I ended up skimming most of this book because I couldn't really get invested in the stories. I'm really disappointed because I loved the Vampire collection, but maybe I'm just less interested in mermaids I'm not sure!

Thank you to the authors and Fiercereads for sharing an eArc with me to review!

What is your favorite ocean creature?

While I am partial to dolphins when it comes to ocean animals, mermaids will always hold a special place in my heart! My love of merfolk made Mermaids Never Drown, an anthology edited by @ncparker and @zoraidasolo an absolutely perfect read for me! Today is my stop on @turnthepagetours’s bookstagram tour to celebrate Mermaids Never Drown, which is out this coming Tuesday from @mackidsbooks!

Here’s a Synopsis of Mermaids Never Drown:
SYNOPSIS:
14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown - the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker - exploring mermaids like we've never seen them before!

A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon's son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain.

Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms.

I suggest purchasing this title for libraries where short stories are already popular or for creative writing classes in a high school. There are popular names and a fun topic that will appeal to a teen audience and be useful for reluctant readers.

This is definitely not a book problem, this is a me problem. I have just been really struggling with anthologies and fantasies lately, so finally getting to this has been at the worst possible time. I may try to give it another chance at a later time, but for now, it's just eh to me.

Anthologies can be a bit rough for me sometimes. Short stories aren't typically my cup of tea because I find myself needing things to be flushed out more. Some of these stories were enjoyable, but none really stuck out to me as anything that will remain with me. It did take me a long while to get through this one as well.

This was better than expected ! Some of the stories were better than others. The concept was also really good

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I remember when I thought I didn’t like anthologies until I started getting more into them, especially this series. I love the way we’re just slowly getting more supernatural and paranormal stories but such amazing authors from this series. And I’m excited for more. I couldn’t even begin to name a favorite but I’ve come to love most of these authors even from this.

I love anthologies and seeing different authors takes on a prompt. While not every story was my favorite, collectively this was hard to put down

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

What a fun, lighthearted selection of stories! I love mermaids, and the lore that goes with them. I was not disappointed with these short stories.

Mermaids are my most beloved fantasy creatures and have been since I was a child, so I was incredibly excited for this anthology. It did not disappoint. The various authors take the somewhat outdated concept of mermaids and move it into the modern era, allowing every reader to see themselves in these underwater tales.

Like all story collections go, I have my favourites that I was able to fly through while reading them. I very much enjoyed the focus on water and / or water creatures. Also there were stories where I was left wanting more to the story.

A fantastical exploration of myth. This anthology is perfect for teens who never truly outgrew their "Little Mermaid" hyperfixation. My favorite story in the collection was Darcie Little Badger's "The Deepwater Vandal." It's a tragic familial tale of one girl's quest to be reunited with her father. The story is timeless (indeed the reader will have no idea when this story takes place but that in no way negatively affects the plot) and intriguing. Once you start reading, you'll be completely invested in Cassia's journey. "The Deepwater Vandal" is "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" meets "Moana;" it's fully of seafaring adventures, quirky characters, and more plot twists than you'd expect from a short story. All of the voices in this collection of stories fit well together, even though each tells a very different cultural tale. I went in expecting this anthology to only feature mermaids, so reading about sea monsters, gods, and creatures made the stories even more rich and complex.

As with all short story collections, there were some titles that I liked more than others. The Merrow, a story written jointly by the editors of this anthology, was the clear standout. However, I loved how different each mermaid story was and think this title would be a great addition to any YA collection.

While I personally hoped for a bit more sea witch content, this was indeed a collection of tales to dive for! The stories not only accomplished wonderful tellings in themselves, but several, including Preeti Chhibber, created the desire in me to see them expanded into a longer work.

Makes me want to go back and read the Vampire volume too! Lots of diverse, fun, and thoughtful takes on the idea of the mermaid legend from a treasure trove of talented writers. Each story is a unique jewel and really work well to bring the concept of mermaids to life in a very entertaining way. The stories are engaging but often quick and so very easy to get through for unmotivated younger readers and have a lot of personality. A great collection.

The majority of this collection felt distinctly uninspired. I started keeping reviews of each story but found I had very little positive or interesting to say. Standouts were the stories by Kalynn Bayron, Darcie Little Badger, and June Hur. The others were pretty meh at best…

Let's be honest: who among us DIDN'T have a phase where we wished we were a mermaid, and/or absolutely loved the concept of sirens luring sailors to a watery grave?
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This anthology speaks to the teens (and all YA readers) who still want to feel that splash of mermaid magic. It takes the concept of the mermaid and spins it in myriad directions--some traditional, some clever, most diverse, and all entertaining. It has mermaids of all sorts: fat mermaids, queer mermaids, BIPOC mermaids, children of mermaids, mermaids as predators, mermaids in love, and more. It leans into so many nooks and crannies of mermaid lore, across cultures and decades and worlds, and the result is a well-rounded combination of tales (er, tails? pun intended). Like any collection, there were a few that I didn't love (alas, Kerri Maniscalco's sexy stories don't work for me), but as a whole, the anthology felt cohesive without growing repetitive.
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Rather than go through every title, I want to shout out a few of my favorite stories in the collection!
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🧜‍♀️ Storm Song by Rebecca Coffindaffer - opening the anthology on a strong note with an ace-coded siren learning that seduction isn't the only way to summon a storm, plus nice "eat the rich" vibes
🧜‍♀️ Return to the Sea by Kalynn Bayron - a world where mermaids are a marginalized societal group, with an added environmental conservation narrative, featuring two Black sapphic girls (one of whom, of course, is a mermaid)
🧜‍♀️ The Deepwater Vandal by Darcie Little Badger - a clever, multilayered story, with themes including family bonds, indigenous values and wisdom, the power of stories, and the greed of men
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Also, shoutout to Shark Week by Maggie Tokuda-Hall for being the cleverest take on that moniker for menstruation, and for turning it into a hilarious and cute sapphic monster romance??
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Tl;dr this is an alluring chorus of mermaidian myths, sure to make a splash 💜

My ratings for all the stories average to 3.7. Anthologies are always hit or miss. Some of these stories I didn't care much about, but my favorites were "The Merrow" by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, which is about a girl who connects with the mergirl that her mother has put on display in an aquarium, and "Jinju's Pearls" by June Hur, which is set in Joseon-era Korea and follows a Haenyeo diver and the mermaid who follows her around. I liked the worldbuilding of both of these stories and would absolutely read more if the authors continued the stories.

The stories in this collection are diverse in ethnicity and sexuality and each author has their own version of mermaids. I do think the collection would've benefited from having fewer stories so the authors could have longer word counts, but overall I think it's an enjoyable anthology.