I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche is a third person-POV YA fantasy romance retelling of The Little Mermaid. Princess Celeste is a member of the Chorus, a siren military, but struggles to hold back her big feelings. When she saves two young men and a dog instead of letting them drown, her only chance to fix it is to kill them. But she finds it difficult to actually do so.

The use of ‘siren’ instead of ‘mermaid’ could have more to do with the Chorus using battle tactics that greatly resemble the sirens of Greek mythology; using songs to hypnotize sailors and drown them. There is also larger mythology involving a sea goddess and a land god as well as a Romeo and Juliet-type story between a moon princess and a sun prince. My favorite bit of worldbuilding was the peeling back of layers of the mythology of the world with the land and sea having different pieces.

Celeste and Raiden’s relationship is complicated by Celeste needing to kill him and his own personal goals and secrets that he’s keeping from her. When Celeste saves him, she not only reveals that sirens are real (sirens have made sure to use magic to keep their existence secret), but Raiden sees her, remembers her, and she lets him live. This is the basis for his attraction to her while her infatuation with him starts much sooner when she sees him on his ship and witnesses him saving his friend. But his personality plus her whole reason for meeting him again do keep them apart for a while longer.

Like a lot of YA fantasy and Romantasy, this is sitting in more of the epic fantasy subgenre sphere. It doesn’t really read like a fairy tale even if it is a retelling of The Little Mermaid as the grander stakes of the world at large make everything feel more open and less claustrophobic. The Little Mermaid has a lot of epic fantasy potential so I am curious to see how the next book expands the world and story out further while developing the romance further. I want more The Little Mermaid retellings and I will definitely be reading the next book

I would recommend this to fans of The Little Mermaid looking for a YA epic fantasy romance

Voice of the Ocean is an impeccable debut by Kelsey Impicciche! I loved the political intrigue and world-building! Kelsey has put so much thought to the world and the characters present! I loved the Little Mermaid retelling with he retaiin of an original voice! Definitely recommend to fans of The Little Mermaid and generally those who love banter & tension in their books! Can't wait for the sequel!

I have always been a fan of Kelsey Impicciche and was scared that this book was going to one that exists due to her fame. This is not the case. I inhaled and devoured this book. This Little Mermaid retelling was fresh, sweet, and so romantic. The fact that I have to wait for the next book is so upsetting.

I’m a sucker for a good fairytale retelling, and this one definitely scratched that itch! For a debut novel, I was really impressed by the world-building and character development. Celeste was such a great main character—her journey of self-discovery and finding her found family was genuinely heartwarming, and it felt like something younger me would’ve loved to see.

My only gripe was with the pacing. The beginning was pretty slow (though I have to give it credit for being thorough), and it didn’t really pick up until the last 30% or so. But once it did, it was hard to put down! There was just so much action and so many reveals in that final act that it felt a bit overwhelming. I wish some of that information had been sprinkled throughout the story instead of being dropped all at once during the big battle.

Overall, this was a solid debut and a cozy fairytale read with just the right amount of action. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here!

I was really hopeful for this one, because I absolutely adore Kelsey Impicciche and I love fantasy books. But this one just missed the mark for me, unfortunately.

Where do I begin?

First, I have been a fan of Kelsey since before her gaming days. So, to follow her and hear her talk about this book over the last few years only to see it in its final stage is exciting! Even more exciting is the fact that I was able to get an eARC of this book is even more exciting.

This book follows Celeste and Raiden as they navigate their separate worlds and their time together. I felt the connection between the two, and it was believable. Especially knowing this is a YA book, I appreciate the level of language and relationship information.

I did feel that the pacing was off. But for a first novel, that is something that is developed over time. Overall, I am beyond glad to have gotten a copy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Kelsey Impicciche for this eARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Mix The Little Mermaid with pirates and you get The Voice of the Ocean and it is an amazing mixup!!
Celeste is a siren princess who is training to be a part of the Chorus, the siren military. Sirens and humans have a bitter enmity between them that began when a man killed one of the four original siren goddesses years ago but Celeste can't help but be intrigued by humans. When she goes on a mission to ambush a human prince sailing on the sea, Celeste can't help but feel compassion for these seemingly innocent humans and saves the prince. This is a crime punished by death but her mother, the Queen, finds a loophole before the counsel can carry out her sentence and sends Celeste to finish the job and kill the prince to escape death herself. After a deal with the Sea Witch, Celeste swaps her tail for legs and joins the human world. She meets the prince again not long after arriving on land and gets swept up into joining his crew who are on a mission to find a long forgotten, mythical island with treasures abounding. Celeste bides her time to kill the prince when the time is right but she's not prepared for finding a family among her crew and things begin to get complicated....

Voice of the Ocean was so good! Impicciche weaves a clever tale with elements from The Little Mermaid and her tweaks on the details bring it new life! I loved all the twists and it kept me guessing what was going to happen next. I'll definitely be ordering this and recommending it at our library!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been a long time viewer of Kelsey from Buzzfeed days and her not so berry sims series. I was so thrilled when she announced her first debut YA novel being published!

I think first off I think this is a strong first debut novel for her and love the idea of a retelling of the little mermaid, which is one of my favorite Disney movies growing up. I liked the change up of the FMC and her family being sirens and felt the world building was really well done. I would have liked a little more about the Siren mythology history that she lightly put was a little lacking for me to try to connect things to themes she was trying to portray in certain parts of the story. In the beginning it felt a bit chaotic and over the place but I feel about 1/3 in is where you start understanding more of whats going on and seems to have a stronger flow of events.

I however loved the addition of Celeste feeling like she needs to make her family proud by joining the Chorus (their version of the military for their citizens). I truly think there is more Kelsey in the next book will be able to do with the characters and giving them more depth as they move more into her series as the ending (ugh love a good ending) makes me see a second book in the future.

I think if you love reading a new type of world like Sirens but love the familiarity of a beloved tale then I recommend trying this book out on April 22!

Congratulations Kelsey on your first book and looking forward to reading more in the future.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Kelsey, and NetGalley for granting me an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5

As a long time subscriber of @kelseydangerous I feel incredibly honored to receive the ARC of her debut book. Swashbuckling pirates, siren princess, and morally grey romantic interest? YES PLEASE! As someone who loves a fantasy retelling I was hooked on this storyline of revamping a well known Hans Christian Andersen tale. I always call Disney's The Little Mermaid one of the worst princess stories and when I started reading this book I feared it was going to fall into the same storyline but I was happily proven wrong.

I had a few issues with the World building and wanted more backstory with the Gods and their backstory. It was important information the second half of the story but felt so rushed that I had a hard time following along. But overall I breezed through the book and enjoyed every second reading about Celeste and her fellow pirates building friendships and becoming a found family.

This was a strong debut novel and I will definitely be thinking back to this book for a long time. I'm happily awaiting for more Celeste and Raiden future development and any other story Kelsey writes. Happy Reading!

Thank you Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Kelsey Impicciche for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net galley for the early copy of The Voice of the Ocean.

I know this is suppose to be a Little Mermaid retelling but there were some parts in story that just felt like I was literally watching the movie. There were a few changes as in the main female character being a siren instead of a mermaid which was cool. I just think there could have been more differences and I really did not like the male character. The overall premise was good just wish there were more differences between this book and the flim.

What a great debut novel! I can't wait to read the next book!

I really like that it's a retelling of The Little Mermaid. I loved the familiarity of a story I already love but with new, exciting twists that I did NOT see coming.

The world-building was fantastic! I appreciated the bits of the sirens' mythology she gave us; it's enough to understand what was going on in the story but not too much to feel overwhelmed with the information.

The writing is great. Except for a few odd sentences and some awkward dialogue, it kept me reading and wanting more!

Some parts were confusing, especially concerning Raiden. But I decided to just go with it, and it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book at all.

I also really cannot get over the cover art.

A Little Mermaid retelling? SAY NO MORE!! Sirens are currently popular right now amongst us readers and I ate this one up.

This emotionally wrecked me. I loved it so much. I can't wait for more!

I’m the first to admit I’m not typically a romantasy/fantasy girly but this really hit the spot! Kelsea writing was superb and I loved the depth the characters and plot had. I’ve been a long time fan of Kelsey as a YouTuber so it’s so exciting to see this nee side of her and I hope we get to keep seeing it!

A big thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is this the start of my mermaid phase? Yes. The answer is absolutely yes.

The Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche is a young adult fantasy novel that is described as The Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Carribean. As the youngest daughter of the Siren queen, Celeste's life is tightly controlled. Desperate to prove her worth, she intends to join the Chorus - an elite group of siren warriors. With her final test on the horizon, Celeste must finally gain control over her temperamental Song. But when Celeste encounters a seemingly harmless ship, helmed by the intriguing Prince Raiden Sharp, her path veers towards forbidden waters. Believing the handsome sailor to be innocent of any wrongdoing, Celeste defies Siren law to save Raiden's life - despite knowing he is the son of a king who has murdered many of her kindred. The penalty for Celeste's betrayal should be death, but the queen offers her an right her wrong by assassinating the prince. Determined to first discover the truth behind the prince's clandestine mission, Celeste agrees to become human. The human world is nothing like she expected, nor is the prince the charming and noble man she assumed him to be. But as Celeste finds her place aboard the ship, friendships - and attraction - begin to grow. Will Celeste be able to save herself? Or will her choices unravel a kingdom, devastating sirens and humans alike?

First and foremost, I'm not the biggest fan of mermaid stories since reading Lost Voices by Sarah Porter in my youth. And I blame on the simple fact that I was way too young for the content of that book, and hand only picked it up because I saw a mermaid on the cover. But this one, Voice of the Ocean, is warming me back up to the genre.

What I liked best about Voice of the Ocean is the characterization we get. Celeste is nothing like the counterpart of Ariel, in that she is not naive. But still holds the characteristics of being curious and ambitious. And we can't exactly forget about Raiden, and how can I forget about Raiden. He is just *chef's kiss* of a love interest.

My only qualm with this book, is the sheer audacity it has being only one book. Come on, Impicciche, I demand more Celeste and Raiden!

Otherwise, I recommend this book, and not Porter's for anyone looking for an adorable mermaid read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC in exchange for the honest review!

2.75 stars

This is a Little Mermaid retelling that adds the fun and excitement of swashbucking pirates. I love mermaids and have always felt like there's not enough books about mermaids, so I was glad to see this!

The world building was very immersive and in-depth and you can tell the author spent a lot of time on it, which was great. The plot was fun and twisty with an ending that does a great job of leading up to a sequel. The found family was heartwarming and the side characters added a fun dynamic. And this was a great twist on the Little Mermaid story that really branched off into its own unique story.

The writing style wasn't my favorite. But my biggest qualm was the pacing which was just all over the place. The beginning was very slow and heavy on the world building with very little actually happening. It took too long for Celeste to finally get on the ship. And then we spent way too long on the ship bonding with the crew and getting into pirate shenanigans that didn't contribute directly to the main plotline. My biggest issue with these parts was that there was so much detail and explanation about every little thing that it took so long to get through and had me skimming fairly often. The most interesting and exciting parts of the book didn't start until ~80% in. And then we were moving so fast and did not get any time to spend in these really awesome, exciting scenes in new fantastical settings. I really felt like if we'd gotten less unnecessary details in the beginning and middle, we could've spent a lot more time in the end and I think it could've had a much bigger impact. I also wish we learned more about the Voice of the Ocean sooner and that it had been foreshadowed a lot better than it coming up just at the end, especially since it is such a big part of the plot overall. It also bothered me that there were no big time jumps and it seemed like we were on the ship for a few weeks, but then at the end they insist its been several months.

And even though we spend so much time focusing on the characters, I still found them not to be fully fleshed out and a little flat, especially the side characters, who felt one-dimensional. Raiden and Celeste are more developed, but still not enough to make me emotionally connect with them as much as I wanted. Raiden wasn't a very appealing love interest to me and I thought their chemistry and relationship felt forced. And Celeste was a great, interesting main character who is softer and emotional, which I loved because we never really get to see that. I loved that crying such a big part of her character (as I also cry over everything lol), but I felt like we were getting knocked over the head with this conflict over and over again. It got to the point that it started to get annoying and I lost interest in it. Her emotionality was brought up in almost every single scene and everytime it was the same things were said and it felt repetitive and unnecessary and detracted from the overall emotional impact of the character development throughout the book.

I thought the plot was fun and interesting and I still might read the sequel.

The ENDING?! I need more, now! I went into this fully expecting it to be a standalone- and now will waited with bated breath for the sequel to be announced.

Voice of The Ocean is a Little Mermaid retelling, but with a twist. I could see bits and pieces of the Disney movie and the original fairy tale woven into the original world the author created. It all fit together beautifully. Raiden as a character infuriated me quite a lot- while I understand his circumstances, he’s in timeout until further notice.

Celeste is the spare daughter of the king and queen of Staria. A spare. With one older sister holding the position of heir, and the other fulfilling a political marriage, there’s nothing for her to do, except maybe join the Chorus. An elite group of sirens, the Chorus is tasked with patrolling the kingdom’s borders and sinking human ships that dare get too close.

But Celeste doesn’t quite agree with drowning humans. Fascinated with them, she can’t help but to watch them when she can sneak away, and when she makes the decision to save a prince’s life, she breaks the code the sirens live by. Her only choice to avoid banishment or execution? Kill the prince.

Making a deal with the sea witch Nerissa for legs, Celeste prepares to journey onto land to complete her task, but the last thing she expects is to get tangled up in a quest for treasure in the process. Forced to grapple with her emotions, can she complete her task and return home? Or is she truly too human to belong in the siren world?

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for this review! Voice of The Ocean Publishes on April 22!

Review will be up on socials later this week and is up on Goodreads and fable now!

WOW...
Outstanding debut overall. Just when I thought this was going to be one story...it WASN'T.
This is exactly why I like reading multiple retellings of one story. I imagined this was going to be like To Kill a Kingdom, but it ended up taking a much more different direction. I enjoyed the tension with Celeste and Raiden, the found family dynamic between Celeste and the other pirate crew, and the further legend and lore about the sirens and the goddesses in the story and Celeste's family lineage. Incredible world-building, and very thoughtfully done. The fight-scenes and action I could really visualize in my head, and some scenes with Celeste and Raiden were so adorable.
Honestly, as I got through to the end, I had a feeling this was not going to be a standalone. I'm very eager to read the next book in the series, and can't wait to see how this pans out.
Outstanding job! Much more original than I thought it would be.
Thank you Netgalley and Kelsey Impicciche for a copy of this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book!! The characters are so well developed, I felt like I was right there in the story. I thought the beginning could have had some more character development. I felt like the transition to the ship and what it was supposed to mean was a little quick, but that's just personal preference. Can’t wait to see what all the author writes !!!

Rating: ⭐⭐✨ (2.5/5 stars)

I was immediately drawn to Voice of the Ocean because of its promise of a fresh and unique re-telling. The premise sounded enchanting—blending classic fairy tale elements with a new voice and perspective. However, despite my initial excitement, I, unfortunately, struggled to connect with this story.

The worldbuilding had potential, and I appreciated the effort put into reimagining familiar themes. However, I found the pacing uneven, making it difficult to stay engaged. The characters, while interesting in concept, felt underdeveloped, and I had a hard time emotionally investing in their journey. I kept hoping for a deeper connection to the protagonist and their motivations, but something was missing for me.

The writing itself was fine, but it didn’t quite capture the magic I was expecting from a retelling of this nature. Some moments felt rushed, while others dragged

Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche
Rating: 3 stars
**DNF this at 35%

voice of the ocean is essentially a little mermaid retelling with some unique twists that vary it from the original disney film. If you enjoy sirens and treasure hunting this will be right up your alley!

this follows our mfc celeste as she navigates her curiosity with the human world and is tasked with killing a prince from the human kingdom. she becomes a human herself to aid in her mission but does not plan for the attraction/feelings that start to develop for the human prince raiden.

the reason i chose to DNF this book was only because i found it hard for me to really get into the story. even though there are so many unique things about this book, i had a hard time separating it from the original little mermaid story due to all the similarities. i found the book to be pretty predictable in the first third and i was struggling to stay invested in the story. i also felt like the book was for someone younger than me (i am almost 33).

i think that the writing in excellent and kelsey has a great storytelling ability. i think that they elements she added really made this story her own. i would definitely still recommend for anyone who is interested in YA fantasy to give this a try! we do not see enough stories about sirens!

thank you to netgalley and kelsey impicciche for the opportunity read this arc for my honest review!