"The Miniature Mermaid of Zennor" by Emily Harper is a captivating tale that took my 8-year-old daughter and me on an enchanting journey to the coastal village of Cornwall. As we followed Isla's adventures, we were drawn into a world filled with mystery, magic, and the wonders of the ocean. Isla's courage and determination resonated with us, especially as she uncovered a magical secret hidden within an old book. Based on the Cornish folktale "The Mermaid of Zennor," this heartwarming story sparked our imaginations and left us longing for more adventures beneath the waves. "The Miniature Mermaid of Zennor" is a delightful read that we'll treasure for years to come.

Isla loves listening to her grandfather's stories about Cornwall, but moving there when her dad goes missing on a diving trip isn't the same thing as hearing stories. When the stories become real, however, Isla's life becomes more magical than she could have imagined.

Unfortunately, I had a difficult time with this book because of the poor writing and editing. I wonder if it had a professional editor look at it at all. The sentences were almost all structured the same, and some were structured poorly (how many "which" clauses can you put into a single sentence?). The story was also almost too simple, with the introduction too long and the ending feeling abrupt and undeveloped. The characters all felt one-dimensional and not particularly interesting.

It's a cute story based on a Cornish folktale, but unfortunately, it lacked enough depth to be an enjoyable read for me.

This was a lovely read! I know, this is a children's book, but from time to time I like to read something like this. Besides that, all things about sirens and mermaids always get my attention, so obviously with a stunning cover like this, I wanted to read this book.

This was a nice story based on a Cornish folktale called the Mermaid of Zennor. It was quite a short story too though, with a very abrupt ending. It would have been nice to have a more detailed ending. It felt too rushed the way it was written now. I would have loved to read more about the mermaid of Zennor.

So the book is about Isla, a girl with a great imagination, just like her granddad. He's the one telling her all those amazing stories of his own childhood in Cornwall. But when Isla's dad goes missing, there's not much to be happy about anymore. Not even stories. And then, after a while, when Isla's mum tells her about the decision to move to Cornwal, Isla doesn't take it all too well. After a talk with her granddad and thinking things through however, she comes back around and soon the three of them (Isla, granddad and mum) are going to Cornwall. Things are still hard as they all are mourning the loss of Isla's dead. They don't even know if he's still alive or where he is if he's still alive.

So the family is returning to the family farmhouse in a tiny village called Zennor. Isla isn't used to a country life at all and decides to venture outdoors to get to know the place she lives in now. She then discovers a magical secret locked away in an old book. This makes that Isla's life takes an unexpected turn as she discovers that the sea holds way more adventures than anyone could have ever thought.

Isla dives headfirst in these adventures and sometimes even with great risk. How can she tell her mum and granddad about this magical place she has found? And what happens next after she does?

I liked that this story was based on something that has been a mystery for a long time. The seat in the church that is talked about in the story, actually exists and the mystery has yet to be solved.

I really enjoyed the mermaid elements to this book, it had everything that I was hoping for and loved that this had a Cornish folktale to it. The characters were everything that I hoped for and enjoyed the overall feel to the fantasy elements. Emily Harper has a great concept and wrote it perfectly.

This short read is a delightful fantasy adventure story set in Cornwall. It's easy to read in one sitting, with vivid descriptions to stimulate the imagination of any reader. I thought Cornwall was a wonderful choice of setting for this magical little story. Children who enjoy stories about mermaids may like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

I loved the connection between Isla and grandad Monty. It was so beautiful.
The ending was really lovely too. It was definitely very heartwarming.
I think I really enjoyed the overall concept of the book but I couldn’t get thoroughly into it. I think sometimes Isla’s character may of seemed a bit older and other times she seemed quite a bit younger so I couldn’t quite make out her age.
It was still a really lovely story.

I really liked this book it was a quick, easy and short read and I loved the idea of miniature mermaids. The writing was good the setting was described perfectly. A great read

The writing is beautiful. The setting description at the beginning of the book is beautifully done. But it could have been structured better. For a book this short, the build-up is a bit too long.

I loved the concept of this story, that there were miniature mermaids in Cornwall. Cornwallis a lovely area of the country, and I enjoyed my time there.

And it is kind of cool that there is a town of Zennor, and that there is a mermaid bench there.

But we start in London, and we don't even get to Cornwall until the second half. And we dont' even meet the mermaids until almost the end. I felt the ending was rushed, and I felt the introduction was too slow.

I'm glad there was an adventure though. I did enjoy the grandfather, and how much he loved moving back to his childhood home. I just couldn't get into the story itself. Perhaps it was not meant for me.

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

Is,a has always been a special name to be and seeing it tie in with one of my favorite childhood folklores mermaids I knew this was a must have to acquire. I loved the beautiful storyline and adventures and I know readers both you and old will too!