The Seafarers Kiss

by Julia Ember

Overview

Having long wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year-old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the merfolk’s fortress. But when Ersel’s childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: Say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier’s brutal king.

Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from the divine Loki. But such deals are never straightforward, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she’s known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she’s come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945053207
Publisher:	Interlude Press
Publication date:	05/04/2017
Series:	Seafarer's Kiss
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	315,034
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Julia Ember is the author of The Seafarer’s Kiss duology and Ruinsong. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Bustle, Book Riot and Autostraddle, among many other prominent outlets. Julia has a lifelong appreciation for history and classic literature, and holds an MLitt in Medieval Literature from the University of St. Andrews. She currently lives in Seattle with her wife, two cats and a very fluffy pony.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—A flawed but unique mermaid romance for young adults. Ersel, a teenage Nordic mermaid, strives to escape the patriarchal system that values her only as a breeder. She is enamored with all things human and falls in love with a shipwrecked human girl. Ersel makes a deal with Loki, the trickster god, to collect a mermaid voice for him in exchange for legs. She obtains the voice, and Loki grants her wish. However, instead of giving Ersel two legs, he transforms her fins into eight tentacles. Ersel must outsmart the god to achieve her dreams. Readers will likely compare this tale to Disney's The Little Mermaid and will be pleased with the parallels. The unique elements—the steamy same-sex romance and the interweaving of Norse mythology—give this story a lift. Unfortunately the writing is clumsy at times. VERDICT A good addition to YA retelling shelves.—Elaine Fultz, Madison Jr. Sr. High School, Middletown, OH

School Library Journal

2017-03-20
A free-spirited mermaid chafes against the constraints of her imperiled community, risking her life for a taste of love and freedom. Living in the glacial caves of the frozen Arctic, their formerly tropical, matriarchal society now ruled harshly by a sadistic king, the merfolks' future is at risk thanks to declining female fertility. Blue-haired, topaz-scaled Ersel has no interest in settling down to hatch babies; her forbidden fascination with human shipwrecks and the artifacts they contain has focused her sights on broader horizons. Pressured to accept a proposal from her best friend, Havamal, a hunky blue-gray-eyed, silver-scaled merman, but intensely attracted to Ragna, the fair-skinned, blonde human woman she is secretly meeting, a desperate Ersel bargains with the crafty, shape-shifting, gender-fluid Norse god Loki in a risky bid for self-determination. This adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" touches on themes of environmental destruction, reproductive rights, and feminism and is set in a watery northern world of humans on whaling ships, polar bears, and beluga whales. While there is plenty of action (spiced up with romance) to keep pages turning, the characters lack the emotional depth necessary to be compelling and engaging. Readers seeking a queer fantasy that taps into the popularity of mermaids and fairy-tale adaptations may appreciate this offering despite its flaws. (Fantasy. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews