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lisashelves 's review for:
Skin of the Sea
by Natasha Bowen
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3 stars
Skin of the Sea is a The Little Mermaid retelling mixed with West African mythology. We follow Simidele, a mermaid who guides souls of people who die at sea, when she saves a life.
I have always loved the story of The Little Mermaid and I am a fan of retellings. This book has been on my radar for quite some time and when my Owlcrate edition finally came, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up and be part of the read along they organized.
The story starts off in an interesting way, but a very confusing one at the same time. I missed a bit more details in the worldbuilding at the start to really get a feel for the world, the magic and its people. West African mythology was mixed into the story and I am always eager to learn more about other cultures and mythology, but a lot of the mythology used was not really clear to me. I had to look things up to really understand them in the story and that was a shame. If the mythology was explained a bit more, this wouldn’t have been necessary and I think I would’ve enjoyed the story more.
Another thing that disrupted the flow of the story for me were the many flashbacks in the middle of the chapters. Sometimes I didn’t really get the importance of a particularly flashback and was a bit annoyed by the sudden disruption of the story.
I liked the characters. Simi seemed a bit naïve and gullible, but I did very much like the growth we see her go through as the story progresses. I was also a bit fan of Issa! Kola seemed like a really noble and loyal person, but I think his character could have had a bit more dept.
I liked how there wasn’t really any romance in this book, expect a bit of pining from both parts. More would’ve taken away from the story and the journey the characters were on.
I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. While I did enjoy the story and the direction it had taken, the ending felt just a bit to rushed for me. The pacing overall was a bit high, but the ending was even higher. It just seemed rather abrupt and cut-off in how it ended. I also didn’t really like how some characters seemed to have been forgotten towards the end.
Overall, it was a nice retelling, but I would’ve liked it to be more detailed and fleshed out to better understand everything told.
Skin of the Sea is a The Little Mermaid retelling mixed with West African mythology. We follow Simidele, a mermaid who guides souls of people who die at sea, when she saves a life.
I have always loved the story of The Little Mermaid and I am a fan of retellings. This book has been on my radar for quite some time and when my Owlcrate edition finally came, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up and be part of the read along they organized.
The story starts off in an interesting way, but a very confusing one at the same time. I missed a bit more details in the worldbuilding at the start to really get a feel for the world, the magic and its people. West African mythology was mixed into the story and I am always eager to learn more about other cultures and mythology, but a lot of the mythology used was not really clear to me. I had to look things up to really understand them in the story and that was a shame. If the mythology was explained a bit more, this wouldn’t have been necessary and I think I would’ve enjoyed the story more.
Another thing that disrupted the flow of the story for me were the many flashbacks in the middle of the chapters. Sometimes I didn’t really get the importance of a particularly flashback and was a bit annoyed by the sudden disruption of the story.
I liked the characters. Simi seemed a bit naïve and gullible, but I did very much like the growth we see her go through as the story progresses. I was also a bit fan of Issa! Kola seemed like a really noble and loyal person, but I think his character could have had a bit more dept.
I liked how there wasn’t really any romance in this book, expect a bit of pining from both parts. More would’ve taken away from the story and the journey the characters were on.
I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. While I did enjoy the story and the direction it had taken, the ending felt just a bit to rushed for me. The pacing overall was a bit high, but the ending was even higher. It just seemed rather abrupt and cut-off in how it ended. I also didn’t really like how some characters seemed to have been forgotten towards the end.
Spoiler
Especially Bem and Yinka, who aren't mentioned or seen from the moment they get separated from the groupOverall, it was a nice retelling, but I would’ve liked it to be more detailed and fleshed out to better understand everything told.