Peasreads: The Palace Beneath the Sea A Mermaid Fantasy by Lauren Wiesebron

 

The Palace Beneath the Sea. What a GORGEOUS cover that drew me right in. The cover is a good representation of how beautiful this story and world is. The main character, Nolwenn, is a human who is a lighthouse worker. Her family has operated one of the lighthouses and protects the kingdom from sea monsters.  She does her job well and enjoys it. It's a legacy that she's very proud of. The Nolwenn is in her early 20's. This could a YA read also. 

 The world and word building to describe the setting  is beautiful. I loved the description of the Korrrigez. How they communicate, the nuances of how they sing, and express emotions. Their world and relationship with the environment around them is beautiful. The struggle for Nolwenn is, feeling the pull of the underwater world and the world above. This struggle could be felt keenly as the book progressed. Hard decisions were made by Nolwenn, and like her,  I went back and forth on what the best outcome should be. All in all a solid read with beautiful storytelling and a great plot.  I loved the story. The romance was great but not the main point, more of a subplot for me. 

LGBTQIA+

Closed door spice

Description

The acclaimed author of House of Frost and Feathers returns with a sweeping, lyrical novel inspired by a mermaid folktale filled with exploration, love, adventure, and magic.

A GREAT LOVE. A MYSTERIOUS KINGDOM BENEATH THE WAVES. A DEVASTATING BETRAYAL.

A doomed love story created the city of Ys, it’s fitting that another one would end it . . .

Nolwenn is sure that her life’s purpose is to defend her beloved coastal city of Ys as a lighthouse keeper. But when a dangerous, unnatural tide threatens Ys, the queen instead tasks Nolwen with collecting enough rare seasilk to shield the city from the deadly monsters who lurk deep beneath the waves.

Determined to fulfill her task, Nolwenn recklessly puts her life in danger, only to be attacked by the very creatures she’s trying to defend her city against. She’s saved by Morvan, a member of the korrigez people, with the torso of a human and the tail of a fish. Against her will, Morvan drags her deeper into the ocean to the coral palace of Below-Ys. Although Nolwenn is terrified and homesick, Below-Ys is also strange and beautiful…as is Morvan. The more time Nolwenn spends below the surface, the less she is sure she wants to leave.

As danger draws ever nearer to her homeland and Ys remains precariously unprotected, Nolwenn must decide between her heart and her home.

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Thank you, Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Harper Voyager for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads- The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K. L. Wilson

  The Trident and the Pearl

by Sarah K. L. Wilson

Pub Date Feb 24 2026 

So magical. This is high fantasy that drew me right in. SO much so that by mid-book I thought, this better end well. It also better not be the start of a series. Side note- I do not like starting series that do not have an ending. For the most part, I will avoid any ARC or e-galley that is the start of a series, duology, or trilogy. It just makes me have to wait that much longer for the conclusion. There are some authors that I will read regardless, though. That being said. I looked this book up, and it is the first of a trilogy. It doesn't matter now because I am sucked in and 100 percent invested. How could I not be with an opening like this?

 "​I was born into the embrace of the sea on a moonless night in the month of the Ragged Tides. My mother did not bleed out her life into the sea with my arrival, nor was my father visited by a terrible curse."

Queen Coralys is faithful to her people above all. She is willing to trade her life for them when a storm ravages her nation. That is exactly what the gods ask of her when she strikes a bargain with them. The storm recedes, not before taking her husband. As payment, the Queen must marry the first man who sets foot back on the island. She must take him as her husband and take his station as well. The gods love their games. Coralys marries a fisherman with nothing but an empty dinghy. No supplies and no idea where he's taking her. She does not care. She goes willingly with only one thing on her mind. Revenge against the gods who have taken so much from her. She soon begins to suspect that her new husband is the very god she wants to destroy. She must find out and complete her mission. Her new husband has other plans. He is wounded, and his kingdom is threatened. He is certain that she can help him restore his kingdom and his people. Can they learn to trust each other?

I loved this book. FIVE stars. Was Coralys gullible? Yes. Did she make bad decisions? Yes. Was it still amazing? Also yes. Will I be waiting for the next book? Absolutely. 

You can read the first chapter here on Sarah's website.

A desperate queen makes a deal with the gods to save her land in this spellbinding romantasy debut from Sarah K. L. Wilson.

"Perfect for readers who love slow-burn romance steeped in lush fantasy!" ―Danielle L. Jensen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Fate Inked in Blood

Queen Coralys rules the Kingdom of the Five Isles, but when disaster strikes, killing her husband and destroying half her nation, she pleads with the gods for salvation. And they do save her, turning back the terrible winds and tide and snatching her islands from the brink of destruction.

But the gods have a wicked sense of justice and they demand an exchange for their help: Coralys must marry the first man to set foot on her pier. Coralys expects the fleet of a neighboring country to come to rescue her people, led by its prince, a loyal ally. What she gets instead is a fisherman so sunburnt and stinking that her court can barely keep their breakfast down.

Coralys marries the fisherman just as she promised the gods, and sets out with him in his unkempt dinghy, with nothing but hopes of revenge against the gods to keep her from despair. But what she does not know is that the fisherman is actually the god of the sea. And he stepped on her dock for a reason.

His own kingdom besieged, his body terribly wounded, and his place as a god threatened, the fisherman has plans to turn the tides set against him and finally offer a place of refuge for his people. But working the magic he needs will require the help of the one woman bent on his destruction.

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Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books | Orbit, for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads: The Sirens by Emilia Hart

 This book is so good.  It is a story of familial love, secrets, betrayal, and forgiveness. With a little more that makes it magical. Mermaids? Shipwrecks? Mystery?  Magical realism.? Resilience? Sisterly love and strength? Check. Check. Check. All the checks.

I liked these characters. I could relate to them in ways. I could empathize with them. Even when I thought I had the whole story figured out I couldn't find that last puzzle piece. That last piece did end up making me lose some respect for the person but in the end it tied everything together. That's the realism for you.  All in all a good entertaining read. 

From the publisher:

A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea. 

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I received this book from NetGalley and Macmillan. I was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”