and doesn’t know if she wants to stay or go back to being a mermaid. I enjoyed the book for the most part but there were definitely major parts of the book that needed to be changed to make it better.
June 18, 2018
I took more than a few issues with this book. (I had over 20 notes highlighted on my kindle and most of those were about things that didn't make sense or grammatical errors.)
1) This book is part of the Entwined Tales and had almost no mention of the family that the rest of the book follows. The brother in the family, Martin, is the head of the prince's security, but we barely see him. This story is just in the same universe, rather than in the same series following that family and its issues with Mortimer. We don't even really understand what Mortimer was doing in the ocean with the merpeople.
2) There were a lot of instances of things that made no sense, like playing flutes underwater or giving human-made soap as a present to the merpeople. Surely the soap would have quickly disintegrated in the water!
3) There were grammatical errors and typos. I mark down a book's rating by 1/2 star for this usually, but there were so many of them that knocking it down 1/2 star seems generous! This included one of my biggest pet peeves of saying, "I could care less" when meaning "I couldn't care less." But there were other instances as well, such as words missing or inconsistencies.
4) I really didn't like Lukas and had no desire to see them end up together. He seemed so arrogant and full of himself. Not to mention that some of the things he said made me cringe and think of the m'lady fedora-wearing neckbeard meme. I just felt so uncomfortable whenever he talked.
1) This book is part of the Entwined Tales and had almost no mention of the family that the rest of the book follows. The brother in the family, Martin, is the head of the prince's security, but we barely see him. This story is just in the same universe, rather than in the same series following that family and its issues with Mortimer. We don't even really understand what Mortimer was doing in the ocean with the merpeople.
2) There were a lot of instances of things that made no sense, like playing flutes underwater or giving human-made soap as a present to the merpeople. Surely the soap would have quickly disintegrated in the water!
3) There were grammatical errors and typos. I mark down a book's rating by 1/2 star for this usually, but there were so many of them that knocking it down 1/2 star seems generous! This included one of my biggest pet peeves of saying, "I could care less" when meaning "I couldn't care less." But there were other instances as well, such as words missing or inconsistencies.
4) I really didn't like Lukas and had no desire to see them end up together. He seemed so arrogant and full of himself. Not to mention that some of the things he said made me cringe and think of the m'lady fedora-wearing neckbeard meme. I just felt so uncomfortable whenever he talked.
August 20, 2021
This disappointed me a little. I expected Martin to be the focus of the story. It seems only fair that he gets his own story as his sisters did. Instead, Clio's man is Lukas. He's not all bad, I guess. But I still wish Martin wasn't just a random secondary character in this.
August 14, 2023
I didn't care about the romance at all and the villain monologue at the end was so silly, but I liked everything else enough to make up for it! Clio was great, I loved the mermaid worldbuilding, Nerissa was such a good side character, and I was genuinely interested in the mystery aspect.
AND THANK YOU AYA LING FOR ALLOWING CLIO TO ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE!!
CW: Grief
AND THANK YOU AYA LING FOR ALLOWING CLIO TO ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE!!
CW: Grief
December 29, 2023
I didn't really like this book so much, just because it was so short. But, also, who's Clio? And where does she fit in the family of seven kids? This book does mention Martin more than the other books, so maybe it was supposed to be about Martin, but I really just don't get it.
Romance: CLEAN. No explicit scenes, no cursing.
Romance: CLEAN. No explicit scenes, no cursing.
April 28, 2018
I'm just going to say it.
I'm disappointed. Very disappointed.
This is book five and if the other books have shown then we have three out of seven left. I already figured out that one book was going to involve the second set of twins so if book four was about the female of the first set of the twins then the fifth book would be about the male right? Right? Yeah, nope. I think reread the summary of this book a few times to make sure I wasn't losing my mind because NOWHERE in the summary was any mention of Martin.
....
Forgive me for having a moment from my disappointment. So I read this, kinda hoping for something, maybe some idea of what Martin was up too. I got that idea. Martin went bald... to look manly. I will admit to dying of laughter. Priceless. Everything else? Not so much. I was disappointed. In this case, I kinda had to do what I did for the second book only instead of taking the tale out of the story, I'm taking this story out of the series.
Doing that, I will say I did enjoy the tale. I like the Little Mermaid so I approve this. But if I was going to put this story in the series then I am back to being disappointed. I can live with Martin not getting an HOA because he's being cool with the bald head as a bodyguard, but Martin wasn't even a secondary character. Hell, the maid showed up more than he did.
I'm disappointed. Very disappointed.
This is book five and if the other books have shown then we have three out of seven left. I already figured out that one book was going to involve the second set of twins so if book four was about the female of the first set of the twins then the fifth book would be about the male right? Right? Yeah, nope. I think reread the summary of this book a few times to make sure I wasn't losing my mind because NOWHERE in the summary was any mention of Martin.
....
Forgive me for having a moment from my disappointment. So I read this, kinda hoping for something, maybe some idea of what Martin was up too. I got that idea. Martin went bald... to look manly. I will admit to dying of laughter. Priceless. Everything else? Not so much. I was disappointed. In this case, I kinda had to do what I did for the second book only instead of taking the tale out of the story, I'm taking this story out of the series.
Doing that, I will say I did enjoy the tale. I like the Little Mermaid so I approve this. But if I was going to put this story in the series then I am back to being disappointed. I can live with Martin not getting an HOA because he's being cool with the bald head as a bodyguard, but Martin wasn't even a secondary character. Hell, the maid showed up more than he did.
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January 2, 2019Thus far this is my least favorite of the series of Entwined Tales by multiple authors. One of the things that bothered me is that the series was set up to tell stories all revolving around a family with the children taking turns as protagonists in the different tales. This one broke the rules and features other characters who were never before mentioned. Sure, one of the family members is tangentially included but it felt more like an afterthought and definitely was not his story. This is a shame because we get nothing about him really. It felt like cheating.
I also didn't connect to the characters here very well. I got nothing from the hero but really lame attempts at flirting and little else to his character. The heroine comes off as immature. Many things didn't make sense and revelations came out of nowhere. Maybe I am too old for this one.
I also didn't connect to the characters here very well. I got nothing from the hero but really lame attempts at flirting and little else to his character. The heroine comes off as immature. Many things didn't make sense and revelations came out of nowhere. Maybe I am too old for this one.
March 5, 2019
It was relaxing to read a fairy tale after so long time. I started reading this because I always loved Disney's little mermaid. The main character here is Clio and she is exactly opposite of Ariel. She doesn't want to go above the water. She has no interest in humans and she has a crush on another merman prince. On the other hand her elder sister has all those things in her character , that Ariel had. Clio had to make sure her elder sister doesn't get too close to the humans and doesn't get lost. The story actually began when the fairy mixed up Lucanus- the merman prince with -Lucas-the human prince; and thought that Clio wanted to be with Lucas-which she did not at all- and gave her legs.
February 1, 2025
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the story; it was cute and sweet and the plot wasn’t bad. I think the writing style might not have been for me…
Honestly, if I had to read “Giant Sharks!” one more time, I might have thrown my Kobo across the room. I even, for the first time ever, highlighted a passage because I burst out laughing - and probably not in a good way… to describe a person with their “milky-white luster” is probably not ideal.
The story was okay. Clio was cute and watching her relationship grow with Lukas was adorable, but I can’t pretend like the writing wasn’t cringey.
Honestly, if I had to read “Giant Sharks!” one more time, I might have thrown my Kobo across the room. I even, for the first time ever, highlighted a passage because I burst out laughing - and probably not in a good way… to describe a person with their “milky-white luster” is probably not ideal.
The story was okay. Clio was cute and watching her relationship grow with Lukas was adorable, but I can’t pretend like the writing wasn’t cringey.
June 9, 2021
There were a few unexplained brushed over things that were a little odd, but still a very cute story. Lukus and Clio were fun. Mortimer deserves an award for all the good work he accidentally does. He's the real hero. I was also a little sad Martin didn't get a story. Seemed random to jump outside of the family for these other characters.
January 24, 2023
What in the world????!!!!!
This was so bad. The main character was rude and ungrateful, the Prince was too flirty and self absorbed, and the uncle was a jerk. The only good character was the VILLAIN!!!!! I rlly didn't think there was any point to this bc it was basically the little mermaid with a few tweaks. No thank youuuuu!
This was so bad. The main character was rude and ungrateful, the Prince was too flirty and self absorbed, and the uncle was a jerk. The only good character was the VILLAIN!!!!! I rlly didn't think there was any point to this bc it was basically the little mermaid with a few tweaks. No thank youuuuu!
April 29, 2021
Cute story
I enjoyed the twists on this fairy tale. Clio is very different than the mermaids in other tales. The identity of the villain kept me guessing.
I enjoyed the twists on this fairy tale. Clio is very different than the mermaids in other tales. The identity of the villain kept me guessing.
March 12, 2020
Really good. I love the plot and it keeps you engaged.
March 25, 2018
This is the fifth book of the Entwined Tales, but it didn't really focus on any of the woodcutter children as the previous four books have. Martin, one of the seven children, did appear as a secondary character, but it wasn't his story. Mortimer did play a heavy role in the story, which is the best tie-in to the others that there is. That said, the following review is of the book on it's own and separate from the series.
The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite fairy tales and the nods to the original tale were nice, though loosely applied. I liked how Ling depicted Clio's journey learning to walk. She struggled with it and didn't have the sudden ability to be graceful and lovely in her stride, but she slowly and diligently worked to master the skill and reattain her previous grace. I liked the dancing aspect, as I am a dancer myself. Other elements of the plot that made the story its own were quite intriguing and I did very much like the little bit of mystery thrown in there. I can honestly say that I didn't see the twist coming and was pleasantly surprised when it did. As for characters, I liked Clio and Lukas. Lukas made me smile and Clio was new in that she was a reluctant participant in the whole story. I enjoyed the beginning where we got to see some of her sisters and the princes from the other mer-kingdom. Clio's sister was cute and loyal, which added to the cast. The setting was varied as Clio came from the sea and then discovered the palace and village. Although none of the setting was particularly vibrant, neither was it dull.
My biggest problem with the book was the writing. I found several issues with the writing, mostly grammatical, but also including a few unclear sections and some minor inconsistencies in the story itself. Most of the story stuff worked itself out eventually, but it was very convoluted and not very well handled, in my opinion. The book could have used a little cleaning up, but it wasn't unreadable. I've read far worse, and didn't find it difficult to read except in a few places. It wasn't terribly poorly written, but it did give me the distinct impression that the writer may not have been a native English speaker.
When's all said and done, it didn't really feel like it didn't belong to the Entwined world, but it didn't really feel like it belonged to the series either. I did enjoy the read well enough, but won't be clamoring to pursue the author's other works right away either. Eventually, I think I might check some of her stuff out cause the story was good, but the writing was kind of a turn off. There was one mild swear word that totally caught me by surprise, clean romance, and some very mild violence.
The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite fairy tales and the nods to the original tale were nice, though loosely applied. I liked how Ling depicted Clio's journey learning to walk. She struggled with it and didn't have the sudden ability to be graceful and lovely in her stride, but she slowly and diligently worked to master the skill and reattain her previous grace. I liked the dancing aspect, as I am a dancer myself. Other elements of the plot that made the story its own were quite intriguing and I did very much like the little bit of mystery thrown in there. I can honestly say that I didn't see the twist coming and was pleasantly surprised when it did. As for characters, I liked Clio and Lukas. Lukas made me smile and Clio was new in that she was a reluctant participant in the whole story. I enjoyed the beginning where we got to see some of her sisters and the princes from the other mer-kingdom. Clio's sister was cute and loyal, which added to the cast. The setting was varied as Clio came from the sea and then discovered the palace and village. Although none of the setting was particularly vibrant, neither was it dull.
My biggest problem with the book was the writing. I found several issues with the writing, mostly grammatical, but also including a few unclear sections and some minor inconsistencies in the story itself. Most of the story stuff worked itself out eventually, but it was very convoluted and not very well handled, in my opinion. The book could have used a little cleaning up, but it wasn't unreadable. I've read far worse, and didn't find it difficult to read except in a few places. It wasn't terribly poorly written, but it did give me the distinct impression that the writer may not have been a native English speaker.
When's all said and done, it didn't really feel like it didn't belong to the Entwined world, but it didn't really feel like it belonged to the series either. I did enjoy the read well enough, but won't be clamoring to pursue the author's other works right away either. Eventually, I think I might check some of her stuff out cause the story was good, but the writing was kind of a turn off. There was one mild swear word that totally caught me by surprise, clean romance, and some very mild violence.
March 6, 2018
This installment of the Entwined Tales was a big disappointment. The author completely, 100% told the wrong story here. I was concerned/confused when I read the blurb about this one cuz it made no mention of any of the siblings of the woodcutter family. But then the previous book mentioned Martin being in Caladonia and I felt reassured. But as I read it it soon became clear that this book wasn't about Martin at all. You can hardly even count him as a secondary character because his part was more of a throw in than anything. I feel let down that I was promised a fairy tale for these siblings and in this one I got two random characters, that if we are being honest, had nothing to do with the woodcutters. I kept skipping ahead trying to get past interactions with Clio and Lukas hoping to finally get some interactions between her and Martin and by half way through I realized that at this point, no matter which way it went, I wasn't going to like the ending. Either she ended up with Lukas, totally throwing off the point of this series, or she ended up with Martin based on minimal interaction with him and that would be completely unsatisfying. I skimmed through 20 more percent of the book, gave up, then skipped to the end. The epilogue was maybe supposed to give a nod to Martin but really it was pointless and offered the reader nothing on his behalf. Just very disappointing.
May 7, 2020
My first book from Aya Ling. This one took me a little longer to get into. Not only was this not primarily about one of the woodcutter's children, but it was also the first with a profanity, albeit I might be the only one who sees it as such.
Not a bad story.
It was cute. Clio & Lukas were adorable. The comedy was late in its arrival but I thoroughly enjoyed it once it made its appearance. Martin, Ellie's twin was present but not the main character.
I still liked it though! Lukas was charmingly vivacious! He was witty and sarcastic. It was great fun to read. Clio was miffed about being transformed into a human but conquered the obstacles well. I liked her banter with Lukas, even without her voice.
Overall, this was not a disappointment. It was a fun read!
Not a bad story.
It was cute. Clio & Lukas were adorable. The comedy was late in its arrival but I thoroughly enjoyed it once it made its appearance. Martin, Ellie's twin was present but not the main character.
I still liked it though! Lukas was charmingly vivacious! He was witty and sarcastic. It was great fun to read. Clio was miffed about being transformed into a human but conquered the obstacles well. I liked her banter with Lukas, even without her voice.
Overall, this was not a disappointment. It was a fun read!
November 20, 2020
Not bad enough to dnf, but a struggle to get through. This should have been Martin's story and it would have been easy to make it so. "Mermaid princess fancies herself in love with human prince, but eventually realizes the prince's bodyguard is the one for her." But, no. Martin is hardly in the story which revolves around shallow, bitchy Clio and arrogant, immature Lukas. Neither main character was even remotely likeable and I just didn't care what happened to them.
My biggest problem, however, was Mortimer. That was NOT Mortimer. Mortimer would be highly put out, give a speech about Clio being ungrateful, and leave her to break the spell herself after learning some kind of lesson. He wouldn't happily grant her wish to begin with and then spend weeks voluntarily trying to reverse it. Five other authors managed to write him basically the same, but in this book, we're given a watered down, somewhat contrite, accommodating version of everyone's favorite grumpy fairy and I didn't appreciate it!
My biggest problem, however, was Mortimer. That was NOT Mortimer. Mortimer would be highly put out, give a speech about Clio being ungrateful, and leave her to break the spell herself after learning some kind of lesson. He wouldn't happily grant her wish to begin with and then spend weeks voluntarily trying to reverse it. Five other authors managed to write him basically the same, but in this book, we're given a watered down, somewhat contrite, accommodating version of everyone's favorite grumpy fairy and I didn't appreciate it!
April 11, 2019
A lot of reviews have already mentioned this, but I'm going to repeat it. This book had nothing to do with Martin. I kept waiting for Clio to turn her attention to him, but he really is just a secondary character. On top of that, the story is really inconsistent. She doesn't tell anyone she was a mermaid, but then somehow Lukas knows that, not only was she a mermaid, but also a princess. When did she ever tell him that? Shouldn't that have been some kind of big reveal? Clio wonders where he found out that she used to dance and assumes her sister must have told him? When did he ever meet her sister? At this point we are still under the assumption that he has no idea she was a mermaid. The list goes on, but those were the two biggest frustrations for me.
The idea of the story was sweet, but the inconsistencies throughout the book were enough to make me almost put it down. The only reason I kept reading was to make sure I didn't miss anything that might be important in book 6.
The idea of the story was sweet, but the inconsistencies throughout the book were enough to make me almost put it down. The only reason I kept reading was to make sure I didn't miss anything that might be important in book 6.
January 14, 2021
How disappointing! I was so enjoying reading this series and this book really ruined it for me. This is supposed to be the story of the woodcutter children, not a random mermaid and prince (who aren't even likeable characters to begin with). And Martin working for the prince does not count as a story for him, especially when he's barely mentioned. We barely get a mention of the family, and on top of it Mortimer was totally ruined!
The author really missed the mark on this one, it's like god forbid a mermaid ends up with a bodyguard right? It has to be a prince.... What a missed opportunity to have made the mermaid story more interesting by having her end up with the bodyguard as a twist instead of following the same rehashed story.
I will pretend this book does not exist in this series. Luckily the next book set things straight again and we got a nice story for the rest of them.
The author really missed the mark on this one, it's like god forbid a mermaid ends up with a bodyguard right? It has to be a prince.... What a missed opportunity to have made the mermaid story more interesting by having her end up with the bodyguard as a twist instead of following the same rehashed story.
I will pretend this book does not exist in this series. Luckily the next book set things straight again and we got a nice story for the rest of them.
May 2, 2021
I hate to give such a low rating but this book was between 2 to 2.5 stars in rating. There were just too many holes in the book where things didn't add up or make sense. Like i could see what the author was aiming at, but it was poorly executed. Even the romance aspect needed some help. Out of all the characters, I think I liked Martin the best because he was the only steady character who seemed mature and well rounded. Every other character (even the main ones) were inconsistent, immature and overall lacking. I will give the author credit for the plot twist near the end. Though it was a little sloppy in how it all happened, the general idea of who was behind the attacks did surprise me and I though it was very clever on the author's part.
Overall, I would skip this one and read some of the other books in this series.. (A Beautiful Curse and A Bears Bride) they're a little more fulfilling for a fun read.
Overall, I would skip this one and read some of the other books in this series.. (A Beautiful Curse and A Bears Bride) they're a little more fulfilling for a fun read.
July 16, 2018
There is one thing bugging me about this book: at one point, Clio thinks on how could the prince know she used to dance, and that her sister must've told him. However, her sister is a mermaid and never has it been mentioned they met. In fact, the prince in theory still didn't know she was a mermaid, or if he did, Clio didn't know this. Anyhow, it's weird and it kept on bugging me. Otherwise, it's quite a sweet story, like the others in the series.
September 13, 2018
This was nothing amazing, but a fun story, and well worth reading if you like mermaids and/or fairy tale retellings.
It *almost* bothered me that some of the setting details didn't make sense (Mermaids use bars of soap? How does it not dissolve underwater before they can use most of it?) but I decided that since this is light fantasy and not hard sci-fi, it was more amusing that bothersome.
It *almost* bothered me that some of the setting details didn't make sense (Mermaids use bars of soap? How does it not dissolve underwater before they can use most of it?) but I decided that since this is light fantasy and not hard sci-fi, it was more amusing that bothersome.
July 2, 2020
Huge letdown! This series is supposed to be about the woodcutters' children. If you weren't going to let Martin be the romantic lead then what was the point? And don't even get me started on the main characters and their complete incompatibility. Also I'd like to see the paper, ink, soap, and dresses that would be remotely useable under the sea.
July 20, 2018
A Little Mermaid is a very unique take on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." It has the same basic premise of the youngest mermaid princess giving up her voice for legs so that she can get closer to a human prince she rescued from drowning, but this time, Princess Clio is not in love with the prince she rescued. In fact, she deems him rather foolish for managing to fall off his own ship during his birthday celebration. Clio does, however, have a huge crush on a merman with a similar name to the human prince. Due to a misunderstanding, the incompetent fairy godfather Mortimer misinterprets her wish and turns her into a mute human against her will.
A Little Mermaid was a fun read and is much lighter than its gothic fairy tale counterpart. In the novel, it turns out that Clio is a descendant of the "original" little mermaid. When her sister Nerissa tells her that a possible solution to solve her predicament was to plunge a dagger into the prince's heart so that his blood will cause her legs to form back into a tale, Clio rightfully tells her that performing such a horrid act would be preposterous. Nerissa feels the same way. Of course, knowing that her life doesn't depend on the prince marrying her like it did for her ancestor makes the situation a lot less dire. The loss of her voice isn't too much of a problem either because Prince Lucas's servants provide Clio with a seemingly unlimited amount of paper and pencils to write down everything she wants to say. My one complaint is that it seems somewhat unrealistic for Clio to regularly carry on conversations without the other person getting tired of waiting for her to finish writing or without her hand cramping up after a while. Still, this is a minor complaint. Fans of the Disney movie have been known to ask why Ariel never wrote her story for Eric, so it was nice to see an adaptation that attempted this solution.
Though the descriptions of the underwater world of Thalassa only take place during the first quarter of the book, I enjoyed reading a new interpretation of mermaid culture. It wasn't as detailed as the world presented in The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum, but there were still enough descriptions for Thalassa to feel real. Something else that is unique about this version is that existence of mermaids and the mermaid kingdom are considered common knowledge among humans. The two worlds have little contact with each other for obvious geographic reasons, but it does not come as too much of a surprise when Prince Lucas learns the mythological identity of his mysterious savior. In a world where magic and mythology are commonplace, there are less emotional stakes for Clio to have to worry about people not believing her or wanting to exploit her for what she really is. That is another reason the tone in A Little Mermaid felt so much lighter than the original fairy tale.
Princess Clio is a fun heroine because she's so different from what you would expect of the princess from "The Little Mermaid." She is strong-willed but shy at the same time. That is, at least, until she loses her voice and realizes how much she missed it. Her sisters were unaware of her feelings for the merman Lucanus until the whole misunderstanding with the fairy godfather took place because she never expressed them out loud. It was touching how supportive Nerissa was of her sister's plight. She regularly swims to the surface to talk to Clio and find out updates about her new life on land. Of course, Nerissa's intentions are not entirely selfless since unlike Clio, she is fascinated by the human world and wishes to learn as much about it as possible. Clio is more grounded in her version of reality and does not idealize places she doesn't about, which might be why she fits in so well among the humans, despite some initial trouble figuring out how to walk properly. The flighty Prince Lucas is attracted to her cynical nature, referring to her as his "good luck charm." Her strong sense of logic eventually helps her to overcome a plot against the crown, which seems to be a common theme in modern princess novels.
A Little Mermaid is a fun and light-hearted take on a classic fairy tale. It can be enjoyed as a standalone novel or alongside the rest of the books from the Entwined Tales series. Aya Ling has a unique voice. She is capable of creating strong heroines who still have vulnerabilities in certain areas. This book is a great alternative to the original fairy tale for anyone who finds Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" too dark or sad. It lowers all the stakes for the mermaid princess's life on land, making it more of a learning experience than life-staking risk. If you're like me and can't get enough "Little Mermaid" adaptations, check out my interpretation of the story, Of Land and Sea: The Untold Story of the Little Mermaid. My friend Kae-Leah also has a mermaid novel available to read on FictionPress that features a mermaid princess with the same name as Clio's sister called Nerissa Sanderson: The Part-Time Mermaid. Happy reading!
A Little Mermaid was a fun read and is much lighter than its gothic fairy tale counterpart. In the novel, it turns out that Clio is a descendant of the "original" little mermaid. When her sister Nerissa tells her that a possible solution to solve her predicament was to plunge a dagger into the prince's heart so that his blood will cause her legs to form back into a tale, Clio rightfully tells her that performing such a horrid act would be preposterous. Nerissa feels the same way. Of course, knowing that her life doesn't depend on the prince marrying her like it did for her ancestor makes the situation a lot less dire. The loss of her voice isn't too much of a problem either because Prince Lucas's servants provide Clio with a seemingly unlimited amount of paper and pencils to write down everything she wants to say. My one complaint is that it seems somewhat unrealistic for Clio to regularly carry on conversations without the other person getting tired of waiting for her to finish writing or without her hand cramping up after a while. Still, this is a minor complaint. Fans of the Disney movie have been known to ask why Ariel never wrote her story for Eric, so it was nice to see an adaptation that attempted this solution.
Though the descriptions of the underwater world of Thalassa only take place during the first quarter of the book, I enjoyed reading a new interpretation of mermaid culture. It wasn't as detailed as the world presented in The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum, but there were still enough descriptions for Thalassa to feel real. Something else that is unique about this version is that existence of mermaids and the mermaid kingdom are considered common knowledge among humans. The two worlds have little contact with each other for obvious geographic reasons, but it does not come as too much of a surprise when Prince Lucas learns the mythological identity of his mysterious savior. In a world where magic and mythology are commonplace, there are less emotional stakes for Clio to have to worry about people not believing her or wanting to exploit her for what she really is. That is another reason the tone in A Little Mermaid felt so much lighter than the original fairy tale.
Princess Clio is a fun heroine because she's so different from what you would expect of the princess from "The Little Mermaid." She is strong-willed but shy at the same time. That is, at least, until she loses her voice and realizes how much she missed it. Her sisters were unaware of her feelings for the merman Lucanus until the whole misunderstanding with the fairy godfather took place because she never expressed them out loud. It was touching how supportive Nerissa was of her sister's plight. She regularly swims to the surface to talk to Clio and find out updates about her new life on land. Of course, Nerissa's intentions are not entirely selfless since unlike Clio, she is fascinated by the human world and wishes to learn as much about it as possible. Clio is more grounded in her version of reality and does not idealize places she doesn't about, which might be why she fits in so well among the humans, despite some initial trouble figuring out how to walk properly. The flighty Prince Lucas is attracted to her cynical nature, referring to her as his "good luck charm." Her strong sense of logic eventually helps her to overcome a plot against the crown, which seems to be a common theme in modern princess novels.
A Little Mermaid is a fun and light-hearted take on a classic fairy tale. It can be enjoyed as a standalone novel or alongside the rest of the books from the Entwined Tales series. Aya Ling has a unique voice. She is capable of creating strong heroines who still have vulnerabilities in certain areas. This book is a great alternative to the original fairy tale for anyone who finds Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" too dark or sad. It lowers all the stakes for the mermaid princess's life on land, making it more of a learning experience than life-staking risk. If you're like me and can't get enough "Little Mermaid" adaptations, check out my interpretation of the story, Of Land and Sea: The Untold Story of the Little Mermaid. My friend Kae-Leah also has a mermaid novel available to read on FictionPress that features a mermaid princess with the same name as Clio's sister called Nerissa Sanderson: The Part-Time Mermaid. Happy reading!
February 15, 2018
The story was quite enjoyable, there are some continuity issues in Clio's thought processes but that could be easily glazed past. The character building was satisfactory while the chemistry was underdeveloped, especially between the main characters. The book was, otherwise, a nice, light/medium-ish read.
In comparison to The Ugly Stepsister's Kat and Edward, from the author's previous work, the romance part of this book was weaker. Where Kat and Edward had overcome obstacles together and grown stronger as a couple, Clio was love at first sight and they didn't really do much
However, I must point out that I enjoyed this book because of the mystery. It was so unexpected, I thought this was a fairy tale romance with a formula story pattern but the story turned out to be a mystery story too. The revealed suspect was a good surprise.
I have always enjoyed the author's writing style and this one was no exception. Also, I love how the author drop some references of Disney and also Hans Christian Anderson's version of the story in, it is cleverly hinted so that it becomes part of that world...
I am grateful to the author, Aya Ling, for the opportunity to review this ARC.
In comparison to The Ugly Stepsister's Kat and Edward, from the author's previous work, the romance part of this book was weaker. Where Kat and Edward had overcome obstacles together and grown stronger as a couple, Clio was love at first sight and they didn't really do much
However, I must point out that I enjoyed this book because of the mystery. It was so unexpected, I thought this was a fairy tale romance with a formula story pattern but the story turned out to be a mystery story too. The revealed suspect was a good surprise.
I have always enjoyed the author's writing style and this one was no exception. Also, I love how the author drop some references of Disney and also Hans Christian Anderson's version of the story in, it is cleverly hinted so that it becomes part of that world...
I am grateful to the author, Aya Ling, for the opportunity to review this ARC.
May 31, 2021
Reader thoughts: The tension wasn't maintained in this book. Clio can't talk, but she can write, and she writes way too much. When it takes several seconds per word to say anything, you wouldn't get all descriptive when you're communicating, no matter how patient the listener/reader is. There's one point where she writes, "All right." What? Why not just nod??
I did like that Clio was bad at walking at first, but that a dance instructor gave her some tips to walk better. I mean, she had never had legs. Why do people think Ariel could walk? It takes babies a year to figure it out! Okay, some of that is building the muscles, and we can assume the fairy godfather (or Ursula or curse) gave the mermaid some legs that are fully developed. Still. I liked this better, and being unable to walk well made Clio more of a sympathetic character, beyond her being unable to speak.
Also, I didn't believe the "plot." The characters kept saying things like, "All evidence pointed toward Alik," but I didn't think so. What evidence? It was circumstantial at best. Why distrust a guy who raised you? Why not ask him about it if you DO distrust him? No.
I noted the kindle copy where, pg 185, Clio shuts the door to explain something to Lukas because she didn't want anyone "overhearing" what she had to say. Um. You mean write? Little inconsistencies like this kept pushing me out of the tale.
Writer thoughts: Interesting choice to have the MC pining after a different man for half the book. But it was very realistic. She had a crush, and it took several weeks to get over her crush. It was neat and not annoying because Clio thought about her crush in generic terms, just sort of wishing to be with him, not imagining the handsomeness of his hair or lips or anything weird. She also hadn't really spent time with him.
I did like that Clio was bad at walking at first, but that a dance instructor gave her some tips to walk better. I mean, she had never had legs. Why do people think Ariel could walk? It takes babies a year to figure it out! Okay, some of that is building the muscles, and we can assume the fairy godfather (or Ursula or curse) gave the mermaid some legs that are fully developed. Still. I liked this better, and being unable to walk well made Clio more of a sympathetic character, beyond her being unable to speak.
Also, I didn't believe the "plot." The characters kept saying things like, "All evidence pointed toward Alik," but I didn't think so. What evidence? It was circumstantial at best. Why distrust a guy who raised you? Why not ask him about it if you DO distrust him? No.
I noted the kindle copy where, pg 185, Clio shuts the door to explain something to Lukas because she didn't want anyone "overhearing" what she had to say. Um. You mean write? Little inconsistencies like this kept pushing me out of the tale.
Writer thoughts: Interesting choice to have the MC pining after a different man for half the book. But it was very realistic. She had a crush, and it took several weeks to get over her crush. It was neat and not annoying because Clio thought about her crush in generic terms, just sort of wishing to be with him, not imagining the handsomeness of his hair or lips or anything weird. She also hadn't really spent time with him.
June 1, 2023
Clio is the youngest daughter of the king and
queen of the mer kingdom who is smitten by
a merman prince from another colony. Unfortunately
for her Mortimer appears in her world and not knowing how his meddling has messed up other
lives when she finds out he’s a fairy godfather she
asks him to help her become more attracted to the prince. However, his name closely resembles that of a human prince and Mortimer thinks she wants to become human and gives her a potion that turns her into a human but without her voice. She can communicate by writing so she does so. This a retelling of the Little Mermaid and in this story she does save the prince’s life when he falls over the side of the ship but later on Clio sees someone is trying to kill him and while waiting for Mortimer to right his mistake wants to be sure the prince is safe before
returning to the sea.
While I expected this to be about one of the last two sisters who need their stories told, it introduced the brother to the six sisters who left home previously who is a trusted friend of the prince now.
Mortimer finally returns in the nick of time with more fairies to assure he corrects his mistake and thwarts
the one who has been trying to kill the prince and now Clio as well.
I enjoyed this retelling of the story and recommend it as well as the other books in the series. With one book left maybe the two youngest sisters will have an adventure together? Guess I ‘ll find out shortly when I
read that final book!
I like fairy tales and enjoy the wonderful escape from reality they provide for a little while. I invite you to get these six books called The Entwined Tales and enjoy this same escape I have been enjoying so far.
Now on to the sixth and final book!
queen of the mer kingdom who is smitten by
a merman prince from another colony. Unfortunately
for her Mortimer appears in her world and not knowing how his meddling has messed up other
lives when she finds out he’s a fairy godfather she
asks him to help her become more attracted to the prince. However, his name closely resembles that of a human prince and Mortimer thinks she wants to become human and gives her a potion that turns her into a human but without her voice. She can communicate by writing so she does so. This a retelling of the Little Mermaid and in this story she does save the prince’s life when he falls over the side of the ship but later on Clio sees someone is trying to kill him and while waiting for Mortimer to right his mistake wants to be sure the prince is safe before
returning to the sea.
While I expected this to be about one of the last two sisters who need their stories told, it introduced the brother to the six sisters who left home previously who is a trusted friend of the prince now.
Mortimer finally returns in the nick of time with more fairies to assure he corrects his mistake and thwarts
the one who has been trying to kill the prince and now Clio as well.
I enjoyed this retelling of the story and recommend it as well as the other books in the series. With one book left maybe the two youngest sisters will have an adventure together? Guess I ‘ll find out shortly when I
read that final book!
I like fairy tales and enjoy the wonderful escape from reality they provide for a little while. I invite you to get these six books called The Entwined Tales and enjoy this same escape I have been enjoying so far.
Now on to the sixth and final book!
March 23, 2022
WHAT?!
This book doesn't belong in yhis series. This series had been about the romance of a group of siblings so naturally when reading the book I'm looking for the sibling who is the main character. One of the siblings is in the book and I'm reading and reading waiting and waiting and waiting for SOMETHING ANYTHING to happen between the "two" main characters nothing nada zip the book is over halfway done and no sparks between them at all. I kept thinking I hate this book and when I get done I'm going to leave a bad review saying what a slow start it had and that there was far more sparks between the female lead and a side character for more than half the book than there was with the two main characters. Finally in frustration I go to the end of the book to see who the main character was and of course it was the guy she was having sparks with. You might ask why didn't I realize until after reading more than 60% of the book who thr main character was and I will tell you. Yes there were sparks between then and yes it was SLOWLY building a relationship between them but it really wasn't obvious and I went into the book expecting this Lucus character to be the annoying hindrance to the 2 main characters romance. So when he was on center stage I was waiting for him to get out of the way. This problem most likely would be solved by putting it in a diffrent series it certainly doesn't belong in this one. I hate confusion over who the main character is it's annoying.
This book doesn't belong in yhis series. This series had been about the romance of a group of siblings so naturally when reading the book I'm looking for the sibling who is the main character. One of the siblings is in the book and I'm reading and reading waiting and waiting and waiting for SOMETHING ANYTHING to happen between the "two" main characters nothing nada zip the book is over halfway done and no sparks between them at all. I kept thinking I hate this book and when I get done I'm going to leave a bad review saying what a slow start it had and that there was far more sparks between the female lead and a side character for more than half the book than there was with the two main characters. Finally in frustration I go to the end of the book to see who the main character was and of course it was the guy she was having sparks with. You might ask why didn't I realize until after reading more than 60% of the book who thr main character was and I will tell you. Yes there were sparks between then and yes it was SLOWLY building a relationship between them but it really wasn't obvious and I went into the book expecting this Lucus character to be the annoying hindrance to the 2 main characters romance. So when he was on center stage I was waiting for him to get out of the way. This problem most likely would be solved by putting it in a diffrent series it certainly doesn't belong in this one. I hate confusion over who the main character is it's annoying.
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