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mangoh23's review against another edition
3.0
I have enjoyed every piece by Christina Henry that I have read so far, but this one has probably been my least favorite. The beginning of the story was nice and towards the ending I found it hard to put down, but I struggled with the middle. I felt like it was kind of repetitive and like there was no real climax until the end. Overall I thought it was a good read and I am ready to move on to her next story.
hopedihop's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vicki_v_sanders's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting historical backdrop of PT Barnum and commentary on the station of women and wives. I really enjoyed this one.
ksopko8823's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
PT Barnum goes through life creating his own miracles, but one day, his right-hand man discovers a real-life mermaid. He has to have her.
She, for her part, is full of sadness, and agrees to be part of his spectacle to try and turn a new chapter in her life. During this time, she develops a strong bond with the Barnum family and makes tons of money for them all at the same time.
Fantasy dipped in a tinge of historical fiction. Very fun read.
She, for her part, is full of sadness, and agrees to be part of his spectacle to try and turn a new chapter in her life. During this time, she develops a strong bond with the Barnum family and makes tons of money for them all at the same time.
Fantasy dipped in a tinge of historical fiction. Very fun read.
jennmora's review against another edition
5.0
Clever writer in this reimagined take on The Little Mermaid. I was absolutely enthralled by this tale and quite liked that it spun its own version of events following the mermaids decision to come on land. My heart broke for her so many times!!! Truely wrapped up in this and read it in one sitting. I didn't want to finish it because I loved it so much while also wanting to discover how it ended! I want more lol!!! I picked up her book about Alice and added every other adaption based on fairy tales she has written to my goodreads list. You have a new fan Ms. Henry!
vanquishedspecter's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars - I haven't read any other Christina Henry books but was excited when I learned that they wrote dark tales on our glamoured fairy tales.
This book disappointed me because I thought it was going to be a lot darker then really what it was. It also read like it should of been in the teen or even juvenile section instead of the adult. It was repetitive on Amelia's behavior and actions, as well as much of everyone else throughout the book. It was still an interesting take, but if I gone into it without such high expectations, I might of enjoyed it much more.
I'm still excited to read Henry's other books, especially Alice, Red Queen, Lost Boy, and her newest, Girl in Red. I will not be going in as highly anticipated with the other reads as I did with The Mermaid, hoping for a darker read.
This book disappointed me because I thought it was going to be a lot darker then really what it was. It also read like it should of been in the teen or even juvenile section instead of the adult. It was repetitive on Amelia's behavior and actions, as well as much of everyone else throughout the book. It was still an interesting take, but if I gone into it without such high expectations, I might of enjoyed it much more.
I'm still excited to read Henry's other books, especially Alice, Red Queen, Lost Boy, and her newest, Girl in Red. I will not be going in as highly anticipated with the other reads as I did with The Mermaid, hoping for a darker read.
devannm's review against another edition
4.0
“I don’t belong to you,” Amelia said. “I don’t belong to any man—not to Jack, not to Barnum, not to you. I only belong to myself. But belonging to myself doesn’t mean I don’t love you, or that I don’t want to stand beside you.”
I receive an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
This is my first book by Christina Henry, although Lost Boy has been on my TBR for ages, and I really enjoyed it. It might be more of a 3.5 but I thought it had enough good themes to round it up. This is a really fun take on P.T. Barnum's 'Feejee Mermaid' scam, except this time there's an actual mermaid. Most of the page space is spent focusing on Amelia and her relationships with and reactions to people in this world that is so different from where she is from. I really liked how she used the mermaid thing as a metaphor for freedom and the restrictions that were [and still are] unnecessarily placed on women in society. There are a lot of good quotes in here where people keep telling Amelia she can't do this and that because she is a woman and she begins to wonder if she really wants to be in the world of men and begins to miss the ocean.
My main problem with the book and the reason I almost rated it 3 stars instead of 4 is the ending so THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS
Amelia marries Lyman and he begins to become more controlling of her and also shows some of his more racist beliefs. She ends up having to flee while pregnant with his child because a mob is threatening her life and then the epilogue is four years later where he finally catches up to her on a far away island so they can presumably live as one big happy family. I guess there are four years that have passed and he could have come to terms with his backward beliefs in that time period but the reader doesn't see any of that so to us it's basically just a cut to him showing up on an island inhabited by people he called savages probably ten pages ago and you're kind of wondering whether Amelia and her daughter might actually be better off without him.
But it was still a great book and had some really great commentary on gender roles and society. I'll definitely be moving Lost Boy up on my TBR after this.
I receive an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
This is my first book by Christina Henry, although Lost Boy has been on my TBR for ages, and I really enjoyed it. It might be more of a 3.5 but I thought it had enough good themes to round it up. This is a really fun take on P.T. Barnum's 'Feejee Mermaid' scam, except this time there's an actual mermaid. Most of the page space is spent focusing on Amelia and her relationships with and reactions to people in this world that is so different from where she is from. I really liked how she used the mermaid thing as a metaphor for freedom and the restrictions that were [and still are] unnecessarily placed on women in society. There are a lot of good quotes in here where people keep telling Amelia she can't do this and that because she is a woman and she begins to wonder if she really wants to be in the world of men and begins to miss the ocean.
My main problem with the book and the reason I almost rated it 3 stars instead of 4 is the ending so THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS
Amelia marries Lyman and he begins to become more controlling of her and also shows some of his more racist beliefs. She ends up having to flee while pregnant with his child because a mob is threatening her life and then the epilogue is four years later where he finally catches up to her on a far away island so they can presumably live as one big happy family. I guess there are four years that have passed and he could have come to terms with his backward beliefs in that time period but the reader doesn't see any of that so to us it's basically just a cut to him showing up on an island inhabited by people he called savages probably ten pages ago and you're kind of wondering whether Amelia and her daughter might actually be better off without him.
But it was still a great book and had some really great commentary on gender roles and society. I'll definitely be moving Lost Boy up on my TBR after this.
miaoulodie's review against another edition
5.0
It took me so long to read this it became my emotional support book I almost didn't want to finish; I just wanted to have it.