Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
Release Date - July 31, 2018
Publisher Website - Harper Collins

Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages -  368 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain. 

I personally love a good villain. Ask most readers and I anticipate that plenty of them would agree with that statement. A well written villain can make a story feel richer for their inclusion. I am always fascinated by stories that showcase the origin of a villain and finding out what made them turn into the characters we love to hate.

This origin story takes its inspiration from the original Hans Christian Andersen tale rather than the Disney version. One of my favourite parts of retellings are when an author included nods to the original that don't feel forced. Sea Witch excels at this. Sarah Henning weaves in elements from the tale we all know in a way that felt authentic and natural. It didn't feel like there was a list of things to check off as she was writing. My favourite reveal is perhaps the reason behind the Sea Witch's desire to have a voice as payment. It is both heartbreaking and offers an entirely new perspective on this iconic villain.

The magic of the world being created within these pages is wonderfully set up. It's forbidden nature makes it alluring, and having Evie's relationship with it be tied to wanting to help others reveals so much about her character. This seaside town is brought to life through the magic that is part of it. It enriches the setting and causes unforeseen circumstances that drive the plot forward. If the characters are this story's heart, the magic is its driving force. Every other element from setting, plot, and characters is depended on it and it being fully defined.

Evie, our main character, is just a girl who wants to fall in love, practice her magic, and keep her father safe. She mourns the loss of her friend and her inability to save her. She's someone who wants to help her community and those in it flourish. This story really makes you look at her story as one of heartbreak, betrayal, and loss more than anything else and that makes her surprisingly more sympathetic than people may expect.

The pacing of this novel worked for me but I anticipate others may find this has a slower start. This is a story that takes its time to build the characters before it dives into the main plot of the story. It does increase the tension as the story progresses and the end crescendos into a whirlwind, stormy finale that left me captivated and breathless. The ending was exactly what it should have been and exactly what I wanted. The impact it has on the reader is largely because of the pacing during the rest of the story. That tension is felt because the events are so vividly captured and life altering for the characters.

Stories like this are fascinating. The reader knows going in that it is going to be heartbreaking. These villain origin stories are often rip-your-heart-out brutal and are written to ensure sympathy for the eventual circumstances that make our main character break bad. It stands to question why we would pick up something guaranteed to break our heart and the answer is a simple one. These stories, when done extremely well, offer up a mix of nostalgia along with something entirely new and Sea Witch does this incredibly well.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews)

A huge thank you to Harper Collins Canada for the amazing book mail I received this week. I have been super excited about this one since I first heard about it and cannot read to read it.

I also have received a postcard from Becky Albertalli as a thank you for pre-ordering Leah On The Offbeat. It's super cute and is in fact a scene from the book!

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning (goodreads)

What bookish goodies made their way into your mailbox this week? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

Waiting On Wednesday .... Sea Witch

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Here is the Goodreads synopsis 

Everyone knows what happens in the end.
A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss.
But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends.
One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch. 

When a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain. 

The rise of Hans Christian Andersen’s iconic villainess is a heart-wrenching story of friendship, betrayal, and a girl pushed beyond her limits—to become a monster.

I was sold on this right from the deal announcement. I love villain origin stories and I was especially intrigued about what the origin story for the sea witch from The Little Mermaid would look like. Now that a full synopsis and cover has been revealed I am even more excited to read it!

It's going to be a long wait for this one as it doesn't come out until summer of 2018 but we can always watch Disney's version of the classic tale while we wait. We can only hope that there is a character half as charming as Prince Eric in Sarah Henning's version. 

Expected release date - July 31, 2018

2017 Most Anticipated - Sea Witch

The next pick for my 2017 Most Anticipated Event should surprise nobody. It's no secret that I love fairytale retellings, and villain origin stories in particular.

When someone mentions the sea witch who grants the curious little mermaid legs most of us think of the amazing Disney  version.

Ursula is great. She's iconic for a reason. However, the Hans Christian Anderson version of the sea witch is extremely different. The next book included in my feature, Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, will offer an origin story for the Hans Christian Anderson version of this villainess.

While not much is known about this novel (as it doesn't come out until Fall 2017) this brief Goodreads teaser is enough to make me want to read this ASAP!

Pitched as the never-before-told origin story of the sea witch from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" told in the vein of Wicked – from the villainess's point of view

I am in love with this trend of turning a fairytale on its head by offering it as a prequel from the villain's point of view. I am sure this one is going to be a worthy addition to the collection and I cannot wait to learn more about it. I, fortunately,  got to ask Sarah a few questions about Sea Witch and she spilled a few secrets.

1 Describe Sea Witch using three words.

Friendship. Sacrifice. Magic.

2 If someone were to make a signature ice cream in honour of your book, what might be included?

I'd say "pickled herring" but that isn’t exactly appetizing even if it is in Sea Witch often. Let’s go with another food that appears a ton: blackberries—sweet, a bit sour, juicy and dark enough to leave a stain.

3 This is the origin story of the sea witch from The Little Mermaid tale. What about her inspired you to write this story?

Honestly, I devoured Gregory Maguire’s Wicked books a few years ago and completely admire what he was able to achieve with that storyline. It was a fresh way to look at the idea that a villain is the hero of his or her own story. That said, I actually don’t think my sea witch is a villain—but maybe that’s why she and I get along so well.

4 Is your character inspired more by Disney's version or the one in the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale?

My sea witch is most definitely from the original Hans Christian Andersen tale—she’s not Ursula. Ursula is a fabulous character whom I LOVE (who doesn’t?), but what I wanted to explore with this story was the character Andersen devised. In his version, the witch is much more neutral. Her role is really to question the mermaid’s motives—are you sure you want to leave your family and friends for a boy? I wanted to explore what sort of background could create Andersen’s sea witch and cause her to help the mermaid despite deep reservations.

5 Name a song you listened to for inspiration while writing this novel.

I don’t listen to music while writing but I do create playlists in honor of my manuscripts and listen to them around my writing time. At first, the two songs that characterized Sea Witch were Annie Lennox’s “Walking on Broken Glass” for the dramatics and Of Monsters and Men’s “Little Talks” for its Nordic flare. But during revision I became aware of Troye Sivan’s “Youth” and it absolutely became the song for Sea Witch. I love the theme of it—that we give our youth to those with whom we choose to spend it. At its heart, Sea Witch is a friendship book about what you’ll sacrifice for those you love—even in your youth.

6 If you could travel to anywhere, in any time period, when and where would you want travel?

Holy wow. Um, let’s see. I’ve always been slightly obsessed with the ancient Mayans and I would love to see their cities at their peak. I find Mayan culture beautiful, terrifying and fascinating.

7 What 2017 release are you most anticipating?

Oh, geez. What a painful question! I can’t wait to continue the series from Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, and to start a new series from Renee Ahdieh. That said if we’re talking a 2017 debut, I’m going to have to go with the crowd and say Stephanie Garber’s Caraval. I mean…AMAZING.

8 If not too spoilery, can you share the first line of Sea Witch.

Of course! It’s probably my favorite line in the whole book.

The sea is a fickle witch.  

I am in awe that Sarah did that entire interview without spilling the name of her sea witch. I kind of love that. I, also,  love that friendship seems to be a major theme for this one. I am not kidding myself that this is going to be a happily ever after kind of novel because we know what becomes of her story, but I think that is why I am drawn to novels like this.

I don't know if we'll meet a certain mermaid who trades her voice for legs, but I anticipate we might get a glimpse of her. I hope so anyways. Not enough to overshadow the sea witch, but a nod to where fate is bringing both of them would be wonderful.

Sea Witch releases sometime in Fall 2017 so it'll be an agonizing wait for this one, but one that I predict will be worth it.

Sadly, pre-order links are not available just yet. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads which will have them as they come available.

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You can also follow Sarah on Twitter to keep up to date on all things Sea Witch, visit her website, and keep an eye on the publisher website for more information to come.

Are you a fan of fairytale retellings? In particular, those that offer up a look at the villain before they became the villain we love to hate? Let me know in the comments!

I cannot be the only one still hoping for a hot prince

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to find out the next book that made this year's list!