A Jane-Austen-like-tale Meets Mermaids
Book Review: The Sea Rose by Mariella Hunt
Rating: 4.5/5
Where to Buy: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Rose-Lords-Ladies-Book-ebook/dp/B0BPS7M7BK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+sea+rose+mariella+hunt&qid=1677260703&sprefix=the+sea+rose%2Caps%2C452&sr=8-1
Things for parents/readers to consider/disclaimers because I know some people have triggers or are parents trying to gauge what is appropriate for their child; this is not necessarily me being critical, but pointing out what readers might want to be aware of before reading:
Overall, a very clean romance which was refreshing!
There is a section where a character is being forced into a marriage with an older man (though later we find out intentions are different than previously thought), and there are implications of marital relations/what that entails, but mentioned only briefly and was not in any way detailed.
At one point two characters of the opposite sex are alone together. One of the characters reconciles this scandal by saying no one will know. I think that it’s fine of course that the character would think this, but should’ve been clearer in the narration that others not knowing wouldn’t make it right if that makes sense.
Death is mentioned, and the Mer district is a victim of violent acts such as burnings that result in an infant death. No gore.
Some critiques:
There was a line about love not being perfect. Coming from a background of classes in theology, I didn’t quite like that being God is love and He is perfect, but I understand what she was trying to say. I just wonder if there was a better way to say it. Maybe I am also just overthinking it haha.
I noticed a couple typos, but nothing that got in the way of me enjoying the book, and the author plans to fix it.
I felt the ending was a little abrupt. I probably would have gotten Meredith to a safer location first, but the cliffhanger definitely makes one want to buy the next book. I definitely plan to. I am hooked and love the characters.
There was a point where Rose refuses to return to her previous life and it’s seen as “being rude”, which I didn’t find it to be personally. Maybe I missed something/misread, but thought she was perfectly in her right
***
This book was a lovely, light read, very Jane Austen-esque with the time period and setting. I really enjoyed it and found it hard to pull myself away from the story (which does not happen to me too frequently, so that’s saying a lot!) I genuinely loved it. The author wrote some beautiful descriptions and I loved her writing style. It was easy to read. I especially loved how the writing flowed when telling Meredith’s story. I really liked her character because of its complexity. There was a lot of growth from her from being a rather unlikable character at the start to being rooted for.
There was a lot of backstory to the characters being slowly revealed, which made me want to keep reading to uncover the mystery.
Peter struck me as a bit wimpy at times, and made me cringe a lot, though I suppose a flawed character is reality! He does grow a bit toward the end. I look forward to seeing how he grows more in the series.
The imagery portrayed, emotions evoked, etc. was something else though (in a good way). This author is quite talented. I particularly loved all the scenes with the piano. It was so poetic. I look forward to reading more from her!