“‘A treasure stolen. A kingdom teetering on ruin. And the silence of a sea witch’s curse.’ I killed a man to protect my sisters, and now I am a fugitive. With bounty hunters hot on my trail – willing to take me dead or alive – I’m forced to disguise myself as a cabin boy on the Bella Donna. I should have been safe at sea, but I cannot escape the dangerous feelings evoked by the ship's handsome captain. For I am Merisol, one of the adoptive daughters of Lady Eville, and to escape my past and save my friends I will make an uncertain bargain with a shady sea witch. The deal sounds too good to be true. What could possibly go wrong?”
What is the book about?
Merisol Eville is one of the adoptive daughters of Lady Eville and she cares about nothing more than her family. So, when one of her sisters is in trouble, she doesn’t hesitate to help and accidentally kills a man in order to protect her. Now she is on the run and is a wanted murderer, hunted by people who will find her, eventually. After a strange encounter with a mysterious man, she finds her way out of a tricky situation and manages to escape him and the bounty hunters. In order to keep hidden, Meri disguises herself as a cabin boy on the Bella Donna, thinking she will be safe at sea, but she can’t escape both the bounty hunters and the feelings she has for the ship’s captain. And after an encounter with a sea witch, she makes a deal with her, a deal which will change everything, a deal which seems too good to be true. So what could possibly go wrong?
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
I really enjoyed reading both Of Beast and Beauty and Of Glass and Glamour, the two books in the Daughters of Eville series previous to Of Sea and Song, so I came into this book with high expectations. My initial thoughts on Of Sea and Song were that it was going to be a great read and I knew I was going to enjoy it. I was so excited for another great story based on a fairy tale and after reading the blurb I was even more interested in reading this book. Once I started to read I was immediately sucked into the world of the book and knew that my initial thoughts were correct, especially at the shocking start and the way that everything was so interesting from the beginning – this book was amazing, from the very beginning. I finished the book just as quickly as all the others and loved reading it, from start to finish.
Who was your favourite character and why?
Even though I really liked Merisol, I think I would have to say in this book my favourite character would have to be her sister Aura. Merisol was amazing and I really admired how strong and determined she was and how she did everything she could to protect her sisters, however at the end of the book she was transformed and she was willing to lose everything because she couldn’t see past her anger and pain. So she needed her sister Aura to help her and at that moment I knew she had to be my favourite character. The main reason for this was because of her power and the fact that that made her who she was and gave her the perfect personality. The fact that she could read minds and feelings made her a sensitive girl who always knew what everyone needed. But instead of people seeing her as strong, her sisters saw her as fragile because she was so sensitive to those emotions and it sometimes put her in a lot of pain and it also meant that she was unwilling to hurt others. And she wasn’t going to have people seeing her that way and when Meri thought that she immediately struck her down because she was just as determined, strong and willing to do anything to protect her sisters as the others and in that moment I knew that I was going to love her. I just can’t wait for her story in the next book, Of Thorn and Thread.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
My favourite part of the book would probably have to be when the captain appeared at the start of the story because in that moment I knew exactly what was going to unfold and I was so excited. The start of the book had been a series of twists and turns and I initially had no idea what was going to happen, who the love interest was and anything about the sea witch mentioned in the blurb. However, when the captain appeared and I realised his true identity and Meri realised who he was, I knew exactly what was going to happen and was immediately rooting for a couple that had shown little to no interest in each other. It gave me a sense of certainty that I needed and reassured me that this book would have a romance that would (hopefully) end happily. It gave me hope for a fantasy, romance book that would be exactly like I wanted: the boy and girl defeat every obstacle in their way and get together in the end. There were so many moments when I was dreading the ending, thinking that I wouldn’t get the happily ever after I wanted because of all the twists and uncertainty, however in this moment I was oblivious to all of that and was just rooting for this couple that had met so unexpectedly after a strange twist of fate.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Of Sea and Song and there were so many things I loved about it. One thing I liked about the book was the mix of twists and predictability. At the beginning of the book and the end of the book, there were so many twists and turns in the story and the element of not knowing what would come next in the story. It gave a much needed sense of uncertainty to a fairy tale story I had been familiar with as a child. But now after reading 3 of the 7 Daughter of Eville stories I know that these are not regular fairy tale retellings and there is a magic and link between them that I have never seen before. Despite the moments of surprise in the story, there was a lot of predictability, particularly with the romance. There was nothing wrong with this of course and I loved it because who doesn’t love the predictable, cringey love story most romantic novels and books have. And it was more than just that, this romance story was deeper than that and I just loved every moment of it, which brings me onto the second thing I loved about the book – the romance. It brings such happiness to me when I root for the couple who gets together in the series, but for this book it was more than just that because of the fact that the couple spent the majority of the book pretending that neither of them knew the truth about how they had come to know each other, when in reality they both immediately recognised each other and couldn’t stop thinking about each other. This couple had so many more obstacles than either of the other from the two previous books and it made the book so much more interesting. One last thing I would like to mention was the fact that, even though this book was nothing like The Little Mermaid, it still had the main message of the story, just like all the other books before this one. Meri made a deal with a sea witch, just like Ariel did, and she chose to give up the thing that meant the most to her, all for love, which was the most special thing ever. I literally just noticed this and I noticed that the other books also had this. In Of Beast and Beauty, the couple fell in love, despite the darkness that they each had within them and the fact that they may have both been seen as beasts by others, which was very similar to the story of Beauty and the Beast. And in Of Glass and Glamour the prince went after the girl when he lost her because he knew he loved her, just like in Cinderella. I loved this so much and I will definitely look out for it in the other books because those fairy tales are stories that I grew up with, stories that I fantasised about and the fact that the author kept the main romance makes these books so special.
Would you recommend this book?
I definitely recommend reading Of Sea and Song, but definitely read the first two books (Of Beast and Beauty and Of Glass and Glamour) before this one as there are some things that you need to know to make complete sense of it. It is the perfect book for those over 24 who love fantasy, romance and fairy tale retellings.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
The perfect romance wrapped in a magical story full of sacrifice, adventure and secrets.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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