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A review by the_reading_ranger
Our Vengeful Souls by Kristi McManus
3.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars rounded down
I enjoyed this fairytale reimagining of the Little Mermaid, but more of a prequel telling the origin story of Ursula.
The main character Sereia is part of a sibling rivalry with her brother Triton, with both of them wanting to be their father's heir, first in line to rule the seas. But Triton curses Sereia to be a human, destined to turn into a monster if she ever touches sea water again. Sereia then ends up in the human islands of Atlantis, living with a herb-seller and healer, trying to figure out how to reverse the curse.
While I enjoyed the story though, I couldn't wrap my head around some, to me, glaring plot holes.
Triton and Sereia's father is Poseidon, an immortal. Why on earth would an immortal ever have need of an heir? And based on that, why would Sereia and Triton ever have need of such an intense rivalry for the position? I just don't get it, and it's such a major part of the plotline.
I also found one annoyance with the under-the-sea portions of the story. They seem to have way too much standard gravity down there, and they seem way too anchored to the ocean floor when they're mermaids who can go anywhere. Especially in the training / fight scenes, they constantly refer to being 'knocked to the floor' or similar statements, and it seems to be a strange phrase when they are beings who literally swim and float, not stand or walk.
But once I overlook those things, I definitely enjoyed the story. The audiobook was well-narrated, and I liked the descriptions of the islands of Atlantis.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the audiobook!
I enjoyed this fairytale reimagining of the Little Mermaid, but more of a prequel telling the origin story of Ursula.
The main character Sereia is part of a sibling rivalry with her brother Triton, with both of them wanting to be their father's heir, first in line to rule the seas. But Triton curses Sereia to be a human, destined to turn into a monster if she ever touches sea water again. Sereia then ends up in the human islands of Atlantis, living with a herb-seller and healer, trying to figure out how to reverse the curse.
While I enjoyed the story though, I couldn't wrap my head around some, to me, glaring plot holes.
Triton and Sereia's father is Poseidon, an immortal. Why on earth would an immortal ever have need of an heir? And based on that, why would Sereia and Triton ever have need of such an intense rivalry for the position? I just don't get it, and it's such a major part of the plotline.
I also found one annoyance with the under-the-sea portions of the story. They seem to have way too much standard gravity down there, and they seem way too anchored to the ocean floor when they're mermaids who can go anywhere. Especially in the training / fight scenes, they constantly refer to being 'knocked to the floor' or similar statements, and it seems to be a strange phrase when they are beings who literally swim and float, not stand or walk.
But once I overlook those things, I definitely enjoyed the story. The audiobook was well-narrated, and I liked the descriptions of the islands of Atlantis.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the audiobook!