Mermaid [REVIEW]

Princess Margrethe has been hidden away while her kingdom is at war. One gloomy, windswept morning, as she stands in a convent garden overlooking the icy sea, she witnesses a miracle: a glittering mermaid emerging from the waves, a nearly drowned man in her arms. By the time Margrethe reaches the shore, the mermaid has disappeared into the sea. As Margrethe nurses the handsome stranger back to health, she learns that not only is he a prince, he is also the son of her father's greatest rival. Sure that the mermaid brought this man to her for a reason, Margrethe devises a plan to bring peace to her kingdom.

Meanwhile, the mermaid princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart...

A surprising take on the classic tale, Mermaid is the story of two women with everything to lose. It will make you think twice about the fairy tale you heard as a child, keeping you in suspense until the very last page.

Mermaid is told in two different points of view, the view of the Princess and the Mermaid. It opens with Princess Margrethe staring out at the ocean.

‘It was a gloomy, overcast day, like all days were, when the princess first saw them. The two of them, who would change her life. There was nothing to herald their appearance, no collection of birds or arrangement of tea leaves to mark their arrival.’

Margrethe, a human princess, is in a convent to hide from the rivaling kingdom. Lenia, a mermaid princess, is celebrating her eighteenth birthday by traveling to the upper world for a day. They are both brought together that fateful day by Prince Christopher, son of the king of the rivaling kingdom.

As soon as I read the opening line I was hooked. The writing style is magnificent and it’s really easy to get lost in. I was torn between whose parts I liked better at first, but by the end I was taken with Margrethe.

The Little Mermaid was always my favourite fairy tale of them all. I didn’t know the real story until I was in about grade six, but I still loved it (my mother says I would watch the Disney movie every single day without miss for a year or so straight when I was four). I forgot all about the real version when I first started to read Mermaid, but by the end I had recalled it and to say the least, I was a little scared for the ending.

I liked Lenia for the first few of her chapters, but then she just went down hill. I found her very childish in her ways of thinking and kind of selfish too. After meeting the prince (who was mostly unconscious at the time), she was completely in love and was willing to give up everything for him. As for being selfish, she doesn’t care about the two kingdoms fighting and people dying, she wants the prince all to herself.

Christopher… where to start? At first I liked him, he was sweet to Margrethe. Then he also went down hill. He is so fickle! One moment he’s mooning over Lenia and the next Margrethe. He isn’t a good character. As others have mentioned in their reviews, he is not a knight-in-shining-armour. I’m not going to lie though; I was a bit worried for him at the end.

Margrethe was my favourite. She is really strong as a character and thought about others. She thinks she is in love with the prince, but quickly dismisses the thought, unlike some people we could mention (coughtLeniacough). Margrethe thought about her kingdom and worried about the people who would be killed.

This is a really beautiful, if dark and sad, story. I suppose you would call it heartbreakingly beautiful.

There are three sexual scenes, I believe. Nothing too graphic, but they’re still there. Other than that, there really isn’t anything ‘bad’ about it – no swearing or violence.

4.5/5.