This was very enjoyable. The E-ARC I received was hard to read though. There were new paragraphs where there shouldn't be any (for instance, in the middle of sentences), and the chapter headings were confusing. I am not sure how it is supposed to look in a finished copy. The thing that I disliked most about this book was the fact that there was a lack of conversation. I found my attention wandering quite often. Despite that, the writing style was very easy to comprehend, albeit a little too poetic at times.

What I really liked, was the mythology weaven into this story. It felt like a dark fairytale, and I absolutely loved that. The world-building was great, I really found myself divided between land and sea.

I really wanted to love this book, but I struggled to become invested in the story. The first chapter was amazingly intriguing, making me want to read more, but as the story follows Sanna's quest to find her landish mother, I become far less invested. Sanna enters a village at the beginning of her quest but quickly becomes lost in the desperation of the village and the baroness's desire to find immortality. Sanna's own quest becomes a secondary plot and is only resolved in at the end of the book as a way to tie up loose ends.

This book could have been fantastic, but it just wasn't for me.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

I REALLY wanted to get into this book. I struggled with how slow the book seemed to progress. It seemed that at times the pace was good, but then it would stall out. I was intrigued by the storyline and wondered if it was going to be similar to a little mermaid feeling, but it was not.

One of the highlights to this book was the changing POV and character names and development. While the story struggled pulling me in, the characters and character development was interesting.

I struggled so much to get into the book, that I found myself not finishing the book. I am not sure what suggestions I would give for improvement, maybe condensing the material?

Loved the prose. Some ways it reminded me of Alice Hoffman, but without the emotional resonance and plotting.

Mermaid Moon was, at its best, okay. I was excited to read it because I love mermaid tales. The idea was solid: a half-mermaid, half-human is born and her people are cursed to forget about her, including her own mother. Sanna is an outsider because she isn't full mermaid, so she finds out how to get legs and goes out in search of her mother. It's certainly an interesting concept for a mermaid story; she isn't going on land because she's in love with a human, but because her mother IS a human.

Unfortunately, the book was too bogged down with details that didn't add to the story and didn't progress it at all. I found it to be a very slow read, and it eventually slowed to the point that it was not enjoyable. Don't get me wrong; Cokal is an amazing author, but there was just *too much* there. It took some effort at times to figure out what was going on because there was such an overabundance of description. I feel like the target audience (young adult) might also struggle with getting into it for this reason.

Because of the stunning writing, I give it 3 stars.

This was the first fantasy book I have read involving mermaids so I can’t say I’m familiar with the genre. The author’s writing is beautiful and lyrical, but the story itself want my favorite. The book seemed a lot longer than it actually needed to be and their were some descriptions of sexual activity that I believe probably could have been left out.

Really wanted to love this one more. While I think that this was an interesting take on the little mermaid I wanted to feel more invested in the story overall. I think the author has wonderful writing skills but the plot dragged a little in certain areas of the book.

.Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.I was truly hoping I would enjoy this book. I requested it based on the description and the beauty of the cover. I happened to see a copy in the wild and it truly is stunning. I loved the premise, mermaids are one of the creatures that really speak to me and I can hardly ever turn away a good novel about sirens or rusalka.

This book just wasn't it for me.. The writing was beautiful at times, often lyrical. Other times it was hard, to get through, punchy (but not in a good way) and inconsistent tenses pulled me from immersion each time I thought I was getting well into it. I struggled with it a lot. There was no cadence, dropping from high intensity to spots that seemed to go on and on forever with nothing happening. The characters were flat, and frankly I was confused despite the over-descriptions. Overall a turn off, but I hope someone out there gets enjoyment from it, because the author does have a way with words that can tell tall tales.

This book is FAR too visceral and raw for me to read right now. Actually probably anytime. It reminds me unnervingly of Robin McKinley's Deerskin and also Catherine Called Birdy which both traumatized me as a teenager. I knew by 10% of the book that there was no way I could finish it; I skimmed to 20% and confirmed it. It looks interesting, with the mermaid born of a human going on land to find something, perhaps her mother, but the way it is written completely turns me off.

I am an avid reader of mermaid stories. The Little Mermaid was my absolute favorite Disney movie as a child. I played out that VHS so much my parents had to buy a new one. That means that when I see a book about mermaids I am going to want to read it.

With all that said this was not my favorite. Mostly because I am not sure what was going on. The story lagged a lot and then you mix that with some confusing aspects and you get a disappointed Stephanie. I am just not really sure what happened. Sanna, our half mermaid half human, sets off with a goal of find her mother who is from the land. However, this was not a quest to find her mom like I had hoped. It ended up being a cluster of randomness and then all hell breaks loose. At the end she finds her mother in a blink to just tie up the quest. It just felt really out of the blue with no satisfying finish. I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it was an actual adventure to find her mom.

Thank you to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS! Well then again anything mermaid is my weakness and this did not disappointment! I loved every bit of lore and magic the author crafted and want more!

A beautiful mermaid tale with Little Mermaid vibes!! The book was well-paced and I enjoyed it! Though I do wish it was a little more fleshed out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Honestly from the beginning I really struggled with this book. It at times had beautiful and lyrical writing but other times it just lagged on and wasn't too intriguing. This story didn't hold much excitement for me and I didn't like nor connect with any of the characters. I really tried to get into this book because I really love mermaids, but ultimately this book was just not for me. I do love the cover though!

I wanted to enjoy this more, I really enjoyed the writing, the authors style is beautiful, but I found it lagged at times, it could be so slow and I lost interest because of that, I also found a lot of the characters a bit unlikeable

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I was extremely excited to read this book as I am a huge mermaid lover ! But unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations! The writing style was extremely beautiful and poetic, but I didn’t enjoy the story itself. I found a lot of parts weird and sometimes was a little confused. I didn’t like the religious element and I just really didn’t enjoy the book. I guess it just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

What a fascinatingly wonderful story! As a lover of mermaids and fairytales, as soon as I read the description, I knew I had to read it, and I’m glad I did!

The writing style was absolutely wonderful, written in the poetic way of one who understands how to weave an intriguing and beautiful tale.

While the plot was obviously well thought out, the execution was at times sort of clunky and could’ve used a little bit more smoothing out.

FANTASTIC! A wonderful twist on a classic sea creature... Kept me guessing and rooting for Sanna! Absolutely adored this, and I really must get my hands on the gorgeous physical copy.

MERMAID MOON is a lush, evocative tale perfect for fans of dark fairy tales. Cokal is a gifted storyteller – I found myself luxuriating over specific turns of phrase and marking them so I could return to them later. So much of this book hearkened back to the traditional fairy tales, before their Disney sanitation, and it really worked for me as a reader. I loved her portrayal of mermaids, and the matriarchal society that Cokal created for them. I liked Sanna’s practical approach to experiencing a totally new culture, and I really loved when the perspective would switch to either the townspeople or the flok, so you can keep up with the other character’s motivations.

If you are a fan of a quick plot, this book might not be for you. I live for descriptive writing – and I found Cokal to write beautifully without too much purple prose – but the underlying plot definitely feels like an afterthought to the stunning world she created. Works for me, but won’t work for everyone.

The tone of the novel felt so magical and classic that I am grateful to Candlewick Press for publishing such an enchanting book.

**I received an eArc from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I enjoyed this book! Whenever I picked up "Mermaid Moon", I felt like I was taken to a dark fairy-tale land, and found the story to be intriguing.⁣
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The writing style and language in this book are absolutely beautiful! It is poetical, lyrical, mysterious, and fantastical. The author really makes each world come to life, and her vivid descriptions make everything jump off of the page. The imagery she uses is beautiful as well. ⁣
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At times, unfortunately, some parts of the storyline felt a bit disjointed to me. It was sometimes hard for me to tell who was narrating what chapter, and where in the timeline it fit. I felt that the transitions between points of view and chapters were not always smooth, particularly toward the beginning and middle of the book. ⁣
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However, even with what felt to me to be a bit jumpy at times plot wise, if you enjoy fantasy novels, I highly recommend this take on a classic fairy-tail ;). ⁣
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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for an ARC of this book. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

**Disclaimer: I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

First, I need to point out, Susann Cokal's writing is absolutely beautiful. She was able to weave a realistic and dark fantasy world while pulling in real-world religious and mythological elements..

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself to read more than half of the book. The beginning chapter really pulled me into the story, but the rest of the chapters dragged on. Sometimes there was too much description and it took me out of the central conflict, or I would forget what was going on or who was speaking.