Julia Ember

After rescuing maiden Ragna, mermaid Ersel realizes the life she wants is above the sea. But when Ersel's suitor catches them together, she must say goodbye or face brutal justice from the king. Desperate, Ersel makes a deal with Loki and is exiled as a result. To fix her mistakes and be reunited with Ragna, Ersel must outsmart the God of Lies.

The Seafarer's Kiss

Jamieson

“A single twist of white-blonde hair blew across her face and stuck to her half-frozen lips. When she noticed me, the edges of her eyes crinkled as though she were smiling, as if she had been waiting.” 


She was a bisexual mermaid, she was a lesbian ice-maiden, can I make it anymore obvious? 


  I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK FOR A LONG, LONG TIME
 It's a retelling of The Little Mermaid, and also an Ursula origin story, featuring an f/f romance at the core between a mermaid girl and a human girl. If this synopsis doesn't immediately interest you ... i dont know what will

As soon as I started this I knew I'd like it. The pacing is really really good, with fun action scenes and a plot thats always moving. Never does this book seem to stagnate or lose itself and that made it go by really fast. Its short anyway, but it still felt like it went by so fast. 

but despite the really good plot, pacing and relationship there was some things that really put me off. I was unsatisfied with how some of the tropes and themes were explored, and some rep concerns. 





  THE GOOD


the setting and worldbuilding was really fun. I love mermaids, but don't actually read that many mermaid books so this felt like something new and exciting. The descriptions of the mermaids, with their coral hair or blue bodies, as well as where they lived and what they ate gave it all a kind of fantasy flair. But the world is also very much grounded in reality, and it's clear that the mermaids exist in our world. Inclusion of sea creatures like beluga whales and orcas also fleshed out the cute underwater feel. The inclusion of norse mythology, including having Loki play a large role in this book was also fun, and I liked how the Gods and mythology mingled with the plot. 

the romance was so cute I loved that the main character was bisexual, and her relationship with Ragna, the human girl she falls for, was so cute. The two slowly develop a relationship, as Ersel asks for her help identifying the human trinkets she collects in exchange for thinks Ragna needs to survive, like wood and food. But then it all went bad. There was unchallenged physical violence which really really concerned me, and I'll get more into that soon. 


  BUT HERE IS WHERE WE GET INTO THE BAD


Despite all the good things The Seafarer's Kiss had going for it, thematically it just fell down to me. First of all, there is a lot of girl hating and general ugliness. I think it was supposed to be an exploration of the effect of patriarchy (they live in an intensely patriarchal society) but it didn't stick to me. The way that the main character thought about other girls was never really challenged or addressed adequately and I hated that

When the main character finds out a girl who has teased her in the past can't have children she thinks this. 


  “Even though I knew what kind of person it made me, my heart soared. All those years of enduring Vigdis’s teasing and veiled insults, and, it turned out, she was the one who was broken!”


Referring to women who can't have children as "broken" is not only pretty sexist and cruel, but also really trans-exclusionary and implies childbirth = womanhood which it doesnt. 

This is then followed up by this quote, where one of the main characters friends explains Vigdis only has two eggs (very low). 


  “He nodded emphatically. “Just two. She’s beside herself.”
I covered my mouth, stifling a giggle. I knew I shouldn’t laugh, but I couldn’t help it.”
 


Like, you're laughing at a woman who just really wanted to be a mother ? can you fucking not? 

I also found a scene between the two love interests kind of troubling - the two punch eachother toward the end of the book, which is never addressed, and it was just really unnecessary and added nothing to the plot or their storyline. Can't you just show a healthy f/f ship aaaah. You can read the scene in the spoilers section. 

(view spoiler)["No!" My hands curled into fists, and suddenly I wanted to punch her. "I'm going back to the fortress. I'm going to fix things. For everyone, not just myself."

She snorted dismissively. "Good, then maybe you're not such a coward after all. I thought that maybe you were, because of how easily you let that merman drag you away."

That wasn't fair, not after the things I'd done for her on the ice shelf. My knuckles collided with her cheek. She stepped back, pressing her hand to the place where I'd struck. Behind us, several members of the crew gasped. I started to apologize, but suddenly my head snapped back, so violently it seemed my neck would break.

Cursing, Ragna shook out her fingers. My jaw burned, and pain radiated up through my teeth (page 191-192) (hide spoiler)]

LET ME REITERATE THIS IS NEVER CHALLENGED. 

REP CONCERNS: Loki is gender-fluid and a shapeshifter which has raised some concern with the community so I'm attaching this review that explained it. 


  “But that was before I’d met a human: before I’d seen the depth, intelligence, even empathy, in Ragna’s eyes; before I knew that humans spoke the godstongue and smiled like starfish.”


I really wanted to like this book, and don't get me wrong there are many good elements hence my 3 star rating. As norse based Little Mermaid retelling, I recommend. It has many unique elements built into it's worldbuilding and the pacing is really good. 

But some of the tropes and themes really didn't work for me, and I think they needed to be developed much further then they were. Thematically it seemed superficial and weak, and I hated the turn the romance took at the end. I cannot recommend this for a healthy f/f romance because of the ending scenes, and that is such a shame because prior to that I loved Ersel and Ragna. 

I wouldn't tell people not to read it, maybe you'll think the themes worked better, and the main character is good bi representation despite her relationship, but I do think some caution is needed and this is not perfect

But it was still a really fun and unique mermaid story, with an interesting and immersive setting. It has it's issues, but it was fun at the time. 

Thankyou to Julia Ember for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review!

sydney

I received a copy from the author. 

I really liked this book. It was unlike anything I've ever read before. It was a very unique take on a mermaid story. 

The main character has to make some really tough choices and I loved how she dealt with the consequences. I felt that what the character was feeling was very realistic despite being a mermaid.

Stark Koenig

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Generally I love a feminist retelling of a myth, especially one that takes the evil witch and turns her into a complicated hero. This book did that, yes, and there were some shining moments in the story. However, for the following reasons I was also really frustrated with this book (TW/CW: discussion of sexual assault under the cut):

(view spoiler)[
1. The old punish-the-mean-girl trope: Is it too much to ask that when you are retelling a myth to put a more empathetic light on a traditionally evil female character, that you don't create some other shitty female character? I am tired as hell of the stereotype of young women hating each other and seeing each other only as competition. I had hoped that in a story that was taking a more nuanced look at the character who is the stereotypical villain in the original tale, we would also see interesting relationships between the other characters. Instead we get a Mean Girl who picks on our hero, and guess what? She gets punished. And not just embarrassed or set down a peg or two, but murderously punished. Which brings me to...
2. Unexamined sexual violence: When Vigdis gets her promised mate and then the mate transforms into some monster and carts her off, this is sexual assault. Then she bears a child whose labour kills her. And none of it is really examined in any meaningful way. It's just a side tragedy that Ersel can feel shitty about and learn from, or whatever. It is a moment that highlights what a villain Loki is, but even Ersel's feelings of guilt are entirely self-indulgent, rather than any real empathy. I really hate when sexual assault is a) trotted out in YA novels so casually, and b) used as a plot device to highlight the moral dilemmas of the main character. It was completely unnecessary and gross. At least it wasn't graphic, I will grant it that. But speaking of Loki...
3. The Evil Gender Nonconformist: At first I was thrilled that Loki was presented as a gender neutral god. But then they turned out to be the only gender neutral character in the entire book. And they're really evil, taking pleasure not only in messing up folks' best laid plans, but in their utter despair and suffering. Which, like, okay, they're a villain. But they are also the ONLY gender-neutral character in the entire book! And that this character is the God of Lies who invented deception plays on a lot of really harmful stereotypes about trans and gender-nonconforming people. I wish Julia Ember had rethought that, or maybe included some more diverse trans representation.
4. Other unexamined violence: That moment when Ersel and Ragna punch each other and then decide that they're just both a bit monstrous and that's how it has to be for them to survive? Yeah, nope. Another reviewer has already covered that topic so I won't go into more detail.

I should mention that there were things I liked about this story, too, hence the 2 stars. Lovely descriptions of the underwater world? Into it! Queer love story involving a mermaid? It's why I picked it up in the first place! Kraken showing off certain... *advantages* in the love scene? Didn't see that one coming! The merfolk uprising and takedown of the evil patriarch? Love it!
 (hide spoiler)]

I didn't utterly hate the book. I just wish that it hadn't relied on the Mean Girl trope and I wish the character of Loki had been handled better.

Emma

Such a great story! I love everything about it! The blooming of Ersel's and Ragna's relationship, positive bi rep, LOKI, the growth in Ersel's and Havamal's relationship, and more so I greatly appeciated Ersel's growth on her own. All of this and more. Love this story.

Gretchen Gomez

please click to check out full blog post with aesthetic attached

Finally!!! A mermaid book that’s definitely worth the read! After reading many amazing reviews, I had very high expectations and was not the least disappointed.

This book is only 212 pages, therefore this review will be short. The Seafarer’s Kiss was a wonderful read filled with action and self-acceptance. We meet Ersel right on the first page with her fondness of human goods that lay deep in the ocean. She collects these things in secret and holds them dear to her heart. I have read that this is The Little Mermaid retelling and although it holds true in some aspects, I loved The Seafarer’s Kiss for it’s own beauty of the characters and world. I also loved how Norse Gods (trickster Loki) and pirates were incorporated within this book and again, although short, the book was definitely to the point.

Ersel is trying to get away from a fertility grading that happens every year and when escaping, she meets Ragna the shield-maiden who so happens to be human. Ragna who was left to fend for herself now has Ersel’s help, to save not only herself but something else. However, when Ersel’s long time best friend sees Ragna and Ersel together, things start to unfold. When these things unfold, that’s where the trickster God, Loki, comes into play and you will be left on the edge of your seat for the rest of the book.

My only tad bit of a problem with this beautiful book was that I wish it was longer and extended some of the scenes more. I loved how each and every character played an important role in Ersel’s life. And not only was this an f/f retelling but it was also about personal growth. Julia Ember delivered an important message throughout the book and was inclusive with sexuality, gender, and body. Now, the reason why I am being so vague here is because I feel like the synopsis tells a lot of the story and the events.

The Seafarer's Kiss

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