Kiss of the Selkie: A Little Mermaid Retelling (Entangled with Fae)

A little Mermaid retelling with a mix of Fae, fantasy and fun.I was so excited to get an Arc of Kiss of the Selkie and it didn't disappoint.We get more of the headstrong Princess Maisie, (who fled in Heart of a Raven Prince) as she hides on the streets of Lumenas playing the thief.Maisie is a delightful mix of naive and street smart and her ability to twist the truth allows her all sorts of leeway in the Fae world.It took me a while to warm up to Dorian as his personality doesn't particularly shine straight out.But Podaxas and Nadia are fantastic side characters and even Brother Viktor has his moments.Even though it is a retelling, there are enough twists and turns that you are never bored. The author has a wonderful way of adding details in that conjure a fully functioning world with vast rich history and culture.Kiss of the Selkie is a pure delight from start to finish

To start, apologies I don't often write reviews and I never think I do them justice.So I really enjoyed this, my favourite in the series so far. Usually I steer clear of the retelling of stories as I feel they can be predictable. I don't get that here. I found this a gripping read and a refreshing take on the little mermaid.I loved the MC Maisie's character, flawed yes very likeable. Loved her friendship with Podaxis especially.Would definitely recommend this to any of my friends who read.

Love the book, the books by this author are wonderful books to read

easy read and a few unexpected but delightful side characters, probably my favorite after Heart of the Raven King.Looking forward to next book in the series

I received an ARC to be able to review it.As the blurb says, this is a retelling of the story of the little mermaid. I liked the nods to both the Hans Christian Anderson version that I remembered (murder and self sacrifice) as well as the Disney version (Podaxis) with a selkie rather then a mermaid.It took me a little longer to get hooked into Maisie's story then it did either Ember or Gemma's books and I couldn't work out why at first. By the time I was past chapter 5, I was fully invested and wanting to find out what happened next.On reflection- I think it was the naivety and the lack of intest in what's happening in the world around her exhibited (to me) at the start of the story by Maisie, both of which seem at odds with a person who has been living in the run for a year when we start the story.For me the story really picks up when she joins the contest and we start to see the secondary characters flesh out and Maise herself grow and develop.A solid 3.5-4 for me where I would class the first two books as a 4.5-5.A good addition to the authors world and I can't wait to read what comes next.

A clever re-telling of a classic tale, wrapped in an immersive and unique reimagining of Fairy lore.Kiss of the Selkie is an exciting and original novel, written by Tessonja Odette, that follows the story of Maisie, a princess turned outlaw, who is given the chance to redeem herself by… err… committing another murder. As one might expect, this doesn’t quite go to plan.The author has written several other books, each of which provide a novel spin on a fairytale, and which all appear to be set in the same universe. I haven’t read any of these, but it’s a fantastic conceit, and I hope to read more soon. Not having read these books was no obstacle as, other than the in-universe colour, the story appeared to stand alone.I was very quickly dragged into the story by the levels of depth and imagination used to describe the world, and I found it easy to imagine the world in which Maisie, living under the pseudonym of Pearl, lived. The book was full of style and wit, and I really got a sense of the princesses’ renegade spirit.Furthermore, although I don’t enjoy romance as standard, I found the way that the chemistry was developed between Maisie and her love interest was actually really sweet and fun to read. The way in which literary conventions concerning Fairy (i.e. the inability to lie, the Selkies’ need for a sealskin to perform a glamour) were woven in also show me an author who really cares about the tradition she is maintaining. Indeed, the only thing I would change at all about this story is the use of first-person present tense. I personally find that it’s quite a ‘noisy’ way to read and only enhances the writing in certain very specific circumstances.All in all, Kiss of the Selkie is a wonderful and imaginative story that will be enjoyed by almost anyone who enjoys fantasy and romance. I’m not sure there is much else like it!

Great opening (reminded me of The Shadows Between Us) but overall, I found the first half of the book to be incredibly slow. The second half was quite enjoyable and the ending was definitely emotional. I think it's worth a try if you enjoy fairy-tale retellings, but I wouldn't strongly recommend.