Dark and spicy Little Mermaid meets pirates of the Caribbean? HELL YES.

I’m convinced Karina Halle could write ingredients on the back of a label and I would salivate at the chance to read it. She is the queeeeeen of dark romances. Whatever she touches turns to sultry depraved goodness and this book was nothing short of spicy angst. Maren was so bat shit crazy and Ramsey took one look and was like “🤨 yep that’s mine😍” You know you are unhinged when you are giggling like a little girl reading a book like this. I guess lock me up (with Ramsey) and throw away the key.

“Thank you to NetGalley, Metal Blonde Books, and the one and only Karina Helle, for the ARC!”

This one was not for me. The writing just felt so amateur and while the story was somewhat compelling it couldn’t overcome the overall writing.

Mermaid and Vampire Pirates sounds like it should be such a fun time, but this book was not. The writing was clunky and didn’t flow well at all. I found myself skimming quite often. Much of the writing and dialogue felt lazy (the FMC’s husband was literally named Prince Aerik!!). This could’ve been a magical, fantastical world, but it fell flat.

The last 25% of the book was a drag to get through. It felt like the author had a plot point in mind that she forgot to include earlier, so she awkwardly squeezed it in at the end. That made the larger plot feel less impactful.

I really wish this had been better. There aren’t many mermaid pirate romantasy books out there. Unfortunately, aside from the general concept, this one was a letdown

Karina Halle is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I absolutely loved this book. I cannot wait to find more and devour those novels just as quickly as I did this one.

I enjoyed this dark take on the tale of The Little Mermaid. Maren had a lot of character development in going from a cowering captive to the fearsome monster she is. I liked how Ramsey matched her energy and encouraged her to give in to her monstrous side. Overall, this book felt a bit on the long side. The final battles felt poorly prepared for and easily won, which is not my favorite to read about. The book ends in a satisfying way, which I enjoyed. I recommend this book to fans of fairytale retellings who like their books dark and spicy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this ebook.
I really enjoyed this book—it was very hard to put down. It’s the kind of book that grips you from the first pages.

I’ve wanted to read this book for sooo long based purely off of the stunning book cover!! And it also helped that the synopsis is summarized as a dark spicy little mermaid x pirates of the Caribbean retelling, excuse me what? Say less 😂😂

After reviewing there are things I liked and didnt like..

If the synopsis intrigues you and you enjoy foul mouthed men and lots of spice then please go ahead and divulge in this one!

As a whole I enjoyed the book, the plot was unique and the setting and atmosphere was interesting (as I’ve come to find is the norm for this author), there was something though that just fell a bit flat for me, maybe I went in with expectations too high based on previous books I’ve read and loved from the author? Maybe I just didn’t connect with the characters, im not sure 🤷🏼‍♀️

Either way I look forward to continuing to read more from this author regardless 😻

I found it a bit confusing, honestly. Several times I had to pause and double-check that I understood what was happening. I feel like some issues were solved too quickly without detail.

First of all, Thank you to this book for being a standalone. You were the book I needed at the right time. When I first started reading, I got excited because I could see the little mermaid hints and I love that story. What really got me to dive into this book, was reading how Maren later realizes her dream was not at all what she expected. I really liked this take in the story and how Maren takes control of her future. I really enjoyed her character arc. And even more when i saw that even though she got more and more punches thrown at her and she had times she wanted to give up, she still didn’t and chose a future for herself.

As for Ramsay, I loved his backstory and how his crew is his family. I had no idea we would get that twist on them being immortal? That was a nice surprise for me. I very much enjoyed the end of the book since it gave hope and the action scenes throughout the book nicely built it up for the end. Good read for me at a time I needed a nice good ending!

I absolutely loved the first part of this book. This book is divided into four parts, and part one felt so magical. It’s where we learn what happens to Maren, we meet Bones, and we go on a magical sea adventure. Part two matches part one, except now we have some romance, some betrayal, some epic battles. Then, I started to not like the book as much when we reach part three.

I wish this book were three parts rather than four. While each part focuses on something new that helps to complete the story, I felt like there were a few too many side plots going on that could’ve been cut out. For example, why are there so many people that revenge must be taken against?

I would’ve rather had one revenge plot than two that kept interrupting one another. Having both kept throwing the story in different directions, and it made me eager for one of them to end simply so the story would stop jumping as much.

I did love Maren’s growth though. She started out so naive and afraid, and she’s a completely different person by the end. I liked seeing her finally find herself after being so lost. I liked her revenge against her dumb husband the most. He got what was coming to him.

I also liked the vampire element in this book. Vampire pirates are such an awesome idea that shouldn’t work, but it really does.

I know there is another book in this series, but this is absolutely a standalone. You don’t need to read both.

Thank you very much to Metal Blonde Books, Karina Halle, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I inhaled this book like the Kraken can sink a ship...fast...way too fast...

Give me pirate books any day. A dark retelling of The Little Mermaid with a plot twist we could see coming, but it's still very fun to read. I liked the book. The writing flows, and the characters are strong.

Bonus point for Ramsay. He has this perfect, dangerous, hot, pirate vibe going on, and I'm here for it. Let's be honest...
Maren can appear like a damsel in distress, but she's a strong FMC. Everyone is a monster, everyone is morally grey (or dark dark grey), and that's entertaining.

It might not be your cup of tea if you are looking for a serious retelling of some sort or a cozy romance, that's not IT. You have been warned. The ending felt a bit rushed for me, but it works nonetheless. This is a standalone book, but my understanding is that there is a book 2 set in the same world.

Pick it up if you like:
- Romance (dark - read the trigger warnings) / open-door (when there is a door...)
- Pirates - yay!
- Fantasy (magic, supernatural)
- Action
- Strong and resiliant FMC
- He falls hard, MMC

Thank you to Metal Blonde Books and Netgalley for the ARC. Thank you for allowing me to sail with Maren & Ramsay.

This story was everything I didn’t know I wanted in a Little Mermaid retelling. This is definitely a dark, gritty, and oh so spicy retelling with a very substantial list of trigger warnings if that tells you anything. I enjoyed every moment of it. I cried during parts of it, felt like my heart was being absolutely crushed in a couple of places. I did get slightly annoyed with some of the characters and some of the plot here and there, but overall I vibed with it.

OH boy let me tell you, I'm a fan of Halle's book and this one was no different, I love that it was a stand alone and I devoured it immediately. If you've never read one of her books, this is the one to start with

A very adult Little Mermaid meets Pirates of the Caribbean in this blisteringly spicy story with a surprising amount of heart. I was looking for a fun read in between some heavier books, and this was exactly what I needed. If you are looking for a spicy, fun, fast-paced romance and you love possessive pirates, this book is for you. This is more of a dark romance, so check the content warnings; but if a pirate / hostage siren romance sounds like your type of story, you will probably love this one.

I would recommend A Ship of Bones & Teeth to readers who loved To Ravish A Rogue by C. M. Nascosta, as well as to fans of pirates, sirens, and darker romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.

3.5 ⭐

This book was fine. I liked the world the author created, adapting elements from <i>The Little Mermaid</i> into her rendition of the story, and writing what comes after the mermaid gets her ‘happily ever after’—which actually <i>isn’t</i> going so happily when this story begins. As far as darker fairytale retellings go, this adaptation had a lot of fun with changing details—the monstrous mermaids; Prince Eric, who wished his mermaid hadn’t regained her voice; the fate of the syren kingdom Ariel—or in this case, Maren—left behind. The only issue is, I felt like some elements present in this novel were <i>very</i> good, while others only frustrated me.

I did like the introduction and again starting around the 75% mark. However… Some of the content in the middle of the story feels chaotic/random, as many things only happens when its’ necessary to the plotline, even if it doesn't make much sense. The characters (all of them) act as villains when its’ convenient, and flip flop back to compassionate and loyal at convenience, too. The pirates leave their captain in the deal with the sea witch yet are somehow ‘loyal’ even when nobody opposed him being handed over, Maren/Ramsay both act aggressive with each other at random, and Nerissa is painted as a villain until she isn’t—even though she’s been making problems for half the book, suddenly she’s the crews’ friend and cares about everyone!

I don’t mind that both of the main characters are monstrous in their own right—but the characters just say whatever sometimes (such as Ramsay claiming they “don’t torture people for fun” only to be called out for doing so, and then being like “oops, i hoped she wouldnt see that”). I kept wishing he would stop trying to convince Maren he was ethical every now and again, only to then say something contradictory moments after.

I have my own separate issues with Maren. Maren flops between being all-powerful and weak (even with her syren powers), and has no sense of self-preservation; she knows she shouldn’t tell any pirates what she is because they DRINK THE BLOOD OF HER KIND, and yet, as soon as she has opportunity to run away, she instead saves Ramsay and spills her life story to him. Every time she runs away from his ship she fails, even when she is literally in the open ocean and can breathe underwater. I felt like throwing my hands up. I wish the romance co-existed with Maren making sensible decisions, but unfortunately her and Ramsey’s love kind of depends on her not thinking anything through and being really really bad at escaping the boat for a while there.

I did really like the end portion of the book, where she started actually using her abilities and got her 'voice' back, and used it for really cool reasons involving sinking ships, and when she was actually monstrous and ate some hearts. Kind of wished there was more of that in the novel… as well as more of Nill the shark and Skip the cat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for the ARC!

I loved how unique the world building and story felt, while still being a retelling and having a set up from a fairytale we all know and love. Id call it a reimagining more then a retelling and I loved that aspect. The writing was so lyrical and beautiful. I truly loved the banter in the first half but felt like that was easily replaced with their love and I missed that in the second half. I love to laugh with my characters in my romance leaning books. Maybe not fair to the story but I wanted more out of it and wished it was a series over a standalone, but obvs it is written to be a standalone. But I felt like it was missing a little bit of depth and time with the characters that making it a duopoly would fix.