A sea of eternal Woe by R. L. Davennor
Hello Books Lovers,
I have a question for you? Would you like to read a book retelling of, listen, listen, the little mermaid, but in an adult and dark key? If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place because I am just going to tell you about a title with these characteristics in a spoiler-free review. The title is A sea of eternal Woe by R. L. Davennor and before moving on to the review, thanks to MTMC tours and the author herself.
If you search on google you will see that this is the second volume of a series. The first is titled A land of never after, but don’t despair because they are both titles, in my opinion, that can be read independently of each other. Although the characters may be the same in both volumes, the stories are a little different and, at the beginning of the second book, the author has used a few pages to summarize the events of the first book so that you can have everything in order in your head and embark on this reading. So even if you haven’t read the first, you can very well read the second.
But the retelling factor is also different because the first book was a retelling of Peter Pan, this second is a retelling of the little mermaid, with the same characters and a few additions, same romance but, obviously, different adventures and events. A prequel of this same saga, titled Curses of never, has also been released. At the moment it is not known how many books it will actually be composed of.
Talking about the story, the protagonist is Captain Wendy Maynard, I assume you recognize her by name. Now she finally has everything she ever wanted, a ship, friends and a life purpose. But when everything seemed to have taken a turn in her favor, something unexpected happens, to save her and Peter from being thrown overboard is her father, Captain Hook.
One way to describe this book is Peter Pan Meets the Little Mermaid. From the first book we move into the sea commanded by Ursa, the evil sea witch who keeps many secrets and wants more than she should wish for. She wants to destroy our protagonists, but she wants not only their lives, but their souls as well. And this book will be their adventure to escape evil and save themselves, not without many difficulties.
One element that I really liked about this book is how many new elements have been added to the original story, two stories have been blended flawlessly. The Little Mermaid has never met the story of Peter Pan, if not in the story Once upon a time, and here I open a parenthesis to say that if you liked that show this book is perfect for you, but in a more adult key. The elements I mentioned earlier also include LGBTQ characters, but I still recommend that you take a look at the trigger warnings reported in the book’s plot such as: violence, language, sexual content, misgendering and transphobia before reading. Many elements that might bother some.
Spending a few last words on the writing, it was very smooth, more than I ever expected since it took me two good chapters to settle in and get to the heart of the story. The first chapter already begins, without introduction or details, to tell the story. But then, once in gear, the story flows to the end. It was all really interesting and new to read and I recommend reading it.
