🧜‍♀️ I was aprehensive going into this one. I love a good YA read, but stories about mermaids can just go so wrong sometimes. Its that fine line between believable and fantasy that the author has to balance on. This authors balance is impressive for sure. I loved the myths and stories! Im not entirely sure how many of them existed already and how many of them were fabricated, but thats what makes it so good! They all fit!

🧜‍♀️ I honestly dont know if this is a spoiler or not, but other reviewers are talking about it, so here we go. This story is basically a prequil villain story for the Hans Christian Anderson version of the little mermaid. The synopsis said nothing about this, and im not sure if im upset or pleased at being blindsided with this information, but I think pleased?

🧜‍♀️ If you are familiar with both the disney version and the Hans Christian Anderson version, it is very clear which one the author was inspired by.

🧜‍♀️ This story was more serious and a lot deeper than i expected it to be as a teen read, which i thought was great. It made the introduction to the human world so believable.

🧜‍♀️ I loved the love story here. It was a serious slow burn. So slow! But that made sense to the characters. She was never properly loved, and he was always so considerate.

🧜‍♀️ the only thing that didn’t make sense to me is that he was so put together after his most recent tragedy (no spoilers😅). By the way that he spoke about it, it seemed like it happened ages ago, but in actuality, it happened right before he met her. It just seemed to me like he would have been a little more torn up about the whole thing.

🧜‍♀️ The way my jaw dropped and my heart broke. Repeatedly, it seemed! This story had a lot more feeling than I expected.

🧜‍♀️ If you love The Little Mermaid or any other such stories, I encourage you to grab this one!

Okay, so this is a retelling of the famous Little Mermaid, but it's also a villain origin story for Ursula. I liked it a lot; it's super original. We follow Sereia, daughter of Poseidon and sister to Triton, who is extremely envious of her and her power. So he decides to strip her of it before she may claim "his" throne. She is sent to an island to live among the humans and discovers that what she was told about them is not true—and finds a place among them. She wants to return to the sea, but her curse is bound to turn her into a monster if she does, so she spends her days discovering how to fit in, while still searching for a way to get back home and get her revenge.

The story is built really nicely; it makes sense and develops in a great way. I listened to the audiobook and had a really good time!

Our Vengeful Souls ~ Kristi McManus - When mermaid Sereia saves her little sister and upstages her brother, Triton, and heir to the throne, the position and next ruler of the sea is in question. This is a magical dark origin story and a romance between a mermaid who is cursed by her brother to live on land and the man who rescues her. It's a fairytale retelling that doesn't disappoint.
Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this gem of an audiobook.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book! I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down! The story and narrator brought me straight into the world! I loved the characters, romance and the humanity of the character's actions.

I expected this book it be a Little mermaid twist and was pleasantly surprised that it became a "how Ursula became Ursula book." It was giving Heartless by Marissa Meyer vibes in the best ways. I was way more drawn in once I realized that and wished it was advertised this way. I absoluely loved this narrator and am looking forward to listening to everything they've done in the past and future! Thank you so much!

I wasn't able to get the audiobook to work, but I wanted to read this so badly I got the hardcover to read.

Review:

This book was spectacular! There is no other word for it. It felt magical. The words came to life, the world and characters came to life. From the first word, I was hooked. Sereia is a great character. She has always felt lesser than her brother. She has skill with fighting but only useful to her father as a sparing partner for Triton. She has skill with magic but it’s never respected. She has more of a head and disposition for leadership, but she’s female so it doesn’t matter. She has spent her entire life feeling overlooked. And then her sister goes missing. When they find her, Sereia gets the unexpected opportunity to step in where her brother failed and save their sister. She can prove to her father that she’s better than him. And she does. Her father starts to reconsider Triton as his heir, and Triton doesn’t like it.

That’s where the story really kicks off. This was a difficult story to write, I am sure of that. The author is trying to weave elements of The Little Mermaid fairytale, Greek Poseidon mythology, and Atlantis mythology all into one book. There are countless ways that she could have failed, but she didn’t. She wove all of those threads together seamlessly. The stories are so blended that they make perfect sense and it feels as though they were all the same story all along.

The story of Sereia and Callan was amazing. They don’t get off to the best start. He rescues her from death, sunburned, wounded, and unconscious on the beach. She repays him by stabbing him as soon as she wakes up. But he is ever patient with her. With teaching her all about Atlantis, teaching her to walk, teaching her to make food for herself, and most importantly he always lets her be exactly who she is. As Sereia learns about Atlantis’ history she discovers a potential way to get home. But by the time she does, she isn’t entirely sure that she wants to leave. She has fallen in love with Callen. She has built a life for herself with friends and being a fighter in the Atlantean army. Ultimately she believes that she has come up with a plan to do both, get her revenge on her brother and then return to Atlantis. Which is when the whole story takes a sideways turn.

Until the last 50 pages or so, I was convinced that this book was going to end on a cliffhanger and a lead in to another book. The first twist to the story is one that I expected, they tell you about it in the blurb. But immediately after that came another bombshell, then another. In just a single chapter the entirely trajectory of this story changed. I felt dizzy but I couldn’t stop reading. I sat in my living room completely silently and read the last 50 pages in one sitting. I was riveted. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it fit the story so perfectly. And it was a completely standalone story in the end. It was perfect and I couldn’t have loved it more.

“You believe you have won, and maybe for a time you have. But I will never forget, and I will never forgive. One day, perhaps centuries from now, I will bring you to your knees. And as your world crumbles and burns, I will rise like a phoenix from your ashes.”

One last thing, that epilogue, holy cow! It was everything. Literally everything that I have ever wanted in an epilogue.

Another book finished after a while! I’ve got to say I fairly enjoyed it, though I do think that there are some aspects that could be done a little bit better.
The blurb had me really intrigued, I loved that the author had taken inspirations from both Greek mythology and the Anderson fairytale, both of which I really enjoy learning about. It’s interesting how she wrote it in a way that didn’t make any of the two elements feel out of place at all, and it made me want to dive in deeper to explore the dynamics between the familiar characters that she had crafted to be recognizable and yet different from their original counterparts.
I also loved the character development that we saw happening throughout the story, with Sereia having prejudices about humans her entire life. I felt proud watching her learn to live amongst humans, and learn to accept that they are not entirely as bad as she thought they were. I also loved that she became increasingly confident in herself throughout the storyline, and it was just really fun watching her finally get to kick ass!
The pacing felt a bit weird. I wasn’t really hooked into the story until I hit about the 25% mark, but even then I just felt like things were going way too slow and nothing really happened. Sure, I enjoyed watching Sereia learn how to navigate through the problems she was facing, but it was also just incredibly tedious to have to read through the entire chapter just to realize nothing really happened. It definitely picked up the pace by the latter half of the book though so that was an incredibly fun ride!
The romance wasn’t really hitting it for me. I loved the two characters, I just felt like there wasn’t much of a buildup, and it kind of just happened out of nowhere. It definitely felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. I felt like the author either should’ve developed the romance more, or just not include any romance at all.
The dialogue felt a bit repetitive at times. Especially her self-affirmations. I know what the author is trying to get at, but it just felt a bit annoying after a while.
It was my first ever audiobook, and I’m glad to say I really enjoyed the experience! The narrator was really good with her flow, and I liked the voices she gave to the characters. It was distinct enough that I knew when it was another character talking, and none of the voices felt annoying at all.
All in all, I fairly enjoyed this book. It was a fun “reading” experience, and I’m interested to see future works from the author.
Thank you CamCat Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks, and Kristi McManus for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun take on the little mermaid/Ursula's origins. It was a slower burn than I expected, but the take on Triton was unique, and following Sereia as she figures out life on land was interesting. That being said, I was hoping we would get more into her villain origin story than we did and I felt like the story would've benefitted from more of her development as a villain towards the end. As a result, the ending unfortunately felt a bit rushed and (to me) incomplete.

The audio was easy to follow and enjoyable.

Rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to CamCat Books, the Independent Book Publishers Association and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I love mermaids and this didn’t disappoint ,the audio fix amazing to the story . The actors really brought you into the story. Definitely would recommend

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this and sorry for taking so long.

I love when I get the villains perspective on why they are the way they are. If that makes sense.

This book is about Sereia is the spare of the throne of King Poseidon. The heir is none other than Triton. Let me tell you this book lets you know who the real villain is, So Triton usually gets bested by his sister in fighting. One day he over hears his mother saying that she would be a better fit and decides to get rid of her.

He fights her and strikes her with a blade that has a poison on it making her have human legs. She then makes it land and is found by a man who helps her get better and show her Atlantis. While here she plots her way back to get back at her brother.

Once she is able to make it back she is banished and then you have the tale of The Little Mermaid. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

There are things that I didn’t like but the author wanted you to feel that way. For instance, King Poseidon I think he is evil in any story because he thinks he is just this amazing god when really he is terrible.

I didn’t like that she had to leave her love interest behind but again I get it because it was how things had to be. I do recommend that everyone read this.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a fun read! Kickass female character, mermaids & mythology- I enjoyed listening to this one a lot. The narrator was great.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator did a good job on the different voices.

The inclusion of the different greek gods and goddesses in the storyline was really interesting. It was fascinating to land on Atlantis with Sereia when she becomes human. It was a delight to follow Sereia on her quest back to the sea and how she was able to adapt to being a human with no powers.

I would have liked the book to be longer with more moments between Sereia and Callan.

Beautiful world building of the sea and Atlantis.

I am so glad that I didn't know this was an origin story, because that ending blew me away! Kristi McManus had me fooled until the very end. And Suzanne Elise Freeman did an amazing job bringing this story to life.
Sereia and her brother Tritan are pitted together by their Father to be the next ruler of the sea. Tritan is favored while Sereia is overlooked even though her power surpasses him. Tritan takes matters into his own hands and curses his sister reducing her to a mere human who must now live on land, and if she returns to the sea she will return a monster. Rescued from the sea by a man with his own tragic past, she learns that humans aren't the monsters her people portrayed them to be. As she begins a new life where she is loved and appreciated, she is forced to make a decision that will change her life forever.
Even though this was a bit of a slow burn, and I would have loved more on her relationship with Callum, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was completely invested in Sereia's need for Vengeance. This is a must read for those who love a fairytale retelling, especially about mermaids.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me this ARC for an honest review.
Unfortunately I thought I had downloaded this audiobook but when i went to listen to it I couldn't find it in my Netgalley app. But I was able to purchase the audiobook and listen to it after it released, and I am so glad that I did.

I love a good retelling or origin story. With Our Vengeful Souls we find out exactly why the Sea Witch of Little Mermaid fame is the way she is and I love it.

I really enjoyed the audiobook for Our Vengeful Souls.

This is a Little Mermaid retelling to me. You have Sereia who is Triton’s sister. She is stronger than him which threatened his claim to the throne. He banishes her to the human world and cruses her. If she ever tries to return, she will turn into a monster. This happens when she tries to save a girl from drowning.

I loved Kristi McManus’s story about possibly how Ursula came about and why she disliked Triton. The plot was well thought out and enjoyable.

3.5/5 Stars

General Thoughts:

‘Our Vengeful Souls’ blends the legends of Atlantis with a backstory to Disney’s Ursula in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ aiming to offer a sympathetic backstory to the sea witch. The concept is intriguing, and the story is captivating, but the ending feels a little inconsistent (motivation/morals wise) and somewhat rushed. Knowing this is a backstory for Ursula, you know the ending wasn't going to be an HEA, though. Despite this nit-pick, the novel presents an engaging twist on what could have been a flat backstory.

Story Summary:

Sereia, a mermaid with extraordinary magic powers, becomes entangled in a family feud for her father’s throne with her brother Triton (hate that guy). When Triton curses Sereia to live as a human and threatens her with transformation into a monster upon returning to the sea, her journey takes her to Atlantis. There, she must adapt to life on land, navigate human relationships, and uncover secrets to break her curse. As Sereia goes deeper into her quest for revenge and identity, she faces consequences that challenge her perceptions of love, loyalty, and vengeance.

Final Thoughts:

The book starts strong with its imaginative blend of Atlantic mythology and Little Mermaid fairy tale elements. However, the sudden unfeelingness of formerly friendly people and Sereia’s abrupt descent into murderous rage at the conclusion feels forced and disproportionate, detracting from the sympathy we have built up. Despite this criticism, the novel shows a fresh perspective on familiar tales and explores complex themes of identity, justice, and destiny. 'Our Vengeful Souls’ will appeal to readers intrigued by mythological retellings, and villain backstories.

I didn’t clock this was Ursula’s back story till the very end of the book but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I felt it started out really strong I loved the Bon between the two sisters and the rivalry between her brother and herself. The middle felt a bit rushed, I think the romance could’ve been more developed and the time she spent on land felt very short. I did enjoy the ending and the revenge aspects that were worked through out the book. A fun summer read overall. I thought the narrator did a very good job and suited the book well.

Thank you Netgalley and CamCat Books for this Audio Copy!

Little Mermaid/Ursula retelling with fight scenes and dark themes with betrayals and vengeance. This was a fun and enjoyable read and I liked the darker direction that it was taken in this book but the writing did leave some to be desired. There were some inconsistencies throughout the story and within the magic system but if you are able to see through that it is worth a read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Our Vengeful Souls. This is a unique twist on the Little Mermaid. It kept me guessing throughout the story. There was family drama, adventure, love, friendship and revenge. It sounds like there will be a second one.--At least I hope so. I will be purchasing it for our high school library.

Okay, now whaaaat?! This is such a good villain origin story (although I did not realize it would become that until the end). I really enjoyed this book and connecting some of the dots for The Little Mermaid, like how Ursula is King Triton's estranged sister (where have I been? clearly living under a rock).

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristi McManus, and CamCat Books | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for an Advanced Listener's Copy (ALC) in exchange for my honest opinions.

Our Vengeful Souls by Kristi McManus

Our Vengeful Souls is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but more the prequel, or Origin Story. Have you ever wondered what caused The Sea Witch to become the monster that she is? Why does she hate her brother so much? And could her future as a Villain been changed? This is the story behind the sea witch, and how betrayal and vengeance, leads to the destruction of so many. This fantasy retelling is such a great story, instantly drawing you in, holding you until the very end. The story follows Sienna, the most powerful mermaid the Royals have ever seen, but because she is not a male, or the firstborn, her brother Tritan is the next in line. When Tritan shows his dark side and betrays his sister, a journey of betrayal, transformation, and a quest for revenge quickly follows, leading to death and destruction, and a Villain for the ages.

When Sienna's rescues her sister, her father, Poseidon god of the Sea is forced to see just how powerful she is. This unfortunately sparks a jealous rage in her brother Tritan, who tricks her, and causes her to be cursed.

Washed up and alone on the shore, unable to figure out her feet and legs, fearful of humans and now being powerless, it seems to foreshadow the tale of The Little Mermaid. After a kind man rescues her, Sienna struggles to adjust to her new life in Atlantis, quickly discovering all she has learned about humans is false. The more she learns, the more she discovers that her father has secrets that are earth shattering. Can she find the secrets needed to end the curse and return to the Ocean? Will she still want to? Or will her new life entice her to stay on land, and live among the humans she has feared and despised?

I absolutely loved the audiobook version of this book. Suzanne Elise Freeman's narration brings the story to life, quickly finding myself drawn in, not wanting to miss any of this fast paced story . Her performance was spot on, adding depth to the story. Our Vengeful Souls is fast-paced and engaging, with a narrator that keeps hooked from start to finish. I loved thee way Suzanne read, giving the characters life. She will definitely be added to my favorites list.

This book will definitely draw you in. I enjoyed the fast paced storyline, loving the similarities to The Little Mermaid, yet at the same time, gave the Sea Witch, formerly known as Sienna, a more humane and sympathetic story. I have always loved Villain origin stories and I definitely loved this version of it.