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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!
  
The Beauty of Impossible Things
The Beauty of Impossible Things
Rachel Donohue | 2021 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
70 of 235
Book
The Beauty of Impossible Things
By Rachel Donogue
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Foresight is not always a gift...

The summer Natasha Rothwell turns fifteen, strange dancing lights appear in the sky above her small town, lights that she interprets as portents of doom.

Natasha leads a sheltered life with her beautiful, bohemian mother in a crumbling house by the sea. As news of the lights spreads, more and more visitors arrive in the town, creating a feverish atmosphere of anticipation and dread. And the arrival of a new lodger, the handsome Mr Bowen, threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium between mother and daughter.

Then Natasha's fears seem to be realized when a local teenager goes missing, and she is called on to help. But her actions over that long, hot summer will have unforeseen and ultimately tragic consequences that will cast a shadow for many years to come...

It was good and very well written. It was just missing something for me I expected more of an ending I think. But overall a good read I will certainly try more from this author.