The Mermaid by Christina Henry
From the author of Lost Boy comes a historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea for love and later finds herself in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. However, leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.
Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn’t bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.
P. T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he’d heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.
Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he’s determined to hold on to his mermaid.
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Author’s Bio
CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the CHRONICLES OF ALICE duology, ALICE and RED QUEEN, a dark and twisted take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as LOST BOY: THE TRUE STORY OF CAPTAIN HOOK, an origin story of Captain Hook from Peter Pan.
She is also the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS series (BLACK WINGS, BLACK NIGHT, BLACK HOWL, BLACK LAMENT, BLACK CITY, BLACK HEART and BLACK SPRING) featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
My Review
5 Stars
Amelia is a mermaid that is bored with the ocean and starts exploring. She ends up caught in a fisherman’s net. She sees the loneliness in his eyes and although he lets her go she decides to turn human and spend time with him. He is her first love and one day disappears at sea. Then she is approached by someone talking about museums and PT Barnum. Amelia decides she wants to see more of the world and joins PT Barnum as the Feejee Mermaid. When Barnum realizes that he has a real mermaid he decides he is going to keep her from escaping him and Amelia realizes that world is not as wonderful as she first thought.
After reading Alice, Red Queen, and Lost Boy I couldn’t wait to see what Christina Henry came up with for the Little Mermaid. Well, this is NOT based on the Disney movie. Amelia is a mermaid that is not content and goes exploring. Of course she gets caught by a fisherman but ends up going back to him and he becomes her first love. This was a wonderful story, one of those that could easily be a HEA. But of course that is not how Henry works. After the loose of the love of her life, Amelia is approached to be a mermaid for PT Barnum. She agrees but quickly learns that Barnum is a shrewd business man and not about to let her go.
I really enjoyed this story about the Feejee Mermaid. I admit that I have never known the true story but I knew enough to identify it as one of Barnum’s attractions. I love how this story progressed and watching Amelia find her place in our world.
This is a great story and one that I recommend checking out. I love how this book is a historical twist on a hoax. It really added another dimension to this tale.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
I would like to thank Berkley for the opportunity to read and share this book.
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