4.75/5 stars! L. Penelope writes such unique stories, melting historical fiction and magic into one. I loved this book. It features selective mutism and the healing and growth of a young woman finding her strength. I couldn't put this down and will continue to read everything this author puts out.

Penelope's historical heist novel The Monsters We Defy is on my list for the best books of 2023, and she's followed that up with up another excellent novel here, shining light on a little known piece of history.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep is set around the true story of several predominantly black towns in the American South, which were drowned to make way for dams - the mass displacement of people in the name of progress is unfortunately not a new historical idea. With that subject matter, this is obviously not an easy read, and the book doesn't gloss over the fact that things weren't immediately improved just by defeating the villains of this specific story. However, despite this, Penelope brings an optimistic tone to her work simply by centering the experiences of the residents who live in Awenasa - we get to see them experience joy, heartbreak and magic Jane and her neighbours and friends band together to save their town. I also appreciated how this book incorporated African mythology while also acknowledging the historical circumstances that had led to Jane and many of her peers having little engagement with this knowledge or way of spirituality.

If I have one criticism it's that there were slightly too many side characters, which made Jane's story feel a little suffocated at points, but that's a minor issue. I'm hoping Daughter of the Merciful Deep is a sign that Penelope is looking to make a permanent home in this genre, because if so, I look forward to seeing what comes next.

I thought this was a mesmerising, poetic and insightful new fantasy book with strong magical realism at the heart of it. There's a vivid historical and folkloric background to this book that really invigorates the characters and makes the plot itself even more compelling. It doesn't shy away from the social issues that are at hand with this historical background, in particular racism, and that only made this even more of an exciting read and I couldn't stop turning the page. Jane is a fantastic protagonist; she feels real and relatable, even with the historical setting, and I loved seeing the representation of speech-impaired characters and the presence of sign language here!

This was very beautifully written and fast-paced, connecting ancestral magic and historical fiction, but I really struggled to connect with the main character Jane. Despite being in her twenties, Jane read a lot younger, which was quite frustrating. I really liked the historical parts of the book, but the magical realism aspect wasn't really working for me. The research done on the historical fiction was really well done and clever, and I think the book would have worked much better for me without the fantasy aspect. I also struggled quite a bit to follow how the timeline was jumping around, but that might have just been me!

I fell in love with the protagonist, Jane, within the first two pages. She quietly goes about the small town where she lives fixing the little things and then blending into the background. Penelope handles Jane’s muteness very well, managing to demonstrate just how much it hampers Jane on a daily basis without holding up the narrative.

As for the grim events threatening Awenasa – it makes for shocking reading. Particularly if you read the Afterword, where Penelope explains the historical backdrop for her main plotline. Being a Brit, I had no idea that communities of ex-slaves that managed to thrive were put under such pressure and in places were actually forced to scatter after killings and destruction. The fantastical element introduced by Penelope into this dynamic is cleverly handled, as there isn’t simply a quick wave of a wand to fix everything.

While the story starts slowly, it gathers momentum. The characters are well described, the era well realised – Penelope certainly has nailed the scene-setting, and the plot twists had me turning the pages well after I should have turned out the light and gone to sleep. I really cared for the people living in Awenasa and once again, Penelope’s writing has given me – a middle-aged white woman living in the UK – a visceral insight into living as a black person in the States when the Authorities no longer want you on such a prime site of real estate.

The juxtaposition of small-town America, where people look out for each other and often represents safety and law in US culture, is disturbingly set against the very forces that generally provide said law and order, when they are in the process of trying to destroy a peaceful community. While the fantastical element makes this book bearable, I found the brazen nature of the land-grab truly appalling. Highly recommended for fans of historical fantasy tales. While I obtained an arc of Daughter of the Merciful Deep from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

FAntasy, historical fiction, serious issues like racism and the cancellation of pieces of history and places.
This is a fantasty book but also a one about things that happened in real life and we don't know.
Well plotted, intriguing, gripping. Excellent world building and character development
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love historical fantasies, especially when you can tell the author is very passionate about the topic and also the research. And I think after finishing Daughter of the Merciful Deep, this is definitely one I will be recommending. I have never heard previously about drowned black towns so reading this and finding out that the inspiration behind this book was real had me instantly searching up and reading said articles about it - so I really appreciate the author for writing about it.

I enjoyed everything about this book. I definitely took time reading it and it took me a while to figure out what's happening in this story but at the same time I don't mind it - the writing was beautiful, and I loved just following Jane throughout the book. I loved how well written this book was, how developed the storyline and plot was, and how it was able to mix history, fantasy and realism all at the same time. I loved the little romance between Jane and Daniel too, and seeing Jane be braver through out the book.

An historical fantasy set in an almost exclusively Black town in the American South during the 1930s
Awenasa, founded by a former slave, has provided a safe haven for it's African American residents - often escaping poor treatment or been chased out of their former homes by their white neighbours - until it is threatened by a government dam-building project.
Jane, our main character, uses sign language to communicate following a series of traumatic events when she was a child, including the murder of a young man she knew, that left her barely able to speak. But one day, she's sure she sees that same man wandering about the town, and yet no one else seems to recognise him and he has an uncanny ability to slip away and disappear. This leads Jane to discover a secret world beneath the water and the existence of gods from African folklore.
This could have been a purely historical fiction and I still would have enjoyed it- the setting, the characters and their stories were so well told and compelling. The time and setting, including the inspiration of real drowned Black towns, are obviously well researched - Awenasa and it's residents fell completely real.
I enjoyed the African religion and folklore elements, especially the tokens and memories (I don't want to give away spoilers). To begin with, this seems like a magical realism historical fiction but by the end it dips into more solidly historical fantasy as Jane, with some help from others, tries to save her town.
The pacing isn't perfect, it maybe flags a little in the middle, and I wasn't hugely keen on (view spoiler) especially as she communicates perfectly well anyway. But these are minor complaints to a book that has a great, organic feeling of community, time and place.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep was my first book by this author and it was the title and the blurb that drew me in. I love historical fiction and I love fantasy and if done well, historical fantasy is the best of both worlds. This is a combination of two very different genres that all authors do in their own way, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was curious. Moreover, I had never heard of the drowned Black towns of the American South, and I was eager to learn more about them.

I have to say, the author aced the premise of the story, and the afterword was enlightening, elaborating on a couple of truly heart-breaking historical facts that inspired Daughter of the Merciful Deep. A story with a main character to root for, and people coming together to face off evil in whichever form despite their own insecurities and issues always works for me. Add some depth by weaving true historical facts into the narrative and some (folk)lore, and you have all the ingredients to win my heart.

Alas, Daughter of the Merciful Deep did not quite conquer my heart. As wonderful as the premise and all the separate elements were, the execution did not entirely work for me, it took me a while to get into the story and I ended up with some mixed feelings. I do have to add that Fickle Frieda set up camp again and she’s made me very VERY hard to please. I’m a mood reader at the best of times but when Frieda’s in da house, my moods are irrationally fickle.

The biggest niggle I had was that I couldn’t quite orientate myself in space and time. Part of the narrative is set in a fictional place, but a large part is set in a town that I eventually assumed had a fictional name but was based on a real town. The blurb speaks of the American South, so I figured that must be where the story was set, but I found little to prove that it was, and if so, in which State. The afterword did clear that up.

With regards to when the story is set, there is a past timeline, which is set in 1923, in which the protagonist is a child, so that did allow me to orientate myself in time. However, there are a few bits and bobs that irked me, things like one of the characters saying: no shit, Sherlock. I dunno, most readers may not even notice, but to me, those little details felt too contemporary to fit the story, and clashed horribly with some historical aspects and as such, they pulled me right out of it.

However, as I said, Fickle Frieda has been making sure it doesn’t take much to pull me out of any story lately, so if Daughter of the Merciful Deep speaks to you, you should probably listen to her, not me!

Despite some mixed feelings, overall I did have a good time with Daughter of the Merciful Deep. It’s a blend of historical fiction and fantasy that tells a story of racism and violence but also of hope, courage and love, while highlighting a true (and sad) chapter in Black history.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep is out in digital formats and audio on 4 June, and paperback on 6 June.

Massive thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep is a joyous tale of survival, but also a harrowing look at the drowned Black towns of the American South. Set in 1930's America, in a town with a predominately Black community, the story follows Jane Edwards, the daughter of the local preacher who hasn't spoken a word since a traumatic event that happened in her youth. When her town is threatened by the development of a damn, Jane is given a chance to save it, one that seems too magical to be true, but when a face from her past returns, something that shouldn't be possible, Jane starts to realise that there may be magic in this world, magic ready for the taking, if she can only be brave enough to reach out for it.

Penelope effortlessly blends history and fantasy to create a story that had me steaming with anger, but also rejoicing. It's a story that doesn't shy away from the dark side of history, instead shines a spotlight on it. In the acknowledgement she tells us where she draws her inspiration from, something I really loved because it shows just how much research went into telling this story, making it as historically accurate as it can be, whilst also making it wondrously magical. Her stories carry a heavy emotional toll, but they are also wholly unique and the fantasy elements, as well as the sprinkle of romance, mean her readers find it hard not to get overly invested.

Jane was a character I instantly empathised with. She is someone carrying around a trauma from her past, one she has tried to hide from herself, never wanting to admit what she did. She is someone so full of love and care, for her family and her community, but someone who doesn't believe she deserves any of it herself. She's complicated, head strong and incredibly clever, but she is also terrified of being noticed, of people starting to chip away at her walls because once they do, she's not sure she'll be able to contain her secrets any longer. Alongside Jane, we get introduced to a whole host of characters from her town, the one's with the most page time being Grace, her older sister, Daniel, the boy who loves her and who she doesn't believe she deserves, and Moses, someone with the face of a boy Jane knows to be dead.

As the daughter of a preacher, Jane has grown up Catholic, but through the story, and trying to save her town, she delves more into the God's her ancestors believed in, those from African mythology and folklore, and actually a large part of the book deals with trying to get Jane and the townspeople to remember things that their ancestors knew, things that have been lost to them over time. A time when they were ripped from their homes, forced to become slaves, to follow a new religion, forced to try and belong in a world that would be slow to accept them. The story blends folklore, African mythology and Catholicism, something that absolutely shouldn't work, but Penelope know's what she is doing. There's a large part of the book I can't really talk about without giving away spoilers, but I loved how Penelope showed that, even in the places that were so called 'refuge's' prejudice and the like still exists. There was no such thing as 'perfection', instead it was wondrously human and realistic.

It' a story that shows how miracles come from communities working together, towards the same goal, following in the paths their ancestors set for them. And it's one filled with hope and resistance, peace and healing. There is a romance arc that's super sweet, but it's not a large part of the plot, which is focused on human connection of all kinds; familial, friendships and romance. Penelope's writing is lush and descriptive and instantly transports you to the town of Awenasa. The start of the story may be a little slower, but around half way through there is a shift, not just in pace, but in tone and one that brings the fantasy element to life and while, in other hands this may have seemed abrupt, Penelope simply weaves it into her story like it was there all along.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep is a harrowing story in parts, one that deals with the darker side of history, with slavery and racism, but it's also one that is so incredibly filled with hope and healing. It doesn't try and wash away any of the terrible events which were used as inspiration, but rather, and in Penelope's own words she wanted to "honour the trauma and pain as well as the joy and resiliency of her ancestors." If you like historical fantasy that takes it's inspiration from real life, no matter how horrifying the tales, but leave you with a feeling of hope and joy by the end. One with complicated characters who are carrying their own traumas, a book that will leave you angry and joyfull at the same time... you need to pick this one up.

“Daughter of the Merciful Deep” is a ya historical fantasy novel written by Leslye Penelope.

A peaceful all-African-American town in 1930s America. A dam that threatens to destroy everything. A deeply united community. A determined and courageous protagonist, marked by the horrors of the past, who stopped speaking after the trauma she experienced. An evocative, lyrical and at times poetic prose. A vivid, detailed and well-described setting. A placid, slow pace that takes its time. A book that mixes folklore and African American history with magic and other fantasy elements, creating a wonderful plot. A story about racism, faith, hatred, slavery, injustice and cruelty. A tale of hope, peace, freedom, resistance, unity and healing. A book without romance, focused on the bonds between people.

These are just some of the elements that make up “Daughter of the Merciful Deep,” a novel that moved me deeply. Seriously, in several scenes I found myself getting angry, crying or both because of the strength and expressiveness of the descriptions. It is not a quick book, but nevertheless I was glued to the pages, absorbed in the events narrated, without moments of boredom or heaviness. I was fascinated by the setting, by the information regarding African American folklore, and by the almost suspended in time atmosphere that hovers over the tale. Jane, protagonist with her first person pov, convinced and involved me so much. I found her well portrayed and analyzed, with a wonderful evolution. I also liked the secondary characters, as well as appreciated the strong sense of community that hovers among all of them.

All in all, “Daughter of the Merciful Deep” is a ya historical fantasy that involved me a lot and that I recommend to lovers of the genre.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read Leslye Penelope's The Monsters We Defy, and I was completely blown away! When I saw her new book up on NetGalley, I requested it immediately. Leslye Penelope is a brilliant storyteller. She writes stories that combine history and fantasy, sprinkled with romance, that are compelling, unique, and carry an undeniable emotional resonance. I really believe she's a unicorn with magical storytelling abilities. In the acknowledgement, she always explains how the inspiration came and what events she drew inspiration from, and while I greatly appreciate the information, it's so easy to deduce that she has done extensive research into everything and that she's put her heart and soul into the story. Her stories has this authenticity, this absolute nature of truth and spirit that screams how much work she's put into it.

Daughter of the Merciful Deep is a brilliant exploration of community, racism, religion/faith, hope, mistakes, and the act of saving yourself from your guilt and mistakes as well as protecting others. It also explores mental health, and how it can affect our character and actions.

Our main character is Jane who hasn't spoken in years, since she was a child. She was traumatized and held captive by her own sense of guilt. She doesn't think she deserves happiness, and all she wants to do is protect her family and her town. A town that is threatened by the production of a dam that will, as a result, flood the town. She gains a deeper understanding of the world, their history,and their culture after she meets a man who looks exactly like a boy who is supposed to be dead.

There are many side characters but we mostly meet Daniel, our love interest, Grace, Jane's sister, as well as Jane's father. Of course, we also meet some deities. All characters are fully fleshed out, with their quirks and extensive background. Daniel thinks he isn't worthy of his father's pride and Jane's love because he doesn't have a degree like his brothers. Grace's life outside their town hasn't been rainbows and sunshines, either.

It was a bit slow at times, but after I had read it and considered what to rate it, I just kept thinking, "Yeah, it got slow at some point but I do believe it's brilliant."

If you enjoy historical fantasy novels and friends to lovers romance, you should definitely read this! Leslye Penelope isn't an author to be missed.

This book took a while to truly get started, and the first 100 pages or so it was a bit of a struggle to figure out what was going on, what the setting was. I think the primary issue in this part was the main character. Jane was rather passive, and though it was written in first person it almost felt like she wasn't there.

The book picks up later on though and once I'd really gotten a good view of where we are and what's going on, I did appreciate the setting, the history that inspired this story. I like how the town of Awenasa was described and how it came to live over the course of the book.

I think my favorite part of the book are the sections that are set in New Ilé, which is a magical world Jane finds beyond the river where African gods protect Black people who have been victims of trafficking, slavery, racial violence etc. I liked the folklore and how it was combined with the Christian religion the characters of the village follow, and I liked how this world wasn't perfect. It had its issues, but it was still a better option for Jane's village than staying in the real world where the village was going to be destroyed to create a lake.
And allowing the village to become part of this magical world was no easy task. At this point, Jane becomes a more active character and I can see how much she loves her village and wants to save it.

The book has no romance, and Jane doesn't seem interested in that. At times, it's phrased in such a way I suspected she might be aromantic, but this is not explicit in the story.

This is a quiet book, there's not a lot of action and the pacing isn't super fast, but I think the setting and the folklore are its greatest strenght and I would recommend it for people who enjoy books like that.