I've never been a huge mermaid person, but between this cover and the list of authors involved, I knew I had to pick this up. This is a fun, fantastical anthology of mermaid stories, told by a diverse group of authors. Sometimes anthologies just don't work. There's usually at least one dud. However, that's not the case here. The lowest rating I gave a story in this was three stars, and I truly feel like this has something for everyone. There are stories about generational trauma (quite a few actually), feeling othered, caring for our oceans, and plenty of romance. Also, many of these had LGBTQ+ representation, which I loved. I'm fan of so many authors in this, but my favorites were by Darcie Little Badger (following a girl trying to track down her father who was lost at sea), Kaylnn Bayron (following two girls who connect over helping an ailing sea turtle), Sea Wolf in Prince's Clothing (following a siren who enters the royal palace to avenge her sister), Katherine Locke (following both a mermaid and a human during a Nor'easter, and how they connect), and the editors (following a girl whose mother is a marine biologist studying a captive merperson). These were just the hits, but like I said, all were pretty good.

Some of these stories may be too dark, or sexual, for some readers, but the great thing about anthologies is that you can skip around. I would love to get more short story collections for teens in our library.

I thought this was a great anthology. It was quite enjoyable and I had a lot of fun with it. I hope this crew does another one.

Absolutely loved this collection of short stories!!! Every story left me wanting more!! I thought I would just reason one story a night, but I couldn’t stop and finished this book in one sitting!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loved all of the stories and truly recommend this book for young adult readers who like fast, and entertaining stories about mermaids, merboys, sirens, and all sorts of underwater mythical creatures.

I ended up skimming most of this book because I couldn't really get invested in the stories. I'm really disappointed because I loved the Vampire collection, but maybe I'm just less interested in mermaids I'm not sure!

Thank you to the authors and Fiercereads for sharing an eArc with me to review!

What is your favorite ocean creature?

While I am partial to dolphins when it comes to ocean animals, mermaids will always hold a special place in my heart! My love of merfolk made Mermaids Never Drown, an anthology edited by @ncparker and @zoraidasolo an absolutely perfect read for me! Today is my stop on @turnthepagetours’s bookstagram tour to celebrate Mermaids Never Drown, which is out this coming Tuesday from @mackidsbooks!

Here’s a Synopsis of Mermaids Never Drown:
SYNOPSIS:
14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown - the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker - exploring mermaids like we've never seen them before!

A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon's son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain.

Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms.

I suggest purchasing this title for libraries where short stories are already popular or for creative writing classes in a high school. There are popular names and a fun topic that will appeal to a teen audience and be useful for reluctant readers.

This is definitely not a book problem, this is a me problem. I have just been really struggling with anthologies and fantasies lately, so finally getting to this has been at the worst possible time. I may try to give it another chance at a later time, but for now, it's just eh to me.

Anthologies can be a bit rough for me sometimes. Short stories aren't typically my cup of tea because I find myself needing things to be flushed out more. Some of these stories were enjoyable, but none really stuck out to me as anything that will remain with me. It did take me a long while to get through this one as well.

This was better than expected ! Some of the stories were better than others. The concept was also really good

I remember when I thought I didn’t like anthologies until I started getting more into them, especially this series. I love the way we’re just slowly getting more supernatural and paranormal stories but such amazing authors from this series. And I’m excited for more. I couldn’t even begin to name a favorite but I’ve come to love most of these authors even from this.

I love anthologies and seeing different authors takes on a prompt. While not every story was my favorite, collectively this was hard to put down

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

What a fun, lighthearted selection of stories! I love mermaids, and the lore that goes with them. I was not disappointed with these short stories.

Mermaids are my most beloved fantasy creatures and have been since I was a child, so I was incredibly excited for this anthology. It did not disappoint. The various authors take the somewhat outdated concept of mermaids and move it into the modern era, allowing every reader to see themselves in these underwater tales.

Like all story collections go, I have my favourites that I was able to fly through while reading them. I very much enjoyed the focus on water and / or water creatures. Also there were stories where I was left wanting more to the story.

A fantastical exploration of myth. This anthology is perfect for teens who never truly outgrew their "Little Mermaid" hyperfixation. My favorite story in the collection was Darcie Little Badger's "The Deepwater Vandal." It's a tragic familial tale of one girl's quest to be reunited with her father. The story is timeless (indeed the reader will have no idea when this story takes place but that in no way negatively affects the plot) and intriguing. Once you start reading, you'll be completely invested in Cassia's journey. "The Deepwater Vandal" is "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" meets "Moana;" it's fully of seafaring adventures, quirky characters, and more plot twists than you'd expect from a short story. All of the voices in this collection of stories fit well together, even though each tells a very different cultural tale. I went in expecting this anthology to only feature mermaids, so reading about sea monsters, gods, and creatures made the stories even more rich and complex.

As with all short story collections, there were some titles that I liked more than others. The Merrow, a story written jointly by the editors of this anthology, was the clear standout. However, I loved how different each mermaid story was and think this title would be a great addition to any YA collection.

While I personally hoped for a bit more sea witch content, this was indeed a collection of tales to dive for! The stories not only accomplished wonderful tellings in themselves, but several, including Preeti Chhibber, created the desire in me to see them expanded into a longer work.

Makes me want to go back and read the Vampire volume too! Lots of diverse, fun, and thoughtful takes on the idea of the mermaid legend from a treasure trove of talented writers. Each story is a unique jewel and really work well to bring the concept of mermaids to life in a very entertaining way. The stories are engaging but often quick and so very easy to get through for unmotivated younger readers and have a lot of personality. A great collection.