I wasn’t fond of the pacing of this book. The first third dragged, then it seemed to rush through significant scenes (for me, it was this book's equivalent of Ariel meeting the sea witch, and I also felt a bit unclear on what their deal was), then the climax of the book felt like it was squeezed into a handful of chapters.

5⭐️

**Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC**

Voice of the Ocean is a Little Mermaid retelling about Celeste, a young siren. She longs to be part of an elite fighting team, The Chorus, but finds trouble when she defends a ship of humans. She must go on a mission to redeem herself and kill the captain of the ship, Raiden Sharp. What she doesn’t know, is she may have more in common with the humans than she thought.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I’ve been a long time fan of Kelsey and was ecstatic to be able to be given the opportunity to read this story early. It’s a beautiful retelling that is not merely a copy paste. She has created a vivid and beautiful world with complex characters. You can see the basic similarities of things such as the evil sea witch, but there is so much that is new and interesting! And buckle up for the last few chapters because there are more twists and turns than you can imagine. I cannot wait for the second book!

When I heard pirates of the Caribbean x the little mermaid I was so excited! I enjoyed this read (even if I was let down to find it was only the first in a series!!) but I thought Celeste was a great narrator. The pacing felt a bit rushed at the end of the book but overall I enjoyed reading.

Thank you Net Galley, Kelsey Impicciche and Blackstone Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Voice of the Ocean was everything I thought it would be!

If you are a fan of:

• Siren and human
• relatable MC’s
• Slow burn
• Found family
• betrayal
• Pirates
• Touch her and you’re die
• Twist after twist

Then this is for you!

I love the FMC (Celeste). She was extremely relatable in the way that her inner voice relays the things that she has heard her whole life. The way that she not only has to deal with external factors of the book's plot but the internal battle with her own self worth was very inspiring! I loved seeing her find her strength in this book and am looking forward to where her journey takes her in the next one!

Raiden the (MMC). Is a very flawed character with a lot of layers that haven't even begun to unfold. I have loved the pieces we have already seen and the growth to his character as well!

The side characters are all likeable and fun! They create an easy bond with one another that helps but MCs with the internal struggles they are facing. I loved seeing how fiercely protective they are of one another!

Admiral by far was a happy point in the book! Who does love a happy dog that brings people together!

"To the girls who are told they cry too much, and to my dear friend who helped teach me it's okay."

I knew from the dedication this was going to appeal to me. Voice of the Ocean is a YA Little Mermaid retelling with sirens and pirates, gripping adventure and found family, love and betrayal. This book has my heart. Big emotions are so hard sometimes and this book captured that perfectly. The writing is very immersive, and made this a captivating, entertaining read. The relationships the author cultivated were so genuine and well-established, from the romantic relationship between FMC And MMC to the friendships Celeste develops aboard the ship. So many things happened very quickly in the last ~50 pages and it left me wishing it wasn't quite so rushed. The ending may also be my villain origin story because the betrayal broke me. Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!

"He may be human and she a siren, but they both just wanted to belong. She understood how it felt to not fit into the role you were given."

Celeste is a siren princess who's fascinated with the mortal world. She saved the pirate king's son, Raiden, and now on the mission to k!ll him.

Where do I start? I love Kelsey and been following her career ever since her Buzzfeed days and now, she's an author and I am so proud of her. When she announced she's writing a book, I was so excited and followed her journey. Now, her debut novel is gonna be published soon and I am so happy to received an ARC from NetGalley!

One, I always love some fairytale retelling, and this book centered around The Little Mermaid. We follow Celeste the siren princess and her life navigating all these emotions, thoughts and feelings. Her kingdom was fascinating to see, it's like Barbie in a Mermaid Tale.

We also saw her juggling her moral compass and torn between doing her duty, and doing what she thought was right. It read like a fantasy but with a lot fiction and emotional depth, which I love to see.

"And when his mouth met hers , she felt the stars fall from her skies."

Two, slow burnnnn. When I say slow, I meant really slooowwww which I also love as a slow burn girlie. We saw Raiden in Celeste's eyes which I was hesitant at first because maybe we gonna see him in a rose-colored glasses but that was not the case. We saw both of them in layers, in different scenarios and and how they both have roles set upon them but at the same time, they still wanted to do what's right. Their relationship dynamic was endearing to see, considering they both know of each other.

"There was nothing more painful than to hear the things you hated most about yourself used as a weapon by someone you love."

Three, the found family. I always love the setting of being in a pirate ship, but the side characters was also an added bonus to the story. Celeste worked in a male-dominated field and there's only one woman with her, and I love their friendship, the banter and how protective they are of each other.

Overall, it took me a few hours to read this because there's a bit of world-building and some filler scenes but I don't really mind because I enjoyed the journey, the world, the characters and the plots.

Give me book 2 now, please!

The feelings this book made me feel 🥹 Packed with action from start to finish, this young adult fantasy is best described as a little mermaid meets the pirates of the Caribbean spinoff 🌊

Celeste is a siren princess training to be Chorus member who are an army like group that fights humans using their voice to keep their underwater kingdom safe. That is until she goes against everything she knows to save a human prince and his adorable pup 👑 Faced with the challenge of doing what is right compared to what she has been told her entire life leaves her confused beyond belief. Plus the angst and banter between Celeste and the prince was pure perfection! 🧜‍♀️🏴‍☠️

“It wasn’t until I saw you dancing on your ship that I even dreamed of anything more than what I knew”

I have been a Kelsey Dangerous follower for years. From watching her make her sims an author in the game to becoming an author in real life, your community could not be more proud! This book was incredible and I seriously cannot wait for the next one!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Voice of the Ocean will be published April 22nd.

this was everything i loved about The Little Mermaid but with an added sense of adventure.

Celeste is a siren who’s tasked with killing the human prince. things go a little sideways and now she finds herself aboard his ship as they go on a wild goose chase for lost treasure. you can expect lots of pirate antics, some siren magic, and a slow-burn romance :)

i don’t know if anyone will get this, but the mmc reminds me of Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time 🤭 that’s literally what i was picturing the whole time. Raiden has that cocky pirate attitude but he has a soft for our girl Celestte. full on ‘touch her and die’ vibes and im here for it. and i found their banter to be endlessly entertaining.

overall, really fun and i would recommend! i’ll definitely be reading the next book.

thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

This was a fun read! The story was very interesting and the story was very well written and the world building was great!

Overly descriptive in some areas and lacking description in others. Love the premise. Like little mermaid but for adults. Low levels of spice but the idea is still there. Not my favorite read and could’ve been a great series of the writing can find a little more balance

3.5 stars

First, thank you so much to NetGalley and Kelsey for trusting me with an eARC!

I've been following Kelsey ever since she was with Buzzfeed so I was so excited for the opportunity to read her debut novel.

There were a lot of things I liked about the book. I love the concept, world building and the characters so far. However, the pacing was all over the place. At points it was way too descriptive and wordy that I skimmed portions throughout the book that didn't seem necessary. It took me a while to get into the book because there was too much unnecessary information and then at 60% everything was happening all at once. It also came out of left field the reason for the name of the book too at the last 10% of the book.

I did enjoy this debut novel and plan on picking up the sequel.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be reading the next one. I enjoyed the mythology and the side characters immensely. My biggest problem with this book was the pacing. The first half of the book was a bit slow, and I struggled to understand where the book was going. Once we figured out what the adventure was, it was better, but I feel that the overall pacing could have been better without sacrificing her relationships with the others.

What an impressive debut novel! The writing was excellent and I really grew to love the characters

I really appreciated all the nods, both subtle and not-so- subtle, to the little mermaid (and specifically to the movie version many of us know and love). I thought this retelling did a great job of paying tribute to the story while branching off into its own thing

I will admit I found the first half of the book a tad slow but once the direction of the story became clear, I was hooked and am really eager to see what happens next

I highly recommend this debut fantasy novel

I thought I knew where this story was going but I was pleasantly surprised! The world building was very well made and the MCs were as realistic as possible and very ya coded.

Voice of the Ocean follows a daring young siren who defies her people to save a human prince, unearthing ancient magic and igniting a dangerous romance amidst treacherous waters. It is the perfect twist on the classic Little Mermaid story and also meets Pirates of the Carribean...need I say more?

The story follows a young Siren princess named Celeste who is the youngest in her family and has always been too much. Too silly, too loud, too emotional, and everyone tries to fix her rather than validating her emotions. I really rooted for her and felt connected to her character! The only place she feels safe and at peace is at the surface, where she isn't allowed to be. Until the night she breaches the surface and spots a ship in her kingdom's waters. A human ship - with a human man. Our male main character, Raiden. Devastatingly handsome, and definitely forbidden. But she couldn’t help but be intrigued by him, and his furry friend, Admiral. So the story really gets interesting from here!

I absolutely flew through this book because I couldn't stop reading! There's so much action, adventure, amazing found family, a rag-tag crew of pirates, an adorable furry friend, a slow burn forbidden romance, and beautiful islands! There are many scenes in this book that are described so well that I felt like I was actually there, adventuring with the crew and unearthing dangerous secrets.

“She was tired of ruining things. She was tired of everyone treating her as if she were some problem to solve.”

The ending revealed so much and there was a huge twist in the story I didn't see coming! I needed a few days to collect my thoughts on that, because wow, what just happened there? Then there was that big cliffhanger, so now I really need book 2!!

If you loved The Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Carribean, or are just looking for the perfect swashbuckling and adventurous story, I suggest adding this book to your TBR because you're going to love it!

Thank you so much Kelsey Impicciche and Netgalley for allowing me to set sail and adventure with Celeste and Raiden ahead of release day! Congratulations Kelsey on your debut into the author space! I am so happy for you and cheers on every little victory of yours. I cannot wait to see what comes next in this series, after that dangerously intriguing cliffhanger!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kelsey Impicciche for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4.75/5 Stars

Wowwww was that a pleasant surprise or WHAT! I had so much fun with this one!! I love the ocean so when I realized it was about a siren I knew I’d loveeee it. I also love the found family in this!! Can’t wait for part 2!

Following the author and watching this book come to life has felt like a dream. Getting the chance to arc for her is an even bigger dream. All I can say about this read is be ready. It’s emotionally toll taking and a one sitting read. You want fantasy? Check. Mermaid and siren vibes? Check. The dreamiest princes? You got it. Def worth reading.

I’ve been a follower of Kelsey on social media, and it’s been so exciting watching her journey of publishing her debut novel! Getting the opportunity to review an ARC has been such an honor, and I couldn’t wait to dive into it.

If you love forbidden romance, sirens, and high-stakes adventure, this book is calling your name!

This is a fantasy where duty clashes with desire and betrayal lurks beneath the waves. Celeste, our emotional and determined heroine, is torn between loyalty to her people and the undeniable pull she feels toward Prince Raiden Sharp. This coming-of-age story spans from the sea to the human world and is filled with secrets, deception, forbidden love, and slow-burning tension that kept me hooked.

What I loved:
An emotionally complex heroine struggling with impossible choices
A prince with secrets

A unique take on sirens and lots of lore
The Little Mermaid x Pirates of the Caribbean
An action-packed plot full of romance, danger, and magic
But Daddy I Love Him vibes

This novel is perfect for fans of Adrienne Young. The story had me flipping pages late into the night (I literally read it in one sitting), and the ending set up the sequel wonderfully.

Thank you Kelsey Impicciche, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

First of all, thank you for the ARC!

But why did you give this to me to read?
Now I want the second part!!!

This book emotionally wrecked me.

A friend sent me the book and the art, after which I wanted to read it, but I didn’t expect to like it (high standards are a bad thing ☝🏻)

I wanted something ocean-themed, and I got it!

A siren who is too emotional, a prince who shows her what people are like, she saves him, and then there are consequences...

She needs to stay silent, or they’ll find out who she is
She needs to kill him
She needs to save everyone...

It reminded me so much of the book "To Kill a Kingdom," which I didn’t quite like.

But here, I was charmed, devoured the pages, melted, cried, and literally repeated every expression (it was almost instinctive)

The writing style is pleasant, easy, and colorful! 🙌🏻

The descriptions gave a sense of closeness to the plot; I felt like I was swimming in the water with them, felt the prince's whisper 🤭

There’s FOUND FAMILY

That’s all that’s needed

"And if any of you touch her, I’ll kill you.”

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Breathe, girls, order it, and read!

I don’t know what else to say; I think it’s already time to grab it.

If you like "The Little Mermaid," then give this a try

• Siren and human
• Slow burn
• Found family
• Ocean legends
• Pirates
• Deals
• Treasure hunting
• Touch her and you’re die

⭐️4,5/5

This was so cute!!! I loved this. Little Mermaid retelling with sirens and enemies to lovers sounded perfect for me. I loved Celeste and her learning to accept her emotions as not a weakness but a strength. This would be a five star if not for a few things. The pacing was odd. The first 50% was slow, and then around 70% the plot rapidly picked up and info dumped on you. It was interesting, but some of the info we got near the end should have been sprinkled throughout the book, instead of rapidly dumped on the readers. I did love a few things; the found family, Kiyami and Celeste’s friendship. Extra points for the dog staying alive and uninjured. I’m excited for the next book in this series— which I assume there will be, due to the cliffhanger.