Magic & Mermaids • Sea Witch

Being a witch runs in Evie’s blood, even though she has to hide it from the rest of the world or risk being an outcast in her small fishing village. She’s struggled with being set apart after her best friend Anna drowned and she didn’t when they were children, and most people give her a wide berth despite the fact she is best friends with their prince (or perhaps because she is). Her life changes when she finds a girl washed up on the shore who looks exactly like Anna, and she begins to believe that her magic cast on that long-ago day has actually worked. But in order to keep Anna on land, Evie is going to have to help her land a prince...

Plot? I’ll be honest and say that I actually didn’t know what the actual plot of this book was when I started it, except that it was basically a YA spin on the origin story for the sea witch. (It is exactly that, by the way.) I thought it was an interesting spin on the sea witch lore, particularly with how Henning draws from elements of the original fairytale and weaves them into this tale. I was very interested from the start in seeing how this story would play out!

Characters? Here is one aspect that I’m kind of just meh on. I honestly thought all the characters, including Evie herself, were just a touch underdeveloped. I wanted to love them all much more than I did, and that would have definitely catapulted this one a star higher if I had, but I just didn’t. There was nothing remarkable about any of these individuals, and they just served the purpose of moving the plot along with the choices.

Writing? I’m a little torn! Henning has a clever way with spinning the elements she pulled from the original fairytale into her own thing, which I really appreciated. But the characters were run of the mill to me, and the pacing (particularly towards the end) was uneven. So, I’m so-so on this particular aspect.

Overall? Sea Witch was a quick read, and it was enjoyable! It did have the potential to be a real favorite for me, but because certain aspects just ended up not being my cup of tea, it fell just short of that. I’d still recommend giving it a shot if you’re interested in reading stories with ties to The Little Mermaid, as it’s a pretty clever take.

What is your favorite adaptation of The Little Mermaid? I think that the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid is utterly gorgeous, in terms of music, costumes and stage design. It would definitely be very fun to get to see it in person (so Disney, if you’re reading this, make it happen)!

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | Publication Date: July 31, 2018

Source: e-galley downloaded from Edelweiss (Thanks!)