Song of the Selkies ~ Review

Song of the Selkies

By Sarah Pennington

I have to admit I love fairy tale retellings, and this year's offerings via the Stolen Songs tour have some interesting twists on The Little Mermaid. First up is the Song of the Selkies. 

All her life Ceana has expected to have an arranged marriage with a member of one of the neighboring kingdoms. As the youngest, she is more than a little surprised to learn her parents have made no such plans for her. She seeks a marriage of meaning for the good of Atirse. The idea of pursuing a marriage solely of her own choosing and with no political advantages to it is beyond belief. So, she sets out to find a potentially advantageous marriage of her own. 

Ceana's research convinces her that one Kingdom has been overlooked - the Selkie Kingdom is secretive and largely unknown. But Ceana is convinced that her plan would have succeeded if she had access to better information. Being a determined young woman, she decides to seek out the information she needs. And the only way to do this is to go to the Selkies for the answers she seeks. But she needs a disguise. And she needs a lie to hide her identity.

What Ceana discovers will leave her with questions she never expected. But will she find the answers she seeks? Or will her ruse be discovered? This is an interesting twist on The Little Mermaid that offers plenty of intrigue to keep one's attention from the beginning. 

So, if you are expecting a Disney retelling, you couldn't be further from the truth. No, this is something entirely different and new, yet it has all the expected key moments, just with a twist. Get ready to enter a new world! I have to admit, I wouldn't mind revisiting this story world again in the future.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

About the Book:

Undercover in a foreign land, a princess discovers the secrets behind a generations-old enmity.

The youngest princess of Atìrse, Ceana always planned to marry for the good of her people and let love come later. With her sisters' marriages ensuring peace with the nearby human kingdoms, Ceana sets her sights on their last unallied neighbor: the magical and reclusive selkies. The two peoples have experienced a wary peace for generations, and the time seems ripe for a deeper alliance that will benefit both kingdoms. The last thing Ceana expects is for Fionntan, king of the selkies, to take the proposal as a grave insult.

With relations between the two peoples suddenly precarious, Ceana is determined to set things right. Aided by her grandmother, she disguises herself as a selkie and travels to their hidden home of Emain Ablach, where she hopes to discover the reason behind King Fionntan's reaction. But the more she learns about the selkies, the more she uncovers long-kept secrets of her people — and her heritage — that shake the foundations of how she viewed the world. Her growing friendships with and affection for some of the selkie nobility, including King Fionntan himself, further complicate matters, especially as her admiration for the selkie king begins to blossom into something more. No relationship built on a lie can survive, but revealing her true identity as an Atìrsen princess will doom her efforts towards peace.

In order to bridge the divide between selkies and humans, Ceana will have to overcome generations of selkies' suspicion and reveal the insidious evil that's taken root in her homeland. But the greatest obstacle to her success may be her own heart.

Discover a magical new world in this Little Mermaid retelling from the author of Through a Shattered Glass and the Bastian Dennel, PI mysteries.

Book Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBJ3TL61/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186791005-song-of-the-selkies 

Learn About the Stolen Songs: https://aristasdirectory.blogspot.com/p/five-stolen-songs.html 

About the Author

Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres.  When she isn't writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list.

Find her online at:

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