Mermaid's Song

Dark Sea Academy #1

by Stacy Claflin

**Trilogy Binge all the books!**
My life as I know it is over. And no, I’m not being dramatic. I’ve been living as a human, but now I have to return to my mermaid roots because my dad is the new king of Valora. As soon as we arrive, he sends me to the Dark Sea Academy. Whispers and glares greet me at every turn. Students accuse my dad of killing the previous king, his brother. My first night, the most popular girl tries to kill me. I barely escape, only to run into Bash. He’s older and one wrong move from being expelled. Also as gorgeous as he is arrogant. For some reason, he keeps looking at me with concern in his eyes while giving me a crooked smirk. Almost makes me forget all my problems. But I can’t let myself get side-tracked by him. I won’t. If I’m to survive the academy, I need to focus on staying alive. Unfortunately, that means relying on Bash—and he’s a distraction that could very well cost me everything.
Mermaid's Song is the start of a page-turning young adult mermaid trilogy that features gripping supernatural drama, heart-pounding action, and angsty romance. It's written by Stacy Claflin, a two-time USA Today bestselling author. Read it today to start this trilogy with thrilling new lore that will have you flipping through the pages to find out what happens next.

Other books in the
Mermaid's Heart
Mermaid's Wish

More urban fantasies by Stacy
Curse of the Moon series
Valhalla's Curse series
The Transformed series

Genres: Fantasy, Mermaids, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Audiobook

1 pages, Audio CD

First published June 30, 2019

About the author

Stacy Claflin writes about complex women overcoming incredible odds. Whether it's her Gone trilogy of psychological thrillers, her ongoing Transformed paranormal saga, or her Seaside Hunters sweet romance series, Stacy's three-dimensional heroines shine through.

Decades after she wrote her first stories on construction paper and years after typing on an inherited green screen computer that weighed half a ton, Stacy realized her dream of becoming a full-time author.

When she's not busy writing or educating her kids from home, Stacy enjoys watching TV shows like Supernatural, Pretty Little Liars, and Once Upon a Time.

Join Stacy's newsletter to get free books: http://stacyclaflin.com/newsletter/

Reviews

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing in this book made sense. Her father was just a big a hole for no reason.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely just read this for a certain challenge. It also doesn't hurt that it was on KU.

Mermaid's Song was such a weird book. I feel like I was left with a lot of questions but I was also annoyed with a lot of stuff as well. Whether it was her dad being the biggest douche ever or people at this school - I was annoyed. It also didn't help that Marra, the mc, also annoyed me as well.

So Marra is a mermaid but she has lived most of her life on land. She loves her friends, track, and school. She also has dreams of going off to the best college ever! Well, until the day all her dreams were shattered by her dad. Now, he was a mysterious douche that really annoyed me from the first second I met him.

He was definitely power-hungry and gave zero shits about everyone and everything. I mean, the guy cheated on his wife and was somehow taking a second queen at the end? Whatever that means - he is an asshole and I hope he suffers in mermaid hell. Of course it doesn't help that all the other mermaids think he killed his brother (who was the king before him). Yeah, the guy was banished but he's an asshole so I can see how and why it exactly happened.

Then there's this whole dark sea academy which was weird to me. I'm not really liking most of the people at this school - students and teachers combined. It's because something just feels very off. Again, I have a lot of questions about this book. No idea if I will jump into the next book or not. Especially with that question of a cliffhanger.

If Marra stays with her dad - I will not be reading it. Sorry, not sorry - girl needs to go back to land with her mom.

[Catherine Boddie]

DNF at 5%. I couldn't make myself listen any longer.

[Jacs McMullin · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2/5.. generously.

This book is the most confusing book I think I have ever read. I will start off by saying that the premise of this book is pretty good and the bones are fantastic. The potential is definitely there.It's very unfortunate that the writing and the execution fell so short.

The characters in this book have no depth. After the general introduction of them you don't really learn much more. The relationships between the characters are thin and rushed. This causes a huge disconnect. I didn't care about any of the characters. Marra is super inconsistent - she's a singer/badass warrior? I thought she was a runner on the Ivy League path. Why was her Dad's such a dick? Seriously , because it wasn't mentioned in the book.

World-building? Nonexistent. This story could have taken place in space for all the descriptions it wasn't giving.

The writing was terrible. If this story was written for an eight year old, then I take it back, but as a young adult series, absolutely not.

I like the ultimatum ending, but not enough to read the second book.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, it has a few YA cliches and was predictable, but still a fairly enjoyable story. The plot moves quickly, Mara is a typical high school student in the morning and is a princess in an underwater kingdom by evening. She's thrust into a new world where the mean girls target her for being raised on land and getting special treatment. There's instalove when Mara meets Bash, the badboy of the academy. It was a bit irritating, Mara is so smitten with Bash that she can't even function when he's around, but it gets better with exposure.

There are a lot of questions surrounding her uncle's death, her father's exile and then becoming King, and who's plotting against Mara. The ending did surprise me a bit and I'm intrigued to see what darker forces may be trying to hurt Mara.

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exiled mermaid princess Marra has lived most of her life on land, but when her uncle (the king) is killed, she is forced by her parents to go back to their underwater kingdom. Trapped in a school where almost everyone is against her and unwilling and unable to act like a perfect mermaid princess, Marra struggles with her new life, her relationship with her childhood best friend, her enemy Earwyn, and her new boyfriend Bash.

This book has an interesting premise, though everyone is too harsh on Marra (including her parents). I like the idea of underwater politics, and think the series has a lot of potential. However, it moved too quickly and could have used expanding on a lot of different parts of the story. It was good, but could have been a lot better.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mermaid's tale was different IMO because Marra has been living as a human for most of her life and now has to return to being a mermaid. Her parents are now the Kind and Queen. I love magical stories and mermaid's have always fascinated me. There is mystery, romance, angst and so many secrets. By the end I really didn't care for her parents and her father really made me mad. I requested a free review copy of this book through StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue-Is-READING · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 45%

Started off okay, i do love the world of underwater sea academy and i really wanted to like it but i was so frustrated with the female protagonist maybe i should have read this when i was 13-15 the writing felt childish and like i said female lead was dumb, annoying and over dramatic. I couldn't do it :/ disappointing really.

[3m Lop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al principio iba genial, pero poco a poco comenzaron a ver incoherencias y en lo que a mi respecta el final y algunas actitudes y acciones son muy sacadas de la manga. Puede que mas adelante sean justificadas, pero no tiene sentido que un personaje se vea de dos maneras totalmente distintas porque no se siente el mismo.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic underwater academy read! Well written we follow Marra as she returns to live under the water as a mermaid after living on the land for years. This fantastic storyline is full of teenage angst, first romance, danger, mean girls, Atlantian lore and so much more and once you start this you will not be able to put it down!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun start to a new series

I found this series due to a reading marathon that's going on. And it was such a good book. I loved the author's world building and her characters. I already started the second book. And this book is full of twists and turns.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one of the more intense books that I've read so far, in this genre. I could not believe how intense the raw words portrayed such deep emotions from the very beginning. It's almost as if from the very first word you are drawn in and just literally sitting in this world, watching, feeling, going through everything that happens. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to handle how intense the book is. The emotions got me to that hard. I almost didn't get through the book because of it, but I'm glad I did. So I chalk the intensity up as a positive; it just shows how powerful the writing is that the author put into writing this book.
This was an overall excellent book. I will admit that the main character Marra, can be a little too high school for me with the way that she thinks and the way that she views what's going on around her. However, her character development and regression was real and and adventure that I enjoyed being on. The romance that goes on between her and another character had me a little confused honestly, but it was cute. The way that it was connected to the storyline helped and it's something that can be overlooked if you pay attention to the plot. The plot development was so good. I could not believe where it went, how it made its' way there, and just everything that was happening. I'm going to jump the gun and just say that the end was a complete cliff hanger that I WAS NOT at all expecting! I guess it could have been predictable, but I was probably too enveloped in the book to notice or predict. But I honestly would not get that from the way the book was going. I was just in complete turmoil. But the action and adventure in the book is so good. The politics adds to the emotions and I think overall, what I liked about it, was the fact that the book was so strong and powerful emotionally. I think it's a good book series to continue and I highly recommend reading if you're into the paranormal mermaid world.

[Lisa Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books that stood out to me the most from the last free book promotion was Mermaid's Song by Stacy Claflin. I'm a sucker for all things mermaid and princess. After completing Deborah Grace White's Vazula Chronicles, I had high expectations for stories about mermaids and royal academia. The first book in the Dark Sea Academy trilogy did not quite meet those expectations. While the setting of a school for mermaids was similar on a surface, level, Mermaid's Song was very juvenile and didn't present anything new about mermaid lore. At least the covers are stunning.

It can be a challenge to write from the perspective of a teenager and not come off as flighty or immature. Marra, a half-human half-mermaid princess along the lines of Emily Windsnap, looks like a mature young adult in her cover illustrations but sounds like a silly preteen, at least in the context of the first book. All she wants to do is live a normal life as a human on land, flirting with her high school crush during the day and gossiping with her best friend all night long. When her uncle dies suddenly and her obviously evil father becomes the new king of Valora, she is forced to return to her life as a mermaid princess and leave everything she knows behind. She takes the news with all the grace of a spoiled crybaby, arguing with her parents at every chance she gets and making secret plans to live in her best friend's closet. Ultimately, she has no choice but to give in.

The mermaid school was disappointing. This book has very little worldbuilding compared to other mermaid books I've read and treats the merfolk like humans who happen to have tails with no explanation about how the mechanics of the world could work the same in the sea as they do on land. For instance, the dormitories have bathrooms that are referenced as places where the mermaids "shower and pee," even though that doesn't make much sense underwater without additional explanation. The mermaids dress in normal human shirts and dresses, forgoing pants. I know the fashions were similar in Deep Blue, but it seems more practical to wear seashells underwater instead of fabric, which would cling to their skin in the water as though it isn't even there. What's even more confusing is that one top Marra wore was described as "fuzzy." I'm not sure how it's possible for fabric to be fuzzy underwater.

Marra's new life has its ups and downs. She gets a nice room, is reunited with her childhood best friend, and finds a new crush in her school guide. However, she also makes an instant enemy whose intent to kill her is blatantly clear as she blames Marra for the king's death even though she knows it was Marra's father, and not Marra herself, who may have been linked to it. The mean girls are so direct in their actions that it was all the more perplexing that the headmistress decided not to punish them at all when she learned about it. The most interesting thing in the book is when Marra uses a magic trident that turns her hair pink and learns that she is part of some sort of ancient prophecy that is likely expanded upon in the rest of the series.

After completing Mermaid's Song, I had little interest in reading the rest of Dark Sea Academy, especially when Deborah Grace White's Vazula Chronicles provided a similar setting with much stronger worldbuilding. Marra came off as too childish to relate to, despite her beautiful character design on the cover of the book. The story is dark but never goes too far, so I think it would be a good option for younger children who are looking for something edgier than other mainstream mermaid books.

[Tammy Northington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marra is a teenaged mermaid who has been living on land for the past 10 years pretending to be human. She has to stay away from water, including fun pool parties or going to the beach with her friends, or her tail will appear. Her parents tell her that her uncle, who was the king of Valora (a mermaid city), has died & they are returning to Valora as he is now the king. When they get to Valora Marra is told she will be living at the academy. She gets bullied & tied to a tree in the dark forest to die/be eaten. She finds her way back to the academy after escaping only to run in to Bash, the handsome boy who had to show her around as punishment for causing trouble. Her father has been called to the school & when she refuses to give names of those that "initiated" her, he tells the dean to punish her as she sees fit.

She ends up speaking with her father in private & he tells her that his life & those of his family are being threatened. He asks her to keep her ears open as she would hear things that he wouldn't Shortly after she is told this by her father, her mother shows up & asks for her help. Amidst all this, she's fighting her attraction to Bash.

I won't give away any more of the story as it would be a spoiler. This story is dead on for what I expect from one of Stacy's stories. The characters are all well-developed, indepth, and individuals with unique personalities. The world-building has great descriptions making it easy for you to imagine what the characters are seeing. The story is action-packed, has the beginning of a young love story, and includes betrayal. It does end on a cliffhanger.

[Jennifer G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marra Ayers is a typical high-schooler. She's preparing for a test, her next track meet, and dreaming of the cute boy. However, she has a secret. She's a mermaid. Now the king, her uncle has died, making her dad the new king of Valora and her the princess heir and they must go back to the underwater kingdom immediately. Upon arrival, her parents send her straight to the Dark Sea Academy to begin her education. Life underwater is not like on land. Her father is a fierce ruler, her classmates hate her, and the class system and rules are strict. At least she has her childhood bestie Halen by her side. Bash is a royal student who’s one wrong move from being expelled. He's gorgeous, tattooed, and the lead singer/guitarist in his band. They are not a good fit. He thinks he hates her but she's not what he expected. She doesn't plan to stay underwater. However, some attractions can't be ignored.

This was a good story premise but it didn't live up to my hopes. I love Academy books. This one barely goes beyond the Academy as a setting. Marra's character is unbalanced. Everything goes from horrible to wonderful in a blink; outcast to hero, inept to expert. Bash and Marra have a connection but its rushed. All of the students' characters need to be developed more. Marra's parents are pathetic. I can't imagine having any loyalty after their behavior. The ending was frustrating. Not the cliffhanger, I actually enjoy them but the predictability. I can't go into any details but it all seems obvious to me. I do not care for contrivances when they are not absolutely necessary. I think with a little more depth and attention to detail this could be a very good series.

[Aimee Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marra is enjoying her life when her father breaks some life altering news. They are going back to Valora right away. Marra doesn't want to hear it. She loves her life on land. Her bestfriend Ivy, track, college and possible relationship with Roman. She runs out the door to go to school. Her father shows up and makes the family leave immediately.
Once they get to Valora, she is forced to go to the Academy. Her father has changed, she can't believe this is her life. At the academy, she is introduced to the dean. The dean can't stand her and she doesn't understand. She is introduced to Bash. He has to show her around to his punishment. She is taken away by his presence. He shows her to her room, which is usually reserved for upper year residents. Her roommate is her best friend from childhood.
Marra and her best friend hit it off like she never left. Halen will help Marra in getting adjusted back to life in the water. Marra just wants to go back to her old life on land
Marra has enemies at school, they are saying terrible things about her father. Her mother has worries about her father.
Marra will have to do everything she can to save her family, deal with her feelings for Bash and everything that is being thrown at her at the academy.

This was a really good book. There are so many different things going on for Marra. I look forward to reading more of this series.

I received an ARC copy of this book, this is my honest review

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I highly recommend this book!!! It is intriguing and suspenseful, with nuanced characters and strong story lines.
Second, please note that I requested a free review copy of this book through StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review, although I have bought several of Stacy Claflin's books and series.
Mermaid's Song is the first book in a new YA paranormal trilogy. The main character is Marra, a pale strawberry blonde mermaid who has been living as a human on land, going to high school, making friends, and successfully running track.
When her uncle King unexpectedly passes away, she and her parents are duty bound to return to the underwater city, Valora, their ancestral home, as Marra's father is next in line as the new King. Marra is yanked away from a world she has come to love and knows how to navigate, only to be thrown into deep water (so to speak). She now has to deal with complicated situations and politics, making new friends and enemies while she attends an unfamiliar school, the underwater Dark Sea Academy. Marra is challenged to learn how to use her voice and strength through each twist and turn.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun, quick romance novel with a twist. I liked the story line and read the book very quickly (I'm already halfway through the second). I love this genre and this book definitely had some twists that I wasn't expecting. The characters are also developed very well even though at times the plot felt a little fast. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because there were several aspects of the book that made it hard for me to believe it was set underwater. For example, why are Mer people wearing human clothes, especially things like dresses and tuxedos and ties? That makes no sense to me. The author just explains things away by saying well everything is enchanted but I still can't see Mer people wearing clothes like that. There are several other examples like staircases, instruments, singing, speaking English, etc that make it hard to believe this is really an underwater kingdom. I suppose all these things could work with magic but why would the Mer culture be almost identical to human culture? Despite those inconsistencies, I really enjoyed the story of the book and plan to read the entire series.

[Charlotte Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Stacy Claflin fan. The Mermaid’s Song is a little different than her other books. I felt like this was more YA than her other books but it still had that amazing paranormal twist.

The underwater academy was interesting. While it was a school for mermaids it still had the high school feel. There was a hierarchy of students, the popular merfolk, the bad-boys, and those in between. I could picture how the students would treat each other and how the teachers would treat each group. Stacy Claflin had the characters make waves and stir things up by taking a couple first-years and putting them in with the upper classmates.

The relationships between Marra and Bash was fun. I like that it didn’t start as something that either of them wanted but the attraction was hard to deny. They were total opposites in society but worked together perfectly in the academy setting.

This is the start of a great series and I am excited to see what will come next.

[TheBibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nah...

Just not my type, that's why I am not gonna be harsh about it...there might some ppl who may like these kinda books...

So our MC is a good girl (totally boring) gets straight A's, got her goals in mind and has no time for BS (also known as boys). She wakes up and finds that the hottest boy in school likes her. This is NOT a spoiler. Now with her goal in mind and some awesome interest in her she's starting her morning the right way.

But wait

How can she have such a perfect life?
Nope.
She can't...so she goes on to find that she'll have to go to "mermaid land" again ( 🤮🤮🙄🙄🙄😢😢😢)
So she throws a fit and reluctantly goes.

I can't write any more... my tolerance just ran out.
However, I can list why the book was a total disaster.

1.Cheesy and Boring heroine.
2. Swoons for no reason at all
3. Bad plot, not grasping.
4. Accepts her bf wayyyyyyyyyy toooooo quick.
5. Lack of anything good.
6. Toooooo fast.
7. Simply sucktastic

[T.M. Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shouldn’t have been underwater.

This is a good story. I enjoyed it, truly. But there was just one thing that irked throughout and that is that the characters are merpeople and the setting is underwater. Admittedly, the fact that it was a mermaid tale is what initially caused me to read it, but the settings of the academy, the use of electricity, motorcycles, cars, guitars, drums, mobile phones, all defy logic underwater. The author writes and when mentioning something that can only happen on land, excuses it with a comment that Marra keeps forgetting where she is and will she ever get used to life underwater. This would have been a five star story had any other mythical creature, than a mermaid, been used. The same story could have been told but the setting would have been more believable.

[A J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. I wish people still used editors. At first I liked this book, but that was while the main character was still on land. After that, the author did not explain anything, which made it seem like the underwater thing was a gimmick. How can a mermaid wear a dress underwater? Wouldn't it float back up around her underarms? And, drinking from cups underwater? How? Why drink at all if you are a mermaid? How does the food stay on the plates? How does the library have books underwater? How does the limo work underwater? What are the furnishings made of? How did the door slam underwater? Why have chairs? And so on. Well, it was funny to imagine the drinks floating out of the cups... but it bothered me that she never used those waterproof books to research how to get back to land, just in case.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been provided with a copy of Mermaid’s Song by the author through StoryOrigin for an impartial review. This is the first book in the brand-new Dark Sea Academy series and it was just a great way to start off a new series. I just had a lot of fun being introduced to this world and its great characters. I’ve never read a book about mermaids before and I am glad that I started with this one it was just done really well. It was just really easy to get lost in this story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. The only problem I had with this book is that it ended in a cliffhanger and I just hate that especially when the next book in the series isn’t available yet. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.

[Shaunise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicted

Mara is a mermaid living the life of a high school student on land when she’s abruptly instructed by her father that they are returning to the underwater realm. I’m a bit conflicted about this book. Although it dove right into the story, it still seemed to drag on a bit and had several plot holes. Mara continues to mention her cousins but they never make an appearance in the book. There’s suspicions surrounding her father but nobody ever mentions anything about them except he’s suspected of murdering his brother. And why does the dean hate her so much? And why does Marra, a princess, let people get away with abusing her physically and mentally?! Not sure yet if I want to read the next book.

[Lakea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
The plot of this book, without spoilers, is half Mer-princess relearns how to become a mermaid after growing up on land and part crazy court intrigue. The Mer-Princess part is funny and relatable. Unfortunately. this is ruined by the second part. The actions taken by King Not Poseidon serve no other purpose other than to cause havoc to the MC, which I guess is the point, but the emotional pain he puts her through didn't really add to the story. If anything, it took away from the story.

Will I continue the series? Probably not. If this was a stand-alone book, I may have read on to the MC and her friends develop and find their magic. However, the author ended it in a cliffhanger and that plus the last chapter destroyed any inclination I had for continuing.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested a free review copy of this book through StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I haven't read many mermaid stories, but I love this author (Stacy Clafin you are amazing)...so I gave it a chance. I'm so glad I did. Such a fun and "twisty" story, and I'm hooked and can't wait to see what come next. Typical, and some not so much, teenage drama and frustration with life/love/parents....all of it. I'm hoping, read: waiting with bated breath, that some get their comeuppance!

Eagerly awaiting the next "chapter", and hope that I can postpone work long enough to savor/devour the story!

[Diane Major · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage angst

In her senior year of high school Marra’s parents change her whole world. Her family was banished from Valora when she was a child but now that her Uncle the King is dead they must return. Marra sees a change in her parents and she is thrust into the life as a royal. Life will never be the same. Marra has to deal with mean girls, bad boys and her father being kidnapped. The author did a splendid job bringing this world to life and creating believable characters. This book was easy to read and is good for all ages. I only gave it four stars because it ends in a cliffhanger. I would recommend this book.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her senior year of high school Marra’s parents change her whole world. Her family was banished from Valora when she was a child but now that her Uncle the King is dead they must return. Marra sees a change in her parents and she is thrust into the life as a royal. Life will never be the same. Marra has to deal with mean girls, bad boys and her father being kidnapped. The author did a splendid job bringing this world to life and creating believable characters. This book was easy to read and is good for all ages. I only gave it four stars because it ends in a cliffhanger. I would recommend this book.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mermaid's Song is Book 1 in the Dark Sea Academy series by Stacy Claflin. This is a well crafted story with well developed characters. The storyline is interesting and the world building is great. Ms. Claflin's has the ability with words to draw you into the story where you experience what is happening and keeps you turning pages until the end. This is a fast paced ocean adventure which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. A small warning, it has a cliffhanger ending. I look forward to the next in series to see what Ms. Claflin has in store for these characters. I requested a free copy of this book from StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Magi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually pretty into it, until about maybe half way through? Marra's dad was a total douchebag , things went way too fast once she enrolled into the dark sea Academy and i just couldn't connect with any of the characters because they fell too flat, there was...err... Depth missing. And somethings just really bugged me, like when she said the weapons teacher tapped his foot, um, he's a merman?? And when they rode a MOTORCYCLE in the ocean??? I get she said things were enchanted but there wasn't enough explanation for how things worked in the mermaid city. The ending felt rushed and awkward, but that cliffhanger makes you need to read book 2 to MAYBE get some straight answers.