I love Hester Fox books, I’ve read most of her works and will always love her creativeness and enchanting storytelling

Her past novels had a gothic romantic feel that I adored, and while this new novel has some of the same feels and elements it is uniquely all its own.

A Magic Deep & Drowning is a reverse Little Mermaid retelling set in the 1760s and is a beautifully woven fantasy romance!

I loved Clara and her character, she was such a great character to follow and root in her journey. I LOVED the the world, the Old ones and their eerie magical elements.

There were complex side characters that of course I was a fan of, and very well-done yearning + insta-love romance I really enjoyed!!

A fantastic complex tale!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review is live on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, instagram, Fable, & Storygraph (all links below)

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I am a big fan of Fox’s The Book of Thorns, so I was ludicrously excited when she announced a gender-swapped Little Mermaid retelling was coming next… but try as I might I just couldn’t really fall for this one. It’s a little slow and a little underdeveloped, maybe? The characters feel a bit flat (and childish—which, they are young—so fair, but still doesn’t help me here). The plot moves, but not quickly until it then just speeds over points it should focus on and there are at least a couple deus ex machina moments that really let it down.

Like, let’s just not discuss the child abuse, at all?
And what about Thade’s whole coup? And Clara just stumbles into an art career though she had no previous interest or skill?

I enjoyed the book, but it felt a bit flat overall in comparing it to her previous title.

Unfortunately, this starts slow and draaags like walking under water. The story is steeped in lore, but the exploration of it all reads more like a history textbook. I wish I felt more of Clara's search for autonomy. She just felt toneless. The atmosphere is this story's strongest foundation but still falls flat, and I read this by the ocean so I'm sorely disappointed.

This was so unbelievably boring that I had to fight to finish it. I had previously enjoyed Hester Fox's "A Lullaby for Witches," so I was excited to see this one available - a retelling of "The Little Mermaid?" Sign me up! But in execution, it was just...such a slog. The dialogue alternated between feeling appropriate to its time setting and startlingly modern, the prose was high-handed, and the characters were just...not compelling. I probably won't be jumping to read any more of her work after this one, because there are just too many other things to read.

I did not expect this beautiful story when I started this book, and wow, did it take me by surprise!!!! The love in this story and the lessons it gives you are beyond measure. This book is a beautiful, fantasy, reversed version of the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, but it is so much more than that. This book should be made into a movie of its own, in my opinion

This was very clearly an adaptation of the Little Mermaid from the beginning, but I loved the use of Dutch mythology and the strong environmental messaging.

A spoiled young girl with the dubiously redeeming fact of having horrible, unloving parents, is of age and being married off, and it is such a relief to know she will be out from under her parents' control at last. Except, there is an interesting new person in her life whose very existence changes how she thinks of her near future. And, while everyone knows magical creatures are just stories, she keeps hearing things from responsible adults around her, and even sees some things herself that make those creatures and their world seem unnervingly real.
I had some issues with how the main characters are rendered- she is awfully confident in a political negotiation setting where her upbringing should not have made her that prepared, and he is awfully childish at odd times that are at odds with his role and character in unnecessary ways. So, maybe not quite 5 stars, but a fun fantasy with folk elements we don't always see in fantasy.

Thanks @htp_hive and @harlequinaudio for the advanced access!

Quick and Dirty
-gothic AF
-historical fantasy
-1700s setting
-lush and magical

The latest from one of my favorite authors, A Magic Deep and Drowning sadly just didn’t hit the mark for me. 🧜‍♀️ This one leans heavily into fantasy with lots of world-building and a big ask for suspension of disbelief—which isn’t usually my jam.

It’s a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid set in historical Holland, and while the vibes are definitely eerie and atmospheric (classic Hester Fox), I struggled to stay fully engaged. I did the audiobook, which was well done, but overall this one just wasn’t quite for me. That said, if you’re a fan of darker fantasy or mermaid lore, it might be worth checking out! 🐚

I have read 2 other Hester Fox books, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library and The Book of Thorns, and enjoyed both very much. Upon reading about the author, I found her background to be remarkably interesting, which helps explain how her writing style developed. Hester Fox comes to writing from a background in the museum field as a collections maintenance technician. This job has taken her from historic houses to fine art museums. She is a keen painter and has a master's degree in historical archaeology, as well as a background in Medieval studies and art history. I like her even more after reading this information!
A Magic Deep and Drowning is a reimagining of The Little Mermaid without Disney! We follow twenty-year-old Clara van Wieren, a woman of privilege whose comfortable existence rests upon foundations more precarious than the cliffs surrounding her family’s home. When a beached whale appears on her family’s estate—an omen her rational mind dismisses—Clara’s ordered world begins its inexorable collapse. The arrival of Maurits, a mysterious young man with sea-green eyes and impossible warmth, catalyzes revelations that will shatter everything Clara believed about her people’s prosperity.
The supernatural elements seep into your mind slowly. The magic feels organic, rooted in Frisian folklore rather than contemporary fantasy conventions. Clara’s discovery that her family’s wealth stems from an ancient bargain—seven hundred children traded for Dutch prosperity—transforms what could have been simple romance into a meditation on complicity and inherited guilt. Clara emerges as a compelling protagonist, a woman caught between worlds in ways both literal and metaphorical. Her transformation from dutiful daughter to someone willing to confront uncomfortable truths feels earned rather than imposed. Fox skillfully navigates Clara’s journey from ignorance to awareness without allowing her to become either a passive victim or an anachronistically modern hero.
A Magic Deep and Drowning succeeds as both entertaining fantasy and thoughtful historical fiction. Fox has crafted a story that honors its fairy tale origins while addressing contemporary concerns about environmental justice and historical accountability. The novel’s flaws—occasional pacing issues and underdeveloped supporting characters—pale beside its considerable achievements.

A Magic Deep and Drowning tells the story of Clara Van Wieren. She doesn’t believe in magic, even though she’s surrounded by proof it might exist. She’s recently engaged to a wealthy merchant and while spending time in the kitchens preparing to run her own household, she meets Maurits. He is enchanting and makes her question everything about the life she knows. Maurits is hiding a pretty big secret and Clara quickly gets wrapped up in things that she only knows from her dreams - or maybe her nightmares.

I thought this was such an interesting take on the story of The Little Mermaid! I loved the setting of the Dutch Golden Age. It was so unique for a historical fantasy. I thought Clara and Maurits’ story was a little too “insta-love” for my taste, but as the story went on I started to believe their connection more. I loved the descriptions of the Old Ones and the way they interact with the world around them. I was especially drawn in by the descriptions of the water folk and thought the part of the story spent underwater was the most compelling. I found the pacing a bit inconsistent at times, but overall I really enjoyed it! Such a whimsical, dark take on a well-known fairytale. And the cover is so beautiful!

One thing that my 2025 reading adventures have taught me is that I don't hesitate anymore with books that are 2 stars. They are okay reads, but they are missing a particular sparkle for me. With A Magic Deep and Drowning, I am very disappointed because Hester Fox has been a consistent 4-star author for me up to this point.


Things I liked:

(1) This is a Little Mermaid retelling. I am always game for an author's take on a popular story. I liked how the author had little "slices" of folk tale information between the novel's chapters.
(2) The story takes place in the Dutch Republic in the 1600s, a period I am not familiar with but which I found was very interesting. But Hester Fox's descriptions made me feel like I time-travelled back to this era.
(3) The water folk people were great. Maurits, his brother, and his mother loved their scenes. Great rivalry dynamic. The conflict they created was great.



Things I didn't like

(1) Clara, I don't have to like all my protagonists, but I couldn't find even something about her that I liked.
(2) When Clara becomes an apprentice to the artist, my interest goes way down.
(3) The love story- snooze.


*Sigh* It left me feeling very disappointed and jaded. But I cannot wait to see what the author writes next because her books are great. However, I wouldn't recommend this one!


Publication Date 24/06/25
Goodreads Review 09/08/25

Sometimes I couldn’t tell you what drew me to a book if you asked. When I saw A Magic Deep and Drowning on NetGalley, where I received review copy, I was intrigued, but I’m not sure why. It might be the setting—the Netherlands in the early seventeenth century—or that it’s a very loose reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Whatever the reason, as I started reading, I deflated: I wasn’t enjoying it. Then … suddenly … I was? Hester Fox slow-rolled me, and literally in the turn of a page I went from “I might DNF” to “I must know how this ends.”

Clara is the daughter of a modest merchant and has led a very sheltered life. When her parents betroth her to another merchant, she is prepared to meekly accept the arrangement, desperate to escape her mother’s abusive reach. Then she meets a mysterious young man, Maurits, who seems to be more than he appears—but who swears he is no good for her. Soon, we learn that Maurits is far more magical than he appears, and Clara’s life changes irrevocably forever.

I didn’t like this book at first because I didn’t understand where the magic was. The first few chapters are mundane and seem to be setting up the love triangle between Clara, her betrothed, and Maurits. It isn’t until a tragedy alters the entire trajectory of Clara’s life that the book metamorphoses into something grander, weirder, and far more fascinating.

Clara is a frustrating protagonist at first because she is rather useless, and a lot of things happen to her. She grew on me, however, and by the end of the book, I really enjoyed her obstinacy and tenacity. I really wish, however, that we had seen more of her painter phase!! It was such a neat little moment, but Fox didn’t allow us to pause and enjoy it much before she thrust Clara back into danger. Fair enough.

I wasn’t as sold on Clara and Maurits’s romance. Similarly, the political machinations underwater felt flaccid and predictable. Maurits spends a lot of his time imprisoned with very little to do.

Overall, A Magic Deep and Drowning is fine, and if you like love-at-first-sight romances or fairytale retellings more than me, you’d probably like this more. But it just didn’t have that spark I need. I kept reading because, after the slow start, Fox’s pacing and penchant for plot twists really worked well for me—and I will give her all the credit for that. I just wish the characters had made the same kind of impact.

DNF at 16%. Pacing was so slow, one page felt like reading fifty with how slow it went. I couldn’t get even a fourth of the way through the book because of how it dragged and didn’t pull me in. Plus the main character’s naivety bored me.

This book was so unique and the magic was so intricate that I was intrigued from the very beginning. I loved reading and listening to the audio!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
4/5 stars
This was so atmospheric and read like an old period novel. The retelling of the little mermaid with some other folklore was enough to make the story unique in its own way. I gotta say, I did not expect some of the things that transpired, and to feel the dark, damp, chilled mood that came through in the writing. I was frustrated with Clara a lot but appreciate her growth throughout.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

There were plenty of elements in this whimsy Little Mermaid retelling that I enjoyed, but ultimately, this didn't live up to my expectations.

I really appreciated the setting and the depictions of the Dutch Golden Age, which we don't get to see that much in English fiction. I thought that the depictions of society, their clothing, and how houses reflected social status were well executed, transporting me to these places successfully.

I also like the fantasy elements. The Old Ones were whimsical and eerie, but their unique magic and societies ultimately made this book a lot more interesting. Since we spend a considerable amount of time underwater with the water folks, their depictions felt the most exciting. I liked how the author described them in all their diversity, some looking more human and others more on the creature side of things. They felt like folk tales come to life in a way that made me feel giddy.

These two aspects of the book deserve the three stars I'm giving it. They single-handedly got the book this rating. The atmosphere is hands down my favorite thing about this book. Because the actual plot, the romance, and the main characters were the letdown.

This is a very action-packed book, and would work best as a duology in my opinion. Too much goes on, and nothing is deepened enough to allow me to connect with the characters nor the romance. I'm not a reader who can just believe two people are in love if there's no yearning. I need that to feel natural because as much as I love a simp, I need to believe they have reason for it.

Clara and Maurits fall deeply in love so quickly, and then we are just meant to believe their yearning, even though there wasn't enough time for it. Clara goes from not trusting him to trusting him several times in the book, and we get no reason as to her change in mood. It felt like the author just wanted to write these beautifully romantic scenes, but didn't know how to craft the buildup.

Finally, the plot felt convoluted. There is a major coup that is rather unexplained. I feel like it was too simple and not believable. Then, the whole revenge plotline that made no sense... I really feel like nothing had time to brew properly, so it wasn't as impactful as it should have been.

Overall, love the lore but didn't care for anything else.

A Magic Deep and Drowning

First my thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this novel 🫶

I’ve been impatiently waiting for this book ever since I first read Book of Thorns by Hester Fox and found out she was working on a gender bent retelling of The Little Mermaid! I put in my pre-order and then prayed that I could get an ARC to read early.

Needless to say this surpassed all of my expectations— I loved it SO much!

A perfect blend of The Little Mermaid combined with Dutch folklore, this captivated me from the start and I couldn’t put it down. You think you’ve got all the characters figured out? Wrong. You think you know where the plot is headed? You’d be wrong again!

While the romance is seemingly at the forefront of this story, I urge readers to pay attention to what else is going on. We live together with the earth and the other creatures who share this plant. Respect each other. Respect nature. We need to take care of our one and only little blue home floating in space.

Hester's genderbent take on The Little Mermaid felt fresh and original. However, as much as I wanted to love this, it unfortunately fell a bit flat for me—and almost read more like young adult than adult historical fantasy.

My biggest gripe was the romance between Clara and Maurits. They fell in love far too quickly. The book didn’t give them enough time to really know each other or build a believable connection before they were separated. After that, they spent most of the story pining for each other, convinced they were deeply in love—despite sharing, maybe, four conversations total.

Clara’s naivety also grated on me at times. While I can see how her sheltered upbringing played a role, it was frustrating how she constantly assumed the best of Maurits, even though he lied to her every single time they spoke.

The plot was fine and I appreciated the environmental themes tied to the ocean, but I never felt fully immersed in the setting. It could have been any generic historical fantasy world rather than distinctly 17th-century Netherlands.

On a brighter note, Lauren Ezzo did a great job with the narration. I especially enjoyed the distinct voices she gave the characters, particularly the Old Ones.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

You guys! You guys! This may be my favorite read of the year. I LOVED everything about this. So excited to recommend this from the rooftops…and seriously…it might be my favorite of 2025. Time will tell but it sits there now. I loved the climate change discussion. The colonization discussion. Helms. HELMA! My goodness this was a joy ride.