Chantal Gadoury

A Legend, A Magical Shell A Girl Who Dreamed Of Something More... Lena, a Merrow girl, lives in the Skagerrak sea with her father, Carrick and her brother, Javelin who tells her of the legend of the Merrow Queen murdered by her human lover when greed takes over. But what’s worth spilling the queen’s blood? Gifted from Poseidon, himself, a magic shell gives any human the ability to control both land and sea. When Javelin is called to join a clan of Merrow soldiers bent on protecting their waters from human invasion, Lena resists Merrow law and ventures to the shore with no choice but to swim to land. With newfound legs, Lena is whisked away on a new adventure with new friends and new trouble. Everyone seems to want something from her as intrigue lurks around every corner. Trying her best to hide who she is and remain safe from the dangers of the human world, will Lena finally find where she belongs, or will she be swept into a strong and stormy current by lust, greed, and jealousy?

Between the Sea and Stars

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

*I was sent an ebook ARC by the author in exchange of an honest review*
Having read Chantal Gadoury's 
  Allerleirauh
, I went into Between the Sea and Stars with high expectations, especially because it is also a Little Mermaid retelling and that happens to be my favorite Disney movie of all time. My expectations were met! Chantal Gadoury was able to take something so familiar, and spin in into something absolutely recognazable but also completely original and magical. 
However, I have some minor issues and I'll mention them as I go.
As far as the world building goes, I was very surprised especially by the underwater world. The merrow society isn't much different from our own: there is a market, there are poor merrow (something that for some reason had never occured to me when thinking of merpeople), money and children taking care of elderly parents! Another thing I found very interesting was that, while the idea of merrows hunting human sailors remains, in this book it is the men who are chosen for this role. This subversion of the image I have in my mind of the beautiful, deadly women hunting sailors was something I really liked....but that I had a problem with at the same time. The idea of female merrows I got from this book is one of women who stay home, take care of the family and are very much submitted to the males they marry. That was one aspect of the world I did not much enjoy, even if in Lena we do see signs of rebellion when she refuses a limitating marriage proposal. Overall though, it was an interesting world, although I would have enjoyed seeing more of the other merrows outside of the main characters.
As for the humans, we get a very stereotypical small town society: most of the life revolves around an inn, there is an old man who is considered crazy, a young man who does not fit in, an evil landlord and lots of creepy crawly men who naturally give the beautiful main character lots of dirty looks. All this, despite being a stereotype, works well with the story.
Another thing I would have liked to see more of is women. Apart from Lena, the only other women in this story are an old merrow woman we only see for a few pages, a merrow queen that is only mentioned as a myth and Jace's mother. Lena does not have a female friend, nor are other young women mentioned in this town.
The true power of this book, in my opinion, are the characters, beautifully complex in pure Chantal Gadoury fashion.
Lena, our protagonist, is a young merrow who hunts crabs to sustain her family (aka her father and her brother). Despite loving the ocean, Lena's favorite stories are of humans, especially the story of the merrow queen who fell in love with a human (Lena likes to pretend the unhappily ever after in that story doesn't exist though). I loved her enthusiasm and curiosity BUT my one issue with her was how submissive to men she was. When Asger (a merrow) kisses her, she lets him even though she doesn't like that he hunts humans. When Lord Jarl (the evil landowner) touches her, it unsettles her but she doesn't pull away. When Jace kisses her, she doesn't want it and when she tries to tell him off, he doesn't listen and insists that they are more than friends and she stays silent. Knowing that Chantal Gadoury does not shy away from mature content, the behavior of the men and Lena's submissiveness worried me in more than one chapter.
From this, I suppose you'll have understood that I'm not a big fan of the men in this book. I don't have much of an opinion on Asger. He's a character that fascinates me, but his possessiveness puts me off. I don't like Jace, the young man who saves Lena, because of the way he feels entitled to Lena's affections. To be honest, Jace is the character I like least. He does have some redeeming qualities, but he comes across to me like an ill tempered, selfish young man. I don't like Lord Jarl, who is EVIL. Literally. Who do I like? Soren Emil and Edwyn Wyatt.
Edwyn Wyatt is Jace's grandfather. As a human, Lena takes care of him. Despite his blindness, Edwyn sees more than most characters, and he protects Lena from the narrow-minded people around her. Thanks to Edwyn, Lena's path crosses that of Soren Emil, the young owner of a bookshop, thought to be crazy because of his beliefs about merrows. Soren Emil is also the only man who sees Lena as more than just a beautiful girl. On the contrary, he never oversteps boundaries of politeness and, unlike Jace, actually lets Lena speak. He might be the only man in the village with some common sense!

Overall, despite my minor issues, I really loved this book, and since it's a trilogy I'm sure there is more of the world and of the characters that we have not yet seen. I'm excited for book two!
And for more Soren.

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

*I was sent an advanced copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.*

 "Your journey will lead you somewhere between the sea and stars. Somewhere unknown, even to me." 

Enchanting and so much more. I couldn't put it down.  Between the Sea and Stars  is one of my favorite reads of the year!

The story follows Lena, a merrow who dreams of discovering the secrets of the human world, convinced that it must not be all terrible as her fellow merrow believe. But her curiosity has a terrible cost. Suddenly forced on land, Lena must face the consequences of her actions and live amongst the humans, keeping the truth of her nature a secret. But doing so might prove to be harder than she anticipated. 

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I've loved it so much that I stayed up until 1 AM to read and only put the book away because I had to, not because I wanted to. This is not the first story I read by Chantal Gadoury, so I was already aware of her beautiful writing, but she has truly surpassed herself with this one. The chapters that took place underwater were so brilliantly executed that I truly believed I was there, beneath the sea, swimming with Lena and her brother Javelin. The descriptions of the merrow--from the way their hair moved to the color of their tails, their movements as they swam and even the struggle of Lena once she has to walk on her legs--was so realistic that one could hardly believe it was fiction. And that same magic was repeated once the setting switched from sea to shore. 

I also loved the characters. Lena is an amazing female lead, both strong and fragile, afraid and brave, curious, smart, kind, relatable despite the fact she is what every girl has dreamt of being at least once: a mermaid. The supporting characters were just as great to read, may they be good, shady or just downright evil. I particularly loved Javelin, Lena's brother, with whom she shares an amazing bond (and I am always a fan of beautiful sibling relationships in books, having one just as beautiful with my own siblings); Edwin Wyatt, the old man that Lena befriends on land; and Soren Emil, book keeper, gentleman and the definition of cinnamon roll. (I think I am in love!)

When this book was over, I almost cried. What happens next? When will the next book be published?  When will I see Soren Emil again?  While I wait for these questions to be answered and for the sequel to magically drop in my lap, I'll shove the book in everyone's faces so they can read it. Hello, new obsession? Indeed.

Chantale

I read this one yesterday evening/night and I very much enjoyed this book. 
I have never read a Little Mermaid re-telling before and I admit I am not really familiar with the original or the Disney version because the story never really interested me but this book sounded interesting and different from anything I have read before. 

The book is very well written and it got me hooked into the story right away.

If you like Young Adult fantasy re-telling I do highly recommend this book. 

I give this 4 out of 5.

Gabriela Roxana 

"Your journey will lead you somewhere between the sea and stars. Somewhere unknown, even to me." 




I received a free copy from the author in exchange of an honest review. 
(and I am so so grateful for it )

This is my second book of Chantal , and after totally falling in love with Allerleirauh last year, I just couldn't wait to read more of her books. Because this amazing , and may I say ABSOLUTELY underrated author , write the best retellings one can imagine.

Between the Sear Stars is a whimsical retelling of The little mermaid. But this book goes beyond its retelling aspect. It takes the original tale as we know it, and shapes it in this amazing new thing , that made me wonder for a second that Hans Christian Anderson wasn't inspired by her works while traveling to the future. I am weird and insane like that,yes.

Lena is the best heroine you can ever ask for . She is exactly my type of girl,seeing everything beautiful and hopeful in this world , even in the darkest of times. She's a lot like Anne Sherley , my top one female character if , you know,she was a mermaid. 

The writing style is the most beautiful thing you can imagine. The story just flows,the language is fairytalish and beautiful without being too posh , and it's just so easy to get immersed into the story. It truly feels like you are there,right in the story, witnessing the magic of it all.

I know for sure ( strongly hope at least ) that this book has a sequel because gosh. THAT ENDING.

I recommend this book to everyone who loves fairytales , everyone that loves magic , and to anyone who may just need a little magic in their life. Because this book is surely to give you this.

Jackie

So I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm so happy that Parliament reached out to me about reviewing it! I really need to comment on the cover though because I just love the background of it and how aesthetically pleasing it is! I may be a little tired still so I'm easily amused right now if I'm being honest! 

So the story is essentially a retelling of the original Little Mermaid with a twist that I absolutely adored! While I haven't actually read the original story, I did wiki it and am amazed at just how different it is from the Disney story but Chantal's take on it met sort of in the middle between the original. There is some artwork right after the story ends that I thought was brilliant and I'm now even more thrilled to know that this will be a series!!!!! I literally need to learn more of Lena's and Sorin's story as soon as physically possible!!!

I haven't been into mermaids as much but this book got me back into wanting to read stories about them again. I'm a big fan of retellings and really enjoyed that Chantal's version had some really intriguing twists in it! I actually had to go back a few times once everything started to connect and then wanted to yell at myself for not picking up on it before it was revealed. That's when you know that you're reading a wonderful story!

A Legend, A Magical Shell A Girl Who Dreamed Of Something More... Lena, a Merrow girl, lives in the Skagerrak sea with her father, Carrick and her brother, Javelin who tells her of the legend of the Merrow Queen murdered by her human lover when greed takes over. But what's worth spilling the queen's blood? Gifted from Poseidon, himself, a magic shell gives any human the ability to control both land and sea. When Javelin is called to join a clan of Merrow soldiers bent on protecting their waters from human invasion, Lena resists Merrow law and ventures to the shore with no choice but to swim to land. With newfound legs, Lena is whisked away on a new adventure with new friends and new trouble. Everyone seems to want something from her as intrigue lurks around every corner. Trying her best to hide who she is and remain safe from the dangers of the human world, will Lena finally find where she belongs, or will she be swept into a strong and stormy current by lust, greed, and jealousy?

Between the Sea and Stars

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