When they said "Little Mermaid retelling" they meant Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, not Disney's Little Mermaid.

The story began with a lot of promise but the entire first half is basically pointless and the second half was a drag to get through. With a heroine so naive it hurt and a hero who is the definition of insta-love, this book did not work for me.

This was an incredible historical fantasy novel. It is a retelling of the classic "The Little Mermaid" but has its own unique spin. Hester Fox's A Magic Deep and Drowning just swept me away like a rogue wave!

Clara van Weiren is a young woman who yearns for more. Her life is a set routine and when her parents announce she is going to get married she is excited to finally have some independence. However before she gets married, she meets a young man called Maurits. There is an instant spark and now Clara wants nothing to do with her fiance. What Clara doesn't know is that Maruits is not what he seems and their romance might be doomed from the start. Clara must forge her own path and discover hidden depths of strength to deal with the many strange twists and turns her life is about to take.

This was an incredible story filled with fantastic fantasy elements. There is the thrill of the unknown, ancient promises, magical creatures, self discovery, and romance. I highly recommend this story especially if you are looking for something a little different!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was one of few books I have read that were categorized under historical romance. I felt satisfied by the end, but was expecting more of a prominent romance. The author did well building up the characters, providing us insight into why Clara and Maurits were molded into the individuals they were. I struggled at times to understand who was narrating, as it sometimes shifted from one paragraph to the next, but the author provided enough context that it was not difficult to discern after a line or two. A slower burn that was certainly worth the read (🫑). This was not a quick read in the sense that it was light, but it kept me turning pages once I reached about the halfway point. Would certainly read more titles by Hester Fox, and I would love to read a sequel that describes what happened with Clara and Maurits!

I am never disappointed when I read a book by Hester Fox. A Magic Deep and Drowning was a story about the mystical creatures that live in the sea and on the land. In the Dutch Republic of Friesland, the people kept taking more and more of the sea for themselves. They made a deal with the Queen of the sea for more land. The queen was taking children for payment of their debt. Clara is the last child to be taken, but she must find a way to break the curse before she is taken.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House and Hester Fox for the ARC for my review.

A Magic Deep and Drowning is a folkloric fantasy that reimagines the mermaid mythos within Hester Fox's signature whimsical storytelling.

Set in the 17th century, Clara lives in the Dutch Republic in Friesland alongside the canals, expected to marry soon, granting her freedom, or so she believes. At the same time, a mysterious otherworldly man has enchanted Clara, disguising his true form all the while attempting to whisk her away to his watery kingdom. Clara is caught between her arranged marriage and her new infatuation which seals the deal between the humans of her land and the sea creatures who live within its waters who have made an ancient bargain that Clara is destined to fulfill. Love and its slippery dealings will entrap Clara in its dangerous depths.

I have read nearly all of Hester Fox's books, but this story was my least favourite. I prefer more magical realism elements than fantasy, and the mermaid mythos is starting to feel overdone at this point. I liked the folklore elements, and the reimagining of the Dutch geography with its watery land within a magical context. I also liked learning about the various Dutch creatures. But like I said, this book just didn't wow me like the author's previous works. It was just a little boring and the underwater fantasy elements did not appeal to me.

Recommended for historical fantasy lovers and fans of mythological retellings.

I loved the magic and the historical aspects of this book so much! I could not put it down, I can't wait to read more from this author!!

If you like historical fantasy/folklore with a central romance, this would be a good book for you.

I liked that it had a genderbent Little Mermaid feel. I was hooked at the start, though the second half wasn't as excellent as the beginning. The instalove bothered me, with the two main characters falling for each other across a couple of chance encounters in the first fourth of the book.

This should be safe for YA readers as well - it's similar in tone to Folk of the Air, for example - and the romance remained rather chaste.