This book was unfortunately not for me. I loved the premise and the description but I wasn't really hooked in with it.

Thanks to NetGalley for this fun read!

I'm a sucker for anything mermaid and when you mix in Venice, Italy (and some NYC) then it gets even better. I had no idea what to expect with the first book of the series and it did take me a bit of time to get into the flow of the author and the characters.

Halfway through I wasn't sure if I would pick up another book in the series. While it's an easy and enjoyable read, it somehow wasn't clicking with me. I wasn't quite sure I could trust the narrator, but by the end of book one I was invested enough to want to pick up the next book and see how the story continues.

I was intrigued with the premise of this book as it was a completely different and original take on mermaids. The plot was easy to follow and the characters were well developed, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get over how Gia acted through most of the book. She seemed very immature and this frustrated me a bit. I do want to try the second book due to the cliffhanger and to see where the story continues.

I want to thank NetGalley and Jincey Lumpkin for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I was drawn in by the premise - who wouldn’t be intrigued by a killer siren - mermaid tail and all?? Unfortunately the execution just wasn’t working for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Jincey Lumpkin to give me ARC of this book.

Mermaid, murderer in a modern human world. Our mermaid, Gia, is has her own grave for her former lovers. For me personally, it's kind of fresh with the plot like this. Because I never read a book with the main character is the "bad guy". So I'm so excited to read this.

This book has a fast paced plot, so I don't feel bored while reading this. Moreover, I keep wondering whether Gia will change and whether the murder she committed will be exposed or not. I'm also confused when I read this whether I support Gia to change or I want her to be a deterrent because when I read this Gia wasn't that scary.

As I read this we will also see how her latest case disrupted her life. Especially now that she is with Cameron, reading a glimpse of Gia's love life, it appears that Cameron is very different. Gia is not an easy character to like but I can't hate her either. She is independent and strong, especially with the heavy past she faces. I really hope that Gia can change for the better. And Cameron.... reading this it's a shame that Gia is with Cameron. Cameron is a good guy and too good for Gia. Even with Gia's secret, he still accepts it. While reading this, I was worried that Cameron would end tragically too.

Because the setting is in our normal world, like Venice and London. Didn't expect that I would meet a mermaid colony here. Especially when brought into their world. The explanation is good and beautiful, typical of the underwater world.

I DNF'd this after 3 or 4 chapters. The premise is so intriguing and I wanted to love this so, so bad but I found it poorly written and just not gripping enough to carry on.

This book made little sense to me. Cameron isn't a consistent character going from the strong silent masculine type one minute to lovelorn and clingy the next. Even Gia isn't consistent. We first meet her as she maniuplates and then murders her lover. The background eventually provides context but it still makes her actions confusing and the layout and pacing of this story seem out of order and rushed.

Mermaid of Venice was not what I expected! A mermaid serial killer who instead of breaking up with a boyfriend just gets rid of them if you know what I mean! This is the first book in a series and it's a quick read. It left me wanting to find out what happens next!

I really enjoyed this book!
I wanna thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read it.

I think Gia's story is well captured loved the back and forth between the present and Gia's mom/Gia's as a child.
The underwater world specially was really rich and well-described but I totally wasn't expected that end with Cameron.

On to book 2 right after!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Mermaid of Venice by Jincey Lumpkin is the first book in a series that combines How to Get Away with Murder with To Kill a Kingdom. The story revolves around Gia, a mermaid who has lived for centuries, loving, killing her lovers, and getting rich. When one of her former lover's body is discovered, she's suddenly in the middle of a worldwide media firestorm. Can she prove to the world that she didn't do it? Can she keep her mermaid abilities a secret? And will her new boyfriend Cameron stick with her once he learns the truth?

Here is a chilling excerpt from Chapter 1:

"The rain had stopped, not that it particularly mattered since the water was so high in the streets. A supermoon lit the flooded St. Mark’s Square like a silver lake, and also brought with it the mother of all tides, acqua altissima, historically the highest of high tides Venice had ever seen. Coastal flooding had done very strange things to the currents in the canals. Really shaken things up in the water, like a bored child with a snow globe. Things stirred deep beneath the Hotel Bauman, too.
Nico came loose from his chains. His cold body floated up and out; the current carried it tenderly along.
...
Finally, fifteen days after disappearing, Nicolás Ángel Fernández had been found."

Overall, Mermaid of Venice is a lovely novel that combines romance, thriller, and fantasy elements. One highlight of this book is how original it is. When I started reading this book about mermaids, I definitely wasn't expecting this story, which is more of a thriller. I was reminded of Inventing Anna on Netflix, and I think any fan of that show will enjoy this book as well. I did take off 1 star, because it wasn't always a light-hearted read, which is what I was looking for. Some parts are just sad and unpleasant. If you're intrigued by the excerpt, or if you're a fan of morally-grey mermaids, I recommend that you check out this book, which is availalble now!

This book is about a mermaid serial killer and it sounds great right? But the thing is we don't know why she kills because it isn't because people wronged her. After all, the people she kills treated her well; they even loved her and the people who wronged her... she's... good to them? I didn't like Gia. She was annoying and for a 52yo woman, she was very immature.
I liked the "past" chapters even tho the way Marina acted when she saw Adonis after all that time... stupid. It frustrated me.
I'm reading book two because this ends in a cliffhanger.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up all three books in this series after reading the back cover blurb and being very intrigued by the unique mermaid premise. I went into it thinking that it was going to be a wild romantic action adventure but I was very wrong. This is not the little mermaid grown up. This book is a dark psychological thriller with a killer siren as it’s main character. Gia lives an ultra extravagant life in Venice, but despite the modern woman persona she displays she cannot escape her bloodline. The ancient siren blood causes the bloodlust she feels, leading her to kill her lovers. Until one man comes along and could change it all. The story was fast paced, and definitely a very unique one. I had picked it up hoping it was more of a classic romance but it definitely leaned heavy into the realm of thriller. I don’t typically pick that genre and it wasn’t what I expected at all but I did ultimately enjoy it enough to read book two and see where Gia’s story takes her.

Finished this last night and honestly I don’t know how I feel about this. It was billed as a romance, and it is definitely not one. It’s a story of a murderous mermaid whose secret mermaid identity is at risk of being exposed. The premise is super interesting and promising but the storytelling is a little off. It’s book 1 of a series, and I’m not sure that I’m going to continue.

Oh my god, this was bad. This might be the worst book I've read in a while. I was at least expecting something smutty/spicy, but noooooo. I just get a verrry badly written whatever. Yes, a whatever, this cannot be called a book. What a joke.

DNFed at 15%

This book is probably something totally different from what I was expecting. One unhinged serial killer mermaid trying to weasel out of consequences of her actions, set in Italy? Alright. Some parts were fun, some ridiculous, sex scenes that came out of the left-field, rich people problems and media drama? Check, check, check, check. For me it was a nice ride overall, but nothing that will stay in my mind for long.

My main issue is with the pacing. The short chapters are easy to get through but I'd say that some parts of the book, especially towards the end, read like snapshots of one's life rather than a cohesive story. Because of that, I didn't care for the characters and while the ending was a great twist, it left me uninterested to continue with the book.

I think this might work for people who want something quick and easy to get through some action, shady mermaids and a dubious main character in the centre of everyone's attention.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Something about the pacing of this book didn't vibe with me. I felt it was really jumpy and discombobulated. I loved the premise and was really interested in the main character and her back story but every time I felt like we were getting to a good place with her/it we'd jump into the future and it would pull me out of the story. Curious to read the others in the series in case this just had first book syndrome.

Gia is a very well made business tycoon in Venice, Italy. Success, beauty and hardly ages. Actually, it is because she is from a long line of Mermaids.
In vengeance for the death of her mother, she lures men in as her lovers and kills them after some time. Burying their bones in a water graveyard under a Venice hotel.
Until one day, she screws up and somehow the body of her last lover floats in the canal and she is risked being discovered who she is and that she is a murderer.
While fixing that mess, she meets Cameron. A banker she met in London that she starts to develop deep feelings for. As crap hits the fan, she scrambles to hide what she has done and avoid Cameron from discovering who she really is.

This is basically a story of a serial killer. Also the couple having crazy interludes *cough* in almost every chapter that they are in.

There were a lot of flashbacks of her mother and how she was murdered. But it took some time to realize what it was about until you read several of them. By then, I was losing interest in the book. This book isn’t really my thing and I wasn’t truly interested in the story.

Gia is a mermaid. Yep, they’re real, and after hooking up with Cameron, son of news network royalty, she’s about to find out how difficult it is to keep secrets, especially as her ex-boyfriend was just murdered and her cousin Kostas is involved with the mafia. Gia has a lot on her plate, but she’s about to add one more thing. Will it work out between her and Cameron or will he end up dead too?

Gia Aquaviva is a wealthy and ruthless business mogul, who lives in Venice. Despite having had many boyfriends, she chooses to live alone in order to keep her secrets safe. One, that she usually ends her romantic relationships by, well, permanently getting rid of them. Secondly, that she was a mermaid.

Her routine form of "breaking up" however comes to a halt, when she falls in love with a banker named Cameron. With having to keep an eye on one of her theiving family members, and keeping her killer urges at bay, will she finally have the life of love and romance she'd always dreamed of? Or will her hopes sink to the bottom of the ocean floor, like her previous lovers.

I've read paranormal books before, but this was my first mermaid. A dark tale ( pun intended ) that I wasn't prepared for, but kept my interest none the less.

At the very start I got a slap in the face with who Gia really was, with very unexpected scenes. The story itself was gripping and had me intrigued. I've never read a novel where the protagonist was also an antagonist. I felt like I shouldn't of been routing for her, but when I got into the traumatic event that led to her being who she was, it was well understood. Not accepted, but understood.

One other reason I breezed through these pages was because the chapters were short, ( I LOVE SHORT CHAPTERS!) and the pace was steady. The big twist in the end got me mad as hell, didn't like it one bit. However, because it's a series, I still want to know what's become of Miss Gia.
So you know what that means...book 2 here I come!

A huge thank you to the Author, NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for this series, in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HAPPY READING!❤

Fast paced, Mermaid of Venice follows Gia, a mermaid, going to great lengths to protect her secrets. This is a quick paranormal romance with a bit of mystery/thriller that I quite enjoyed!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.