Lenia, princess of the merpeople, has always dreamed about her 18th birthday, the only time that she'll be able to surface and see the human world. Once, mermaids interacted with the surface frequently, but when they started getting caught in the human's nets, the royal family decreed that mermaids would only be able to visit once on their 18th birthday. Lenia has always been intrigued by the humans, especially because of stories her grandmother told about their souls; while mermaids gradually dissolve into foam and fade from the world, humans have something that lives forever. When her 18th birthday comes, Lenia is excited to surface and learn more. Once she reaches the human world, however, she is horrified to witness a ship struggling against a terrible storm. She thought dying would be a beautiful thing, with the souls leaving their owners like a bright light, but instead, she watches men convulse and struggle to get air under the water. And then she sees him, standing on the prow of the ship as it goes down, and she knows she has to save him. She rescues him from drowning and swims for miles to find dry land for him, singing to him the whole way. When she reaches a beach, she realizes the she can do nothing else to help the unconscious sailor, so she gets the attention of a girl standing on a turret nearby. Certain that he will be cared for, Lenia returns to the sea, but her heart stays above with the handsome sailor she rescued. Once below, her love for the sailor consumes her and she enlists the help of a sea witch to once again venture to the surface. The price, however, is her tail, her tongue, and her voice. Additionally, if she fails to marry the man, she will turn to foam the day after he marries another. She decides to risk it all to return to the man she loves.
Margrethe, the daughter of the king of the North, is in disguise at a convent to avoid attack from the Southern warriors. While taking a breath of fresh air, she sees the impossible; a mermaid surfaces carrying an incredibly handsome man. She rushes down to assist and promises to care for the man, then watches as the mermaid swims away. While the convent cares for the wounded man, she keeps him company, eventually falling in love with him. Unbeknownst to her, he is the son of the king of the South, her father's sworn enemy. After he leaves, her father learns that his enemy's son had infiltrated his daughter's hiding place and he rushes her home, eager to begin war preparations against the South for their treachery. When Margrethe realizes that the love of her life is in danger, and that her father is rushing down the road of destruction, she decides to take matters into her own hands; she will go to the South and offer her hand in marriage to once again unite the kingdoms. Margrethe and Lenia converge in the South, each one desperate for the Prince's love, but neither getting what they had expected.
Let me start off by saying I wanted to love this book. I really really did (for obvious mermaid reasons). In general, I liked it; the plot was exciting and intense, and I loved the similarities to the original tale. But, that being said, there were just too many holes in the plot that pulled me out of the story. Exhibit 1: Lenia falls in love with the Prince on sight, which I may have been able to forgive if the exact same thing hadn't supposedly happened to Margrethe. Whether I was supposed to believe that she loved him because of his affiliation with Lenia or his dashing good looks or what-have-you, it just didn't click for me. Furthermore, she leaves the safety of her kingdom and stakes her life on her love for this virtual stranger, leaving her (admittedly irrational) father in the dust. And the same thing happens to Lenia! Exhibit 2: I don't want to give away part of the plot so I'll try to generalize; Lenia is told by the sea witch that the transformation from mermaid to human is permanent, but this comes into question at the end of the book, and she retains some mermaid-esque traits with regards to one particular plot twist. (No spoilers for you!) Overall, the main characters' actions just seemed so rash and immature that I had a hard time staying immersed in the book. If you can forgive the whole "love at first sight" trope, you'll probably enjoy it. If you can't, you might still enjoy it, just try to push it to the back of your mind.
Pros:
- Mermaids!
- Interesting twist on the classic
- Fast-paced and keeps your attention
- Ill-informed decisions all around
- "Love" is eventually reduced to something closer to "intimate relations" *cough cough*
- Somewhat annoying (but admittedly minor) story discrepancies
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