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Ripples & Waves: A Queer Retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
Colin Everroad should be dead, but after his lobster boat founders during a violent storm off the Maine coast, he wakes up on a beach. He’s cold, but unscathed… with strange memories of a face he can’t conjure and a voice he doesn’t recognize.
No one can explain it, but a friend suggests Colin was saved by one of the mer. Except the mer don’t exist. Do they? But… that face. That voice. Someone was in the water with him. Someone saved him. If not a mer, then who? And whoever it was, Colin wants to see his face.
Lir broke protocol by rescuing a land person, but he couldn’t just let the man drown. When he disobediently resurfaces to see his beautiful land man, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s forbidden to leave the depths again.
One clandestine visit turns into more. Soon, Colin and Lir are meeting at the shore as often as possible, and the connection between them deepens. The only problem is that neither can live in the other’s world. Or can they?
Then Lir finds a way for them to be together, but only for a little while… and at a cost. As time grows short, they have to choose: does Lir return to the sea and never see Colin again, or stay forever with the man he loves in a world that will never love them?
Ripples & Waves is a modern, queer retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
No one can explain it, but a friend suggests Colin was saved by one of the mer. Except the mer don’t exist. Do they? But… that face. That voice. Someone was in the water with him. Someone saved him. If not a mer, then who? And whoever it was, Colin wants to see his face.
Lir broke protocol by rescuing a land person, but he couldn’t just let the man drown. When he disobediently resurfaces to see his beautiful land man, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s forbidden to leave the depths again.
One clandestine visit turns into more. Soon, Colin and Lir are meeting at the shore as often as possible, and the connection between them deepens. The only problem is that neither can live in the other’s world. Or can they?
Then Lir finds a way for them to be together, but only for a little while… and at a cost. As time grows short, they have to choose: does Lir return to the sea and never see Colin again, or stay forever with the man he loves in a world that will never love them?
Ripples & Waves is a modern, queer retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2019
118 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
L.A. Witt
218 books2,722 followersL.A. Witt and her husband have been exiled from Spain and sent to live in Maine because rhymes are fun. She now divides her time between writing, assuring people she is aware that Maine is cold, wondering where to put her next tattoo, and trying to reason with a surly Maine coon. Rumor has it her arch nemesis, Lauren Gallagher, is also somewhere in the wilds of New England, which is why L.A. is also spending a portion of her time training a team of spec ops lobsters.
Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they "have books to write" and "need to focus on our careers" and "don't you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?" They're probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.
Visit her website at http://www.gallagherwitt.com/.
Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they "have books to write" and "need to focus on our careers" and "don't you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?" They're probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.
Visit her website at http://www.gallagherwitt.com/.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
July 7, 2023
Both men have very distinct voices in their POV chapters. Colin is abrupt and brash; Lir is…lyrical.
Good pacing, interesting cultural exchanges, and cuteness with the shells.
There’s no character development or growth whatsoever. We get more backstory out of Joan than we do of the two guys. What is Colin even studying? What does he want in life? And what does Lir do all day?
It’s enjoyable that they are fascinated by each other without being super-fixated on just looks. Neither is described (except by the other man) as being outlandishly good-looking.
The relationship moves at a snail’s pace…until it doesn’t. Rather random that we find out at 40% why Colin was “shipwrecked.”
The politics are way overboard here. And Colin lives in Maine, but he makes it sound like Iran.
The sex is hot and accurate. Could have been more, though. Lost opportunity for the author to do something actually creative and explore mer physiology.
The solution to their separation stares them (and anyone with a brain who’s reading this) in the face since, like, the beginning of the book. I know it’s fiction, and there wouldn’t be a book if they were, I don’t know, sensible…but this had me screaming, “duh, just (insert spoiler)” so many damn times.
Sweet AF ending.
“How do I make our worlds not just meet at the edges, but collide?”
Good pacing, interesting cultural exchanges, and cuteness with the shells.
There’s no character development or growth whatsoever. We get more backstory out of Joan than we do of the two guys. What is Colin even studying? What does he want in life? And what does Lir do all day?
It’s enjoyable that they are fascinated by each other without being super-fixated on just looks. Neither is described (except by the other man) as being outlandishly good-looking.
The relationship moves at a snail’s pace…until it doesn’t. Rather random that we find out at 40% why Colin was “shipwrecked.”
The politics are way overboard here. And Colin lives in Maine, but he makes it sound like Iran.
The sex is hot and accurate. Could have been more, though. Lost opportunity for the author to do something actually creative and explore mer physiology.
The solution to their separation stares them (and anyone with a brain who’s reading this) in the face since, like, the beginning of the book. I know it’s fiction, and there wouldn’t be a book if they were, I don’t know, sensible…but this had me screaming, “duh, just (insert spoiler)” so many damn times.
Sweet AF ending.
“How do I make our worlds not just meet at the edges, but collide?”
January 2, 2020
Audio...5+ stars for Michael Ferraiuolo performance.
Story....2 stars
The romance was sweet, but the story a bit preachy at times. The other issue I had was with Colin. He made it sound like being openly gay was dangerous because most "land" people were homophobic. Too me it seemed like that topic kept coming up, and I got fed up with it.
Story....2 stars
The romance was sweet, but the story a bit preachy at times. The other issue I had was with Colin. He made it sound like being openly gay was dangerous because most "land" people were homophobic. Too me it seemed like that topic kept coming up, and I got fed up with it.
October 31, 2019
If you don't mind a lot of sugar with your tea, this book will surely be your cuppa. It's loosely based on the Little Mermaid, but it's much sweeter than even the Disney version.
I loved the slow burn between Colin and Lir, even if too many of their interactions and conversations were summarized.
Two things bothered me:
Colin tells Lir over and over how much humans hate same-sex couples. That is true for SOME humans (like Colin's despicable mother), but most certainly not ALL humans. Colin made this world sound far worse than it is.
We are never told how two mermen fuck! UGH. The author throws in a couple teasers, but it's like she ran out of creativity and just decided to leave it a mystery. The perv in me was not happy.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this romantic story, which features a forbidden love between a land man and a merman, a sea witch who wants to help, very little angst, and a beautiful HEA.
I loved the slow burn between Colin and Lir, even if too many of their interactions and conversations were summarized.
Two things bothered me:
Colin tells Lir over and over how much humans hate same-sex couples. That is true for SOME humans (like Colin's despicable mother), but most certainly not ALL humans. Colin made this world sound far worse than it is.
We are never told how two mermen fuck! UGH. The author throws in a couple teasers, but it's like she ran out of creativity and just decided to leave it a mystery. The perv in me was not happy.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this romantic story, which features a forbidden love between a land man and a merman, a sea witch who wants to help, very little angst, and a beautiful HEA.
October 16, 2022
I am a sucker for mermaid/merman tales.
It's true, the MM versions of them sometimes go a bit overboard with the magic, but this one was definitely one of my very favorites in the merman genre.
It is set in a world that might seem like ours at the first glance, but you'll come to discover that merfolk and humans have interacted here in the distant past before they withdrew due to human's cruelty and ignorance, but a faint memory of them is still in the public consciousness, more so than what we have in our legends nowadays.
As a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid, we meet Colin who mysteriously survived a terrible storm out at sea and was swept ashore safely with just the memory of a whispered name in his mind: Lir.
Colin's friend suggests that he might have been rescued by a mer and that whispering the name to the waves might call the being back to him.
He follows the funny advice and, indeed, a young merman breaks the surface and chats with Colin. In the course of the summer, the two fall in love and despite young Lir's strict parents insisting he cannot come to the surface, Lir cannot stay away from his human and begs the sea witch to help him.
He receives a potion that will turn him into a human for three days - but it will cost his voice.
The three days on land with Colin are spent having sex and watching cat videos - which is the biggest complaint I have about this story. A merman coming on land and all you do is stay in bed and watch YouTube?!
But what happens at the end of the three days? Will Lir return to the sea or stay with Colin forever?
Well, there is a little twist in the ending that I absolutely LOVED!
Be sure to check this story out :-)
4 stars!
It's true, the MM versions of them sometimes go a bit overboard with the magic, but this one was definitely one of my very favorites in the merman genre.
It is set in a world that might seem like ours at the first glance, but you'll come to discover that merfolk and humans have interacted here in the distant past before they withdrew due to human's cruelty and ignorance, but a faint memory of them is still in the public consciousness, more so than what we have in our legends nowadays.
As a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid, we meet Colin who mysteriously survived a terrible storm out at sea and was swept ashore safely with just the memory of a whispered name in his mind: Lir.
Colin's friend suggests that he might have been rescued by a mer and that whispering the name to the waves might call the being back to him.
He follows the funny advice and, indeed, a young merman breaks the surface and chats with Colin. In the course of the summer, the two fall in love and despite young Lir's strict parents insisting he cannot come to the surface, Lir cannot stay away from his human and begs the sea witch to help him.
He receives a potion that will turn him into a human for three days - but it will cost his voice.
The three days on land with Colin are spent having sex and watching cat videos - which is the biggest complaint I have about this story. A merman coming on land and all you do is stay in bed and watch YouTube?!
But what happens at the end of the three days? Will Lir return to the sea or stay with Colin forever?
Well, there is a little twist in the ending that I absolutely LOVED!
Be sure to check this story out :-)
4 stars!
October 2, 2019
I LOVED this modern day retelling of The Little Mermaid with some changes, twists, and a HEA!
Colin and Lir were just so sweet together. I loved their friendship at the start and how it evolved into love. I love how they figured out how to meet, how to have a physical connection, their 3 days together, and then how they were able to have a HEA.
I don’t want to say too much to give anything away, but if you’re a fan of mermen, fairy tale romances, and sweetness, you should try this story.
Thank you whoever decided 2019 would be the year everyone writes merman stories!
Colin and Lir were just so sweet together. I loved their friendship at the start and how it evolved into love. I love how they figured out how to meet, how to have a physical connection, their 3 days together, and then how they were able to have a HEA.
I don’t want to say too much to give anything away, but if you’re a fan of mermen, fairy tale romances, and sweetness, you should try this story.
Thank you whoever decided 2019 would be the year everyone writes merman stories!
November 6, 2019
This was a lovely, entertaining retelling of The Little Mermaid.
Instead of being set in the 1800's, it's set in modern day, and Lir is a merman prince who occasionally likes to go to the surface to watch storms, but for the most part has stayed away from the surface and that makes his parents happy because the merfolk have wanted to stay away from land people for a long time now because they feel that land people are dangerous.
Colin is out on his friends' boat when the storm hits, and he is saved by Lir, who had come up to the surface to watch the storm - and got a little sidetracked when he noticed Colin.
Afterward, Colin's friends happen to know how to call Lir to the surface so he can see him again, and Lir is hoping it happens too, and when Colin does, they truly meet face to face and start having clandestine meetings at the end of Colin's dock and begin to fall in love with each passing day.
This doesn't follow terribly close to the original Little Mermaid, but it does have the sea witch - who is not evil, though - and Lir turning into a human for three days (interesting to see how it plays out) - and Lir not being able to talk as a human.
While ultimately I enjoyed how this story turned out and how these two got to be together - the reverse, basically, of the Disney movie - it did bother me how much Colin made our world sound so dangerous. Like I get that things are not perfect, definitely, and there are still homophobes - and murderous ones at that - but also things have gotten so much better and while yes, the horrible ones stand out, there are more good people than bad - and slowly more and more people becoming less and less ignorant.
But I also kind of understand with how Colin's family is and their own brand of homophobia and what Colin went through, why he was scared to have Lir live in his world, especially when Lir has lived his life in a world free of homophobia.
Also! I wanted to know how the fuck two mermen fuck. Like where are the dicks - if there are any?? - and where do they go??? Inquiring mind want to know! Lol.
But overall this was pretty enjoyable and sweet, I loved these two and their love and how cute, sweet, and hot they were together.
Two thumbs up from me, definitely recommend for a great, fun M/M retelling of The Little Mermaid.
Instead of being set in the 1800's, it's set in modern day, and Lir is a merman prince who occasionally likes to go to the surface to watch storms, but for the most part has stayed away from the surface and that makes his parents happy because the merfolk have wanted to stay away from land people for a long time now because they feel that land people are dangerous.
Colin is out on his friends' boat when the storm hits, and he is saved by Lir, who had come up to the surface to watch the storm - and got a little sidetracked when he noticed Colin.
Afterward, Colin's friends happen to know how to call Lir to the surface so he can see him again, and Lir is hoping it happens too, and when Colin does, they truly meet face to face and start having clandestine meetings at the end of Colin's dock and begin to fall in love with each passing day.
This doesn't follow terribly close to the original Little Mermaid, but it does have the sea witch - who is not evil, though - and Lir turning into a human for three days (interesting to see how it plays out) - and Lir not being able to talk as a human.
While ultimately I enjoyed how this story turned out and how these two got to be together - the reverse, basically, of the Disney movie - it did bother me how much Colin made our world sound so dangerous. Like I get that things are not perfect, definitely, and there are still homophobes - and murderous ones at that - but also things have gotten so much better and while yes, the horrible ones stand out, there are more good people than bad - and slowly more and more people becoming less and less ignorant.
But I also kind of understand with how Colin's family is and their own brand of homophobia and what Colin went through, why he was scared to have Lir live in his world, especially when Lir has lived his life in a world free of homophobia.
Also! I wanted to know how the fuck two mermen fuck. Like where are the dicks - if there are any?? - and where do they go??? Inquiring mind want to know! Lol.
But overall this was pretty enjoyable and sweet, I loved these two and their love and how cute, sweet, and hot they were together.
Two thumbs up from me, definitely recommend for a great, fun M/M retelling of The Little Mermaid.
October 27, 2019
3.5 stars
I'm ambivalent about this book. I'm Danish and grew up on HC Andersen's fairytales. As a child you're swept away into all of these fantasy world and even though they can be scary and sad, it is the magical and romantic understanding you are left with.
As a grown up you realize that a lot of his fairytales are very gruesome and often ends in a sad way. You realize, that what is actually fantastic about Andersen, is his ability to make stories, that can be understood on many levels and appeal to all age groups. It is the dualistic meaning in his stories, that more or less consciously gets stuck inside your mind and heart.
Then, when you get to know more about the person behind the stories, you learn what a lonely man he was. How much he hungered to be accepted and loved.
There are theories that he might have been bisexual, and he longed to be close to a male friend, Edvard Collins. He might even have been in love with him.
In a letter to the man, Andersen wrote "I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench... my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery."
In his time that would never have been possible. Especially not because Andersen was so well known and the man was a Gentleman from the best society. The other man didn't accept Andersen's attempt to be "best friends". And Andersen wasn't invited to his wedding because Collins was afraid that Andersen would cause a scene.
Andersen was so sad that he wrote the Little Mermaid and sent the story to Collins.
So, knowing that, gives a whole other meaning to the fairytale. Disney's version change the whole morale and dual understanding of the original. No matter how you interprets the original, there is no happy-ever-after. And the story is heartbreaking in a lot of ways.
This book is more a retelling of the Disney version than the Andersen version.
Hence my ambivalence.
Because I didn't read this book to have a sad ending. It was a short and sweet story with some attempt to paint a black and white world with a bit of darkness and a lot of candyfloss.
But I, too, wanted them to be together forever. So I feel ambivalent. But sometime you just need a bit of Disney and fluff in your life. Still it wasn't a deep and fulfilling book, and I'm left with a bit of a vexed gratification.
October 9, 2019
First dive into a mermen book and I loved this spin on The Little Mermaid!!
July 16, 2024
It was advertised as a retelling of the Hans Christian Andresen story, "The Little Mermaid", but since most Fairy Tales are actually "Fairy Nightmares" when you learn what they are based on, it wasn't hard for this one to be much warmer and sweeter.
The slow burn between Colin, the lobster boat operator, and Lir, the Mer Man was sweet even if many of their interactions and conversations were only summarized. There was one thing that I thought the story either could have explained better, or even done without. I guess Colin was trying to better prepare Lir for other interactions he was going to have with the world of humans if he was going to remain here. He told him many, many times about how much humans hated gay couples. Not all humans hate gay couples... I will admit that some do, and others aren't choosey about what they direct their hate toward, they just, in general, hate everything and everyone that doesn't look, think or act like them. Colin's mother was one of those types of people, so I guess he had an "up close and personal" platform to base that on, but it seemed that he made the world sound like a terrible place for Lir to have ended up, and why after that, would he want to stay?
L.A. Witt always does a wonderful job with her stories, and she again did a great job here portraying Lir. She didn’t make him look exactly like a human that had grown a tail, but he did have gills, along with beautiful sea-green eyes, soft skin, that Colin loved to touch…and a set of extra fins. Can't have too many fins, folks. There were other important parts of his anatomy that was never touched on that would have been interesting to know...but seems he and Colin must have sorted it out.
The folklore about Lir and the other Mer was explained fairly well. It seems that humans used to know all about them and even interacted with them, but that brought some really bad folks into their world, doesn't it always? ... so, the Mer decided the best thing for their survival as a species was to spread the word that they weren't really real and just be thought of by the human world as a sailor's tale...a myth. This story was diffidently a fun escape from reality for a short time.
The slow burn between Colin, the lobster boat operator, and Lir, the Mer Man was sweet even if many of their interactions and conversations were only summarized. There was one thing that I thought the story either could have explained better, or even done without. I guess Colin was trying to better prepare Lir for other interactions he was going to have with the world of humans if he was going to remain here. He told him many, many times about how much humans hated gay couples. Not all humans hate gay couples... I will admit that some do, and others aren't choosey about what they direct their hate toward, they just, in general, hate everything and everyone that doesn't look, think or act like them. Colin's mother was one of those types of people, so I guess he had an "up close and personal" platform to base that on, but it seemed that he made the world sound like a terrible place for Lir to have ended up, and why after that, would he want to stay?
L.A. Witt always does a wonderful job with her stories, and she again did a great job here portraying Lir. She didn’t make him look exactly like a human that had grown a tail, but he did have gills, along with beautiful sea-green eyes, soft skin, that Colin loved to touch…and a set of extra fins. Can't have too many fins, folks. There were other important parts of his anatomy that was never touched on that would have been interesting to know...but seems he and Colin must have sorted it out.
The folklore about Lir and the other Mer was explained fairly well. It seems that humans used to know all about them and even interacted with them, but that brought some really bad folks into their world, doesn't it always? ... so, the Mer decided the best thing for their survival as a species was to spread the word that they weren't really real and just be thought of by the human world as a sailor's tale...a myth. This story was diffidently a fun escape from reality for a short time.
December 22, 2020
4.5 stars
Great retelling of the Little Mermaid.
Loved the sea witch, want to know her story!
My only issues are:
- the villains were never punished
- too much sex for my liking
Can't fault the author for either, tho, because those are my personal pet peeves.
Great retelling of the Little Mermaid.
Loved the sea witch, want to know her story!
My only issues are:
- the villains were never punished
- too much sex for my liking
Can't fault the author for either, tho, because those are my personal pet peeves.
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September 11, 2019Available October 1, 2019.
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February 2, 2021
Sweet retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.
Fabulously narrated by Michael Ferraioulo!
Fabulously narrated by Michael Ferraioulo!
March 9, 2022
Oh my heart...
This was very slow in the beginning. I was on page 80 wondering if I should go on and I'm very glad I did. I spent the time from 79% on with tears in my eyes from reading this story.
While I loved the connection between Lir of the merfolk and Colin of the land, the hatefulness of Colin's parents and town folk was really laid on thick, so be warned of extreme homophobia. Which makes sense since this is a fairy tale with a lesson to teach you.
Overall, this was a good retelling of the little mermaid.
This was very slow in the beginning. I was on page 80 wondering if I should go on and I'm very glad I did. I spent the time from 79% on with tears in my eyes from reading this story.
While I loved the connection between Lir of the merfolk and Colin of the land, the hatefulness of Colin's parents and town folk was really laid on thick, so be warned of extreme homophobia. Which makes sense since this is a fairy tale with a lesson to teach you.
Overall, this was a good retelling of the little mermaid.
December 23, 2019
Beautiful!! Yes, I FINALLY found a merman book that I adored. It’s very endearing, I could not put this book down it was so good. Took me completely by surprise!!
November 20, 2022
This was a sweet, modern day version of The Little Mermaid which was a blend of the Disney version and HCA's version. I think this might be my first merman story. My only complaint is the mechanics of merman sex was never revealed! 😁 3.5 stars.
April 11, 2020
DNF ok it just isn’t working for me. I hate to rate a book I don’t finish, but this book is making me feel miserable.L. A. Witt is a great author and this sounded like a great idea. I hate it. Sorry
January 8, 2021
3.5*
This re-telling was a nice surprise even if the ending is quiet obvious.
When Colin washes ashore after suffering "engine problems" of his boat in a heavy storm, he remembers only shards and a name. His faint memories are real and so is the "man" that saved him. They 2 men are drawn to each other even if they can't really be a way to truly be together. Or is there?
The land men parts felt real. The hatred and disgust expressed by narrow minded small town people, how for some families image is more important than the happiness of there children... It could be someone's reality for sure. The dynamics and connection between the main characters is insta-love (in case you should have doubts about that), but for me not the eye-rolling kind. I found them endearing.
The reason I don't give 4*: I could have gone without the steamy scenes (not that I don't enjoy scenes like this) but they didn't add much to the story.
This re-telling was a nice surprise even if the ending is quiet obvious.
When Colin washes ashore after suffering "engine problems" of his boat in a heavy storm, he remembers only shards and a name. His faint memories are real and so is the "man" that saved him. They 2 men are drawn to each other even if they can't really be a way to truly be together. Or is there?
The land men parts felt real. The hatred and disgust expressed by narrow minded small town people, how for some families image is more important than the happiness of there children... It could be someone's reality for sure. The dynamics and connection between the main characters is insta-love (in case you should have doubts about that), but for me not the eye-rolling kind. I found them endearing.
The reason I don't give 4*: I could have gone without the steamy scenes (not that I don't enjoy scenes like this) but they didn't add much to the story.
February 17, 2021
Tre stjerner bare fordi jeg var godt underholdt. Selvom det hele var mærkeligt. Og fisket. Og en smule sært.
March 14, 2020
"...was learning how two merdudes fucked." And then she doesn't tell us, although she was quite graphic about how two human dudes fucked. That pretty much sums up the problems with this book.
Lack of imagination + 2-dimensional characters + heavy-handed presentation of homophobia (+ a bad cover, but I know authors don't pick those)
I mostly read fantasy and science-fiction and some historicals, but I love a good m/m romance with those elements, so I jumped on this when it came across my Bookbub. Glad I didn't pay full for it.
As a romance, it's okay. Not great, but it ticks the boxes. As fantasy, it's pretty bad. The world-building is really shallow. I never got any sense of how the mer-world worked, what the palace or mer city looked like, or much else. The merpeople are pretty much humans underwater, but idealized. When the main character is finally turned into a merman, that would have been a GREAT opportunity for her to talk about that world...and she totally rushes to the end of the book and slides over it all. "It happened, Colin is happy, end of the story." She could (and should) have done it in reverse when Lir became human, but doesn't really, except a few things about difficulties walking and his fascination with cat videos...and a lot of descriptions (which got old) of gay sex. But she never has Lir even compare it to how mermen fuck. Because she didn't think about it. And she has Colin choose to keep Lir at home probably so she didn't have to think too much about those elements. I actually put the book down at that point, as it was just sex, sugar, sex, sugar...whatever. I finally picked the book up again, hoping things might get better.
It did, a little, but the whole thing felt really RUSHED. Slow down and actually describe some things, please. There IS such a thing as too much focus on the hero and hero and sex. Boring. I want a story along with it, and this book really didn't have one.
Also, while I'm well aware homophobia hasn't disappeared, especially in the era of Trump, the society she describes felt more like the early 2000s than almost 2020 (it was published in 2019). Come on. Kids Colin's age are pretty nonchalant. My youngest sister is about his age and she and her friends (including the young men) don't care, even self-styled conservatives, of which we've got a lot in Alaska. But the author doesn't seem to get the generation divide on this issue. I could buy Colin's parents acting like that, but the young men? Okay, maybe some, but that was a dropped plot thread, too. They should have turned up at least once more, preferably when Lir was around. And I just couldn't believe that Colin didn't have real friends back in college. Speaking of...we get into August and September, and he's not back in school? Again, I think she made a lot of choices simply to make it easier for Colin to leave the land world (which presents no *conflict* or drama in the book), or because she didn't want to deal with it.
Some readers will no doubt enjoy it, but if you're there for fun fantasy merworld elements, skip it.
Lack of imagination + 2-dimensional characters + heavy-handed presentation of homophobia (+ a bad cover, but I know authors don't pick those)
I mostly read fantasy and science-fiction and some historicals, but I love a good m/m romance with those elements, so I jumped on this when it came across my Bookbub. Glad I didn't pay full for it.
As a romance, it's okay. Not great, but it ticks the boxes. As fantasy, it's pretty bad. The world-building is really shallow. I never got any sense of how the mer-world worked, what the palace or mer city looked like, or much else. The merpeople are pretty much humans underwater, but idealized. When the main character is finally turned into a merman, that would have been a GREAT opportunity for her to talk about that world...and she totally rushes to the end of the book and slides over it all. "It happened, Colin is happy, end of the story." She could (and should) have done it in reverse when Lir became human, but doesn't really, except a few things about difficulties walking and his fascination with cat videos...and a lot of descriptions (which got old) of gay sex. But she never has Lir even compare it to how mermen fuck. Because she didn't think about it. And she has Colin choose to keep Lir at home probably so she didn't have to think too much about those elements. I actually put the book down at that point, as it was just sex, sugar, sex, sugar...whatever. I finally picked the book up again, hoping things might get better.
It did, a little, but the whole thing felt really RUSHED. Slow down and actually describe some things, please. There IS such a thing as too much focus on the hero and hero and sex. Boring. I want a story along with it, and this book really didn't have one.
Also, while I'm well aware homophobia hasn't disappeared, especially in the era of Trump, the society she describes felt more like the early 2000s than almost 2020 (it was published in 2019). Come on. Kids Colin's age are pretty nonchalant. My youngest sister is about his age and she and her friends (including the young men) don't care, even self-styled conservatives, of which we've got a lot in Alaska. But the author doesn't seem to get the generation divide on this issue. I could buy Colin's parents acting like that, but the young men? Okay, maybe some, but that was a dropped plot thread, too. They should have turned up at least once more, preferably when Lir was around. And I just couldn't believe that Colin didn't have real friends back in college. Speaking of...we get into August and September, and he's not back in school? Again, I think she made a lot of choices simply to make it easier for Colin to leave the land world (which presents no *conflict* or drama in the book), or because she didn't want to deal with it.
Some readers will no doubt enjoy it, but if you're there for fun fantasy merworld elements, skip it.
December 25, 2023
A simple gender-bender retelling of the little mermaid that worked. Without much pain and agony. A simple deal with the sea witch and a cute ending. I think the writer should work on the cover of the book. It does not do justice to the story.
October 7, 2019
I'm having such a good run at utterly adorable characters recently! I highly recommend this retelling of The Little Mermaid. It was utterly charming.
January 25, 2020
Interesting M-M retelling without the morbid drama associated with the sea-witch's transformative potions. A nice cozy bedside read.
May 13, 2021
A queer little mermaid retelling? Yes freaking please. I kind of Have a love-hate relationship with The Little mermaid in general because I abhor the fact that she was legitimately supposed to use her body to make a man fall in love, but Ursula is my favorite villain and like mermaids are cool as fuck. So when I saw that this was one of the dreaded 163 l.a. witt books that I am going to compulsively read, I jumped on it.
thankfully this does not have the same issues as the classic Little mermaid and there's a shit ton of consent. Like so much. Like constant and it was glorious. Throw in a homophobic family and life sounds a lot better in the sea. Overall, quite pleased. as always it feels like I just wanted a little bit more plot and dialogue, but it was good.
Rep; gay MC, pansexual MC
CW: homophobia
thankfully this does not have the same issues as the classic Little mermaid and there's a shit ton of consent. Like so much. Like constant and it was glorious. Throw in a homophobic family and life sounds a lot better in the sea. Overall, quite pleased. as always it feels like I just wanted a little bit more plot and dialogue, but it was good.
Rep; gay MC, pansexual MC
CW: homophobia
March 15, 2020
Cute and sexy m/m retelling of The Little Mermaid with - unlike the original - a real HEA!
Michael Ferraiuolo is an amazing narrator but he was a bit off his game here with some distinctly dodgy accents; the English one he uses for Lir isn't bad, but there are a few of the giveaway pronunciations I often hear from American narrators doing English accents (elongated "a" sounds for instance) and because he's being so precise, Lir sounds like he belongs in one of those 1940s black and white movies in which people got "merried" and were "awfully" and "terribly" stiff upper lip about everything.
Entertaining, but not one I'll be rushing to listen to again.
Michael Ferraiuolo is an amazing narrator but he was a bit off his game here with some distinctly dodgy accents; the English one he uses for Lir isn't bad, but there are a few of the giveaway pronunciations I often hear from American narrators doing English accents (elongated "a" sounds for instance) and because he's being so precise, Lir sounds like he belongs in one of those 1940s black and white movies in which people got "merried" and were "awfully" and "terribly" stiff upper lip about everything.
Entertaining, but not one I'll be rushing to listen to again.
August 15, 2022
Tags: Little mermaid retelling, Maine, homophobic parents and small townsfolk
This was a sweet story that had some interesting twists on the original fairy tale. The first person POV got a bit weird at times, with the narrator/MC adding bits of opinion and thoughts on what he was doing, without a framework for me to understand it - is he telling me a story? Writing in a journal? It was distracting. I also felt like the parents were overly caricatured as villains. They sucked, don’t get me wrong, but they just felt like stereotypical “bad guys” without much depth.
Would recommend if you like mermaid stories. Despite my issues, it was a solid 3* book for me.
This was a sweet story that had some interesting twists on the original fairy tale. The first person POV got a bit weird at times, with the narrator/MC adding bits of opinion and thoughts on what he was doing, without a framework for me to understand it - is he telling me a story? Writing in a journal? It was distracting. I also felt like the parents were overly caricatured as villains. They sucked, don’t get me wrong, but they just felt like stereotypical “bad guys” without much depth.
Would recommend if you like mermaid stories. Despite my issues, it was a solid 3* book for me.
September 26, 2021
This epic tale is full of brilliant characters and a stunning storyline that takes our breath away. I adore the sweet guys and their beautiful connection and the devotion they have for each other. The audio narration by Michael Ferraiuolo is amazing and impossible to pause.
April 24, 2020
Sweet but slow, flipped to finish.
June 12, 2023
It was slow to start but enjoyable towards the end
March 2, 2021
Puntuación: 3.5 estrellas de 5
Decidí leer esta novela porque me encantan las historias de sirenas y esta me llamó la atención. Realmente es más una adaptación de la película “La Sirenita” de Disney que del cuento de Hans Christian Andersen. La historia trata de Colin, un joven universitario de familia adinerada que, debido a un accidente de bote en medio de una tormenta, fue rescatado por un tritón llamado Lir.
En primer lugar, hay que aclarar que la autora no se detiene mucho a detallar todas las conversaciones entre Colin y Lir, por lo que su relación puede clasificarse como amor a primera vista. Esto puede ser tanto bueno como malo, dependiendo de cuál sea la preferencia de cada lector. Siempre y cuando la historia esté bien desarrollada y los personajes sean más bien multidimensionales, a mí esto generalmente no me molesta tanto como a otras personas. En el caso específico de esta historia, el amor a primera vista quedó en segundo plano, dado que la autora decidió dar más importancia a otros temas, entre los cuales están los dilemas personales y familiares de Colin, que son los que más mueven la trama.
Debo admitir que, si bien la relación de la pareja principal me pareció bastante cursi, la autora supo balancear esto con los demás temas tratados en la historia, el principal de los cuales es la homofobia. Sin embargo, la imagen tan negativa que pinta Colin de la sociedad humana me pareció un poco extrema y esto le restó algunos puntos a mi experiencia de lectura.
Finalmente, el giro tan original que da la historia hacia el final de la novela es algo que no había leído hasta ahora en otras de este tipo, lo cual me encantó.
Dentro de todo, es una historia bastante disfrutable, mucho más realista que la versión de Disney pero sin llegar a la tragedia de la original.
Decidí leer esta novela porque me encantan las historias de sirenas y esta me llamó la atención. Realmente es más una adaptación de la película “La Sirenita” de Disney que del cuento de Hans Christian Andersen. La historia trata de Colin, un joven universitario de familia adinerada que, debido a un accidente de bote en medio de una tormenta, fue rescatado por un tritón llamado Lir.
En primer lugar, hay que aclarar que la autora no se detiene mucho a detallar todas las conversaciones entre Colin y Lir, por lo que su relación puede clasificarse como amor a primera vista. Esto puede ser tanto bueno como malo, dependiendo de cuál sea la preferencia de cada lector. Siempre y cuando la historia esté bien desarrollada y los personajes sean más bien multidimensionales, a mí esto generalmente no me molesta tanto como a otras personas. En el caso específico de esta historia, el amor a primera vista quedó en segundo plano, dado que la autora decidió dar más importancia a otros temas, entre los cuales están los dilemas personales y familiares de Colin, que son los que más mueven la trama.
Debo admitir que, si bien la relación de la pareja principal me pareció bastante cursi, la autora supo balancear esto con los demás temas tratados en la historia, el principal de los cuales es la homofobia. Sin embargo, la imagen tan negativa que pinta Colin de la sociedad humana me pareció un poco extrema y esto le restó algunos puntos a mi experiencia de lectura.
Finalmente, el giro tan original que da la historia hacia el final de la novela es algo que no había leído hasta ahora en otras de este tipo, lo cual me encantó.
Dentro de todo, es una historia bastante disfrutable, mucho más realista que la versión de Disney pero sin llegar a la tragedia de la original.
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