The artwork wasn't really to my liking, the cover is a bit misleading? Read more middle grade than I was expecting, but overall I think it was a fairly enjoyable read. The mythos was interesting enough.

I really enjoyed Mer by Joelle Sellner, the colours and the artwork were good as was the storyline, you can't go wrong with mermaids/Mermen

Mermaids hold a place in our hearts due to their beauty and often mischievous nature. If you are fascinated by mermaids and mystery, I recommend this graphic novel.

Really enjoyed! Super easy to read and kept me entertained. Loved the art style and overall colour scheme

A very interesting book, loved and really enjoyed the reading. Strongly recommend the book if you are into page turning books.

This comic has a fantastic colour scheme: bright, eye-catching and altogether very pleasant to look at. Even the darker scenes in the book maintain a fitting tone while feeling consistent with the colour scheme. The plot had some interesting twists and I enjoyed reading the dialogue, but the overall storyline felt somewhat rushed and contrived; I was disappointed to not see more explanation and events before the abrupt conclusion. However, I enjoyed what I read and would very much like to see more of the world and characters.

MER was a quick read with lovely art, a story that held my attention, but it left me with a number of questions at the end of the story.

One complaint I had is that the story jumped around a little, and sometimes the transitions were a bit jarring. However, it fit how the different threads were being woven together, so maybe just a bit of careful attention is needed while reading. My other issue was that the story was a bit short, and I wish some more time could have been spent on various questions I had.

Otherwise, the art was gorgeous and I enjoyed the storyline. I liked the main character, Aryn and loved the honest depiction of the difficulties of balancing family life with having a social life. The story was creative and unusual in the current gamut of young adult paranormal novels, since mermaids aren't super common, so I liked learning about the mythology the author created.

All in all, MER was a fun read and pretty cute. I would recommend to anybody who likes graphic novels and is looking for something a little different, or anybody who likes mermaids and creative takes on that mythology.

This art is gorgeous! But I missed the storyline, it was confusing most of the time!

Mer is a very similar story to Twilight, we have the girl with some problems trying to recover from the death of her mother and this gorgeous fantastic creature that is suddenly in love with her. This insta-love seemed very unreal for me, a little bit forced. There is also a forbidden love and lots of cliches. In my opinion, the story wasn't original, but it entertains, there is some "drama". Overall, I liked the book, but I wasn't impressed. The dialogues were simple, sometimes dull, but I am okay with the final. I think that is not really necessary to have another volume of the novel.

I'll start off by saying that the art was lovely. It was bright and vibrant, and I found it very accessible and engaging. However, for me, for story didn't quite match it. I really liked the concept and I was intrigued from the opening, but unfortunately it didn't completely sustain my interest throughout. I found parts of it a bit confusing, and I'm sorry to say, but I thought there was next to no character development. I wanted to like this, I had high hopes, but alas it didn't live up to my expectations.

So this book is aimed at a young adult audience. I mention this because I'm not part of the target audience, which may skew my reading of the book. Anyway, the book is about a young woman who has lost her mom and her family has moved to a new community. Plus mermaids.

The themes of loss and feeling like you don't fit in can be powerful for the intended audience, but they felt a little forced to me. This might partly be because the characters aren't developed as much as I like. Things are paced very well, although it does seem rushed during some of the transitions. Probably the best thing about this book is the mermaid culture that is developed. These creatures are shown to be separate from human society but still reliant on it in a way. I wanted this to be built up more.

The art is fine. It tends to be cartoonish, which works for this book but isn't my favorite. It gets a bit sloppy at times too. That probably is related to the style of the art though. Teenage readers should enjoy this book.

Very cool book. My 13 year old daughter really enjoyed it.

If you're in the mood to read something cliche. This is it. Quick dose of cliche teenage romance injected with the best possible illustrations as a bonus!

The plot is predictable and for someone like me (i predict endings of mystery novels, real bad, i know) very predictable, but the illustrations were appropriate and beautiful and I didn't mind the realistic ending.

This book caught my attention because it isn’t often that you see stories about mermaids (other than in kids' books). Overall, it was a cute tale and a fun read, but certainly nothing spectacular.

The graphics were fairly good; rather simplistic, but clear and concise, and it was easy to differentiate the characters. The dialogue seemed rather stilted at times, but that was often from the characters you later discovered were mer-folk, so maybe it was just to highlight the difference between the cultures.

The plot was interesting, with a few unique twists and turns. However, the storyline just didn’t seem to be fleshed out very much. It definitely could have benefited from an extended page count or just more detail or… something. Everything seemed to progress as such a rapid-fire rate, from how quickly Aryn and Adrian developed feelings for one another, to how swiftly Julia turned on Aryn, and how speedily everything escalated from there.

Aryn also accepted very easily the fact, not only that mermaids exist, but that her crush, as well as some of her additional classmates and other acquaintances, were mer-people. She correspondingly fairly quickly became knowledgeable about many of their secrets, and wasn’t at all shy talking about them.

The scary siren character of Anastasia was at times drawn so hideous looking that I highly doubt anyone would have believed she was human. And what was up with her and her bodyguard? Those two just had a really weird relationship dynamic. I originally thought he was perhaps another sea creature, sharing her secret, but he appeared to be simply a regular human. Although her husband was okay with it, so whatever. Perhaps she just had all of the males in her vicinity lulled by her siren song.

There seemed to be way too many coincidences, and a lot of plot points appeared to contradict one another. There were also a disturbing amount of characters left without their mates, even though finding them seemed to be a central issue of the story.

Again, overall, this was an somewhat entertaining read, and I wouldn’t mind reading a sequel. But it was definitely not real high caliber stuff, and definitely didn’t live up to its potential.

Overall, I thought that the story and the art was pretty great. I did find that Aryn's insta love was a bit odd but other than that, I thought that the story was interesting. The art was pretty interesting, along with the concept art attached was really great to see.

Pretty nice art, interesting storyline, though some more details would have been helpful, the dialogues unfortunately I found kind of dull and unconvincing. 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

I picked up Mer because I’m a sucker for mermaid stories… And as a graphic novel, I was looking forward to seeing as well as reading about these mythical creatures, but Mer is a disappointment, visually and story wise. Then again, I guess it’s my fault for picking up something marketed as “Twilight meets Atlantis” (I have nothing against Atlantis).

Whilst the colouring is pretty, the actual art work didn’t do it for me. It looks too sloppy and amateurish, and the layouts are confusing at times. The story is weak and the flow is choppy. We jump from plot point to plot point too quickly without any actual development. As a result, the characters come across bland and underdeveloped, and the action has no weight behind it. The dialogue also leaves much to be desired. There are quite a few ‘eye-roll’ inducing lines, mostly from Aryn and Adrian. And speaking of those two, don’t get me started on the insta-love thing, it made me groan out loud. I almost stopped reading at page 23, but I didn’t, because mama didn’t raise no quitter.

Don’t get me wrong, the idea behind Mer is interesting, and if it had been executed correctly, it would have been enjoyable. As it is, Mer is a struggle to get through. If you’re looking for visually engaging art, strong plot and relatable characters, Mer is not for you.

'Mer' by Joelle Sellner is a YA graphic novel about mermaids and teen drama. It's an interesting premise, but seemed to fall apart towards the end.

Aryn and her father and sister have recently moved after the death of her mother. She is going through all the drama of starting a new school. She makes friends with a cute boy, but he has a secret. He's not the only one with a secret. The most popular girl in school has a famous pop singer step-mother. It all leads to revealing things about mermaids among us and the kinds of things that hunt them.

It's a girl meets boy story with a fantasy twist. I like the characters ok. It takes a kind of dark and gross twist towards the end. It was hinted at throughout the book, but it just felt sudden and dark. The art isn't bad, but feels a bit rushed in places. The colors are good. It's not a bad YA graphic novel, but I'm not sure I've read a lot in this category.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge/Roar, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

2.5 stars, but honestly closer to 2.

There is absolutely so much to like about this. It has mer(men/maids), it has lore, it deals with bullying (albeit badly), death, and crappy parents. There is a lot going on here.... too much for how short it is.

Honestly, it really feels things were missing or moved at the speed of lightning. Hate --> Love, Friends/MISUNDERSTANDING!!!!! to omg I hate you in like one page. I just ????

I still don't understand what the bad person is and why they need Mer hearts to live. I also don't forgive people as fast as MC. And the ending.... so much confusion tbh.

I wanted this to be SO MUCH MORE. If it was double in size, I think it wouldn't be so bad and perhaps we'd have time to connect with all the characters. There was also SO MUCH to be explored by looking at our culture from another lens and allowing the reader to be 'huh', but the author let the opportunity wash by them.

So much potential... :(

In the end, I think it is worth it to read, maybe not buy, just to see how interesting the mers are and their thing. Other than that, I don't know if I'd rec this to anyone.... it is just way too fast.