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Sea Witch Rising
Sea Witch Rising
Sarah Henning | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was excited when this book came up. I like retellings of older stories and couldn't wait to get my claws into this. Evie, a sea witch, who has been villinaised by the sea king after a past that seems to be very similar to the tale of the little mermaid. Alia, a mermaid, in love with a human prince and has a deal to be human in exchange for true love's kiss. Runa, Alia's twin, goes topside to save her sister from her fate. I found it very difficult to get into, but I think this was maybe my fault as I had kept in mind that it was a The Little Mermaid twisted tale and found myself trying to link the two. As soon as I managed to get this out of my head and see it more as a related story in a different time and place, I found it far more enjoyable and I absolutely loved it. At times I was a bit confused as I was missing I formation which is no doubt available in Sea Witch (Book 1) which I have stupidly not read. If you like magical tales (or should I say tails) you will love this.
  
Isla Emerged
Isla Emerged
Deidre Sequeira | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautiful Story
OMG!! This is so much more than a simple retelling of the Little Mermaid as it goes beyond the scope of a mermaid who wants to be a part of the human world. This well-paced, beautiful story introduces us to Isla and we get to bear witness to her growth from a young girl with a lot of attitude to a woman who does what needs to be done to save her people.

The characters and storyline are impeccably done and the author's storytelling immediately captivated me. I did not want this story to end and I am beyond thrilled that I was able to read an advance readers copy. As soon as this is available in paperback, I will be purchasing it to add it to my bookshelf as I will be delving into this story again and again.
  
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
2017 | Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Acting (3 more)
Costumes
Plot
Animated characters
Nothing in my opinion (0 more)
Very good!
I have always had a love for beauty and the beast. It was my second favorite movie as a kid with the Little Mermaid as first. But as I got older, beauty and the beast became my favorite. I loved Emma Watson in this. She did an excellent job of portraying Belle. They did a wonderful job of selecting actors that matched the original animated characters as well. Disney definitely brought it to life.
  
Sea Witch
Sea Witch
Sarah Henning | 2018 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.4 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sea Witch
When I was younger I used to always love the Princesses from the Disney stories and be afraid of the Villain's. But 'The Little Mermaid' was a different story, I loved Ariel and of course I wanted to be her and be a mermaid. But Ursula always had my heart, I loved how she was, I loved her songs and the story of who she was. But I always wanted to know more, who she was before the story and why she became the Sea Witch. Sarah Henning gives me just that.

Evie is a girl from Havnestad, a place near Copenhagen where the Little Mermaid is set. She is a girl who is hiding a secret from her best friend the Prince of Havnestad... Evie is a witch.

Nik, Evie and a girl called Anna have been best friends since they was small, until one day Anna drowned. Years later Anna is still a memory to them both, Evie has never forgotten her best friend and neither has Nik who loved Anna. One day a girl arrives on the shore called Annamette who looks almost identical to Anna only older. Evie believes that she is Anna, but no one else agrees. Annamette is hiding a secret of her own, alike Evie she can use magic. Unlike Evie she's a mermaid.

Annamette has given up her tail for legs in order to have her true love return the feeling. Once this happens she will be human forever and live among the people and be 'apart of that world' Evie makes it her duty to help Annamette get what she want's to help her to become human. She shows her things, she takes her to balls. They become close friends. But the Prince that Annemette loves, is Prince Nik and his cousin believes shes a phoney, and he might be right.

Time is ticking to get Annamette her legs. If they are to fail, Annemette will turn into sea foam. Evie will loose her new friend and will we finally find out who the Sea Witch it?

☕☕☕ - NOT A BAD BOOK

Love,
Christina xx
  
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tonidavis (353 KP) rated Moana (2016) in Movies

Jul 20, 2017  
Moana (2016)
Moana (2016)
2016 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Plot (0 more)
Music isn't as catchy as normal Disney (0 more)
Demi Gods in Disney
I love Disney as a whole Little Mermaid and Beauty and beast are my favorites. I also love mythology so soon as I heard demi god I was this is going to be a much watch film. However whilst I think the plot to this Disney film was possibly one of the best and the side kick where adorable. For me the music let it down normally I leave with song stuck in my head for days the first time I watched this I came out not remembering a single song. :'(

The grandmother in this film was great I loved the line "I'm the village crazy person "
  
TW
These Wicked Waters
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this was a really cool take on the little mermaid story. I have no idea if that was intentional because this book is about sirens not mermaids but there are definitely parallels.

I really like Annie's family issues. They informed a lot of her character and explained a lot.

It was a bit slow at first but once it gets going it does not stop. This could easily be a stand alone but I'm really hoping for a sequel!
  
H(
Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, #1)
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hannah, the first in entry into the Daughters of the Sea series, is a fairly solid tale with an enjoyable premise. Any little girl who loved the Little Mermaid would most likely want to read this story. I like the fact that it takes place in Victorian times and it teaches the reader about the hierarchy of staff in an upper-class family's household. The author did a good job making Hannah likable, Lila psychotic, and everyone else was fleshed out just enough. However, the relationship between the painter, Stannish Whitman Wheeler, and Hannah was shaky and unbelievable, and I never quite saw the need for this to be included. My biggest complaint is the ending, which for all the lead-up of this moment, felt very anti-climactic and left much to be desired. While some younger readers might find the pacing of the book a bit slow, it managed to hold my interest throughout. Overall, it's an easy read and has a good, if somewhat flawed, story. 3.5 stars
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) created a post

Jan 1, 2019  
Time for my annual "Movies Make You Feel Old" list.

These movies are now 10 years old:

Avatar
Up
The Hangover
Sherlock Holmes
Taken

These movies are now 20 years old:

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The Sixth Sense
The Matrix
The Mummy
The Green Mile

These movies are now 25 years old:

Forrest Gump
The Lion King
True Lies
The Santa Claus
Dumb and Dumber

These movies are now 30 years old:

Batman
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Dead Poets Society
When Harry Met Sally
The Little Mermaid

These movies are now 40 years old:

Alien
Apocalypse Now
Kramer vs. Kramer
Monty Python's Life of Brian
The Jerk
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

These movies are now 50 years old:

Midnight Cowboy
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Easy Rider
True Grit
The Wild Bunch
     
Show all 5 comments.
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Beatriz (138 KP) Jan 1, 2019

Ive watched 15 of them and I had no idea some were this old! Thank you for sharing !

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Andy K (10821 KP) Jan 2, 2019

No prob.

The Girl in Red
The Girl in Red
Christina Henry | 2019 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Retelling of LIttle Red Riding Hood in a post-apocalyptic wasteland
‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry is a retelling of the classic story Little Red Riding Hood. In this version, Red is living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland caused by a highly contagious disease. Everyone Red knows has died but she hopes her grandmother will still be alive since her house is isolated. Most survivors have been relocated to quarantine camps but Red would rather go to her grandmother's house.

It is told using alternating timelines that reveal the beginning and the spread of the disease and Red's struggle to get to her grandmother's house in present day.

The book took some time for me to get into the story but it has a nice pace to it. You quickly realize it is not a mystery or suspenseful book. It is a believable retelling of the perennial classic Little Red Riding Hood so there will not be any twists and turns but involves a well-written and imaginative retelling.

The Girl in Red is one of the many retellings Christina Henry has written. Others involve the classic works of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and the Little Mermaid.

The Girl in Red was a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/6/20.
  
The Surface Breaks
The Surface Breaks
Louise O'Neill | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
10
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Anyone that knows me, knows that I love a good retelling. And this is definitely a good retelling. The story is not dissimilar to the original; and I'm talking original Hans Christian Andersen, not Disney. Where this was happening in time was not clear but I read it as quite modern, rather than the age of horse and carriage. I really liked the back story of the little mermaid's mother and the intertwining back story of the "Prince's" father. I say "Prince" but in reality he is a rich young man due to a boating company. Like many retellings of The Little Mermaid the sea witch has a back story which takes away the perception of malice, but of a merperson wrongly outcasted and trying to help while keeping within the rules and bounds of magic. I found the different groups of merpeople really interesting, especially the creatures that now spend their days punishing men due to how they have been treated by men in their former life - a kind of revenge.
For people who like the original story and would like a slightly updated version, this is definitely the read for you!