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For the Love of the Villain #1
The Sea Witch: A Little Mermaid Retelling
When Averil saves a young man from a shipwreck, she thinks she feels the Soul Echo--the sign that the young human male is her one true mate. And the malevolent Sea Witch is all too happy to offer a deal that could make all her dreams come true. He wants her to win the prince's heart--even coaches her in the art of seduction. But what is the real price of the Sea Witch's help? Why is he more brutally beautiful--and charming--than Averil expected?
Perfect for readers who simp for the villain and who enjoy dark, deliciously spicy retellings of beloved fairytales, reminiscent of the original but unique enough to keep it interesting!
Trigger warnings and content warnings can be found on the author's website or in the front matter of the book.
Perfect for readers who simp for the villain and who enjoy dark, deliciously spicy retellings of beloved fairytales, reminiscent of the original but unique enough to keep it interesting!
Trigger warnings and content warnings can be found on the author's website or in the front matter of the book.
429 pages, Paperback
First published November 26, 2022
1284 people are currently reading
10636 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca F. Kenney
72 books2,916 followersRebecca F. Kenney writes spicy fantasy romance about sassy, strong women and hot guys with tragic backstories... pirates, warlords, demons, Fae, and royals. Her main series are the "Wicked Darlings" series (spicy Fae retellings of the Nutcracker, Wonderland, and Oz), the "Dark Rulers" series (standalones in a shared world), and the "For the Love of the Villain" series of genderbent fairytales. Other books include a post-apocalyptic vampire romance trilogy ("The Vampires Will Save You"), a demon romance "Interior Design for Demons," a dark mermaid fantasy duet, and other spicy retellings.
Rebecca is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. She lives in upstate South Carolina with her handsome blue-eyed husband and two smart, energetic kids.
For updates and information about upcoming novels, follow on Instagram @rebeccafkenneybooks, on Twitter @RebeccaFKenney1, and on TikTok @rebeccafkenney
Rebecca is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. She lives in upstate South Carolina with her handsome blue-eyed husband and two smart, energetic kids.
For updates and information about upcoming novels, follow on Instagram @rebeccafkenneybooks, on Twitter @RebeccaFKenney1, and on TikTok @rebeccafkenney
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 705 reviews
July 21, 2023
Look at this smut, isn’t it neat?🤭🧜🏻♀️✨
February 9, 2023
4.5 rounded up!!
Dark fairy tale retellings are it! Iadored loved this!!! You guys know the original story and I don’t want to give away any of the changes she made. I am just going to let the quotes convince you.
❝ QUOTES ❞
I want something fiercer, deeper, all-consuming.
“Perhaps when you love someone so much and cherish the best of them so deeply, it’s natural to wonder why they love you back.”
Just because I am silent does not mean I am powerless.
“You fkng adorable creature,” he whispers hoarsely, staring at me wide-eyed. “You perfect goddess.”
Like me he is a wanderer, a risk-taker, a wayfinder, a breaker of rules. He is curious about all things far away and forbidden. He is forever learning, forever exploring. Determined, like me.
I love the impetuous way he kisses me, like he can’t help himself. As if I possess some powerful magic, some mystical force he cannot resist.
“But you despise the wisdom of the previous generation.” … “You are neither intelligent nor persistent. You grasp at each new shiny thing, destructively, foolishly, selfishly.”
“You said you forgave me,” he counters.
“A woman may forgive, but she remembers.”
“Then is it truly forgiveness?”
“Gods.” Aggravated, I push at his chest, and he laughs.
…with all the passionate abandon of her wild heart.
“You can’t pet me into agreeing with you,” I tell her.
“You listened, even when I couldn’t speak.”
“I think you saved me,” she murmurs.
I inhale sharply. “Did you read my mind? I was just thinking that you saved me.”
━━━ BR with Amaris! ━━━
Dark fairy tale retellings are it! I
❝ QUOTES ❞
I want something fiercer, deeper, all-consuming.
“Perhaps when you love someone so much and cherish the best of them so deeply, it’s natural to wonder why they love you back.”
Just because I am silent does not mean I am powerless.
“You fkng adorable creature,” he whispers hoarsely, staring at me wide-eyed. “You perfect goddess.”
Like me he is a wanderer, a risk-taker, a wayfinder, a breaker of rules. He is curious about all things far away and forbidden. He is forever learning, forever exploring. Determined, like me.
I love the impetuous way he kisses me, like he can’t help himself. As if I possess some powerful magic, some mystical force he cannot resist.
“But you despise the wisdom of the previous generation.” … “You are neither intelligent nor persistent. You grasp at each new shiny thing, destructively, foolishly, selfishly.”
“You said you forgave me,” he counters.
“A woman may forgive, but she remembers.”
“Then is it truly forgiveness?”
“Gods.” Aggravated, I push at his chest, and he laughs.
…with all the passionate abandon of her wild heart.
“You can’t pet me into agreeing with you,” I tell her.
“You listened, even when I couldn’t speak.”
“I think you saved me,” she murmurs.
I inhale sharply. “Did you read my mind? I was just thinking that you saved me.”
━━━ BR with Amaris! ━━━
November 27, 2025
3.75✨
Tentacles. It’s all I have to say, really.
Tentacles. It’s all I have to say, really.
January 18, 2023
I'd started this book last year. Now, we're in a middle of January. In no way, shape or form, a 400 pages book would take me one month to finish it.
I also love love RFK books. Sure, she has some duds here and there, but my overall rating with her books are still above 4.0. With that said, my god, this one was so dull. The main characters feel so shallow and underdeveloped. I can't connect well with any of them, and some of their line of thinking was questionable if I might say so.
This is something I've noticed in books coming from a serialization format (i.e. Kindle Vella, wattpad etc.). It made each chapter felt almost episodic (which it is), jagged and the pacing was also almost heavily impacted. Is this normal though? I haven't read much serialized books (aside from mangas of course) to decide whether I like it or not. It made the plot a little off-centered. And that threw me off the loop. Unique if you like it so but for me, it just made the story dragged and dragged, when it supposed to be over. When this new climax didn't even contribute or change the whole story whatsoever, it disappoints me.
Anyway, that's my thought on this format. Let's see what I think on the next serialized book I will be picking up soon.
I also love love RFK books. Sure, she has some duds here and there, but my overall rating with her books are still above 4.0. With that said, my god, this one was so dull. The main characters feel so shallow and underdeveloped. I can't connect well with any of them, and some of their line of thinking was questionable if I might say so.
This is something I've noticed in books coming from a serialization format (i.e. Kindle Vella, wattpad etc.). It made each chapter felt almost episodic (which it is), jagged and the pacing was also almost heavily impacted. Is this normal though? I haven't read much serialized books (aside from mangas of course) to decide whether I like it or not. It made the plot a little off-centered. And that threw me off the loop. Unique if you like it so but for me, it just made the story dragged and dragged, when it supposed to be over. When this new climax didn't even contribute or change the whole story whatsoever, it disappoints me.
Anyway, that's my thought on this format. Let's see what I think on the next serialized book I will be picking up soon.
January 29, 2023
OBSESSED!!! If The Little Mermaid was your Disney movie and you are not bothered by dark themes…read this!
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡ ✦ ☾ ✦ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
✦ “But a partner, a fellow wanderer, a friend beyond all others—one lover for a lifetime—that kind of mate, I could believe in.”
Believe in, jump on, devour… Who wouldn’t want that!
✦ She surprises me over and over with new reasons to love her.
*sigh* I think I crush harder on anti-villains.
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡ ✦ ☾ ✦ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
BR with Cecelia!!!
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡ ✦ ☾ ✦ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
✦ “But a partner, a fellow wanderer, a friend beyond all others—one lover for a lifetime—that kind of mate, I could believe in.”
Believe in, jump on, devour… Who wouldn’t want that!
✦ She surprises me over and over with new reasons to love her.
*sigh* I think I crush harder on anti-villains.
☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡ ✦ ☾ ✦ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
BR with Cecelia!!!
August 31, 2023
"Soup," she whispers. "Soup," I say hoarsely.
Just two people who love soup lmao
Just two people who love soup lmao
June 1, 2023
Honestly, I enjoyed the beginning somewhat, but it went down hill afterwards. The characters are inconsistent and become unlikable. The side characters are underdeveloped. The story dragged on than it needed. I gave it two stars since I liked the premise and the start of the story.
SPOILERS:
The hero was honestly annoying. There is this self righteous stick up his …. Like the backstory of his villainy is he slept with his friend’s sister (sister and friend are land people) after his best friend in sea was essentially obsessively in love with her and told him about that. Hero refuses to give his best friend legs to pursue her even though he could. (His reasoning in refusing was dumb) Then the best friend in the sea sleeps with her cause he loves her and hurt by the hero’s betrayal. (Don’t know if it was rape or not but hero assumes it was rape in the end). The girl gets super sick cause friend was in fish form when sleeping with her. Best friend asks the hero to help her out, and he couldn’t so she dies. The friend on land who is a king is upset and cuts all contact off and kills mermaids who shore up. The best friend in the sea steals the trident/kingdom and the hero escapes with his tail tucked beneath …
The irony is the hero goes on this revenge plan on his best friend in the sea but he started it all by sleeping with the women his friend was in love with. I lowkey lost any sympathy for the villain in this case. Sure he didn’t deserve everything that happened to him and his best friend was a bad king. However, the main guy really never takes responsibility for his own mistakes. He makes maybe one flippant comment in his mind that he has made a mistake and then goes back to his dumb revenge. LIKE THAT ISNT ENOUGH.
Honestly, I don’t know why the heroine is ‘naive’. She lived with other mermaids and I am sure they ain’t all the best people. Hence, confused she is super naive when it comes to understanding there are bad people amongst human and how they look isn’t representative of their true nature. Furthermore, I don’t get why she is okay with the hero killing her father. Like her father spawned her and clearly cared for her since he sacrificed three mermaids to locate her. All he is done bad to her is talk a bunch of bad crap to her at the end for her betrayal. It doesn’t make sense to me on how she is okay with him getting killed by her lover.
The part of the story where she tries to be more sexually experienced even though she likes the prince is weird. Like I don’t care if you have sex with others, but I find it odd that you are have sexual interactions while pursuing another person. It was a bit uncomfortable and the principle of it seemed off.
I found the two main characters distasteful at the end since they acted like deserved certain things and believe they are super righteous even though they themselves have done questionable/bad things. They were hypocrites, and I was disappointed. I don’t mind if hero or heroines aren’t perfect but I hate it when they don’t own up their mistake and act like they were perfect while judging/handling others.
I really liked the premise but was ultimately disappointed.
SPOILERS:
The hero was honestly annoying. There is this self righteous stick up his …. Like the backstory of his villainy is he slept with his friend’s sister (sister and friend are land people) after his best friend in sea was essentially obsessively in love with her and told him about that. Hero refuses to give his best friend legs to pursue her even though he could. (His reasoning in refusing was dumb) Then the best friend in the sea sleeps with her cause he loves her and hurt by the hero’s betrayal. (Don’t know if it was rape or not but hero assumes it was rape in the end). The girl gets super sick cause friend was in fish form when sleeping with her. Best friend asks the hero to help her out, and he couldn’t so she dies. The friend on land who is a king is upset and cuts all contact off and kills mermaids who shore up. The best friend in the sea steals the trident/kingdom and the hero escapes with his tail tucked beneath …
The irony is the hero goes on this revenge plan on his best friend in the sea but he started it all by sleeping with the women his friend was in love with. I lowkey lost any sympathy for the villain in this case. Sure he didn’t deserve everything that happened to him and his best friend was a bad king. However, the main guy really never takes responsibility for his own mistakes. He makes maybe one flippant comment in his mind that he has made a mistake and then goes back to his dumb revenge. LIKE THAT ISNT ENOUGH.
Honestly, I don’t know why the heroine is ‘naive’. She lived with other mermaids and I am sure they ain’t all the best people. Hence, confused she is super naive when it comes to understanding there are bad people amongst human and how they look isn’t representative of their true nature. Furthermore, I don’t get why she is okay with the hero killing her father. Like her father spawned her and clearly cared for her since he sacrificed three mermaids to locate her. All he is done bad to her is talk a bunch of bad crap to her at the end for her betrayal. It doesn’t make sense to me on how she is okay with him getting killed by her lover.
The part of the story where she tries to be more sexually experienced even though she likes the prince is weird. Like I don’t care if you have sex with others, but I find it odd that you are have sexual interactions while pursuing another person. It was a bit uncomfortable and the principle of it seemed off.
I found the two main characters distasteful at the end since they acted like deserved certain things and believe they are super righteous even though they themselves have done questionable/bad things. They were hypocrites, and I was disappointed. I don’t mind if hero or heroines aren’t perfect but I hate it when they don’t own up their mistake and act like they were perfect while judging/handling others.
I really liked the premise but was ultimately disappointed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2023
There is nothing that calls to me more than an adult reinterpretation of the fairytales we all know and love where the “villain” really isn’t who we were led to believe. I’m in my morally-gray-villain-loving era & I think this book caught my eye simply by the cover so of course I had to read it. 😍
* Dual POV (1st person)
* FMC: 🧜🏽♀️ Averil, mermaid princess, youngest daughter of Sea King Tarion, just wants adventure
* MMC: 🐙 Sea Witch, totally the big bad villain…but is he really? 🤔 he’s a powerful merman whose looks sounds so good I’ll quote his description 😮💨
* “He is enormous. Brutally muscled. His arms—my gods—bulging biceps, tattooed forearms, and veined hands. Every muscle in his abdomen is deeply defined, right down to the place where his brown skin merges into the body of an octopus—massively thick tentacles, pale gray with hints of mottled blue….
He has long hair that’s either black or deep purple… shifting and curling in ways that have nothing to do with any current….
His face is heart-stopping. Granite features, harsh and bold. Full lips forming a wide mouth, cocked at the corner, as if my shock amuses him. Heavy black brows, and a pair of piercing eyes with deep bluish-purple irises.”
* The deal: the Sea Witch discovers that Averil has her sight set on a human prince so he’ll give her legs and help her woo the human. In exchange she owes his a favor at his choosing… oh btw he has to take her voice to tether them together bc romance MAGIC 🪄
* There are so many electrically charged lessons: walking like a human lessons, card playing lessons, human dancing lessons, KISSING lessons 💋, orgasm lessons w the tentacles in the secret caves on the cliffs lessons… oh you know where this is going 😈
* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.0
* 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.0
* Tentacle play 🐙
* Literal love for soup 🍲 🥹
* Deals, betrayal, vengeance, romance, humor
This retelling threw in some unexpected twists and turns. I loved the slow reveal of the Sea Witch’s backstory and his motivations for using Averil in his master plan for vengeance (muah-hah-hahhh). The sexual tension between Averil and Sea Witch is just 🫡🔥 There are some hot and spicy moments but there are also a lot of subtle romantic moments between the two of them. 🩵🩵 available on KU
* Dual POV (1st person)
* FMC: 🧜🏽♀️ Averil, mermaid princess, youngest daughter of Sea King Tarion, just wants adventure
* MMC: 🐙 Sea Witch, totally the big bad villain…but is he really? 🤔 he’s a powerful merman whose looks sounds so good I’ll quote his description 😮💨
* “He is enormous. Brutally muscled. His arms—my gods—bulging biceps, tattooed forearms, and veined hands. Every muscle in his abdomen is deeply defined, right down to the place where his brown skin merges into the body of an octopus—massively thick tentacles, pale gray with hints of mottled blue….
He has long hair that’s either black or deep purple… shifting and curling in ways that have nothing to do with any current….
His face is heart-stopping. Granite features, harsh and bold. Full lips forming a wide mouth, cocked at the corner, as if my shock amuses him. Heavy black brows, and a pair of piercing eyes with deep bluish-purple irises.”
* The deal: the Sea Witch discovers that Averil has her sight set on a human prince so he’ll give her legs and help her woo the human. In exchange she owes his a favor at his choosing… oh btw he has to take her voice to tether them together bc romance MAGIC 🪄
* There are so many electrically charged lessons: walking like a human lessons, card playing lessons, human dancing lessons, KISSING lessons 💋, orgasm lessons w the tentacles in the secret caves on the cliffs lessons… oh you know where this is going 😈
* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.0
* 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5.0
* Tentacle play 🐙
* Literal love for soup 🍲 🥹
* Deals, betrayal, vengeance, romance, humor
This retelling threw in some unexpected twists and turns. I loved the slow reveal of the Sea Witch’s backstory and his motivations for using Averil in his master plan for vengeance (muah-hah-hahhh). The sexual tension between Averil and Sea Witch is just 🫡🔥 There are some hot and spicy moments but there are also a lot of subtle romantic moments between the two of them. 🩵🩵 available on KU
Want to read
June 19, 2025dnf @ 23%
this slump sucks... gonna try a different genre 🙄
this slump sucks... gonna try a different genre 🙄
April 18, 2024
A creative twist to the little mermaid, I really enjoyed this! It felt very disney inspired but given a whole different perspective, which I ended up preferring way more to the original.
The plot was interesting and well thought out, and the characters worked really well. I really enjoyed the romance development between Averil and the Sea Witch. Their relationship felt natural and sweet at times - very sunshine x moody.
I probably would have liked it more had it not been just straight up erotica as some of the scenes and language were hard to get through personally.
4/5 stars! ⭐️
The plot was interesting and well thought out, and the characters worked really well. I really enjoyed the romance development between Averil and the Sea Witch. Their relationship felt natural and sweet at times - very sunshine x moody.
I probably would have liked it more had it not been just straight up erotica as some of the scenes and language were hard to get through personally.
4/5 stars! ⭐️
October 26, 2022
The Sea Witch is a unique little mermaid retelling in which the traditional villain is a handsome witch who Averil is both distrustful of and also attracted to.
As with all the stories I’ve read by Kenney, she puts her own fantastic twist on a well known tale, breathing a new life into this classic fairytale.
Filled with magic, romance, betrayal, and LOTS of spice, this is another gem by Kenney. Everything I’ve read by her is fantastic and this is no exception.
As with all the stories I’ve read by Kenney, she puts her own fantastic twist on a well known tale, breathing a new life into this classic fairytale.
Filled with magic, romance, betrayal, and LOTS of spice, this is another gem by Kenney. Everything I’ve read by her is fantastic and this is no exception.
September 15, 2025
I was looking forward to this fairytale retellings are my jam. I adore anything mermaid related especially if the villain happens to get the girl. Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me and though the second half was much better it still wasn’t enough to elevate it. Frankly, I was bored and it took some severe motivation on my part to keep picking this back up.
Averil is the youngest daughter of Tarian king of the sea when she rescues a human prince from drowning and it's witnessed by the Sea Witch he offers her a tempting bargain. In exchange for legs and the ability to walk amongst the humans she is to captivate the Prince and will owe him a favour at a time of his choosing. Naturally, our girl accepts but what she thinks she wants, the Prince, turns out to be a cruel illusion. He’s nothing like she’d previously imagined whilst the cruel monster her father has warned her of the sea witch is someone she's coming to care for.
I liked the premise of this my daughter adored The Little Mermaid growing up so I was excited to begin reading. For the most part, though I was bored and this became somewhat of a chore to complete. It was also way smuttier than I thought it would be. This is more smut and less substance and though the writing for the most part was fine it also felt very tell not show. It was ok and I finished but I was left mainly underwhelmed. My final dilemma is what to do with my beautiful special edition. Do I keep it because it's gorgeous or get rid as I am never going to pick this one up again.
Averil is the youngest daughter of Tarian king of the sea when she rescues a human prince from drowning and it's witnessed by the Sea Witch he offers her a tempting bargain. In exchange for legs and the ability to walk amongst the humans she is to captivate the Prince and will owe him a favour at a time of his choosing. Naturally, our girl accepts but what she thinks she wants, the Prince, turns out to be a cruel illusion. He’s nothing like she’d previously imagined whilst the cruel monster her father has warned her of the sea witch is someone she's coming to care for.
I liked the premise of this my daughter adored The Little Mermaid growing up so I was excited to begin reading. For the most part, though I was bored and this became somewhat of a chore to complete. It was also way smuttier than I thought it would be. This is more smut and less substance and though the writing for the most part was fine it also felt very tell not show. It was ok and I finished but I was left mainly underwhelmed. My final dilemma is what to do with my beautiful special edition. Do I keep it because it's gorgeous or get rid as I am never going to pick this one up again.
June 23, 2024
Another book full of great potential but it coasted too much on reader nostalgia about The Little Mermaid. And to be honest that's what kept me hooked for about 50%. Loved the nods to the movie and the original fairy tale, the mermaid Averil was a dumdum teen who falls for a pretty face. In this case the pretty face of the prince hid a monster. The Sea Witch is the morally grey hero except he's one of those who's morally grey in name only.
The last half though fell apart. The pacing had been iffy from the beginning but it was once the author had to rely less on the original work and more on her own world building, that it became kind of messy. There was a ton of info dumping and the world building was wobbly and made no sense at times. The magic was also not developed well at all with the Witch being able to magic things at will without explanation or if there was one it was super hand wavy. But the biggest flop might be that for a story about a hero with tentacles, we got a plethora of sex scenes of them in their human forms and also an uncalled for sex act between Averil and the villain but hardly any fishy shenanigans with the tentacles 🙄.
The end was super weird with the climactic end to the story coming in around 60% and then another villain comes in and there's another sort of ending, then they have a bunch of sex for the last part and HEA. Meh. Once again I beg authors to develop the relationship and emotional connection. Sex scenes mean nothing without that. Three stars mostly for the nostalgic factor.
⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥🔥🔥/5
Tropes
Retelling
Age gap
Morally grey
Rivals to Lovers
The last half though fell apart. The pacing had been iffy from the beginning but it was once the author had to rely less on the original work and more on her own world building, that it became kind of messy. There was a ton of info dumping and the world building was wobbly and made no sense at times. The magic was also not developed well at all with the Witch being able to magic things at will without explanation or if there was one it was super hand wavy. But the biggest flop might be that for a story about a hero with tentacles, we got a plethora of sex scenes of them in their human forms and also an uncalled for sex act between Averil and the villain but hardly any fishy shenanigans with the tentacles 🙄.
The end was super weird with the climactic end to the story coming in around 60% and then another villain comes in and there's another sort of ending, then they have a bunch of sex for the last part and HEA. Meh. Once again I beg authors to develop the relationship and emotional connection. Sex scenes mean nothing without that. Three stars mostly for the nostalgic factor.
⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥🔥🔥/5
Tropes
Retelling
Age gap
Morally grey
Rivals to Lovers
August 3, 2023
I didn’t like it. All of the main characters were selfish and self centered. The romance was kind of a dud because when it came to vengeance or love, we know which one the sea witch chose:
“Despite my anxiety for Averil, I can’t resist this moment of delicious revenge”
“I need to go to her. But I must finish this first, then find her voice.”
“I will kill Tarion, and then I will go to her. I can see to the creation of the new government later.”
Averil feel in love way too easily when the sea witch reveal almost nothing about himself, not even his name. I didn’t like the pet names “shrimp” and “sinner”
The spice was 🌶️🌶️ but since I couldn’t connect with the characters, I could’ve done without it. I just overall didn’t enjoy this book. It could’ve been better. The enemies to lovers and the betrayal act is getting old for me.
“Despite my anxiety for Averil, I can’t resist this moment of delicious revenge”
“I need to go to her. But I must finish this first, then find her voice.”
“I will kill Tarion, and then I will go to her. I can see to the creation of the new government later.”
Averil feel in love way too easily when the sea witch reveal almost nothing about himself, not even his name. I didn’t like the pet names “shrimp” and “sinner”
The spice was 🌶️🌶️ but since I couldn’t connect with the characters, I could’ve done without it. I just overall didn’t enjoy this book. It could’ve been better. The enemies to lovers and the betrayal act is getting old for me.
May 13, 2023
I do love a good retelling story. Especially when the villain gets the girl. And a childhood favorite of mine.
The Sea Witch was all things mysterious, but he was head over heels for Averil. And I enjoyed every second of it and all their lessons.
Though the Sea Witch was in love with Averil, he didn't risk his own revenge plans. He still went after them. Also loved the twist on the Sea Witch's background. So cool when everything came together.
I feel so much for Averil. Man, it has to suck to not have your voice. Especially when other people put words in your mouth and don't even attempt to try to understand you. I'm glad she fought back and tried to save herself.
The Sea Witch was all things mysterious, but he was head over heels for Averil. And I enjoyed every second of it and all their lessons.
Though the Sea Witch was in love with Averil, he didn't risk his own revenge plans. He still went after them. Also loved the twist on the Sea Witch's background. So cool when everything came together.
I feel so much for Averil. Man, it has to suck to not have your voice. Especially when other people put words in your mouth and don't even attempt to try to understand you. I'm glad she fought back and tried to save herself.
May 6, 2024
le doy un 9 sobre 10 porque es perfecto pero solo se la folla una vez con los tentáculos ????????? bitch cómo escribes un libro de ariel y la bruja malvada version hombre con TENTACULOS y no los usas !!!!!!!! enfadada me hayo 😡
June 6, 2023
I like the scenes in the book a lot and the plot is a good retelling of one of my favorite Disney movies. But the actual writing style is a bit too abrupt for me. It needa more showing and less telling
July 4, 2025
A resounding success, 5 ⭐️ from start to finish. I will absolutely be reaching for this as a comfort read again in the future. Loved every second!
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April 1, 2025MIND UR BUSINESS NOTHING TO SEE HERE
August 11, 2024
I was intrigued by the premise of a Little Mermaid retelling with a genderbent sea witch, and I hate to say I was pretty let down by this. I had a hard time with the writing style, which seemed to be all telling, no showing. For example, I'd have liked to see signs of Averil's homesickness rather than her flat-out telling me, the reader, she was homesick.
The characters all fell flat for me, and when it was revealed what happened in the Sea Witch's past, I just couldn't sympathize. The Sea Witch constantly calling Averil "shrimp" and "little sinner" made me cringe. It just felt so unnatural every time it happened.
There was so much smut that I was basically desensitized to it by the end of the book. It seemed like every other page the Sea Witch or Averil felt horny in one way or another. It got old fast. And the last 15% or so of the book just felt like one gratuitous sex scene after another just to cram in as much as possible.
I actually sped through the first half of the book really quickly, but once it diverged from the source material, it felt like it totally fell apart and getting through it turned into a total slog. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense to me, or that I would have liked to see more of.
For example,
I read A Court of Sugar and Spice a couple years ago, and I do remember enjoying it, so I don't know what happened with this one. In the end, I can't recommend it.
The characters all fell flat for me, and when it was revealed what happened in the Sea Witch's past, I just couldn't sympathize. The Sea Witch constantly calling Averil "shrimp" and "little sinner" made me cringe. It just felt so unnatural every time it happened.
There was so much smut that I was basically desensitized to it by the end of the book. It seemed like every other page the Sea Witch or Averil felt horny in one way or another. It got old fast. And the last 15% or so of the book just felt like one gratuitous sex scene after another just to cram in as much as possible.
I actually sped through the first half of the book really quickly, but once it diverged from the source material, it felt like it totally fell apart and getting through it turned into a total slog. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense to me, or that I would have liked to see more of.
For example,
I read A Court of Sugar and Spice a couple years ago, and I do remember enjoying it, so I don't know what happened with this one. In the end, I can't recommend it.
June 30, 2023
A ver…
Me he dejado llevar mucho por mis expectativas, la premisa era demasiado buena para el libro que me he leído.
Os pongo en contexto: retelling de la sirenita donde el interés amoroso es la versión masculina de Úrsula.
Claro, mi primer pensamiento fue: LO TENGO QUE LEER.
Pero no…no ha sido un libro para mi.
La trama gira en torno al sexo desde el principio, aunque no hay actos sexuales como tal hasta un poco antes de la mitad.
Sé que esto es cuestión de gusto personal pero a mi que la historia consista en sexualizarlo todo no me gusta nada. No me importa que un libro sea spicy, pero el sexo debe acompañar a la trama, no dirigirla.
Le he puesto un 2 y no un 1 porque dentro de lo que cabe es un libro que se ha dejado acabar. Además la esencia de retelling la tiene, literalmente me he pasado medio libro con la necesidad de ponerme la BSO de la sirenita de fondo xD
Recomendarlo no lo recomiendo pero entiendo que hay gente a la que este tipo de tramas les puede gustar, aunque no sea mi caso.
Me he dejado llevar mucho por mis expectativas, la premisa era demasiado buena para el libro que me he leído.
Os pongo en contexto: retelling de la sirenita donde el interés amoroso es la versión masculina de Úrsula.
Claro, mi primer pensamiento fue: LO TENGO QUE LEER.
Pero no…no ha sido un libro para mi.
La trama gira en torno al sexo desde el principio, aunque no hay actos sexuales como tal hasta un poco antes de la mitad.
Sé que esto es cuestión de gusto personal pero a mi que la historia consista en sexualizarlo todo no me gusta nada. No me importa que un libro sea spicy, pero el sexo debe acompañar a la trama, no dirigirla.
Le he puesto un 2 y no un 1 porque dentro de lo que cabe es un libro que se ha dejado acabar. Además la esencia de retelling la tiene, literalmente me he pasado medio libro con la necesidad de ponerme la BSO de la sirenita de fondo xD
Recomendarlo no lo recomiendo pero entiendo que hay gente a la que este tipo de tramas les puede gustar, aunque no sea mi caso.
May 13, 2023
Way better than expected!!!
This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I figured Mer-May was the perfect time to read it. NOW I NEED MORE!!!!
This book throws you directly into the story, with the mermaid meeting her prince. The first 10-15% seemed a little rushed to me at first, but the more I read, the more I realized it was just set up. It's strange to join a story in what feels like the middle, only for it to actually be the beginning.
The mermaid is sassy and smart, and the sea witch is hot and grumpy. The prince? He's a total douchebag. The majority of the spicy scenes are for the sake of exploration and education, but they are hot hot hot!!! I wish there were more!!!!
This book may not be a 5 ⭐ read for everyone, but I loved it. It was a true adventure romance and I was hooked from the start!
This book has been on my TBR for a while, and I figured Mer-May was the perfect time to read it. NOW I NEED MORE!!!!
This book throws you directly into the story, with the mermaid meeting her prince. The first 10-15% seemed a little rushed to me at first, but the more I read, the more I realized it was just set up. It's strange to join a story in what feels like the middle, only for it to actually be the beginning.
The mermaid is sassy and smart, and the sea witch is hot and grumpy. The prince? He's a total douchebag. The majority of the spicy scenes are for the sake of exploration and education, but they are hot hot hot!!! I wish there were more!!!!
This book may not be a 5 ⭐ read for everyone, but I loved it. It was a true adventure romance and I was hooked from the start!
June 19, 2023
Me encantó. Que decir. Al principio Averil me daba bronca, señora por favor le pido. Pero después remonta la pobre. Naive y chiquita estúpida (voz de Malala de Floricienta), remonta en inteligentonta.
Zoltan es genial, es lo que esperas para la edad que tiene, siento que igual medio la caga un poco al final con la personalidad pero igual amamos.
La crítica es que termina todo muy rápido, onda dame una batalla épica, un poco de gore, sufrimiento profundo, algo. No.
Spice es 5/5 ✨ rari, pero excelente.
Personaje favorito: Ylaine, las tres escenas que aparece.
Zoltan es genial, es lo que esperas para la edad que tiene, siento que igual medio la caga un poco al final con la personalidad pero igual amamos.
La crítica es que termina todo muy rápido, onda dame una batalla épica, un poco de gore, sufrimiento profundo, algo. No.
Spice es 5/5 ✨ rari, pero excelente.
Personaje favorito: Ylaine, las tres escenas que aparece.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2023
3.5 ⭐️ but 4 stars for enjoyment! I love an angsty morally gray MMC, I am always down for a FMC who is fully willing & able to cut a bitch, & I love seeing the asshole characters get what they deserve. A lot of dramatic plot-posturing throughout the book, but it picked up as the story went on. The little hints to the original story were also nice touches!
(The tentacles also added a layer of fun, I said what I said)
(The tentacles also added a layer of fun, I said what I said)
March 31, 2024
Kenney is an instant-read author for me, and there's really no wonder. If you're looking for well written smut with interesting characters and storylines, then Rebecca F. Kenney is the choice to be made.
I'm continuing through her backlog, and she continues to not disappoint. Imo this was an exceptional smutty retelling of The Little Mermaid, with a gender bent sea witch. I just love the worlds Kenney creates and it always makes me wish to stay longer, to know more!
I'm continuing through her backlog, and she continues to not disappoint. Imo this was an exceptional smutty retelling of The Little Mermaid, with a gender bent sea witch. I just love the worlds Kenney creates and it always makes me wish to stay longer, to know more!
May 26, 2024
I am enjoying this authors books so I might read another one
This was a very interesting Little mermaid retailing and it was good, though some parts could have been faster or extended for more elaboration on the world they live in
I liked the characters a lot they were very interesting to read about
3.6/5
This was a very interesting Little mermaid retailing and it was good, though some parts could have been faster or extended for more elaboration on the world they live in
I liked the characters a lot they were very interesting to read about
3.6/5
October 25, 2024
Bar none, the best little mermaid retelling I’ve ever read, and I’ve read several. Averil and the Sea Witch, Zoltan, were freaking incredible together. So funny, so sweet, so interesting. I loved that they didn’t have to choose between land and sea, that we saw them in both realms and in both forms. I loved how the shell worked, and her losing her voice and getting her legs. All great excellent versions of this story. Was the ending a little long? Yes. Did I care (since it just meant 80 pages of happily ever after and spice)? Not even remotely. Such a great fun read.
February 20, 2025
Wow! Este reteilling de la Sirenita no sabía que lo necesitaba y es todo lo que siempre quise! Siendo súper fan de las sirenas, siempre fue una de mis favoritas la sirenita... pero no me esperaba Esta encantadora novela con un Spicy súper bien redactado y donde me encuentro con un enemis to lovers excelente. El Brujo me tuvo solo con su: quedate quieta pequeña calamar. Y listo! Ya me la estaba terminando en un día... medio largo el final pero no deja cabos sueltos y satisface todas y me refiero a TODAS las curiosidades que una lectora fan del género pueda tener. Gracias totales! Lo disfrute mucho.
October 28, 2025
Omg my fav little mermaid retelling! It’s so fricking good!!!! If you love a good villain story, read it! And the spice was 🤌🥵
September 29, 2025
First book since getting goodreads that I am DNFing. I made it to page 165 but I can’t do it lol, turns out tentacles are where I draw the line 😅
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