In this modern retelling of The Little Mermaid, a fisherman’s daughter from an Outer Banks island untouched by time, meets the son of the North Carolina governor at a fancy party she helps to cater.Laire, who wants more from life than her little island can offer, is swept away by wealthy, sophisticated Erik, who is, in turn, entranced by her naiveté and charm. The two spend a whirlwind summer together that ends on the knife-point of heartbreak and forces them to go their separate ways.
Years later, when fate finds them together once again, they will discover the terrifying depth of the secrets they kept from each other, and learn that shattered hearts can only be healed by a love that willfully refuses to die.
All novels Katy Regnery’s ~a modern fairytale~ collection are written as fundraisers. 10% of the e-book sales for in March and April 2017 will be donated.
I’m a sucker for retellings of classic stories–I love seeing all the ways authors take all of the common elements and make them new and different for modern readers. There were a lot of clever aspects to this story and I loved seeing all the ways she made the story of the Little Mermaid as recognizable as the original but modern and fresh at the same time (though OMG, did Ms. Regnery make us wait forever to finally see who Flounder was going to be! ;)). Plus, you know, a happy ending–which I know Disney gave us but I believe the real original did not…
I loved Laire (an anagram of Ariel!) and Erik’s characters–they were both sympathetic and flawed, and OMG did they have some amazing chemistry going on. The setting of the Outer Banks in North Carolina was perfect–having Ariel’s family live on an isolated island off the coast was brilliant–and now I really want to go back to that area for another visit. They even went to the Fort Raleigh National Historic site, because really, who wouldn’t want to? I’d love to see more of my favorite book characters visit historical sites, quite frankly, though that could be just me 😉
I will absolutely be getting my hands on the other books in this series ASAP!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Never Let You Go (Hansel & Gretel) – available now
Ginger’s Heart (Little Red Riding Hood) – available now
Dark Sexy Knight (Camelot) – available now (99c!)
Don’t Speak (The Little Mermaid) – new release
Swan Song (The Ugly Duckling) – available late-2017
Author Bio:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Regnery started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract and Katy’s first novel was published in September 2013.
Twenty-five books later, Katy claims authorship of the multi-titled, New York Times and USA Today Blueberry Lane Series, which follows the English, Winslow, Rousseau, Story, and Ambler families of Philadelphia; the six-book, bestselling ~a modern fairytale~ series; and several other standalone novels and novellas.
Katy’s first modern fairytale romance, The Vixen and the Vet, was nominated for a RITA® in 2015 and won the 2015 Kindle Book Award for romance. Katy’s boxed set, The English Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1–4, hit the USA Today bestseller list in 2015, and her Christmas story, Marrying Mr. English, appeared on the list a week later. In May 2016, Katy’s Blueberry Lane collection, The Winslow Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1-4, became a New York Times E-book bestseller.
In 2016, Katy signed a print-only agreement with Spencerhill Press. As a result, her Blueberry Lane paperback books will now be distributed to brick and mortar bookstores all over the United States.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, two dogs, and one Blue Tonkinese kitten create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
