She Who Was Once the Sea
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Pub Date Sep 29 2026 | Archive Date Feb 28 2027
Description
Once, Marella belonged to the sea.
She and her family were emissaries, not monsters, swimming the borders between sea and land, keeping peace between the merfolk and the human city of Rossaia. But when the humans turned on them, the mermaids sought salvation from The Stone Witch.
She kept her word, but she also damned them.
Now, Marella and her family exist trapped in stone at the heart of a dried-up city, freed only on the night of the new moon.
And with that freedom comes thirst. To survive, they must drink human blood before dawn seals them back into statues.
Garrett is living an unmoored life.
Looking for something to anchor him, he arrives in Rossaia haunted by emptiness. There, he joins the Fratelli di Sangue, an ancient brotherhood sworn to cleanse the city of the monsters haunting its streets.
Monsters like Marella.
When a chance encounter turns into a dangerous rescue on a moonless night, both hunter and hunted find their certainties unraveling. Drawn together by blood, secrets, and a forbidden pull neither can deny, they stand on opposite sides of a war older than memory, and to choose each other may mean betraying everything they believe in.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9798188501648 |
| PRICE | $3.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 180 |
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Featured Reviews
Shriya S, Reviewer
✧˖°. 3.75 ✧˖°.
the second i saw "blond mmc" under the content warnings, i knew i was going to like this. plus that COVER? are you kidding me it is so gorgeous
even though it's marked as a retelling, this story is pretty original and took a darker turn than the fairytale.
the beginning immediately reeled me in - the backstory was explained so beautifully, and i could feel the pain of the merfolk when they were wronged. even though the book was under 200 pages, the worldbuilding was well established and i liked the writing style and it wrapped up pretty well for a short story.
i loved the romance in the beginning, but later it felt too physical & i couldn't feel their emotional connection as much as i did in the first 55%. also i don't usually like fantasy books set in the real world, but this one had just the right balance of fantasy & realism to make me ignore the fact that the mmc had a phone.
thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!
Reviewer 1243265
Honestly, I was locked in before I even started reading the main text because “Blond MMC” was listed as a trigger warning and a dedication that called me out.
While this at its barest bones is a modern Italian retelling of “The Little Mermaid”, it departs from the original to the point that it felt refreshingly original. There’s vampirism, witches afoot, and curses. It’s a fast paced page turner that keeps you hooked from start to finish– I read it one sitting. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so developed and gave satisfying depth despite the fact it is less than 200 pages long.
Be sure to grab a copy of this novella when it’s released on September 29, 2026!
Thank you to Dana Shea for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Diana P, Reviewer
A beautifully haunting and atmospheric read. She Who Was Once the Sea draws you into a world filled with emotion, mystery, and quiet intensity. The writing has a lyrical quality that makes the story feel almost dreamlike, while the characters and their struggles stay with you long after the final page. A captivating book for readers who enjoy immersive stories with depth, atmosphere, and a touch of magic.
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