THE MERMAID'S MADNESS, by Jim C. Hines, 2009

There is an old story — you might have heard it — about a young mermaid, the daughter of a king, who saved the life of a human prince and fell in love. So innocent was her love, so pure her devotion, that she would pay any price for the chance to be with her prince. She gave up her voice, her family, and the sea, and became human. But the prince had fallen in love with another woman. The tales say the little mermaid sacrificed her own life so that her beloved prince could find happiness with his bride. The tales lie. (Goodreads)


Reviewed by: Laina, a bookworm

I love retold fairy-tales. I adore them. I could read stacks of retold fairy-tales. And I have. I love the surprising twists, the blending of several of your favorite tales. This is the second book in this series by Jim C. Hines. I've read it three times so far, so obviously I love it.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella are the heroines of these this book. Snow White goes by the name Snow. Sleeping Beauty prefers not to speak of her past or curse, her name is Talia. Cinderella is Danielle. These girls are a team, kind of like Charlie's Angels set into classic fairy-tales. The Mermaid's Madness is a retelling of the Little Mermaid. Lirea is the the 'little mermaid' from the story, but it didn't go the way you think. Instead of sacrificing herself to save her prince she killed him when he left her for another. Then she went crazy.

This is no cute little story of love and sacrifice, but of madness, murder, and magic gone wrong. Jim C. Hines writes the story that is after the 'happily ever after'. His princess don't sit around and wait to be rescued, they go out and fight. No damsels in distress here, these are weapon wielding girls who will do whatever it takes to fight and protect the ones they love.

If you've ever thought the whole 'and they lived happily ever after' thing didn't seem right, then try the books in this series (I think they are called the Princess Novels). The books are funny, actions packed, adventurous fairy-tale retellings. The first book is called the Stepsister's Scheme and it is about Danielle's (Cinderella's) stepsisters coming back for revenge. The Mermaid's Madness is the second. Red Hood's Revenge is a look at Little Red Riding Hood like you've never seen her before, that's the third book. The fourth is called The Snow Queen's Shadow, I haven't read that one yet so I cant say much about it.

Market: Young Adult to Adult Fiction

Language: Some, but it's more like twisting of magical things (Pixie farts for example)

Sensuality: Moderate

Violence: Not graphic gore, but there is

 fighting

Themes: madness, murder, magic, princesses, fairy-tale retelling


Book formats:
Paperback
e-book