This book was not for me. I think it was bad. I hate to say this about Disney but this felt like a novel based on the movie plot, and didn't focus as much on Prince Eric as I thought it would.

Well this was everything I needed but didn't know I needed it. I love that this made an old favorite fresh and plus there is a little bit of a childhood crush coming to light. This book is such a nostalgic romp and I cannot wait to share it! I would suggest this for public libraries.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide for the e-ARC!

This was a fun read! I definitely enjoyed learning more about Prince Eric and reading the story of The Little Mermaid from his perspective. One thing I found about the book was that some of it definitely felt like it could not have happened at all during the movie. At one point Eric and Ariel go on a whole adventure to some place that Eric was looking for and it takes a whole day. So it definitely added more to the story that the movie contained but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as the stuff that was added was interesting. Overall a great read!

This book was so much fun. I adored seeing the story of the little mermaid through Eric’s eyes. I loved how they made the story seem more grown up and adult vs being a kids movie. (I do realize it is based of a fairytale.) This had so much more adventure and made Ariel so much braver and stronger and less like a damsel in distress. I really did love this book. Highly recommended!

The description of this book caught my attention quickly! "The Little Mermaid", but from Prince Eric's view, sign me up!! This book did not disappoint. Thank you for the chance to read and review

This story from the point of view of Eric was enjoyable! And that cover! Swoon! Readers will learn more about Eric's kingdom, his parents, the threats his kingdom face, and a curious link to Ariel's bargain with the sea witch! Fans of the Little Mermaid will gobble this up as it matches events perfectly in the film.
Disney should take the POV of all the male protagonists of all the princess stories, This was so enchanting!

Prince of Song & Sea tells the story of The Little Mermaid, but from Eric's perspective. It sticks pretty close to the original storyline, while adding in a whole new conflict on Eric's side: he's cursed!
It was fun seeing some of the scenes with Ariel play out through Eric's eyes. There was enough added content that I never felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen next.
A must read for Disney fans!

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for a chance to read an early copy for review.

First and foremost, a huge thank you to Disney publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC! This book was a little slow at first BUT once things become familiar it really picks up. Some people may not like how similar it is to the movie but I loved seeing the events through Eric’s eyes! I think I may have to rewatch it with this plot in mind… anyways, I’m here to say, this book doesn’t disappoint, especially if you’re a huge fan of the movie!

This is the first book in a brand new YA series that retells the classic Disney stories you thought you knew from the Disney Princes' perspectives. Prince of Song & Sea which is Linsey Miller's retelling of The Little Mermaid will be released on October 4 of 2022. Disney Publishing Worldwide provide me an early galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really like the concept for this new series. I am all in favor for giving us deeper back stories of the princes from the classic Disney tales. It has the potential to deepen the narrative of these stories we know so well.

However, this first book breaks what I would consider a cardinal rule: supplement the original tale but do not contradict it.

This story could have been set before Eric meets Ariel. Instead, it tries to wrap all of the new elements within the framework of the original tale, and that is wherein the problem occurs. The original story had a very tight timeline. Ariel has three days to have Eric fall in love with her. The film shows us most of that. This story shoehorns a huge side plot into all that, and it alters some of the vary foundation of the original story. Now, Eric cannot kiss another - which Ariel needs him to do to get her voice back - because he is actually cursed by a sea witch (whom you likely have guessed who it was). All that makes her overcoming the odds come across as a lesser accomplishment. This story makes Ariel secondary in her own tale. The retelling from another point-of-view should never minimalize the original heroine.

I will look into the next book in the series and hope that it pays better respect to its source material and heroine.

I absolutely adored this alternate telling of the little mermaid. I appreciate that we got to see the story from Eric's point of view, and see what was potentially going on in his head. The storyline of magic and pirates made it intriguing enough for a hardcore fan (like myself) to be interested in reading, but it still had just enough nods to the original storyline with the dialogue and the plot that I felt it was familiar. Eric's friends were also a wonderful addition, and I do appreciate that one of them was gay, it really felt like the story was fitting of modern times while still staying true to the movie. I also liked that it was a YA book but could be potentially read by middle grade or even upper elementary because there wasn't anything that would be too mature. I think it's easy to fall into that when doing a retelling, so it was nice to have it be a universal book that would be appealing to more than just the YA range.

Do you have a favourite Disney Prince?

Although Beauty and the Beast is without a doubt my favourite Disney film, I’ve always had a thing for Prince Eric. I mean, with that shaggy mop and undeterred sense of adventure?

He’s just so dreamy.

So when I came across the first book in the all-new Disney Princes novel series by bestselling author Linsey Miller, of course I had to check it out.

But that’s not to say that I wasn’t skeptical.

I’ve been burned in the past by countless mediocre retellings, especially in Disney’s Twisted Tales series. They rarely seem to add anything fresh or relevant to the original narrative.

But “Prince of Song and Sea” was a pleasant surprise.

Linsey Miller expands Eric’s story into a fully-realized Homeric epic, with evil witches and mysterious islands to boot, but still manages to weave in the major plot-points of the beloved film.

And did I detect some witty references to the Broadway musical for good measure?

This one is a winner, baby.

I just don't personally get the appeal of a mermaid book where the mermaid is a minor character - Ariel is inherently more interesting than Prince Eric! Other than that, the pacing of the book just felt off - I assumed way more time had passed than actually had, and was always surprised when a character had mentioned that it had been only a day or 2.

Those who love The Little Mermaid are sure to enjoy reading about Prince Eric’s supernatural adventures. I really enjoyed the magic of the world and the way the story fit within the bounds of the film’s storyline while also adding unique characters and giving Eric his own challenges to overcome. The romance between Eric and Ariel was sweet to read from Eric's point of view and I enjoyed that this story further developed their connection. This was a really fun book that I will definitely recommend to readers at my library.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney for allowing me this arc copy.

What can I say? I loved the Little Mermaid when it came out when I was a young teen.

This book gave me the feels so much. I loved it.

This book tells the story from Eric’s point of view. It expands his world and fleshes him out with worries, problems, and flaws. We get to see things that we missed in the movie. It changes up somethings as well as adds new scenes with both Ariel and Eric.

This is a great retelling of the Little Mermaid. It adds to the story while keeping in with the original movie almost seamlessly.

I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to place this in the hands of a young teen. There talk of kissing and some violence at the end, but if you’ve seen the movie, it’s no shocker.

If you love Little Mermaid, the you will love this book.

Thank you again NetGalley and Disney for allowing me to read this book.

I'm looking forward to adding this to my classroom library! As a former Disney cast member, it's really exciting for me to find new ways to share these stories with my students!

I was so happy to recieve this arc as The Little Mermaid was and still is my favorite Disney movie. So I was thrilled to get the chance to read this. This book is from Prince Eric's POV and I am so glad to have a fresh take on the story we all know and love. The plot of this book was very similar to the movie, but it was still an enjoyable read.

<i>"I'm not talking about that,' said Eric. 'Stop assuming I mean physical intimacy when I say intimacy. I mean closeness. Knowing your partner. A relationship built on a business transaction is a rocky start for fully trusting a spouse. We would begin on uneven footing."</i>

TL;DR: 3.5/5 stars, and I 100% cannot decide if I want to round up or down for this one. The first in a new series from Disney Publishing which <i>"retells the classic Disney stories you thought you knew from the Disney Princes perspectives."</i>
5 stars: updating the story and giving it a more modern twist.
2 stars: forcing the story to fit into the Disney storyline when it just doesn't line up.
There's a lot to like here, but I wish Ursula hadn't been the main villain, and that Miller hadn't had to fit the story into the original film so much. The more progressive updates with regards to diversity and the romance between Ariel and Eric (which, if canon, offer a nice "take that" to critics who call Little Mermaid sexist and harmful) do end up outweighing those, for me.

Vibes: Literally <i>The Little Mermaid</i> (Disney's version) + Pirates of the Caribbean

Genre: Fairy-tale Retelling + Romance
First in a series, unclear if Miller will write all of them (like Valentino + Villains) or if each book will have a different author (more like Twisted Tales).
True YA, but will probably appeal to New Adults who are now Disney Adults as Xennials were 100% the target audience for Little Mermaid when it first came out.

Romance Meter: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤
The whole story is a romance, but from a male POV.

Character MVP: Honestly? Max. Seriously: Max is the only one with sense in this story.

Verdict: 3.5 stars -- because I genuinely can't decide how I feel about this book.

Disclaimer: <i>Little Mermaid</i> was MY FAVORITE Disney movie growing up. As a Xennial, I was the target audience for it when it was first released, and something about the story and the characters deeply imprinted in my soul. I know this movie backwards and forwards, I know all the song lyrics, I know the dialogue. And Eric is still my favorite Disney prince of all time -- and here's why: If there's ONE thing I learned about Disney Romance from consuming all these movies as a child it wasn't "give up your voice to get a boy" or "wait around passively for your prince to come." Nope. It was "a good man is loved by dogs and loves them back and would risk his life to save that of his dog's."
(Which has aged well: always trust a dog's judge of character.)

So the problem I ran into with this book isn't the story itself. If I had never seen Little Mermaid or only had a middling opinion of it, this would probably be a 5-star read for me, definitely a full 4 stars.

Disclaimer #2: I will also say that it was LIGHT-YEARS better than the Villains series. Which is why I may end up rounding up, because I think I gave at least one of those books 3-stars, and that's not fair.

Here's the deal: for this inaugural installment, Linsey Miller gives you the story of Disney's The Little Mermaid (primarily the animated film, but there are also nods to the Broadway musical) from Eric's POV.

Fine.

Where I struggled / had a time moving past was when the story caught up to the film: Ariel washes up on shore after she makes her deal with Ursula in the afternoon of Day #1 (*ish -- could be morning, point is, we don't see her have a full day with Eric, because they share dinner together and then go to bed.) So that leaves half of Day #1, all day Day #2, and that's it, because Ursula-as-Vanessa enchants him overnight before Day #3. That's A LOT of plot to cram into a day and a half.

And for me, it didn't quite work. Ursula is the main villain here, but Miller revises her character in a way that doesn't quite fit her portrayal in the animated film. There, Ursula is hell-bent on revenge against Triton for some perceived slight and subsequent banishment (of which we know very little) and could really care less about humans except as a way to needle Triton.

Here, Miller has her basically consumed with world-domination and living on this magical island and...yeah. I know that might seem like a nitpicky thing, but again: I know this movie backwards and forwards. (And just to make sure, I lined up scenes from the film while reading.) At the end, when Ariel & Eric are fighting the Giant Ursula, Film Ursula says, <i>"Finally! The oceans belong to me!</i> -- she has only ever been concerned with Triton and the trident (and, in the musical, the power of Poseidon). But, in the book, she says <i>"I rule the ocean and will take the land!"</i>.

It just didn't work for me, because the entire time, I kept going, "There's nothing in the movie to support this!"

I give Miller props for making Eric cursed, and having his curse require True Love's Kiss to break it. But I'm not sure I understand why Ursula *HAD* to be the villain. For me, it would have made more sense if Marina Del Ray (from the prequel) or Morgana (from the sequel) had been the villain. And, honestly, given Morgana's use of Melody in the sequel, that would have made more sense and could have explained (1) the similarities in the curse (because she's Ursula's sister) and (2) her vendetta against Eric's family. Sometimes, when you force stories like this to line up TOO much, it just doesn't work as well. (Also, I never really thought of Ursula as having an island...cave, yes. Island, no.)

There were also some little things that didn't quite line up -- mainly, Ariel's being able to swim out to the dinghy and help the ship. At the end of the animated film, when Ariel dives in the water, her leg muscles are so underdeveloped she can barely swim, and Flounder has to literally drag her to the wedding ship. She's physically unable to swim in the movie, and here, she's coordinated enough to swim during a storm and choppy water. Er....

Despite all of that, I did really love some parts of the book and Miller's take:
[Spoilery thoughts below:]

✔️ -- I really appreciated Miller's updates to the diversity of the story.
As a person/human being, they were great: we had two strong Black female characters -- and in a queer relationship! -- one of whom was a pirate mermaid.
✔️ -- We had a gender-fluid, non-binary Pirate Captain using They/Them/Their pronouns.
<b>[I will say though, as a Little Mermaid fan, NONE of these people show up ANYWHERE in the animated film. My appreciation for the diversity outweighs this though, but pause any frame in the movie and you can clearly see there are no characters of color either on the ship's crew -- or anyone who looks anything like a pirate -- or at the wedding. So again, trying to force this in didn't quite work for me, although I fully recognize that's a superficial level/quibble.]</b>
✔️ -- I also appreciated Miller's updates to the romance:
✔️ -- Eric was very much the Romantic he is in the film, searching for his True Love, arranged marriages and politics be damned.
✔️ -- Miller was really creative in stretching out their time together -- she gave them essentially 3 full days worth of adventure and "dates" (for lack of a better time) and showed their relationship on a deeper level -- and even stuck it to that "sexist" criticism by showing that, even though Ariel was voiceless, Eric did in fact fall in love with her personality, not her beauty (although it definitely helped)
✔️ -- It was also a nice nod to have 3 years pass before Ariel and Eric's wedding where they got to be together and practice ruling; the shot at the end of the animated film where their kiss on the beach turns into their wedding kiss obviously leaves unanswered how much time has passed specifically.
✔️ -- There's a subtle nod to Once Upon a Time, when Eric guesses "Emma, Snow, and Regina" as Ariel's potential names -- not significant, but a nice "Easter Egg" of sorts for Disney fans.

So, yeah. There's a lot to like here, but I wish Ursula hadn't been the main villain, and that Miller hadn't had to fit the story into the original film so much. The more progressive updates with regards to diversity and the romance between Ariel and Eric (which, if canon, offer a nice "take that" to critics who call Little Mermaid sexist and harmful) do end up outweighing those, for me.

Thank you, Disney Publishing Worldwide, for allowing me to read Prince of Song & Sea early!

I'm a huge Disney fan and The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite classic! So when I saw that Disney was going to be publishing a book about it from the perspective of one of my favorite princes, I couldn't NOT request this title. Two other aspects were very important for my choice as well though: firstly, the stunning cover (I can't wait to hold a physical copy so that I can stare at it every time I want); and Linsey Miller! I love her writing style and she certainly didn't disappoint in this excellent retelling. Eric was a fantastic protagonist, but I also want to say that I really loved the side cast as well. The plot intrigued me, so much that I regretted each time I had to stop reading for one reason or another because I couldn't wait to start reading again! Phenomenal book.

I love Linsey Miller's work, so I was thrilled when I managed to grab this arc. Sort of similar to the twisted tales series, this book is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but from prince Eric's pov. Here Eric's world is fleshed out and he's given a story of his own that mirrors Ariel's very well, as this version of Eric was cursed by a witch before he was born. Basically if anyone who is not his true love kisses him or vice versa, Eric dies. Growing up, his mother set rules to keep him safe that makes teen Eric rather awkward in social company and afraid (deservedly so) of physical intimacy. Things are coming to a head now, two years after his mother's death and ready to take the throne, and people are starting to push for Eric to get married. That takes a back seat when he finds a lost letter from his mother telling him more about the curse, the witch, and how she hoped to find her before dying at sea. The plot mostly revolves around the search for the witch's island while also hitting several plot beats from the movie, namely how Eric and Ariel meet, the lagoon scene, and the end of the movie. Miller also gave well done cameos to Flounder and Scuttle that worked well despite Eric having no understanding of Ariel's separate plot line until the end. The characters from the movie are wonderful, they're recognizable and in character, with the emphasis given to Eric fitting well with the source material. There's a cast of new characters that are equally interesting and fitting for the story. This was a fun read, I can't for more from this series.

3.5/5 stars.

The Little Mermaid has been my favorite Disney movie since before I even remember watching movies. Naturally, that makes Prince Eric my favorite prince. I also joke that I suffer from "Prince Eric Syndrome", meaning the combination of blue eyes + dark hair is 100% my type. I married that type, so it must be true.

What I loved about this book is it took the story of the Disney film and added so many extra elements. The story is told from Eric's perspective. We learn that he too is cursed and can't kiss anyone but his true love or else he dies. New elements of Ursula's power are added and creates a much stronger world building than what we were given in the 1989 film.

We learn about Eric's friends, his mother's disappearance, and the issues that plague the surrounding kingdoms.

When Ariel enters the story, we see little snippets told in the background, like her interactions with Scuttle, Sebastian, and Flounder.

One of my favorite elements were the chapter titles. Most of them were song titles from the original film AND the Broadway play. Did I have Her Voice and One Step Closer in my head the whole time I was reading Absolutely.

There were a few parts of this book that I felt were rushed or something was over and done in one line. I wish there had been more descriptions and actions written during those times.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. If you love Disney or the story of the Little Mermaid, you will enjoy this! I'm excited to see where the Disney Prince series goes.