Sea Witch Rising Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Sea Witch Rising (Sea Witch #2)
Author: Sarah Henning  
Genre: YA Fantasy/Retellings
Release Date: August 6, 2019 
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Synopsis:

“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.

Sea Witch Rising is the electric sequel to Sea Witch, an original and imaginative retelling of The Little Mermaid. You definitely want to read the first book before this one or you'll be completely lost. I absolutely loved the first book and couldn't wait to get my hands on this novel. I have to admit that I had high hopes and expectations going in because of how much I enjoyed the first book. I'm very happy to say that it lived up to anything I might've hoped for and then some. 

The story picks up right after the epilogue from the first book and the author gives us a nice little recap to help reacquaint us with the characters and what's been happening. Which was fantastic and I really wish more authors would do this! It really helped me to slip back into this world before the actual story began. Just like the previous book, everything was absolutely wonderful and I loved every second of it. The characters continue to be realistic and easy to connect with. They each have their own personalities with flaws and strengths and I loved watching each of them grow individually as well as with each other. 

One huge plus for me was the author's choice of writing style. The story is told from the first person point of view, from alternating viewpoints. It helped me really get to know the narrators and what's happening in their lives as well as in their minds, hearts, and everything else. We get to know each of them on a very personal level that I never seem to find with any other writing style. I think this was a perfect fit for the book and I'm so glad she chose to write it this way.

I'm a huge fan of fairy tales and retellings, and The Little Mermaid has always been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I loved how the author took the fairy tale we all know so well, picked it apart, and then put it all back together in her own unique way. I loved her original take on the story and how she changes certain aspects - like how the Sea King is a horrible person and we actually get to really know and feel bad for the Sea Witch. I loved that we get more backstory in both of these novels. It gives the story a ton of depth and layers we don't see very often. Add in the awesome magic happening and I couldn't put it down. I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting in a few hours. I very highly recommend this book (and the first one) to fans of YA, fantasy, paranormal, fairy tales, retellings, and romance. 

 

 

 

Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. While in South Florida, Sarah lived and worked through five hurricanes, which gave her an extreme respect for the ocean. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, which, despite being extremely far from the beach, happens to be pretty cool.

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