Aria

Happily After When #2

by Emily Bourne

Aria Rivera is a Maiden City swimming champion. After taking out the State competition, her father is hungry for more accolades, but Aria is amid an identity crisis. The reminder of a hidden talent and the torment of her mundane life plagues her with insomnia. Aria needs an out, but her lack of education and basic skills shackle her to swimming.

When a curious boy steals her attention from an adjacent swimming lane, Aria begins dreaming. A life without the rivalry for attention and medals with her sister Valeria. A life away from her father’s strict rules. A life with a spark of romance.

But the dreams don’t help when her home life is a threat to her physical and mental well-being. Doomed to stay under her parents’ roof and deal with Valeria’s anger issues, Aria is riddled with sorrow and stress. The boy of her dreams is cursed with the same affliction. When their paths cross, will they be the key to each other’s freedom and happiness?



The Happily After When series is inspired by fairytales. Each book is based on a different fairytale, and Aria is a modern transformation of The Little Mermaid. The Happily After When series looks at the dangerous lessons fairytales teach young people, including: a woman waiting for a man to rescue her, or young men kissing women without their permission. These books deal with young adult social issues, including: class differences, bullying and racism, lgbt issues, runaways, mental health issues, and domestic violence. They are also contemporary romance stories about beating the odds, with a wholesomeness in an unsettling and dark world.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2020

About the author

Emily Bourne is an author from central west NSW, meaning she’s an Aussie Country girl at heart. Emily writes books about self-discovery and finding love. Believing, you can’t have a romantic relationship that works until you truly love yourself. She specialises in teen and young adult novels about social issues, layered with romantic suspense. Emily’s books can have you laughing-out-loud, reaching for the tissues, cramping with anxiety, and your heart swelling double-size. She spends her days diligently writing, procrastinating on Instagram (@iemilybourne), and distractedly playing with her cat Norman.

Reviews

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 5th book I've read written by Emily Bourne; I can’t wait to read more of her books.

This is the second book in the Happily After When Series; it’s a rewrite of the Little Mermaid fairytale about Aria.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

[Gracie F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great addition to the Happily After When series. I loved seeing Aria's character grow throughout this book.
I loved this retelling, revamping of the famous Little Mermaid fairy tale. I was not expecting some of the twists and turns it took, they definitely took me by surprise.
I also loved seeing some characters from Jazz come back, we were able to revisit these beloved characters.
My main criticism was the main villain in this story, I feel like they could have been developed a little bit more.
Overall, this was a wonderful, romantic story which I loved the whole way through.
4 out of 5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Becca Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aria is both a book on its own, but also a continuation of Jazz, the first book in the Happily After When Series, which gave me all the feels. I am a huge sucker for cross-overs so when I got to a Jazz chapter, I actually squealed lol! I loved Aria's story so much. It's such a modern take on The Little Mermaid, I honestly wouldn't have known otherwise. And that's a testament to Emily Bourne's brilliant way of weaving a story, that may be based on an old fairytale, but she completely makes it her own. Aria's sister was absolutely terrifying, such a perfect villain! And the love story with Eddy!! Omg! He's a character in Jazz who I loved so much, so to have him be her love interest was perfection! I highly recommend Aria!

[Anna M_82 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This retelling of The Little Mermaid was AMAZING!! Aria is a swimmer and meets Eddy at the pool. Aria’s family is very controlling and her sister Valeria is absolutely insane. Eddy is there for Aria and they build a beautiful connection. The end of this story is crazy intense and so good! I would recommend reading her book Jazz first because it features characters and storylines from it, but you can still enjoy this book if you haven’t read it. Looking forward to what comes next in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to get back into this world and learn more about Eddy.
This Little Mermaid retelling follows Aria as she navigates her family and what she actually wants (and if she can attain that).
Her sister Valeria was too much for my heart to take haha, but I kept in mind her motivations and powered through. This book has had the biggest bad so far, in my opinion, but maybe that's because it's so much more personal. The suspense was real. Whew.
I'm excited to see where these characters are going in this series.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is another great read in the Happily After When series, I loved getting to know Aria. The characters were great and I really enjoyed going through the story. I look forward to more from this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Geri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised how different this book was to Jazz, but loved how it highlighted issues from Jazz that were resolved in this book. Aria and Jazz are from different worlds, gets so similar! Can’t wait for the third book.

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read, however I am not the biggest fan of the story being told in the 3rd person and I don't particularly like titled chapters. However, I did like Aria as a character.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.