The Stone Mermaid (Fairytales, #1) by Aisha Urooj

The Stone Mermaid (Fairytales, #1) Reviews

• 
  Jennifer (bunnyreads)

  I read this for SPFBO. To find out more about the SPFBO contest and to see the participating bloggers/authors and reviews follow the links below
  
  3.5
  
  
  I was very excited to get this in my group. I have an undying love of fairytales and retellings.
  There was a lot I enjoyed about this retelling starting with the changes. Aisha Urooj kept enough of the elements of the originals to recognize it without actually making this a blow-by-blow retelling. In fact, it kept enough of that darker feel to the story in the beginning (coupled with that title) to make me worry about which way this tale would go - Disney or sadly. This was one time I was grateful for reading on kindle because if this had been a paperback, I probably would have popped-ahead for spoilers.
  
  The story is in two parts and in this tale- Ariana’s (the little mermaid) mother Helena, was human and her father The Sea King, stole her and brought her to live in his kingdom under the sea (so hard not to sing that last bit). Helena’s stories of home are what sparks Ariana’s interest in the wonders of the world above.
  
  The Sea Witch has a son named Victor, who is enamoured with Ariana. I liked that a lot of the tale was from his perspective. Especially because his pov. just makes the whole thing feel fresh to our eyes.
  
  There are a lot of new and fun elements to the story- Victor is helping Ariana win the heart of her prince Ivan (and being incredibly jealous while doing so), all the while hoping she will eventually see himself, as a potential love interest. There are additional cast on land, with Ivan and his family. And a dark force rising in the ocean, with Victor and Ariana’s destinies tied into its outcome. Also, there are fun little nods to Disney’s flounder and Sebastian.
  
  The first part somewhat tells the story we know (to a point) but part two, veers away and builds off all those tidbits of backstory that the author used to pad and revamp the original. I loved how incredibly creative it was and all the additional story in the second book but I did wish the two parts had a more cohesive blending of their parts together.
  
  The first part, definitely felt stronger than second part which was a bit more all over the place, filling in more details of the story and introducing characters to give us a clear path for the main characters to gain their ending. I wondered why more of the details hadn’t been included in the main body, earlier, as I felt it would have been a smoother story all around. As it was, part two felt like it was written at a later time (and maybe that was the case).
  
  That said, I still say this was one of the more imaginative retellings I’ve read in a while, and I enjoyed it a lot for that reason (and also for making me doubt for a while which way the end would go). If you like retellings like I do, it’s worth checking this one out just for that reason alone.
  
  
  
  
  Learn more about the contest here-
  
  
  
  https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
• 
  TaniaRina

  Never raise sea creatures from the depths…
  ...as you’ll be waaay so out of your element.
  
  While the feel of this is light and romantic, there are definitely some dark aspects – or shall I say, realistic? Characters deal with arranged marriage, between two worlds, coercion & trickery, deceased parent, lost family, making long-term choices, etc.
  ‘Not every story is a love story. Not every love story has a happy ending.’
  
  
  The below is soooo true and I’m glad the author included it:
  “Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”
  ~~~ Khalil Gibran
  May we never know that kind of pain.
  
  
  Looking forward to more in this series!
• 
  Claire Denning

  
  This author definitely has a narrative voice made for fairytales! From the moment I started reading, I felt like I was being tucked into bed and told a magical story about mythical kingdoms both on land and under the sea. It is billed as a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but I think that sells short all the hard work this author put into her world building and plot line that span years of many different characters' lives. While some elements are similar (the sea witch, the mermaid who falls in love with a prince) many were refreshingly different from the original tale (Sirens, selkies, and fleshed out characters inside the Prince's kingdom).
• 
  Cassi Sanchez-Manning

  The fact that this was a retelling is what caught my attention, however this book exceeded my expectations! This book was only loosely based on the fairytale and had many new/unique characteristics. With Great world building and many mythological creatures this book is a must for anyone of any age!
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Louise

  The story starts off as an adaptation of The Little Mermaid, featuring Ariana and Victor. Then the second half of the book takes on a different spin as Victor goes on a mission and Ariana attempts to find him. The writing is extremely young and introduces a lot of characters further into the story.
  
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Shannon

  This is a very unique version of a mermaid story. It is written much different than the books I have been reading lately. The world building is so intriguing on mermaid and sea witch lore.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Marie Reed

  DNF at 26%
  
  I may try this again as an ebook instead of audio. I like the story concept, but there is a lot of repetition and I'm not sure if it's the writing style or the narrator throwing me off, but I'm not able to get into the story at all.
• 
  Melissa

  A "retelling" of The Little Mermaid. Both stories have mermaids, and one falls for a human. That's where the similarities end.
  A good story, rather dark, and you're never quite sure where it's heading.
• 
  Aria

  I'm always on the hunt for great fairytale retellings, but unfortunately, this one isn't it. The story itself is decent, but relies heavily on 'telling'. The characters do not talk like real people, and they generally have surface-level characterizations and barely any personality. What a shame.
• 
  Eileen

  Only read a couple chapters, did not like the style of writing. Only putting this so I remember I read part of it.
• 
  Virginia

  I really enjoyed reading The Stone Mermaid, and I'd highly recommend checking it out!
• 
  Aisha Urooj

  🎧Available in Audio!🎧
  Narrated by Dante E. Chandler
  
  Direct store:
  https://payhip.com/b/5qs7e
  
  Audible:
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CMDH...
  
  Scribd:
  https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/6805...
  
  Chirp:
  https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks...
  
  Spotify: The Stone Mermaid
  https://open.spotify.com/show/6Fpjer9...
  
  Kobo:
  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/...
  
  Barnes & Noble:
  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...
  
  Google Play:
  https://play.google.com/store/audiobo...
  
  Libby:
  https://libro.fm/audiobooks/978173889...
• 
  Peyton McCain

  tried so hard to finish this so I didn’t have to DNF but found it extremely hard to get through. The plot is interesting enough but the writing style threw me