The Dyslexic Reviewer - Spoil Free Reviews

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Author: @cb.novelist
POV: Duel POV, 1st Person
Gene: Urban Romantasy
Triggers: Open Door
Read Time: 10-11 Hours

What I loved about this book:
❤️ World Building - There was two worlds to build in this book, under the sea and above the waters. The author did a wonderful job building both of these worlds. Under water, you can pick up some of the "little mermaid" vibes this book has, though it's it own world and story. You can envision it, it is a lush world with the sea life working together. Above the waters, you have a look at typical Florida college town. It is rich and familiar.

❤️ The Characters - I loved Eliana and her sister Elara, they have a great sister relationship, even though they never seem to agree. It is the same sibling relationship you see with Will and Aiden. These characters are well flushed out and have depth to them. It was enjoyable to get to know them.

❤️ The Story - The story was beautiful, it reminds us that revenge killing is futile and never ending, until both sides finally learns to let go.

What I thought could have been better:
🤔 Some parts seemed a little too drawn out and I ended up skimming some parts.

Overall: This was a good book, I enjoyed it, It was sweet over all. It's out now and you should go get it!

🐬Siren "Fact" - Inspired by Eliana
One of the most famous tales involving sirens is found in Homer's "Odyssey," where the hero Odysseus is bound to his ship's mast to resist their alluring calls while his crew blocks their ears with wax. (www.ebsco.com)

🥰 Favorite Quote
"You poor unfortunate soul" - Cuz how could it not be 🥰

I got this book free from @netgalley for my honest review.

Mermaids!!! I am absolutely in love with stories about mermaids! Bug that isn’t the only reason I loved this book. Cynthia Brubaker wrote a unique twist on The Little Mermaid lore with this fun, witty, and action packed story of a siren princess who gets sent to the surface to find a siren hunter, and then ends up falling for one in this fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, spicy and romantic fantasy! I loved how this felt like a fantasy with a mix of romantic comedy, and was a fun exciting read. I loved that the characters were all diverse in their personalities and the author made it so difficult to pick a side. I love her style of storytelling, with the little Easter eggs and comedic witty phrases and plays on words. I look forward to reading more from her!

How far would you go for love? Two sisters are sent by their father the King to find the hunters.Princess Eliana & her sister Elara are sirens if the sea and they need to find out more about the human hunters. Eliana wasn’t expecting to fall for Will Sawyer so soon especially knowing that he is a hunter. She knows that they can never be together as his family wants her dead.
Will can’t believe that Eliana lied to him and that he fell for her. He needs to put his family first as they have no hope of being together. But can they find a way to bring peace it is this the end?
A different read. Great characters and storyline.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

⭐4.5 stars⭐
Just finished reading an advanced copy of a book that is about to be released on August 27th called, Sails and Sirens. This is about Eliana, she is a siren princess and she is tasked with going to the surface with her sister to find the evil and ruthless Sea Hunters (descendants of pirates) they have been told about who have been attacking sea creatures and sirens. When she gets there and tries to blend in by attending college, she realizes this task isn't going to be as simple as she thought, the world above water is not what she was expecting. Will is a Sea Hunter along with his brother, just like his father and grandfather before him. They are doing their duty of protecting humans from supernatural creatures, they think sirens are evil and ruthless. When Will and Eliana meet and immediately fall for each other, things get complicated as they navigate falling in love but are also sworn enemies that are keeping secrets from each other about who they truly are. This was such a fun story! It gave Little Mermaid vibes, but with its own twists and differences that made the story stand strong on its own. I loved how Eliana was literally a fish out of water, not understanding human things like phones, coffee, undergarments 🫣🤣 This had my emotions all over the place from laughing out loud to tearing up, I really enjoyed this story! I would absolutely love to get more stories of this supernatural world with more mermaids and like vampires and such that were mentioned! 💙📚

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC of Sails and Sirens, in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK: SAILS AND SIRENS
AUTHOR: CYNTHIA BRUBAKER
PUB DATE: 26TH AUGUST 2025
🌊🧜🏼‍♀️🏹
REVIEW- 4.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
🏹🧜🏼‍♀️🌊
This book was amazing! I have never read a book like this. I loved it, from the storyline to the amazing characters and the ending. This book is so similar to The Little Mermaid yet so unique and different. We have the underwater kingdom of Cerulia of sirens and Oscala (land) filled with humans and supernatural humans like Hunters. For centuries, sirens and hunters have been at war, killing each other and mistaken about each other.
🌊🧜🏼‍♀️🏹
The FMC, Eliana, is a Cerulian princess and heir to the throne. She was sent to investigate the hunters. She's hardworking, loving, and confused about the human world and her position at Cerulia. The MMC, Will a Hunter who's a talented sailor and a very good guy. I liked them both individually and they were even better together. I loved their relationship and chemistry. However, I felt like some aspects of their relationship were way too fast, but it didn't really bother me.
🏹🧜🏼‍♀️🌊
Then, Eliana's real identity was revealed, and all h*ll was let loose. I liked the realistic breakdown both MCs went through. They even went through a great danger fighting a megalodon and almost dying and finding each other again. I admire both MCs' fights for each other and peace between the sirens and hunters. There was also a hint of palace drama, too.
🌊🧜🏼‍♀️🏹
This book was very good and I read it in a couple of hours. I liked the ending, but I just wanted more because the MCs are just so different, and getting together will be so difficult. I loved the world building. I would definitely recommend this book, and I can't wait to read more books in this series.
🏹🧜🏼‍♀️🌊

Supernatural meets Little Mermaid in this spicy tale of a siren falling for a monster hunter. It's a great premise and it is obvious that this book is a work close to the author's heart. I love reading independently published books and encouraging newer writers in their craft. While the author has written some other Young Adult books, this was their first foray into a New Adult piece.

I loved our MCs, Eliana and Will, and their romance was adorable. I love a good enemies to lovers and nothing makes you enemies like trying to hunt the other one down! Despite issues I had with the book that I lay out further on, I kept reading because I genuinely liked them and wanted to see how their story ends.

There were quite a lot of elements that I loved about this book and the set up was great. Little Mermaid (Eliana) goes to college where she meets and falls in love with a boy (Will) from a family of monster hunters? Love it. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t always hit right. Despite being New Adult, it still reads as Young Adult with lots of spice thrown in. The characters are supposed to be in their early 20s, but feel much younger.

Written in first person present tense, the story often edges the line of 4th wall breaking telling then a natural showing of the action and characters. This includes things like the characters repeatedly telling us things we’ve already learned, such as Will often repeating how he has Hunter speed and strength, instead of just showing it in use.

This is the kind of book I would love to get in a writing workshop. The author has a great passion for the book and it's close to being great. But there are quite a few content/continuity issues that really needed to be picked up on by an outside reader/editor. For example, it's important Will never knows where she lives, yet in one scene he offers her a ride home and she accepts and as far as we know, gives her that ride. But later he does not know where she lives. And it's important later that she never met his parents, but again we have a scene with Will and his mom discussing them all having lunch next weekend. That weekend comes and goes and we never get any resolution that Eliana made an excuse or something to get out of it (though she actually did want to meet his parents). So, while I didn’t notice too much in the way of grammatical errors, I noticed quite a lot of this kind of error and that always drags me out of the narrative.

What remains the biggest disconnect for me though, is that Eliana supposedly has taken college classes before, to the extent that she even took tests and completed those classes. Yet, she can only be on land three days at a time and certainly does not act like she spent that much time on land. Again, these are issues that should be caught by an editor because the writer is too close to the piece.

Ultimately it was a cute, fun read but feels like the concept has the potential for much more.

3 ½ stars, rounded up to 4 - I want to support independent authors and I think readers that enjoy spicy young adult will like it. But the narration style never meshed for me and I kept being taken out by continuity issues. I'm really hoping some of these are addressed by the time the book is published. I’ll review the final finished book to see if any of this was addressed.

This is an ARC review, book provided by NetGalley.

Just first chapter threw ne off - daddy daddy daddy. Plus there was insta love, lot of dialogues and not fleshed out world. I didn't enjoy it.

I love this insta love little mermaid retelling. Kind of a cozy read not very dark. Lots of family dynamics at play. Medium stakes, cute relationship.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of The Little Mermaid so I jumped at the opportunity to read a spicy re-telling and had high hopes!

With that being said, this was a decent read for me, maybe not one I would recommend or reread, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There were a few elements that felt underdeveloped, like the Hunters’ supernatural powers and how they were received and going into more depth on what they are. In the same note, I felt as though the Sirens could have been explored more as well, but I did love all The Little Mermaid innuendos thrown in! From certain characters, their descriptions and the way they spoke, to specific lines take from the movie, really made me giggle!

I enjoyed the romance exploring a forbidden love. Will, the MMC, and Eliana, the FMC, definitely fall into the love at first sight trope. The predictability in him being drawn to her ‘for no reason’ (because she’s a siren) and her not being able to sense his hunter qualities sets their story into motion. But I tend to love a good predictable love story! While their love was evident and nonnegotiable, the story line did take a turn that I did not see coming and I loved the supernatural aspect; hunting other sea beasts and even discussion of land beasts.

Lastly, there is spice sprinkled into the book, although it felt very immature for me. The verbiage used to describe Will and Eliana kind of gave me a bit of the ick, if I’m being honest.

I feel like there was so much potential, and the effort is there, but unfortunately fell a bit short for me in certain areas.

Unfortunately, this one is not for me. There was too much telling and not enough showing for my liking.

I was very excited to read this Little Mermaid retelling with supernatural elements!

The Little Mermaid aspect was certainly there but I felt the supernatural element was definitely missing. We didnt get to learn much about the true powers/strengths of the Hunters and Sirens; it would have been really cool to have just a little more depth on the Siren royalty. This left me feeling a bit dissapointed as it wasn't what it was presented to be. I would say the book felt more like a small-town romance that happened to have Sirens in it. I really missed the depth!

Readers who like softer characters, such as a sensitive FMC and an emotional MC would enjoy this book! The characters had real potential and I wish that as a reader I felt more attachment and investment in them, but I found the FMC to be inconsistent in the way she spoke and approached things and this just bothered me.

Overall, the book was okay (as a small-town romance) but not as a retelling with supernatural elements. It needed more focus on the latter and, unfortunately, the writing style was not for me as it felt far more YA than NA (with the exception of the more explicit chapters and even then it felt somewhat immature for me), so for me, this book was a miss.

I did see in the acknowledgements that the author is transitioning from YA, so this could be a contributing factor and once she finds her feet I believe her books will have real potential.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story felt like coming home to a childhood favorite—just rewritten for the adult I am now. Sails and Sirens is a sweet, romantic, slightly spicy siren retelling of The Little Mermaid, with just enough darkness to keep it interesting and enough heart to keep me smiling.

Eliana Leilani isn’t a mermaid—she’s a siren—which adds an exciting twist to the familiar tale. Her dynamic with Will is what truly pulled me in: awkward, shy, magnetic. I found myself grinning through their encounters like I was reading about two teens figuring it all out for the first time. Their spicy moment caught me off guard in the best way—it felt young, tender, and unexpectedly real.

The prose is light and often reads like a script, leaning toward a younger audience with simple structure and some fourth-wall nudging. Some relationships, especially with Eliana’s father, felt underdeveloped compared to the beautifully soft romance arc. And the worldbuilding around siren powers was a little inconsistent—but the charm never faded.

And Alina. Absolute scene-stealer. A violet-themed sea witch with a seashell necklace and eel sidekicks? She’s Ursula’s cooler, sassier cousin—and I adored every line she had (especially that “you poor unfortunate soul” moment!).

This read like a cozy, whimsical fantasy rom-com, with just the right amount of spice and a happy ending I didn’t know I was craving. A joyful standalone that made me feel nostalgic and soft in all the right ways.

Favorite quotes:
• “…the people far away, swaying to the music, and practically mating with each other in public.”
• “Why don’t you start a little collection in a cavern?”

I really really enjoyed this book! The characters were very interesting and I loved the journey that the author took them on. Sometimes I can get bored if the plot is to slow but the author did a great job with the pacing and keeping it interesting. I was able to finish this book in one sitting because I could not put it down! I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

Wow this modern retellling of the little mermaid with a twist has me desperate for more. The female main character Eliana who is a mermaid embarks on a mission as a spy at a college where there are monster hunters. During her time at the college she falls deeply for Will.
The female main character was a breath of fresh air, following her journey navigating the modern world was not only funny but also evoked sympathy for her childlike mannerisms.
The pair had banter throughout and was truly an amazing read. I would definitely recommend for all of my romantasy lovers!

A spicy Little Mermaid retelling? Yes, please!

Sails and Sirens is a fun and exciting story about a Siren Princess falling for a Sea Hunter. I really loved how classic lines or aspects of the Little Mermaid were pulled into this book.

The Sea Witch is fantastic, and I'd love to read about her more. Honestly, I'd like more stories set in this fantasy world. You only get a sample from this book and I want more!

This book is what I consider a cozy, small college town romance book with your classic love-at-first-sight meet cute and some light tension between the main characters to keep things moving. Unfortunately, this book was described to me as a modern Little Mermaid meets Supernatural tale and while I can definitely see the Little Mermaid, I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark on Supernatural.

The concept of a Siren accidentally falling in love with a Hunter, the very person literally born and raised to kill her, is great. The issue I have with this is that the book feels less like a fantasy romance and more like a contemporary romance book that happens to have a mermaid in it. I would have loved to see more world-building to really flesh out what the sirens and Sea Hunters can do. Despite sirens vs Sea Hunters being the main conflict, I felt like there were no real stakes between them because I don't know what all their powers are and how deadly they actually are.

Sails and sirens takes inspiration from the little mermaid and supernatural, giving of hunter mixed with Disney vibes.
Eliana siren princess of Cerulia is tasked with a mission to gain information on the human sea hunters, alongside one of her sisters Elara. William Sawyer is a sea hunter alongside his brother and father, finds Eliana intriguing both becoming infatuated with each other, can a siren and a sea hunters stand the tests of time?
The sibling dynamics are very relatable Eliana so the her two sisters and Will with his brother, there is banter but also protection.
Can the truth set you free?
Forbidden romance

Thank you Cynthia Brubaker, Midnight tide publishing and NetGalley for the ARC read

Sails and Sirens is a standalone Little Mermaid retelling and I had so much fun reading this book, it’s a refreshing take on one of my favorite tales and I really enjoyed it!

Eliana is a siren princess tasked with going on land to infiltrate and end the hunters. Will is one of the hunters killing sea creatures, but from the moment they meet they can’t ignore their attraction to each other, but with Eliana hiding who she is and a mythical sea creature threatening them all, they need to find a way to have peace before their families destroy one another.

I love Little Mermaid retellings and this is one of the best I’ve read, there are so many unique twists here and I enjoyed them all. I loved the world of sea creatures and sirens and hunters and the conflict was written in such an interesting way with everyone being both in the right and in the wrong and no easy way to fix it. Eliana was a great FMC and a true fish out of water here, I laughed out loud many times at her vexation with human technology and custom and I loved the clever way of changing some of the human sayings into something underwater people would say. Will was also great and such an amazing romantic interest, he was so caring and patient and understanding with Eliana and their relationship was written in a perfect way, they were younger than I expected them to be (19 & 21) and since it’s been a while since I read this kind of relationship in book it was refreshing to see them a bit awkward and first time falling in love, I also wasn’t sure for a minute there if it’s going to be a YA or NA book but the spicy scenes quickly dispelled my doubts and those scenes were so good. I also really liked side characters, especially Elara and Aiden, and Alina, the sea witch, was such a nice surprise, I loved her.

Sails and Sirens is a really great read that I recommend to everyone and I can’t wait to read more books from this author.

This was a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid with a refreshing twist. Eliana is a mermaid sent on a mission to spy on a college where monster hunters attend… only to fall for Will, a siren hunter who just so happens to be everything she’s not supposed to trust.

Eliana was such a sweet character. She was endearing, innocent, and completely out of her depth in the human world. Watching her try to make sense of modern life was both adorable and funny.

And then there’s Will. Funny, respectful, and the definition of a consent king. I usually don’t enjoy instalove, but here it works. You could tell how much they admired each other’s kindness, intelligence, and goodness in a way that made their bond feel meaningful and pure. I really appreciated how Will always let Eliana set the pace and made her feel safe.

The sibling dynamics were another highlight for me. Eliana and Will would argue and banter with their respective siblings but were also protective of them, which made it feel realistic and relatable.

If you enjoy soft, character-driven fantasy romance with found family themes, forbidden love, and just the right touch of danger, I think this one’s worth picking up.

I am a complete sucker for a Siren story, and anything to do with the sea wrapped up in romantasy. - but making it a millennials dream come true of Little Mermaid retelling was a huge undertaking to get correct. While I struggled with some of the pacing and overall structure, I will definitely be continuing the series - it's absolutely a 3.5/5