In this twist on ‘The Little Mermaid’, the mermaid must get out of dreams into reality to save her kingdom and heart.
A Princess of Wind and Wave is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, by Australian author Melanie Cellier. It is the last book of the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series, which is the sequel series to The Four Kingdoms series, I would recommend reading everything for the best experience, for example, the seed of this book was sown in A Dance of Silver and Shadow. This book wraps up the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series nicely with a bow-on-the-top.
Isla may be a mermaid princess, but she’s never felt at home in her undersea kingdom. Instead, she dreams of the day her people can return to the surface–and the boy whose life she once saved. But while Isla foresees danger for her people beneath the ocean, she has no concept of the dark forces working to keep her people submerged.
When an impetuous vow sets her on the course of the truth, Isla discovers that shadowy foes beset the kingdoms of both land and sea. And when she finally finds herself onshore, Isla realizes the fight will require not only her sword but her mind and heart at least if she ever hopes to overcome her enemies and win the love of the prince of her dreams.
In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, the princess will have to grow beyond her dreams if she wants to save two kingdoms and her own heart.
Alright, this was so good, the plot was amazing, I was sitting at the edge of my seat, and then there’s the fact that this book made me procrastinate on my studies (I’m weak that way 😅), and the romance was so beautiful. I was excited for this story from the first book where Teddy (the Prince)’s ‘Ocean Girl’ was first introduced, and then we are introduced to her world, which is beautiful by the way, and Melanie as always doesn’t info dump, it is all very seamless and flowy, in other words, the worldbuilding was spot on, and then let us take a moment for the political intrigue, this one had it more than any other book in both of the series, I was reminded of The Princess Fugitive, which had political intrigue but still not quite as much. As a retelling, again Melanie absolutely served, I knew the story and yet I was as shocked as Isla when the villain was revealed (alright! Maybe not as shocked, but it was pretty close) and the elements of the story were incorporated wonderfully, the pacing was fine. to be honest, I won’t call it slow or fast, so moderate I suppose.
Coming to the characters,
Isla was likable, and even though I’m not as daring as her or rebellious either but I still connected with her so much and could understand her, the weight of not fitting in, of not being taken seriously, going into dreams when the reality becomes too much, the frustration with her father’s over-protectiveness and the impulsiveness & rashness too, all of these things made her so human.
Then the character development, when she realizes her family’s importance and value, when she realizes that dreams should not isolate people from reality, and well, dreams are just dreams, it is the real people and situations that matter, and of course, her realization that the political game might have value as well, and basically embracing her past and role as a princess, but at the same time being herself.
Teddy, oh my sweet boy, he was so clueless at times, not understanding cues, his head in the clouds, but at the same time, caring and kind. He went through development too, his romance and feelings the catalyst for the development, as he understood, that real people are much better than the ideal imaginations, obviously, he caused quite a bit of heartbreak to Isla in the process.
Now, coming to the romance, it was a big part of the book, their love story was indeed beautiful, and the late-night conversations really sealed the deal for me, it was supposed to be instant love as per the fairytale, as unrealistic as it sounds, those few moments when she saves him are supposed to be the ones in which they fall in love, but it isn’t instant love at all, somehow it is the exact opposite.
The side characters and their interactions were fun to read, by the way, little Daisy has her own book now. I was so happy that Millie got her happily ever after. Special mention to Ray, who became a favorite of mine.
As for villain, they did good, if you know what I mean, good villains make for great stories, don’t they?
The themes I could understand were the intricacies of dreams and reality just how deceiving appearances can be, and how reality can be twisted if the person one wants to deceive may willingly accept lies because on the inside, deep down they want those lies to be the reality, so they accept the lies and don’t question questionable things.
I’d give a 13+ rating for some violence and kissing.
5 stars, amazing characters, great plot, political intrigue, and a beautiful and clean romance.
Melanie posts extras on her website and there is a bonus chapter for this one too HERE and The Ball too, both from Ray’s point of view.
With this we come to the end of Beyond the Four Kingdoms series, next, I’ll start the Back to the Four Kingdoms series.
Bye! for now.
Yours,
A Fellow Bookworm
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