Mermaids Never Drown ed. Zoriad Córdova and Natalie C. Parker

Pages: 320

Publisher: Titan Books 

Released: 26th of September 2023 

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.

Edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Mermaids Never Drown features beloved authors like Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters.

What I Have to Say 

This was a really strong short story anthology. It had many different types of stories and many different styles of writing, all featuring mermaids, sirens or the cultural equivalent! I had a great time reading it and really enjoyed some of the stories. There weren't any stories I absolutely hated in this one, which is always a good sign! 

 Some of my particular favourites were The First and Last Kiss by Julie Murphy, The Merrow by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker and Jinju's Pearls by June Hur, but there were many other good ones that really stood out for me! 

I liked sirens a lot, so it made me really happy to see Sirens feature so much in this book. I was glad that they really went into the dark sides of myths as well as having some lighter stories. 

If there's a mermaid obsessed reader in your life, this would be the perfect book for them! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Aurabel by Laura Dockrill

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 1st of June 2017 

Other Books in the Series: Lorali 

It has been two years since Rory drowned, and Lorali is in Hastings, living the quiet life of a normal teenage girl. But her safe life on land won't last for long. Life in The Whirl has become a hotbed of underwater politics and as the council jostles to oust the king, one Mer in particular has her eye on Lorali as the key to her own rise to power.

Meanwhile, Aurabel, a lowly Mer from the wrong side of the trench, is attacked by sea beasts and left for dead - and without a tail. Raging with righteous anger, she rebuilds herself a mechanical tail and reinvents herself as a fearless steampunk Mer seeking revenge. But she never expected the most important job that was about to drop into her lap.

What I Have to Say 

I didn't like this as much as Lorali. I think most of that is because I didn't warm to Aurabel as quickly as I did to Lorali. Lorali had all the sweet innocence and Aurabel has an edge to her even before the events of the stories started. I grew to like her more once she became bad-ass, but at first she just wasn't a character I could connect to. 

It also was just lacking the innocence and wonder that I really enjoyed about Lorali. Lorali's wonder at discovering everything about the Walkers was one of the best things about Lorali and I just missed it so much. It also had all all the darker elements that were in the second half of Lorali and it quickly became a bit too much for me. It was all dark and gore and not enough lightness to balance it out. 

I still think that these are good books, but I just was so unprepared for Aurabel.  I think if I reread it now that I like Aurabel as a character and am more prepared for the dark, gritty feel of the book, I'd enjoy it more, but this time it just didn't live up to my hopes. 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Lorali by Laura Dockrill

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this review copy. 

Pages: 208

Publishers: Hot Key Books 

Released: 2nd of July 2015

Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.

Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.

But along with Lorali's arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory's bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

What I Have to Say 

Can I just say how adorable Lorali is? She such a special little sweetheart that needs to be protected from this world at all costs so she never loses her enthusiasm for everything. I really hope that the events of the book don't take that from her because she is a beautiful character that everyone needs in their life. 

The story was amazing. There was everything, politics, drama, betrayal, pirates, hunters and pain. I found the society of the Mers really interesting. It was well done, drawing in classic mermaid mythology as well as new and unique ideas to create a beautiful world. The idea of savaging was especially interesting. It creates so much space for mermaids with tragic backstories. 

The ending nearly killed my heart. I knew how it would be resolved, but there were loads of twists and surprises. 

It's such a beautiful book.