Once Upon a Mermaid: Four Mermaid Tales

by Demelza Carlton

Fall deeply in love with four mermaids and the heroes who capture their hearts in this mer-vellous collection of tales.
Let a sexy Scotsman pull you from the sea, break a family curse for a Viking prince, be seduced by a hot doctor with secrets, then team up with an alien to stop terrorists from destroying your planet.
Start reading these four steamy stories now!

1. Ocean's Justice
2. Silence: Little Mermaid Retold
3. Ocean's Secret
4. Halcyon

Genres: Fantasy, Mermaids, Romance, Ebooks, Fiction, Retellings, Paranormal Romance

419 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2022

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.

Reviews

[Lorna]

What was promised: four mesmerizing tales of mermaids and love.

What I read: one story that was so poorly written I gave up on reading the rest.

I don’t even have the words to properly describe what I thought of this. The plot was barely there, there was far too much dialogue but not done in a way that works, and the smut that I got to was so uninspired and unsexy that I’m glad I’m not reading good smut right now to emphasize how bad it was.

I feel like instead of getting this book for free, I should be compensated for my wasted time.

[Neon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what I expected.

But it wasn't lots of smut and bad plot. I'm really disappointed, honestly. The last story was the only one that was any good and even that was a bit too much smut for my liking.

[Andrea Waagen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the first story ... You have to go buy the rest of the story elsewhere. Didn't want to start the 2nd story just to find that it's incomplete as well. Mediocre writing, plot doesn't really make sense. Maria doesn't speak any English. She keeps thinking "I wish I knew what he was saying" but she seemed to perfectly follow instructions given to her. She's a mermaid with a song to make men so we she desires, but sings and then is surprised men do as she desires... I really wish I hadn't wasted the time finishing as much as I did.

[alice Tileston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received free for review

I don't normally read or enjoy short stories as they end just when I'm really starting to enjoy them.
But these stories are good enough that I'm willing to look for more by this author.

[Cherie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up:
Four books in one.
An original story filled to the brim with imagination and many different emotions throughout all of the stories. The stories are continuous from one to the other with the same main characters.
Stories are very descriptive in the intimate department.
A mature reader. Some scenes are not for everyone therefore I am not sure it I would recommend this set of books.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has 4 stories. The first one is Oceans Justice, and I enjoyed it the most. It's about a young siren who was rejected from her family and left to be found by a saloir on a ship. Not everyone is glad to have a femsle on board. The 2nd was a retelling of the little mermaid called The Little Mermaid Retold. It was an ok story about a siren that rescues a human and has to stay silent in order for her brothers to be saved from a spell. The third was Ocean's Secret. It just wasn't the right story for me. I didn't like the ending at all. Just was a bit sloppy of a story, and the characters were not the best. The final one was a sci-fi story, Halcyon. A mer meets a human after years of war. Can two put aside their differences between them and make peace in space?

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

4 short stories

Things I liked:
1. 4 different takes on what a siren is
2. Ocean’s Justice: 3 ⭐️ - I liked Maria and McGregor
3. Ocean’s Widow 2 ⭐️- I was disappointed in this retelling of Little Mermaid

Things I didn’t like:
1. Ocean’s Secret 1 ⭐️- this story made me angry - it had great potential, but was not a fun read at the end of the day
2. Halcyon 2 ⭐️ - I was excited for a sci-fi mermaid romance, but Galen was awful and Allie was not believable. Plus the plot was so obvious.

[Rachel Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I absolutely love this book cover. I've been reading quite a few mermaid stories and when I saw this cover, it was beautiful and got myself a copy.

Then I realized it was short stories but that didn't bother me. It was a very enjoyable read and it was very descriptive and well written. Really liked the characters and would be willing to look more into this author to see what else they have written.

[Kim Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up thinking what fun - 4 tales to read. Only problem was all four stories were part of a - you guessed it - series! So, you never get an ending. My opinion, but this was a cheap trick by the author to get you to go out and get the rest of her books which, honestly, I wasn't impressed with. The first story had a mermaid that was downright bloodthirsty, and it didn't get much better from there. Sorry but can't recommend.

[Neeley Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description said this was 4 short mermaid stories in one book. The last 2 stories weren’t on theme at all so I didn’t even bother reading them. The first two weren’t terribly awful but I think it would have been much better if they were full length books with more detail and description vs 100pg short stories.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

US author now living in Australia. The third story is based in Australia.

I was not a fan of the first story but would happily read the next in the series. I think the reason that I did not like it was that it was a bit depressing. I enjoyed the others.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful boxset

A beautiful boxset of mermaid stories, full of twists and HEAs. A great read and highly recommended for all those who like their paranormal romance with a tail and some sea salt.

[sharon sobzak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Upon a Mermaid

Four stories that are not quite what you would expect. First one on a ship heading to Easter Island...second, a slightly different version of the little mermaid...third, a midwife and a doctor...fourth, an engineer and a plumber.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on Apple iBooks today (1/6/2022)! 🎁

[Bill Mock · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was fun. The 4 stories ranged from 3-5 stars and I settled on 4 because I was a little disappointed that they were first installment teasers for 4 series.

[Susan David]

I enjoyed all the stories within this book.

[Billye Herndon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the 4 books. Had already read one of them. If you enjoy books about exotic creatures, then you will like this book.

This is my honest review.

[Mariska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous Fantasy!

Each story honestly deserves it's own five stars. All so different and all very compelling. If you don't own this book already, buy it asap!

[Brittney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into it.

[Kate]

DNF: 16% (Half way through the first short story)

This first short story was so bad that could even given any of the others a try.

[Joanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you, next.

▬ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: fantasy/paranormal, retelling (Little Mermaid)

[Micki_1989 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm

Good stories want some of them to be longer tho especially the first one it doesn't truly have and ending, so I hope there more to come

[Bea Jacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 cute stories put together.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.