Book Review: The Mermaid by Christina Henry
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Mermaid by Christina Henry
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Berkley (June 19, 2018)
Length: 336 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
The Mermaid turned out to be a slight departure from the previous fairy tale-inspired books by Christina Henry, delivering a historical fantasy with mythological leanings rather than a dark or horror retelling. The story follows a young mermaid who yearned to see more of the world beyond her watery realm, venturing further and further away from home following in the wake of human ships until one day she traveled a little too far and lost her way. In the waters off a small coastal town in Maine, she became entangled in a fishing net. But Jack, the fisherman who caught her, took one look at her wild eyes and cut her loose, knowing in his heart that she was meant to be free.
But to both their surprise, the mermaid returned to Jack, for she had looked into his eyes too and recognized not only a kindness there, but also a loneliness that she understood. Evoking her magic, she transformed into a human so that she could live on land. After adopting the new name of Amelia, the mermaid eventually married Jack, and the two lived in happiness and love until one morning, he rowed out with the other fishing boats but never made it back.
Filled with grief, Amelia spends the next ten years looking out to sea every day from her rocky perch, never growing older even as the townspeople aged around her. Inevitably, rumors of a beautiful mermaid soon spread and reached the ears of a certain notorious showman in New York by the name of P.T. Barnum. Always on the lookout for strange new attractions, Barnum dispatches his business associate Levi Lyman to Maine in the hopes that the young man will be able to convince this extraordinary young woman to work for him.
It never fails; as soon as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus shutters its doors, that’s when it seems the world suddenly develops a fascination with P.T. Barnum, because all sorts of books and movies about him are coming out of the woodwork lately. In the case of The Mermaid, the story is set in the period of his life between the early to mid-1840s, or around the time Barnum was first shown the infamous Fiji Mermaid by his friend Moses Kimball, leading to his decision to exhibit the fake monkey-fish hybrid in his museum of curiosities. In this novel, however, Barnum is unsatisfied with a mere “humbug”, desiring something more substantial to show to his audience, and by golly it didn’t matter to him if he had to bully, cajole, or manipulate some poor unsuspecting backwater young girl to play pretend for months on end, he was going to get his “real” mermaid. Needless to say, Henry’s portrayal of Barnum is closer to the figure of the exploitative and shrewd con artist he was purported to be, rather than the charming, big-hearted man he was in a particular musical starring Hugh Jackman.
Luckily for us though, for a woman who has only spent a relatively short time living amongst humans, Amelia is a lot less naïve than Barnum had hoped she would be. I loved that she’s a fighter who realizes that, as much as she adores the world-above-the-sea, human society is flawed and full of injustices, and she’s not about to let herself become another one of Barnum’s “oddities” to be exploited. Very soon, when Barnum realizes that he’s got the real deal on his hands, Amelia knows that he needs her more than she needs him, and she’s not afraid to push back and demand that she be able to work on her own terms. This mermaid knows what she wants and she’s not above doing a bit of her own hard-bargaining to get it, reminding me how much I enjoy stories where pompous arrogant master manipulators are taken down a notch by being beaten at their own game.
Perhaps my favorite character in this book though, was Levi. Relatively little is known about the real Levi Lyman, so I think the author had a bit of fun creating a life and personality for him. He made a good ally for Amelia, and later a worthy love interest.
In terms of criticisms, I thought the ending was a bit rushed and filled with forced dramatics. Maybe Henry was just in a hurry to wrap things up, but at least the rest of the story was nicely paced. I also think that the label of “historical fairy tale” is a pretty apt description, though like most books written in this style, this means characterization can be rather archetypal and clichéd, at times even over-the-top or excessive.
Overall, if you were a fan of Christina Henry’s other fairy-tale inspired novels, you will probably enjoy The Mermaid well, bearing in mind that it’s a lot lighter in tone and lacks a lot of the brutality and darkness found in the Alice duology or Lost Boy (some might actually see that as a good thing). It’s more of a historical at heart, with a strong element of myth and magic. If this combination of history and fantasy appeals to you, I would recommend it.
The BiblioSanctum 
Sounds interesting. I don’t know if this will make it to the top of my TBR list (so many books, so little time) but it might be something I’d like to read someday.
LikeLike
Haha, I know how that feels 😀
LikeLike
Ooooo, this actually sounds more to my speed than Henry’s previous book! I don’t do horror lololololol. This sounds really interesting and I’m curious about the ending. I’m glad you enjoyed the book for the most part!
Have a fantastic day, Mogsy. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
LikeLike
Ah, in that case, this might work better for you. It is much lighter than Lost Boy 😀
LikeLike
I enjoyed this but it’s definitely not my favorite Henry book. I actually would have been fine if the story have revolved more around Amelia and Jack and the small village they lived in. But there I go, rewriting the author’s story!
LikeLike
Yeah, this wasn’t my favorite of hers either. And yes, more of the “fairy tale” aspect about Amelia and Jack would have been better!
LikeLike
Oh yes I was acutally wondering about this one so it’s nice to read your review about it!
LikeLike
I hope you get a chance to check it out!
LikeLike
I hope to be starting this one this weekend. I’m glad I read your review. I was really wanting something dark like Lost Boy, as I LOVED it, but now I know not to expect that and am actually looking forward to the tale you explained. Thanks and great review! Hopefully though she’ll go back to the dark stuff!
LikeLike
Yay, I’m glad! And yes, sometimes being able to expect something completely different can ease the nervousness of starting an author’s next book after you loved their previous one 😀
LikeLike
I still need to try something else by Henry, I really liked her UF ones
LikeLike
I’ve only read her dark fairy tale retellings and now this one, I might actually have to research her UF!
LikeLike
Great review! I really think there was an effort for a while to make mermaids the next big thing after the zombie craze, but it never fully caught on to be a full trend.
LikeLike
Hmm, I think you’re right! I’ve noticed mermaid stories here and there, but they were really few and far between. Definitely didn’t catch on like zombies, what a shame!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still have Lost Boy waiting to be read so think I’ll wait until I’ve tackled that one.
Lynn 😀
LikeLike
Good plan! You’ll see the different styles of Henry 🙂
LikeLike
Something lighter than Lost Boy might be a good thing, indeed, although I think there might be some sort of parallel between Peter and P.T. Barnum as represented here, so I’m more than ready to hate him with a passion 😀
LikeLike
Haha, I didn’t think of it that way, but maybe you are right 😀
LikeLike
Hmmm, I’m kind of intrigued by this but I don’t know if it’s quite worth it…
LikeLike
I definitely didn’t feel this was Henry’s strongest book! Depending on the kind of books you enjoy, her other ones might work better 🙂
LikeLike
I kind of like the historical tone of it, and I just saw another review for this too that mentioned that it was a little lighter than say, her other retellings. Good to know, I’m thinking about getting this one now!
LikeLike
Definitely lighter! And a good one for historical fantasy fans 🙂
LikeLike
Woah, I had no idea this book was in any way related to P.T. Barnum. I’m really intrigued now! I was hesitant to pick this one up because this author’s works are usually too dark for me so I’m relieved that it’s lighter. I think I’ll give it a try, thanks 🙂
LikeLike
To be honest, even knowing about Barnum’s role in this story before I started, I hadn’t expected him to play such a central role either! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really latched onto the part where you say the mermaid isn’t as naive as Barnum thinks! Much too often, the mystical creature ends up being led on a really depressing journey through life’s lies and deceits, so I’m happy to hear that this MC was shrewd in that sense. 😉
Fantastic review! I haven’t read any books by this author, and though the ending might’ve been a bit dramatic and rushed, I’m glad to have this on my radar now!
LikeLike
Yes, Amelia was a mystical creature that broke the mold. It made it all the more satisfying when she was giving Barnum a taste of his own medicine 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
For some reason I have never been into mermaid stories other than the original Little Mermaid, although if I saw a lot of rave reviews for one, I might give it a try. Thanks for sharing your review. 🙂
LikeLike
I haven’t read too many mermaid stories, and to be brutally honest, I haven’t found many that are all that good, lol! I have to say this one was quite decent though 😀
LikeLike
Great review! This one is definitely getting added to my massive TBR pile 🙂
LikeLike
Awesome! I hope you’ll enjoy 😀
LikeLike
Pingback: Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads | The BiblioSanctum
This is Ann exciting read! Maybe. not the fairytale but there are some great glimpses of histories .
LikeLike
Sounds like a real yawn snore…….
LikeLike