Seaspoken is an epic fantasy romance between two forbidden lovers, a mermaid and an elf whose people have been at war for years. It was almost a five star read for me, because it was ALMOST a perfect deconstruction of the royal-arranged-marriage trope, but it fell slightly short of what I wanted it to do at the end, so it remained only a partial deconstruction.

Seaspoken has a great storyline all about the forbidden love between a sea dweller and a land one, both magical creatures. Evya is the daughter of the Seamother who controls the ocean and all who dwell there. The best thing about the character is that she is able to shape shift from sea form, to land, her fins retracting when out of water into her forearms and her lungs that breathe on land. The transition for the magical woman seems quite easy and would be a beautiful sight to behold as an observer (the writing giving me a visual which I would have loved to see in real life or, better yet where it might happen, on screen).

I absolutely adored Evya and Keliveth. Their story spoke to me in a way I'm not sure is even possible to describe. It was strong yet gentle. Everything about it ebbed and flowed in perfect synchronicity. Their determination, their dedication to each other as well as their dedication to all that was important beyond their individual desires was beautiful. And the way their story unfolded? Perfection.

Also, as someone who's really tall, can I just say it was so refreshing to read about a tall female MC? That plus the fact that she wasn't dainty but was strong and passionate and free while also finding it within herself to fight for peace and stand up for love? I think she might be one of my favourite characters I've read period. Likewise for Keliveth. He was gentle yet had the strength and determination of a firmly rooted tree. One that can bend under the storm but cannot break. Even the side characters didn't feel like side characters. They were well rounded and I felt strongly towards every one of them, whether it be admiration, conflict, compassion, anger, or even a mix of all those and more.

Overall I went into this feeling intrigued by the premise. I didn't know I'd come out of it having found one of my favourite books. I can't wait to read more books by her.

I received an ARC from the publisher. This review is my own independent and fair evaluation.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I love anything set in the sea and the world building was just amazing!
I felt the book ended too quickly, the build up was fantastic but then everything just kind of happened and ended.
The romance was good and defied the norms and I loved that. Although it felt like instant love and there could have been more to bring the characters together.
Saying that there’s elves, sea folk, prophets, warriors, magic, a deadly contest and forbidden romance - what’s not to like tbh!
Thank you to NetGallery for the E-ARC, this is my honest and voluntary review.

I think I'll have to reread this book at some point because the dump of information was a bit much and I might have not grasp everything. That said, this book was not bad at all it just felt a bit too fast compared with how long it is, if that makes any sense.
I found pretty interesting the idea of mermaids and elves together, that is something I have never read before and maybe that's why it felt a bit rushed for me as well because I'm not familiar with this pairing.
All in all this book was really good I just would have liked it to be longer

Definitely an interesting retelling of The Little Mermaid, but with elves and war and love. I enjoyed the story between Evya and Keliveth. Lots of world building in there too. The issue, for me, was pacing. It felt very slow. It did kind of speed up later on, but the pacing dragged for me through a lot of it. If the pacing had been a bit quicker, it’d be a 4-star for me.
Absolutely still worth the read though!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Calling all fantasy romance lovers who are interested in reading an enemies-to-lovers with mermaids and elves, you can give this one a try!

The author did a great job creating a world that is vivid and understandable without it being an info dump at the beginning.
I also really enjoyed the dual POV.

There is an insta romance but I can get past that because of the world building!

Overall, it’s a pretty good and an enjoyable quick standalone story.

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

Calling all fantasy romance lovers who are interested in reading an enemies-to-lovers with mermaids and elves, you can give this one a try!

I really like the writing style which makes the plot easy to follow and understand. It also describe the world building vividly without massive info-dumping at the beginning.

The story is also told in dual POVs – from two main characters POVs (Keliveth and Evya). I like their POV so the readers can see from two different side - the mermaid and elves.

While I enjoy reading most part of the story, there are a few things I wish for more. I wish the timeline of this book was longer because a lot of things happens too fast (just in the span of 9 days).

This also cause the romance to happen instantly which I’m not a huge fan of. I wish the enemies part played a bit longer just to see the tensions between the two different clan and how they try to keep aside their differences to find peace.

Overall, it’s a pretty good and an enjoyable quick standalone story. I’m quite satisfied with the ending and I will check out other books from the author in the future.

Seaspoken by Sarah Delena White is a fantasy romance of the star-crossed-lovers variety.

The Tuath (water elves) have been at war with the land dwelling elves for centuries. Everyone is tired of blood shed no one is willing to be the first to give up. N one that is...until Evya and Kelveth. One the Sea Mother's daughter, the other the very prophet of the eternal and advisor to the Elven King. Drawn together by destiny and separated by a century of hatred.

I loved this unique fantasy that adds so much lore and depth to what could have been just another R&J retelling. This is NOT just another R&J retelling, in case you were curious. It is so much more fleshed out and detailed than anything Shakespeare wrote.

I loved the premise, and am usually a fan of any books with mermaids or sirens. However, things felt rushed with this one. More background on the races and the war would’ve helped with the world building and understanding the story initially. I wasn’t a fan of Evya’s character and the instant love connection (I guess I prefer more angst and yearning), they just didn’t seem like a good match.

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for a copy!

This book was a perfect little fantasy romance! I really enjoyed reading this. I loved the idea of this book!

Seaspoken is a beautiful original fantasy with just the right combination of world building and romance.
What I liked
-Original world
-Slow burn romance
What I would have liked more of
-More build up to the inciting incident would have been nice
Who I would recommend this book for
Those who have loved the writing style of A court of thorns and Roses will find themselves at home with Seaspoken.

*3.5
This was interesting. The world was a little hard to get into but overall I didn't not enjoy my time with the book.

This is heartstoppingly beautiful.

The world building, The scenery was amazing. The peoples, tribes, and traditions were intricately laid out and stitched together to make up the tapestry of this world. The story didn't have to pull me in and fight to keep me there, because it drew me in and hooked me to it. All I can say is the plot and the way everything came together to create this vibrant universe was immaculate.

I absolutely adored Evya and Keliveth. Their story was strong yet gentle. Their determination, their dedication to each other as well as their dedication to all that was important beyond their individual desires was beautiful.

Evya is a strong, tall MC that I adore so much. She wasn’t dainty but was passionate and free while also finding it within herself to fight for peace and stand up for love. Likewise for Keliveth. He was gentle yet had the strength and determination. Even the side characters didn't feel like side characters. They were well rounded and I felt strongly towards every one of them, whether it be admiration, conflict, compassion, anger, or even a mix of all those and more.

I enjoyed this in a way that this was a great premise to a book. The ideas behind this book and the plot were intriguing and I wanted to dive into to this world. But it lacked, in my opinion, description and background to the story. So, I honestly didn't finish the book.

It took me a while to understand that this is a tale between mermaids and elves. Which I did not know by the synopsis of the story. It only talked about elves and that is it. For Evya, it took me reading about her swimming a certain way and her tale to switch to finally understand that Evya is a mermaid. There are no character descriptions throughout. I have no idea what mermaids looks like in this world, elves look like in this world or even what our main characters look like.

Evya is supposed to have magical powers and that is why she must be mated. But as far as I got in the book, none of those powers were introduced.

Did not understand why there was such a battle between mermaids and elves to begin with. Also, since mermaids are sea dwellers and elves are land creatures. How did they fight one another? What was they really fighting over? I would have loved to have gotten into that more.

How is Keliveth a prophet? What part do prophets play in this world and why was he chasing a dream he had. And the "The One Who Is." Apparently, they know who it is, but I didn't, and I felt lost at that point.

I had so many questions that I found myself starting to skim because I wasn't pulled into the story enough. Like I said, this has a great premise, and I really wanted to love this because it is a story I haven't heard before. But with the number of questions in the story went on, that may have been answered later on, I decided to put it down.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for this arc!

2.5 stars

alright. let me try to word my thoughts.
the premise was good– the storyline could've been promising, but to me, it felt like the author was racing against the clock as she was writing this. and as someone who appreciates a good slow-burn, who likes it when authors take their time with scenes, this book just wasn't for me. and that's okay, because i know someone else will love this book, and we all like what we like. so if you love fast-paced books, this might be for you!

A whirlwind, original fantasy with superb worldbuilding and an entrancing slow-burn love story. I can't wait for everyone on BookTok to start discussing "Seaspoken" when the book comes out! It's perfect for "The Cruel Prince" and ACOTAR fans. Also, I have to give a nod to the gorgeous cover work on this book. I can't wait to read more by this author in the future!

Wow. Wow wow wow.
I was NOT expecting to love this book this much!
After a few lackluster fantasy romances of recent times I was beginning to lose hope. Enter Sarah Delena White and their book 'Seaspoken'. A read-in-one-sitting kind of book, to be sure.

First of all, it was very refreshing to have a female MC who is strong and competent (without leaning into Mary-Sue, 'not like the other girls' territory), whilst also being empathetic and not just being a hard ass like I've seen in a lot of fantasy romances recently. You don't have to be unfeeling to be strong, and the author showed a great example of that here in Evya. And don't even get me started on Keliveth, a male lead done RIGHT. The chemistry, conflict, and desires of and between the characters cannot be understated.

I was also incredibly impressed by the detailed world building, which was beautifully set up (rather intricately, I might add) whilst still maintaining a relatively fast pace. The author does an excellent job of investing you not only in their story but in their characters, too. I felt like I really knew them and that kind of investment in characters and what happens to them is key in elevating the stakes of the story, after all if you don't care about the characters then nothing they do matters.

An absolute pleasure of a read, can't wait to see more work from the author!

A nice weekend fantasy romance read, the characters water engaging and the story was well written and fun.

This is an original retelling of the Little Mermaid. It is a slow burn fantasy that has a lot of action and plot.

Evya, the chieftain's daughter, is involved in an altercation with elves as well as a contest to find a mate. Unbeknownst to her mother, the chieftain, she seeks the dream singer she has been listening to for a while. His name is Keliveth and he has been sent by the creator as a peacemaker.

When Keliveth enters the contest for her hand, Evya is thrilled - her mother, not so much. With so much stacked against him, does Keliveth have any chance of winning?

Thank you net galley and Sarah Delena White for allowing me to read this gem of a book in exchange my honest review.

I don't know what to say about this book except for the fact that I loved it. I ate up every single page from the second I was introduced to this war-torn world.

A forbidden romance between the sea-dwelling Evya and the land dwelling elf Keliveth sent me through a million emotions and I loved every single one of them. In fact, I am not even completely finished with this book yet and I had to jump on here and sing it's praises.

Sarah Delena White has done such an amazing job at creating an enchanting world and a couple you want to root for. There is a perfect balance of plot, action and romance that has me wanting more.

This was the first i've read by her and will certainly not be my last.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Delena White for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good paranormal romance book, so I was super interested as soon as I started it. I also felt like the for bidden love trope was really well done in this book as well. It was a really enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who usually likes books in that genre. I can’t wait to read more of this authors books!