Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing Year of the Mer by L. D. Lewis, a new sapphic fantasy retelling inspired by the events of The Little Mermaid. Read on to find out all of my thoughts!

A dark, bloody epic fantasy reimagining of The Little Mermaid that goes far beyond the fairytale to explore family legacy, war, and what we will sacrifice for vengeance—the perfect read for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and Circe.

The fairytale mermaid Arielle might have gotten her happily-ever-after, but her granddaughter Yemi is having a much harder time. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated years ago, her mother is slowly dying of a poisoned wound, and she faces whispers and slights from her own people. Yemi has been raised as the shield of the kingdom and is soon to inherit the throne, but she cannot shake her fury at how Ixia has treated her family after all they’ve sacrificed. Only her patient mother and steadfast personal bodyguard (and fiancée), Nova, help Yemi rein in that fury…most of the time.

When the kingdom’s discontented rumblings reach a fever pitch, a coup erupts and Yemi’s throne is usurped, stripping her of her family and forcing her into exile. Now, only one being has the power to help her: Ursla.

Like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted by a deal with the sea-witch. With powerful and ancient magic behind her, Yemi could avenge her family, take back her throne, and protect the love of her life. But she should know more than anyone that there is always a price. As much as Yemi wants vengeance, Ursla has been waiting a very, very long time for her own—and it may take more fortune than Yemi possesses to keep her from losing everything all over again.

***Thank you to Saga Press for providing an advanced copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

Year of the Mer took a bit of time to settle into a good rhythm, but it did eventually reel me in with its fascinating world-building, brutal plot, and conniving sea witches. The first third or so of the story was very heavy on the lore and introducing a ton of characters, which did bog things down some. It didn’t help that a lot of the kingdom’s history and the characters’ relationships felt incredibly convoluted and hard to follow at times. I’m still not sure that all of the motivations behind the different wars, betrayals, and coup attempts made sense to me, but I had fun trying to piece the puzzle of it all together and following all of the action. Regardless of whether I understood it all, the history of this kingdom was undeniably a MESS that led back to one person: Arielle.

Year of the Mer was definitely not the Little Mermaid from my childhood. lol. This book was dark, gritty, and full of vengeance. I liked how it dared to show all of the undesirable consequences of Arielle’s actions, including the negative impacts on her own family. Her happily ever after caused so much strife for everyone and played right into a long-term plan by Ursla that destabilized both the human and mer realms, which left them ripe for a takeover.

The central figure of Year of the Mer, Yemi, was so deeply unlikable. Even in her best moments, she was kind of awful. For the first part of the book, she constantly complained about being a royal and the limitations that role placed on her. Then when she lost her throne, she did a complete 180. She just had to have it back because it was hers alone. Granted, the people who took it from her were awful, too, but Yemi had no interest in being a leader or helping her people. If anything, she saw them as an enemy to be conquered so that she could have the deference she was due. Honestly, I hated her and kept waiting for the moment she finally realized that she was being an entitled, selfish brat. Instead, she just kept getting worse and worse while pushing away those who loved her the most, which was an interesting arc to follow. Despite loathing her, I still found myself empathizing with her. She’d lost everything and been tossed aside to watch her family’s legacy be erased. I’d probably want vengeance in her shoes, too. I also found it interesting that her journey mirrored Arielle’s in so many ways, albeit much darker.

Don’t go into Year of the Mer expecting a ton of romance. The central relationship of this story between Yemi and Nova never felt very romantic. It seemed like it was born more out of duty than romance. Nova was Yemi’s bodyguard, and most of their relationship consisted of Nova trying to talk Yemi out of doing rash and horrible things. As the story progressed, this dynamic eventually became a bigger and bigger wedge between them. I did like Nova, though. She was tough, loyal, and principled. She had to face some horrible stuff in this novel, but she always did it with a sense of level-headedness that I admired.

Year of the Mer explored some interesting themes, as well. Obviously, generational trauma was front and center, given the story’s emphasis on how Arielle’s actions reverberated down to her child and grandchild. The story also pointed out the tendency of humans to abandon their past for the sake of progress. Old traditions often fall by the wayside as new innovations take center stage. Something about this story made it feel like a warning to discard the past at one’s own peril. Both Ursla and Yemi were also the poster children for absolute power corrupts absolutely.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading Year of the Mer. Despite the extremely unlikable main character, the story was quite the ride. From coups to underwater kingdoms to unleashed vengeance generations in the making, this book had lots to sink my teeth into. Therefore, I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on Year of the Mer by L. D. Lewis. Have you read this one yet or plan to do so soon? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!