ARC Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch
Author: Sarah Henning
Publication: Katherine Tegen Books (July 31, 2018)

Description: Wicked meets The Little Mermaid in the captivating origin story of the sea's most iconic villainess, perfect for fans of Heartless and Dorothy Must Die.

Ever since her best friend Anna died, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. Hiding her talents, mourning her loss, drowning in her guilt.

Then a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears on the shore, and the two girls catch the eyes of two charming princes. Suddenly Evie feels like she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But magic isn’t kind, and her new friend harbors secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad—or on two legs—without Evie’s help. And when Evie reaches deep into the power of her magic to save her friend’s humanity—and her prince’s heart—she discovers, too late, what she’s bargained away.

My Thoughts: SEA WITCH is an entertaining historical fantasy. It is set somewhere in Sweden or Denmark and it tells the story of friends and loss and revenge.

Evie is a fisherman's daughter who has grown up with the Crown Prince Nik. When they were children, Evie, Nik, and their friend Anna were inseparable. But when the girls were eleven Anna drowns as the result of a dare. Nik and Evie go through a time of grieving but are still best friends.

Witchcraft is forbidden in their land of Havnstad and Evie has a secret. She comes from a long line of witches and she is one too. Once when Evie was hurt saving Nik from a dangerous accident, her mother did a spell that exchanged her life for her daughter's. Since then Evie has been determined to learn magic to help others. She tried a spell to save Anna when she was drowning but she failed and the spell had unexpected consequences too. Ever since, sea life which was once abundant has grown scarce which threatens everyone's livelihood. Evie has developed another secret spell for the fishing boats to make the harvests successful.

One day a sudden storm comes up which washes Nik overboard. He is rescued by a strange girl who shows a mermaid's tail. A few days later the girl comes to shore with regular human legs. She says her name is Annemette. She is also the very image of Anna who drowned four years earlier. She convinces Evie to help her remain human. The catch is that Nik will have to declare his love for her in only four days if she wants to keep her humanity. Luckily, it is the annual harvest festival and there are plenty of opportunities for them to find romance.

However, Annemette has a plan that she hasn't told Evie about and that plan will bring nothing but disaster.

I enjoyed this story. I liked the rich descriptive language. I liked the fairy tale feel. I liked the relationship between Nik and Evie. I even liked the unexpected ending.

Favorite Quote:

Annemette's face goes dreamy again. "True love's kiss is all I need."

I almost laugh. Now it's unrealistic and ridiculous. So much so, I'm completely incredulous. "A kiss, really? Your life for a kiss? That's it? That's some magic."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.