I am on vacation along the Carolina coast and being so close to the ocean reminds me of books with fantastical sea creatures. Not to mention Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid coming soon which I’m so excited about. So here is a list full of mermaids and sirens if you can’t wait like me.
- To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.80
Princess Lira is Siren royalty, required to kill princes every birthday. Prince Elian is a prince and a siren hunter. A twist of fate forces Lira to prove herself as capable of killing him…as a human. While she joins his unwitting pirate ranks, he’s out to search for the siren that killed his friends.
- Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.64
Ever since her friend died, Evie had been an outcast in her town. When a girl that looks just like Evie’s friend appears, Evie believes her friend survives and that there are happy endings. But her friend has secrets, too, secrets that might require some of Evie’s magic.
- Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.98
Callypso has an arm full of beads that represent her IOUs for favors she’s asked for and either death or repayment will get rid of them. The Bargainer had never demanded repayment…until now. In the Otherworld, Fae warriors are going missing and he’ll need Callie to save them.
- Part of Your World by Liz Braswell
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.77
A retelling about the aftermath if Ariel never defeated Ursula.
- Out of the Blue by Jason June
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.74
Crest has to go on the Journey, a monthlong soujourn for all teen merfolk. They must help a human and return within the moon cycle or be stuck on land forever. As human, Crest meets Sean and agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous. But as they spend more time together, the more Crest’s perspective on humans change.
- The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Genre: Historical Fiction
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.57
In 1785, Jonah Hancock finds one of his crew traded the ship for what appears to be a mermaid. A mermaid that leads to grand adventure and high society.
- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.36
When Elliot can see a wall no one else can see, he is given the chance to attend school in the Borderlands, where fantastical creatures roam. But it ends up being more battle strategy and less mermaids than he thought. But he does make amazing friends–a beautiful elven warrior and her human counterpart.
- The Republic of Love by Carol Sheilds
Genre: Literary Fiction
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.74
Fay is a folklorist with a passion for mermaids which keeps her from focusing on relationships. Tom is a talk-show radio host who tends to obsess over marriage, having been divorced three times. Will love conquer these shell-shocked vetrans?
- Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Genre: YA Paranormal
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.88
Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through supernatural glamours. Plus she’s the center of a dark prophecy.
- The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.79
Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their memories are all but forgotten, living on only in her, the Historian.
- All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.69
As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer — the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic but Amora can’t. Yet when her demonstration of soul magic goes awry, she is forced to flee. But sailing the kingdom has more magic and adventure than she ever dreamed of.
- Skin of the Sea by Natasha Brown
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.83
Simi serves the gods as Mami Wata–a mermaid–collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when Simi saves the soul of a living boy who is thrown overboard, she must face the punihsment of defying the gods. Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail . . .
- The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Genre: LGBT Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.81
Aboard a pirate ship, Flora assumes the identity of Florian for safety and respect. As the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself.
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