I have to admit I enjoyed this one more than the first in the series. The story overall was more engaging and I do feel we got a wee bit more insight into the merworld and the magic system that was missing from the first book. However, this book still had its faults.

Like the first book the plot of this one changes into a completely different story for the second half and it is that half that is the most entertaining with most of the action. And again the first half was somewhat boring, even a little run of the mill. Its the little mermaid story mixed with the Frozen, sisters saving sisters storyline, that has no real thrill to it. We can already predict what is going to happen.

The second half is where this book gets interesting. This seems more like the story Henning wanted to tell and I don’t know why this had to be a series as this would have been perfectly fine as a stand alone. In fact the prologue contains a great recap (I wish more books did this) of the first in the series that you could just read this one on its own and be more that satisfied with the series.

Again its just lacking a bit of the page turning excitement to continue reading to move it up the the star ratings so it is a solid 3 stars, it entertains but doesn’t make it to the top books read list.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sequel to Henning's previous book, The Sea Witch. I mostly enjoyed the first book, it wasn't anything wildly exciting but it was solid enough. I felt slightly bemused when I heard there was a sequel as everything seemed wrapped up rather nicely at the end of the first book.

This story concerns Runa, the twin sister of Alia (the little mermaid character essentially) and Evie, the eponymous Sea Witch. Runa makes a deal with Evie to try and save Alia as she is running out of time to make the prince fall in love with her. So far, so familiar.

But then... the plot starts going batshit and we've got the outbreak of World War I and the dangers this holds for the ocean's inhabitants. This is really where I just started losing the plot completely. The fact I couldn't bring myself to care about anything or anyone in this book just finished it off for me.

This book felt a bit like one of those episodes in a tv show that contributes absolutely nothing to the main storyline and is just written to pad things out. Not for me, sorry!

I really enjoyed Sea Witch and did feel like it held its own and I wasn’t sure that a sequel was needed.

Anyway, we have a bit of a time jump from book 1 and the book jumps PoV’s between Evie and Runa. Alia is on land and is trying to win the affections of Prince Niklas, if he doesn’t return her favour Alia will turn into sea foam. Her twin Runa, is desperate to save her so strikes her own bargain with the Sea Witch. Unlikely team ups and strong sisterly bonds are the main notes from Runa’s story.

Evie on the other hand, I feel for Evie in that she has been villainised by the king and dreams of her freedom and to do this she has to challenge the king.

Both Runa and Evie have difficult choices to make, initially things seem simple but they have been set up to fall. To get their hearts desire they have to make sacrifices.

I did enjoy it, though not as much as the first. You wouldn’t necessarily need to read Sea Witch before this book but it’ll help to get the gist of the story. The alternating perspectives are a little tricky to get used to though.

Overall, it’s a story of redemption, magic and familial love. It’s a great twist/retelling of a classic tale.

I really enjoyed this book, it takes inspiration from The Little Mermaid but departs from the original tale in such a way it is impossible to predict what is going to happen. I loved the new cast of characters introduced in this book and found that the plot was fast-paced. I don't think that reading the first book is necessary to enjoy this book as only a few of the characters from the first book are featured and plenty of background to any references made is provided and I think this book is great as a standalone. I feel that Sarah Henning has really stepped up her game with this book and I'm looking forward to reading her future work.


Thank you to HarperCollins UK and to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

While Sea Witch itself wasn’t that impressive in adapting the story of the little mermaid, Sea Witch Rising does an admirable job of combining historical events with a fairy tale. This story is set 50 years after the events of Sea Witch, with yet another mermaid yearning for a set of legs. The start of it, at least, was already a part of Sea Witch, but here it continues the story as per the legend but giving it a twist – one PoV is from Evie, but the other PoV is Runa, the twin sister of the ‘little mermaid’ Alia who makes another deal to save her sister from a doomed mission. Its about sisterhood, family, and trying to stop a war.

The setting of this is 1914, so while Nik’s kingdom is neutral, his grandson Nik (who is now king, and Alia’s love) is aiding the war effort. At first, Alia’s and Runa’s mission seems simple, but when they are poised to fail, the only option becomes murder. Runa also then sees what the humans are trying to wreak, and the danger it spells for her underwater kingdom, as sea mines and U-boats start appearing in the ocean. The sea king himself sees this as a threat to mer culture and his power, and is mounting an offensive against the humans. Racing against time, Runa and Evie both have to contain the ocean’s power to save humanity from the wrath and greed of the sea king.

The book isn’t romance-heavy, despite a love being the catalyst of things, and this decision works to its benefit. It focuses on the sisterly bond between Alia and Runa, and how the other sisters too are ready to go far to save Alia. Runa gets involved with rebel witches; though she never had the love for humanity her sister has, she helps to fulfil her sister’s goals. Evie’s storyline, meanwhile, is about building a spell through the gift of the mermaids-turned-humans to free herself from her confinement, but also about facing the powerful and magic-drunk sea king. The story is also better written than last time, with dialogue’s feeling much more natural now. You don’t necessarily need to have read the previous book, Sea Witch, for this book, as it provides enough clues for those who haven’t, anyway, but it might help with Evie’s characterization. Overall, it is a good sequel and retelling.

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Children’s Books for an eARC via NetGalley of Sarah Henning’s ‘Sea Witch Rising’ in exchange for an honest review.

This is the sequel to her 2018 debut, ‘Sea Witch’, an origin story for the villainess of Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Little Mermaid’. As I hadn’t read this earlier book, I decided to listen to its audiobook edition earlier this week. I also elected to buy the audiobook of ‘Sea Witch Rising’, narrated by Billie Fulford-Brown and Elizabeth Knowelden, and did an immersive read/listen.

‘Sea Witch’ ended with an epilogue 50 years after its events as Evie, now magically merged with the giant octopus that had haunted a local cove, is approached by a little mermaid seeking her help to become human in order to win the love of the prince. This prince is the grandson of Evie’s beloved childhood friend.

‘Sea Witch Rising’ opens with this same encounter. The little mermaid, Alia, has traded her voice to the Sea Witch and gone to the land. Now Runa, Alia’s twin sister, who doesn’t want her sister to die of rejection when the prince fails to declare his love, strikes her own bargain with the Sea Witch.

Evie herself desires freedom from her role as the Sea Witch and seeks to challenge the Sea King, whose magic has trapped her.

The novel is told from the perspectives of both Runa and Evie. It also incorporates aspects of Danish political history as the Great War is raging in Europe. Naval mines and U-boats have brought this war to the seas and is threatening the merpeople and other inhabitants of the waters.

I found this a very satisfying retelling of ‘The Little Mermaid’ with thankfully none of the Christian moralising that was part of the original.

I was already fond of Evie and wanted to see how her journey continued. I also admired Runa’s love for her twin and determination to save her. It’s a novel that I enjoyed very much.

Sarah writes with passion and creates a strong sense of place both above and under the waves. She retains the darker elements of the fairytale and also weaves a sense of magic that felt very grounded.

Special mention to the stunning cover art by Anna Dittmann for both books. It captures the otherworldly beauty of the characters and discretely includes tentacles.

*Contains spoilers for book one*

Another fantastic story that had me invested from beginning to end.

Sea Witch Rising picks up where the Sea Witch left off. In the sea witch’s cave, Alia decides to trade her voice for legs so she can go ashore and have the prince fall in love with her. After making a deal of her own with Evie (the sea witch), Alia’s twin sister Runa, sets out to bring her sister back to the sea.

The story is told from both Runa’s and Evie’s POV which allows us to get an insight into both of their motives and really understand the characters. As with book one, I love that the narrative is from the villain’s point of view, as to really enjoy a villain’s story I need to understand and sympathise with them, which I did with Evie.

I absolutely fell in love with her in book one and was eager to see how she was faring in book two. Again she is written as a strong, fierce female who will not bend to the wishes of others but who also has a big heart and ultimately wants to do the right thing.

The characters are a strong part of this story and as well as Evie I loved Runa. She was so determined to save her sister and would literally do anything for her. Runa’s love for Alia shone through every page and although I’m all for a cute romance, the strong sisterly love in this book was a refreshing change and added a different dynamic (there is still some cute romance though 😉).

Sarah’s writing is lyrical and magical, which I adore, as it paints a wonderful world that allows me to imagine every scene. The story was well structured and continued to grow until the final dramatic ending with a number of unexpected complications.

Another great story that fans of retellings will love 💕

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Harper Collins UK - Children’s) for providing a copy of the book for review. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

I loved the mix of folklore and fantasy as much as I liked the world building and the well developed plot.
I had some problems in connecting with the characters but I think I missed something as I didn't read the first part of this series.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, following on from the previous book which provided a backstory for the sea witch. Like the previous book, this takes more from the original story than it does from the Disney version.

I didn't enjoy this as much as I did the first one.

One element from the first book that I really enjoyed, the flashbacks and their unique povs, were absent. The magic system seemed to be a lot less strict as well. In the first book there tended to have to be an exchange or amplifier or some sort, which did not hold true for the whole of this book. Seeing as these two things were my favourite things from the last book, it was disappointing to see that they weren't here in this one.

Something that bugged me throughout is that there was a boy who called himself a wizard, while the girls were witches. Wizards are not just the masculine word for witch. Wizards and witched are entirely different things. That boy, like the girls, was a witch. Viewing these terms as gendered versions of the same thing is entirely down to J K Rowling, and it's one of many things I'm mad at her about. Henning gave herself away by having that boy insist on calling himself a Wizard.

It takes more than what this book gave for me to be convinced of a romance. I was not even remotely convinced of the romance. Also, everyone seemed to be straight. Runa was hurt and confused at how her sister could've been so in love with a boy that she'd leave the sea for him, that doesn't exactly scream 'straight girl' to me. And yes, I've decided that when there are loads of characters and not even one of them are queer, I'm calling it out no matter what. There's no excuse anymore. You could cry historical realism, but also Runa and Alia are mermaids. But even if she did have to be straight, her romance subplot wasn't convincing and so ended up just being annoying.

So why did I give this four stars? Firstly, I have a personal policy of rounding up where I would've given a half star (unless I have a very good reason not to). Also, I did enjoy reading this on the whole !!

About 60 years have passed since the end of the last book, and World War One is in full swing. This wasn't just window dressing, it was very relevent to the plot and a lot of what happened centered on things that were only happening because of the war.

There was a strong focus on sisterhood, and how close siblings can be. I tend to enjoy stories that focus on the bond between siblings, and this was no exception.

The villain was great !! The moment that I figured out who the villain was going to be, it felt right, like I'd just been waiting for a retelling to go down this route.

I also liked that, like in the previous book, killing the prince was very much on the table, and the consequences of failure were dire. Henning doesn't shy away from any of that. This aspect of the story won't be for everyone, and if your favourite version of The Little Mermaid is the Disney version then it probably won't be for you. But I really liked it.

In summary, this wasn't as good as the first book, but I still had a good time reading it. If you like fairytale retellings and/or historical urban fantasy then you'll probably enjoy this.

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love.

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds?

Told from alternating perspectives, this epic fairy tale retelling is a romantic and heart-wrenching story about the complications of sisterhood, the uncompromising nature of magic, and the cost of redemption.

Though Evie has been the Sea Witch for 50 years, she still hasn't completely lost her humanity. When a little mermaid comes asking for her help, she grants the wish, despite knowing that it won't work. Without her voice, Alia won't convince the prince to love her and will turn to sea foam. But then the mermaid's twin sister, Runa, comes with a request of her own. She wants a chance to save her sister.
I think I might actually have enjoyed this even more than book one. Though it is not completely focused on Evie, I loved reading more about her and how much she still cares about the world around her, despite being feared and hated by so many.

I don't know if it was the book or my mood that made me dislike this.
I found myself struggling to get into this. As much as I was interested to see where the story would go based on how Sea Witch ended. I didn't care about the new characters or their story.
By the end I was skim reading it wanting it to finish.

I love re telling of fairy tales that have a heart and soul,

This story has just that, the first book sets the scene the second books just blows all your theories out the window and makes you see the story from many different points of view.

Love this book and will be running out to buy a HB copy as soon as possible

I honestly wondered what more Henning could have to say on the Little Mermaid, since while Sea Witch was a villainess origin story, it also basically retold the fairy tale. I ended up quite enjoying this. Henning slants the book in a way that pits sisterly love against romantic love, and it raises a lot of interesting questions. Frankly it’s good to see different kinds of love in YA as opposed to just the rather exhausting exclusive romance angle. I'm not a nermaid fan but I love the way Henning blends folklore, history and fairytale in her world building. I enjoyed this book.despite being slightly outside the target audience.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins Children's UK for the opportunity to read this prior to release.

Last year I read Sea Witch and I fell in love. The Little Mermaid has been my favourite story/fairytale since I was a child and I couldn't wait to read the Sea Witch origin story.

Skip forward a year and we now have Sea Witch Rising a story that sees us move forward a number of years. I loved the dual perspective of this book. We follow Runa a mermaid who wants nothing more than to help her sister/family in the beginning. This progresses further within the story but no spoilers here. I loved her character growth and how she deals with everything that is thrown at her. The second perspective is Evie the Sea Witch herself. I loved Evie as much as i did in the first and I couldn't get enough of her inner monologue. I can't say anymore but everyone truly gets what i believe they deserve and need.

The writing is spectacular and immersive. Sarah Henning has knocked it out the park for what will again be one of my favourites of the year. I really hope this time next year there is another release set in this world!

If you love the little mermaid or retellings this needs to be added to your TBR as a must read. 100% recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Sarah Henning for my arc of Sea Witch Rising in exchange for an honest review.


Spoiler warning: as this is a sequel to Sea Witch, there will be spoilers from book one along the way!

Synopsis: Alia has traded her voice to the sea witch in order to get a shot at love with the object of her affection, Niklas. Grandson of the original Niklas from book one Sea Witch. Runa will not let her twin sister throw away her life for a chance at romance with what she sees as a wasteful and selfish princeling. Evie wants her own freedom from the cave where she is imprisoned, but her freedom comes at a great cost and an exchange she might not want to make.

I really liked Sea Witch you can read my review of that here: https://lifehasafunnywayofsneakinguponyou.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/the-sea-witch-by-sarah-henning-review/ I know it received a lot of criticism for the way it demonstrated giving up everything for love but a) I never found that an issue with the story and b) I think it was an important part of telling the Sea Witch's story and understanding her future motivations.

Sea Witch Rising told a different story. Runa was a great character, super strong and the love story is that of her and her sister Alia. Alia is a bit of a wet character (excusing the pun) and she annoyed me quite a lot, but Runa was awesome. I also loved Evie just as much as did in the first one. She's been dealt such a hard hand in life and I feel so much for her.

Where Sea Witch was the untold story of The Sea Witch (we'll say Ursula although this series is actually a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid) Sea Witch Rising is more of a retelling of The Little Mermaid but from a new perspective. I really enjoyed this and look forward to seeing more from this author in future.

4.25⭐️

Received an arc via NetGalley for an honest review.

Having read Sea Witch a few months ago and absolutely loved it (5⭐️ book) I was so grateful to have received an arc of this second book.

In this story we follow Alia and Runa - twins, mermaids and daughters of the Sea King. Alia has fallen in love with a human and decides to trade with the sea witch. She will have four days as a human to prove that the love she has is not only reciprocated but true love or she will pay the biggest price with her life. She has traded her voice for this chance at true happiness. Runa, is desperate to understand why Alia would do this for a mere human. She is also concerned about the life Alia will loose if she is not successful. Evie is somewhat trapped in a cave by the Sea King himself, wanting above everything her freedom but can she find the power to do so?

We jump forward 50 years with this book and we get flashes of what has happened in that time. Evie is really struggling with her lack of powerful magic, trapped away from all she once held dear. I find this character is one of the most compelling and full characters. Yes, she makes bad choices and certainly makes deals with Alia and Runa that aren’t beneficial for them. She does feel conflict over this and continually wants to change things. Runa can’t understand the appeal of the human world and is trying everything she can to save her twin sister, she deals with a lot of identity issues throughout this story, who is she truly apart from a twin and someone of service to her father. Alia communicates through a sign language the twins created when they were younger, so in a sense there is representation in this book. The Sea King is where The Little Mermaid retelling is flipped. He has a need for power and magic above all else, he holds his daughters dear to him solely for their abilities and powers. He is a cruel merman and a dictator in many ways, I think it adds a dimension to that character that was lacking in The Little Mermaid.

The story is set in the early 1900’s and this is where it becomes more of a political book than the first. The invention of u boats, the fear of German invasion and the greed of kingdoms. I have to admit the political side of this book was frustrating at times. It pulled from the plot somewhat and actually made the story feel complicated unnecessarily. I felt the story was dragging at these moments.

I found most of the book so compelling as this author has a gift for writing retellings with so much more substance. She weaves between storylines we know well from The Little Mermaid and flips them in such a way that you are left thinking about what the implications of this story would be. I loved the magic and the history of the time and of the place it is set. The magic above land and in the sea is built in such a lyrical way. The philosophy of the magic and of the merpeople/humans is developed amazingly well. I love this authors writing style, it really helps to set the mood of the story and can be beautifully descriptive. When political moments occurred though this was where I felt the mix of too many plot points and description made the book longer than it might have needed to be.

For these reasons I couldn’t give this book five stars though I did really enjoy it and look forward to my preorder arriving. I look forward to future books.

I really really enjoyed this story.
Henning's writing was fantastically atmospheric and addictive - i could not put this down once i had started it.
Excellent sequel!

This book is incredible, yet again Sarah Henning has created a book that is magical as well as thrilling. I absolutely adore this take on the Sea Witch and the whole story surrounding mermaids wanting to be human or in some cases their curse is to remain human...

This is an amazing read, and I cannot wait for people to be able to read this!

Absolutely amazing once again!!

I literally couldn’t put this book down!!

The new characters are just as amazing as the original and they have such a role to play.

I won’t give out spoilers as this is a much anticipated book....even though I’ve read it, I’m still going out to buy it in August!!

Sarah, you have done us all proud my lovely!!

I wish there were more to these characters....a girl can dream!