The story captures your attention right from the beginning. With a brutal intro, I couldn’t stop reading on and enjoyed Mer very much. The story concept contains a very cute idea and the artwork was quite my taste. However, there wasn’t a natural flow between the change of sceneries and I missed the time & place stamps I’m so used to in comics. But bear in mind, I just read a non-final copy so here's hoping they’ll change that before the final edition.

In my opinion Joelle Sellner did a wonderful job writing this story and if you enjoy reading fast paced comics without having to wait too long for action scenes, then you should definitely pick up Mer!

The following part of my review might contain spoilers for those who haven’t read the comic yet. Read on with caution!

There were two big plot twists. One, when it was first assumed that Julia was on the dark side, and two, when it was revealed that everything was just an act to save her friends. Although it was kind of an obvious plot line, I didn’t quite know if I should trust her character or not, which made it much more interesting and suspenseful.

I really liked the characters, and although the story was quite fast paced I think I got to know them quite well. There are still so many open questions, though, like did Arwyn’s dad also have feelings for Ophelia? Did she make it out alive? What’s happening in Atlantis? And is that Adrian in the end rising from the water? Hopefully, I’ll get my answers some day!

Review posted on @ Swissbookworm: Monday 23 January 2017.

In trying to sum up Mer, I couldn't help but think that this is the mermaid verison of Twilight - but dumbed down even further for graphic novel format. The plot is silly, the characters unrealistic, the romance forced, the pacing sluggish, and the drama over-the-top. The illustration work is fine, nothing special and the color work is fine. But this feels very much like a studied attempt to compress every YA fantasy romance cliche into a small and undemanding read. Perfect for prepubescent girls, then, I guess.

Story: Aryn's father has moved her to a new home - and she doesn't get along well with anyone except one girl who friends her. But when a cute boy gets in between them, Aryn discovers that mermaids are real and she might also have a connection to them.

I understand and respect that not every YA book has to make girls actually think; nor do they have to be deep. But at the same time, they should at least have an original POV that make the read worthwhile. With Mer, we have nearly all the cliches: great misunderstanding, manipulation, cute boy love triangle, fantasy elements that make our girl a unique snowflake, mean high school girls, etc. etc. Add in a really silly villain (Ursula from The Little Mermaid, she ain't!), a lot of very deus ex machina plot machinations, enough logic holes as to begger believability, and a really bland romance and this really fails in many levels. There's nothing original here.

If written sympathetically, we might have gone along with the stilted dialogue and unnatural motivations/actions. But every character is so wooden and idealized as to be cardboard cutouts. Aryn herself is pretty unlikable, petty and rude to the love interest (which of course he doesn't mind at all), and only the 'bad' people dislike her, of course. Is it terrible that I hated her 'hot' romantic love interest just because he must be pretty vapid to be 'in love' with her?

I did finish Mer - it wasn't challenging though it was definitely unrewarding. I think a 10-12 year old can enjoy the book on their own terms, though. But more demanding readers will likely recognize the book for what it is: shallow and unfulfilling. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

A fast-paced and beautiful graphic novel about mermaids and Atlantis! Though it's supposed to have Twilight elements in it, I didn't see anything like it. I would really love to see what happens next!

There is a quite a lot of drama throughout this graphic novel but I would say that is the result of teenagers being the main characters. I am not sure that I agree with the twilight comparison in the synopsis.
This story starts with death and then moves into the teen girl high school drama complete with bullies, backstabbing, and parents that don’t understand. It is not overly complicated and will hold your interest if you let it. The artwork is good, I like the cover, and there is definitely potential for more. I hope that there is a follow-up.
Aryn is having a hard time adjusting after the death of her mother and a move. As a character, I found her to be likable. Outside of the Sanford family, the characters were pretty diverse in ethnicity and species. The villain is not a mystery for long but evil all the same. Tressa was simply awesome.

DNF: Language

Mer by Joelle Sellner is an enchanting graphic novel about Mer, people of Atlantis. These creatures visit Land once in their lifetime in search of their soul-mate. Some find their mates in humans, some in mer.
The main character of this graphic novel is Aryn, a human girl who has just lost her mother and moves to a new town with her father and her younger sister. We follow her as she accommodates to her new life and experiences some of the most prominent events of her life.

I enjoyed Mer very much. I felt it did not lack anything, the plot was very nicely branched out and the characters were quite interesting.
The only thing that truly bugged me while reading was the dialogue - it was a bit forced and sometimes it felt a bit unnatural.

In conclusion, this was a phenomenal read, filled with adventure and magnificent creatures.

Cliches.

It was a bit like watching Mean Girls, but with Mer people thrown in. Or twilight. Or any of those millions of other YA books where there is a cute boy, and two girls fight over him, and there are mean girls, and there are outsider kids.

Yeah, you've probably read them all.

So, why am I giving it three stars? Well, I always liked tales of the silkie, those sea folk that can take to the land. It wasn't a bad story. There was some cool stuff in it, even thought there were also a lot of cliches. I did like the monsters.

So, go into this with a bit of a caveat, that you have probably seen, and read a lot of these troupes before.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Mer, as is rather obvious by the title, is about a girl who discovers a world of mermen that she has no idea exists. This was a quick read; I downloaded and finished it on the same day. One of the first things that struck me was that the characters and plot felt very much like a YA story line. This is not a bad thing, but most of the comics/graphic novels on Netgalley are aimed at the adult audience, and so I wasn't expecting this to be an exception.

This also influenced the fact that their were quite a few cliches/tropes in this book and that the plot did feel a little rushed, as if the premise needed more development. At times, the dialogue and actions of the characters felt forced, and the author definitely needs to look over their writing again so it can flow smoothly.

I did enjoy the general plot and characters however, and soon after starting, I was invested in the story and hoping everyone would get out safely. The ending, in my opinion, is a little ambiguous, so I'm not sure of there is a sequel or if the story ends like it does. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't mind the art style. I liked the written background on mermaids and sirens and the sketches at the end, outlining the design process involved for illustrating the characters.

3.5 stars rounded down

The cover for this Graphic Novel is what originally intrigued me, and reading the description it sounded different and interesting. The art style for this graphic novel was pretty appealing, however I I was not fully connected to the story.

While it had the makings of a good story, a lot of the themes through out seemed very cliche and had a lot of Tropes that I don't really enjoy in books.

NetGalley Review
I am very specific and picky about the art style of a comic and graphic novel and this book just so happened to meet my aesthetic requirements. However, it failed to please my literature requirements.
First of all, Mer is packed full with high school tropes and annoying cliches. I understand that there is a page limit; however, the entire story felt rushed, realistically speaking. But then again just look at the subject matter of this book.
I strongly feel that the characters did not remain their true selfs. I mean, honestly, do you think a girl is going to march up to a guy she didn't even know and accuse him of stealing her necklace? Really?
Sadly, the art style is the only thing this book has going for itself.

Beautiful artwork and a fun story. Good read for teens!

The story didn't grip me much and Aryn was slightly obnoxious.

I really wanted this one to be good. It was a really cute idea but it just didn't pan out. The plot was so rushed and the artwork was not my style.

I liked it! At first it was a little weird and everything happened too fast, but finally I liked the story, the plot and characters.
The drawings are colorful and I loved that but sometimes the faces are strange, I don't know why but sometimes the faces showed strange emotions...
And the end... I woul love another end, with them together but I understand that is quite open... maybe for a second book?

I was very intrigued by the idea of this book, and it started in an exciting manner. Unfortunately from then on both the dialogue and the action grew extremely stilted, with characters acting more as props and less like complex human beings (or mer).