This was a beautiful tale that I'm glad I read to end my summer! The characters were all super interesting and I was never bored. It was a really unique story I'd highly recommend, plus it was diverse which makes it all even better.

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea did not capture my attention immediately. I am always sceptical of fantasy books that say they've done queer representation well. This is because most of the times, this is not good representation.
But I need not have fretted. This book has, to date, the most well-written gender fluidity representation I have ever read - not that I've read a lot.

Florian - born as Flora - is hiding behind a male identity. This is purely for survival purposes; being the only girl on a pirate ship full of men is not the most ideal situation. It is only until later in the book that she confronts herself. Is she Flora, Florian, both, neither? And it is done beautifully. The author, Maggie Tokuda-Hall treats this character arc with the utmost respect and love which is hard to come by in fantasy.

All the other characters hold their own. The book mainly alternates between Flora and Evelyn, but we get a few glimpses of Rake, the first mate on the pirate ship. His was... an interesting story, one which I am glad I got to read. There are also a handful of interludes where the Sea is shown. She is the mother of the mermaids, mighty and powerful in her own right. Is it weird to say I may like her the most?

Trigger warning for torture and mention of rape. Other than this, there is absolutely no reason for me to dislike (the closest word I could find but still not accurate) this book. This is definitely off-the-top-of-my-head recommendation for good representation and fantasy. The cutest, most heartwarming sapphic romance I've read in a while.

Orphaned Flora changes her name to Florian to get off the streets and join a pirate ship with her brother. They take unsuspecting nobles on journeys to other lands, but then kidnap the passengers. Florian is given the task of guarding Lady Evelyn Hasegawa on her trip to meet her new husband. Florian ends up falling for Evelyn, and can’t stand the thought of having her kidnapped by the pirates onboard. Florian plans an escape for her and Evelyn that takes them on a long adventure.

There was a lot of diversity of the gender identities of the characters in this story. Florian was born a girl but presented as a boy to work on the ship. Evelyn had same-sex relationships. There were also some non-binary characters. I liked how natural it was for the characters to recognize non-binary gender identities. At one point, a character made a casual comment about their pronouns. It was nice to see the characters acknowledge these diverse gender identities.

There were great twists throughout the story. I love the unpredictability of pirate stories. There were battles and magical creatures which added to the suspense. I was surprised at the ending. I would love to see a sequel.

This was a fun pirate story!

Thank you Candlewick Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When her family falls on hard times, Evelyn Hasegawa is forced to go to the Floating Island to marry someone she’s never met. Aboard the ship, she makes friends with her guard, Florian. Florian has been trying to afford a new start with his brother, but has secrets he is trying to keep hidden. Florian aka Flora, is gender-fluid and knows that the ship they are on is actually a slaver ship, that will imprison and sell its passengers. As Evelyn teaches Florian to read, the two’s friendship develops. Soon, Florian is resolved to save Evelyn. Things take an interesting turn, however, when a mermaid is captured by the pirates. Will the two escape? This swashbuckling fantasy adventure is filled with action, friendships, and draws the reader into the story. The characters are likable and easy to relate to. A must-read for those who like fantasy, adventure, LGBTQ fiction, and piracy.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given to us in exchange for an honest review.. All opinions expressed are our own. No financial compensation was received.

This was an incredibly unique book that left me thinking for a long time afterwards. It was a much darker story than I had originally expected when I first picked up the book, and I thought the author did a great job with describing some of the identity struggles of the characters. However, overall I thought the pacing was a bit off, the romance wasn't as captivating as I had hoped, and there were some characters that felt a little flat for me.

After her family falls on hard times, Evelyn Hasegawa is forced to go to the Floating Island to marry someone she’s never met. Aboard the ship, she makes friends with her guard, Florian, who has been trying to afford a new start with his brother. As she teaches him to read, Florian aka Flora struggles with two secrets. One that he/she is gender-fluid and two, that the ship they are on is actually a slaver ship, that will imprison and sell all the passengers. As the two’s friendship develops, so does his resolve to save Evelyn. Will the two escape? The characters in the book are likable, well-developed, and draw the reader into the story. The plot is a swashbuckling fantasy that brings to life the backdrop of colonial times. Fans of swashbuckling fantasies, friendship, and adventure will enjoy reading this book.

The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea follows a young pirate named Flora and lady Evelyn. Together they must tackle the difficulties that lie ahead, including mermaids, witches, spies, the Sea and more. All while kindling their newfound romance.

I wanted to like this book so much. It had the great makings of a wonderful book. But sadly I was disappointed to much in the underdeveloped romance between Flora and Evelyn. It seemed far to quick and a bit cliche for me. I DNF'd this book around the 40% mark.

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Candlewick Press through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The Nameless Captain is a giant jerk and the whole book you just want him to perish in a slow painful way, Rake is the standoffish but fatherly first mate, Flora/Florian and her/his brother are two kids desperate for a life off the streets, the Lady Hasegawa is being forced into an arranged marriage by her parents, and the Sea has a conscience. How could you not enjoy a book with such a crew of characters.

Ugh. I wanted to love this. I truly did. But I found it rather slow. I liked the characters but I’m not a huge fan of slow burns.

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora becomes Florian in order to earn the respect and protection of the crew. The Dove isn’t just any old pirate ship though, it is also a Slaver that tricks Imperial passengers aboard in order to sell them. Florian owes the Dove their life, it has helped and taught Florian how to survive. When Florian unexpectedly falls for one of the ships unsuspecting passengers, things are set into motion. Florian and Evelyn’s adventure soon leads to freeing mermaids, escaping the ship, fighting a much larger battle, coming in contact with an opportunistic witch, and even coming in contact with the all encompassing Sea.

rep: sapphic genderfluid Black m/c, sapphic Japanese-coded m/c, secondary Black characters

content warnings: multiple mentions of rape, colonization, torture, murder, violence, sexism and homophobia, slavery and human trafficking

I am so conflicted about The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea for many reasons. There were plenty of positives but also plenty of negatives. One main thing I want to point out though is that I thought having the Black character working on a Slaver ship was a bad move, despite the ship only trafficking their colonizers, and while Flora’s role on the ship was a relatively minimal part of the novel, it still did not sit right with me.

The characters were both the positive and negatives of this book. Our main protagonist is genderfluid, happy being referred to as either she/he/them and by either Flora or Florian and I thought they were a really great character. They were a morally grey character and had a really interesting character arc – from orphan to pirate to witch. Evelyn Hasegawa though? I could not care less for her. Evelyn is a Lord’s daughter and she is Imperial. She is being sent off to one of the colonies to marry. There could have been so much potential for this character, and the romance, but my god, her chapters were mind-numbingly boring.

The romance was such a dissapointment. I am a real fan of enemies to lovers and this one could have been so good but, and I don’t say this lightly, the insta-love was very strong in this one. Pretty much within the first 50 or so pages, Evelyn decides to teach Florian to read and then they are pretty much in love and it was, unfortunately, extremely underdeveloped that it made it hard to really care or root for the couple.

Now the world-building is probably the strongest element of this novel. The nuanced discussions about colonialism and imperialism, and the consequences of it, were really good. But I think my favourite part was probably the little snippets we got of the Sea – a mother, a protecter, an absolute force to be reckoned with. They were fantastic and I really wish more focus was put on that element. Honestly give me a whole novel that takes place in this world’s sea, please.

Overall, I was super excited for The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea – a sapphic pirate adventure?? Unfortuantely though, it was a pretty big letdown.

The main characters Flora and Evelyn were so cute together. I loved how they made each other better people. Flora helped Evelyn realize her inner strength and Evelyn helped Flora gain the courage to fight for what she believes in. I enjoyed seeing Evelyn's compassion and friendly nature work its way into Floras heart. The hate to love dynamic was a lot fun, especially since Flora had to hide her distaste for nobles. I really appreciated the way Flora explored her genderfluid identity and coming to accept both parts of themselves. There's a wonderful moment in the book where Evelyn asks for pronouns and Flora says both are okay. I also liked Floras messy relationship with her brother. Despite being younger she often found herself having to take care of him when he drowned his pain in alcohol and mermaids blood.

On top of getting both Flora and Evelyns point of view we also follow the first mate Rake and a ladies maid aboard the ship named Genevieve. Their hidden agendas added some great twist and turns to the story. I love how in this world the sea is sentient and we get their perspective in the interludes between chapters. The sea has born mermaid daughters with pieces of its memory to preserve. Everytime one of the mermaid is captured for her magical blood the sea loses the memories that mermaid was carrying. In order to protect her daughters the sea made a deal with the Pirate Supreme to enforce the ban against hunting mermaids. Besides that there was some stuff with Evelyn's mother that I wish were explained a little better.

This story was definitely a fantasy romance with a heavy focus on Evelyn and Floras relationship. Theres just something compelling about the idea of a noble lady and a pirate falling in love. Evelyn gets shipped off to an island colony to marry one of the noble officers, but her engagement gets cut short when her passenger ship ends up being a slave ship. Since we know it's a slave ship right from the beginning by following Floras perspective we get a level of dread for what's to come when Evelyn discovers the truth. I dont know if it's because we spend many month at sea but some of sleeping bunk scenes with Flora and her brother felt a little repetitive. Despite that I thought the pace was engaging from start to finish. The best parts of the book were definitely when Flora and Evelyn were together.

I really enjoy stories set on the sea, especially when pirates are involved. The sea even built this awesome magical boat for the Pirate Supreme using parts of sunken ships. The deal they made with the sea has helped pirates avoid capture by the Emperors forces who have pretty much conquered all the neighboring kingdoms. I thought it was interesting how the Emperors are regarded as gods in this world. Themes of colonialism are explored with two characters from a conquered kingdom having opposing beliefs. I loved the morbid tradition of marrying off daughters with a casket. The world also has witches with a unique type of storytelling magic. I'd love I companion novel following the Pirate Supreme, but either way I will definitely check out the authors other books in the future.

Fun, fantastical adventure. Loved the mythology and storytelling. Find my enthusiastic review as part of The Mermaid Podcast. http://www.cinderly.com/posts/mermaid-witch-sea-maggie-tokuda-hall/

Thank you for expanding the YA fantasy selections to include a story about a young adult girl who transforms herself into a male pirate to survive the savage and dangerous life she has been forced into. The complicated personal relationships with her brother and friends and lovers make for an intense story that opens up historical, fantasy YA fiction to a whole new level of possibilities.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This was awfully sweet.

Evelyn is from an impoverished Imperial family. She's never gotten along well with her parents, but she's still surprised when she's suddenly packed off on a ship to the distant Floating Islands for an arranged marriage. Aboard the ship, she meets Florian, a young sailor assigned to protect Evelyn from the rest of the crew. They quickly grow close, but Florian has two big secrets: not only is Florian really Flora, but the ship is actually crewed by pirates. And this isn't any pirate crew; the ship is captained by the infamous Nameless Captain himself, who sells his passengers as slaves and breaks the code of pirates to drink the blood of mermaids.

I really enjoyed this. The alternating chapters (mostly between Evelyn and Florian) set up the story really nicely and maintain great pace/tension. There are lots of other great things in this page-turner:
-Some unexpectedly strong and complex characters
-A cast diverse in ethnicity/race, sexualities, and gender identities
-A really sweet fairy-tale romance
-Several really lovely interludes that actually add to the story
-A few unexpected twists!
-Interesting world building. Evelyn is from a fantastical version of Japan that has taken over large portions of the known world. We see the negative effects of colonialism, particularly in Florian and Rake's back stories

Several things that surprised me:
-There's also a surprising amount of nuance for a YA story here. Drinking mermaid blood is framed early on as a despicable act, and we find out later that it's a sin for which there is no forgiveness. However, there are some characters who have done this but aren't written off as entirely villainous.
-While there are a number of particularly unlikely events necessary to make the story work, these are framed as interventions from the Sea, and it works surprisingly well— instead of lazy plotting, the events are driven by a character who can primarily only make indirect actions with one exception noted below.

The ending felt a little trite, primarily because the Sea took action "in her infinite wisdom" to "break every natural rule of the world." While the deus ex machina elements worked quite well through the rest of the story, this part kind of stuck in my craw mostly because I wanted Evelyn and Florian to succeed because of their own heroics and the lessons they learned.

3.5 stars. I love a good pirate story, and this one was so fun. I loved the explorations of gender and identity throughout this book. The characters were interesting (though a little annoying at times) and the setting was unique. I think they could have been explored a little deeper, as I didn't believe that Florian/Flora would resort to hating their brother so quickly. I liked the structures of power established throughout the world but I would have enjoyed more exploration of the institutions mentioned in the story. Overall it was entertaining and sweet!

*thank to NetGalley for the ARC*

This book took me away, which is something I desperately needed. Tokuda-Hall blows us away with the execution of dialogue, and putting us into the story. When I first heard of this, I was told there was a romance, and pirates. I'd read a pirate book before so I was all-in. I was not dissatisfied, I loved the way the sea was described, and the relatonships Flora/Florian has with the characters in the book.

First and foremost I would like to thank the publisher, Candlewick Press, for granting me early access to this title. This does not sway my opinion as all thoughts expressed are my own.

I have a hard time rating this book because I really liked the idea of it. I mean an Asian sapphic MC and Black nonbinary MC is just a recipe for awesome to me. Throw in pirates, mermaids, and magic? Sign me the hell up! I really loved the exploration of social issues, especially misogyny. One of the reasons why I struggled was though the idea of those characters were exciting, I felt like I had a hard time connecting with them. Flora was an interesting character to start but then once she got to know Evelyn, I felt the person I got to know changed as she was only concerned about what Evelyn wanted. It frustrated me a bit because I felt the focus was on them when there were also other side characters introduced that I wanted to get to know. I also was a bit frustrated at the fact that this book boasts queernormativity but then we find homophobia kind of casually thrown around.

I really loved the exploration of colonialism and imperialism, gender, and identity. I think a younger audience would have an easier time reading this rather than a 32 year old adult. Anytime I felt myself seriously questioning moments in the book I would think, how would my 15 year old self react to this book? I think that works like this are important for younger audiences to read, so they can potentially see themselves in diverse fiction like this and for that I am appreciative. I believe as an adult I find it harder for this book to hit the spot, but I mean - it's YA and wasn't written for me.

This book is a standalone but it does leave room for a potential sequel!

I like the representation in this book. And I like the characters. But I think that the magic system could have been explained so much better. That made me like the story less.

*I received a copy via the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

When aboard the ship and amongst the crew that saved her life, Flora becomes Florian, a former street urchin turned crew hand who is desperately trying to make a life for herself and her brother. But her voyage takes a turn when the captain decides to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery and assigns Flora as the guard to young Evelyn. Unaware of the captain’s plan, Evelyn believes she is en route to an arranged marriage and doesn’t anticipate the impact of meeting Florian. Together, they must work to fight for their own freedom without losing themselves to the depths of the sea.

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea was rather interesting. It was quite a punchy, fast-paced read of two young adults desperate to do the right thing. I did come into reading this with very high expectations, and while a lot of them were met, I wasn’t exactly all too blown away with this book. But I still enjoyed this story. I consider it a solid and entertaining debut.

What I loved most about this book was the world. I believe it’s the book’s strongest point. At the time of writing this review, the author has stated it is currently a stand-alone, but I would be interested in seeing what else the author has to offer from this world. Even if we don’t continue Flora and Evelyn’s story, the brickwork that the author has laid down here has SO much potential. I love how dark this book was, and I wasn’t expecting it, so it came as an exciting surprise. I truly loved how the author uses the Sea as this dark mother nature figure who is wholly vengeful and protective over its inhabitants. This comes in the form of a mermaid who Florian and Evelyn work to save as the crew members terrorise the mermaid for its mind-altering blood. Florian then encounters witches and finds themselves delving deep into witchcraft in order to protect themselves. There is an excellent commentary on the impact of colonialism and imperialism. Flora strives to be free from imperialist forces and wishes to live without fear of capture alongside her brother. We are also introduced to side-characters who bring much-needed depth to where I think Flora and Evelyn fail to give due to their limiting world-view, this includes a fellow crewmate, which I would love to read more about, what we’re given about him is so intriguing, even a short story to delve into his past would be enough.

The story is fun, and the characters were engaging to read about. And while I did speed through this book, the pacing in this book is a little off, as it is split into three sections. Some moments are rushed through while other areas are given time, which I don’t think it really needed. What didn’t work for me in this story was the relationship between Florian and Evelyn, more specifically, their romance. This book is dependent on them falling in love, but it falls rather flat, which is why I had decided to rate this book much lower than I wanted. The duo meet quite late in the book, and coupled with the weird pacing, the impact of their relationship didn’t feel right or even believable because it’s all based on a handful of short conversations between the two and the rest of the development occurred off-page and told to readers in between chapters. I really liked Flora, they were such an interesting character, and I was genuinely rooting for them and their dream for a better life. Their relationship with their brother was so good, and it’s such a shame, we don’t get to delve deeper into it. Because of the length of this book, it meant so much is introduced and then discarded so the story can continue, and I left sorely disappointed that the narrative just doesn’t return to something that is set up to be necessary. The lack of tension is what led the stakes and story feeling sorely under-developed and lacklustre.

Overall, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea was an interesting read. I feel like this story has a lot of potential in its world and characters. I still enjoyed it for what its worth but I really wished we had more time which would’ve made the story feel more fluid and move more realistically. As I mentioned before, the world-building is a shining point, which is why I would recommend and I would definitely pick up any future novels set in this universe because I don’t think it was fully utilised in this book.

This book was among my most anticipated for 2020 - a sapphic pirate story that promised to actively grapple with colonialism sounded right up my alley.

Unfortunately, everything about this book felt unpolished. I could see what this book was trying to do, but it never really put all the pieces together. The instalove between Evelyn and Flora was entirely unbelievable, the plot devices that brought them into the same orbit were flimsy, and then there was the magic system that was randomly introduced part way through the story, the origins of which were never properly explained. There were a few small wins - I loved that Flora came out as gender fluid, and am glad to see more nonbinary rep in YA fiction.

By far my biggest disappointment, however, was how this book tackled the issue of colonialism and slavery. There’s a clear statement that these things are wrong (the worst offenders all die brutal deaths) but the main characters have little to do with that message. Evelyn starts this book by abusing her power over her maid and lying about being in love with her. She’s horrified by the revelation that her parents are looking to expand the empire at all costs, but only because she’s surprised that they’re evil and dared to make her a pawn in their imperial game. Apart from them failing in this particular attempt, there are no consequences for them. Flora, meanwhile, is a literal slaver (and also black, which was a weird dynamic), but never really grapples with that choice except to note that she does what she has to survive. It’s only seeing the girl she loves become enslaved that prompts her to change her mind. I’m sure there are people much more knowledgable than me who may have differing views, but this book left a weird taste in my mouth.