4.25⭐️

Received an arc via NetGalley for an honest review.

Having read Sea Witch a few months ago and absolutely loved it (5⭐️ book) I was so grateful to have received an arc of this second book.

In this story we follow Alia and Runa - twins, mermaids and daughters of the Sea King. Alia has fallen in love with a human and decides to trade with the sea witch. She will have four days as a human to prove that the love she has is not only reciprocated but true love or she will pay the biggest price with her life. She has traded her voice for this chance at true happiness. Runa, is desperate to understand why Alia would do this for a mere human. She is also concerned about the life Alia will loose if she is not successful. Evie is somewhat trapped in a cave by the Sea King himself, wanting above everything her freedom but can she find the power to do so?

We jump forward 50 years with this book and we get flashes of what has happened in that time. Evie is really struggling with her lack of powerful magic, trapped away from all she once held dear. I find this character is one of the most compelling and full characters. Yes, she makes bad choices and certainly makes deals with Alia and Runa that aren’t beneficial for them. She does feel conflict over this and continually wants to change things. Runa can’t understand the appeal of the human world and is trying everything she can to save her twin sister, she deals with a lot of identity issues throughout this story, who is she truly apart from a twin and someone of service to her father. Alia communicates through a sign language the twins created when they were younger, so in a sense there is representation in this book. The Sea King is where The Little Mermaid retelling is flipped. He has a need for power and magic above all else, he holds his daughters dear to him solely for their abilities and powers. He is a cruel merman and a dictator in many ways, I think it adds a dimension to that character that was lacking in The Little Mermaid.

The story is set in the early 1900’s and this is where it becomes more of a political book than the first. The invention of u boats, the fear of German invasion and the greed of kingdoms. I have to admit the political side of this book was frustrating at times. It pulled from the plot somewhat and actually made the story feel complicated unnecessarily. I felt the story was dragging at these moments.

I found most of the book so compelling as this author has a gift for writing retellings with so much more substance. She weaves between storylines we know well from The Little Mermaid and flips them in such a way that you are left thinking about what the implications of this story would be. I loved the magic and the history of the time and of the place it is set. The magic above land and in the sea is built in such a lyrical way. The philosophy of the magic and of the merpeople/humans is developed amazingly well. I love this authors writing style, it really helps to set the mood of the story and can be beautifully descriptive. When political moments occurred though this was where I felt the mix of too many plot points and description made the book longer than it might have needed to be.

For these reasons I couldn’t give this book five stars though I did really enjoy it and look forward to my preorder arriving. I look forward to future books.

I really really enjoyed this story.
Henning's writing was fantastically atmospheric and addictive - i could not put this down once i had started it.
Excellent sequel!

This book is incredible, yet again Sarah Henning has created a book that is magical as well as thrilling. I absolutely adore this take on the Sea Witch and the whole story surrounding mermaids wanting to be human or in some cases their curse is to remain human...

This is an amazing read, and I cannot wait for people to be able to read this!

I was sure what to expect going in as I didn't know this was going to be a series. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this. It added to the world and characters in unexpected ways, I'm glad I read it. I like the first one but loved this one. Its always interesting to read/find out about the 'villains' side of things.

I would recommended this as it adds much more to the series.

Absolutely amazing once again!!

I literally couldn’t put this book down!!

The new characters are just as amazing as the original and they have such a role to play.

I won’t give out spoilers as this is a much anticipated book....even though I’ve read it, I’m still going out to buy it in August!!

Sarah, you have done us all proud my lovely!!

I wish there were more to these characters....a girl can dream!

E-Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion

I've read the first book of the saga and didn't like it too much, but let me tell you that without a doubt, this sequel is her best book so far. It was an absolutely amazing story that I'm so glad I got a chance to read.
To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect starting this book since I didn't think it needed a sequel.
With that said, this book hit all my bells and whistles. Loved it!

So, for those who are wiser than me and read the summaries of books before they start reading them it will become clear that, while this book does follow on from the events of Sea Witch, it would be much better described as a companion novel than a direct sequel (at least in my opinion). It takes place a couple of generations removed from the characters in the first book, although there are some overlaps. I think this was a smart decision largely because I don’t remember being overly fond of the love interest(s) in the first book and it was nice to have some new characters, while still keeping that connection to the lessons learned in book one. I liked that this also wasn’t just a rehashing of the first book, there’s more going on here, in many ways, but there are also fewer mysteries – we know (ish) how magic works and there are much fewer cases of mistaken identity. If those mysterious elements were your favourite parts of the first book, then maybe this won’t be as much of a success for you? But this book does have some of those ‘revolution’ plotlines that I personally really enjoy in YA fiction.
So, this book is quite different from the first book, whether that is a success or something else will largely depend on personal preference.
This book switches between POVs with the Sea Witch Evie and Runa (a new character and the sister of ‘the little mermaid’ who also features in this story). I thought that Evie’s story would be fairly dull and only included for the sake of continuity – she was stuck in a cave what could she possibly add to the story? But actually, I really liked the dual POV. For one thing, it allowed for a bit more of an exploration of how magic worked and the divide between sea and land magic. For another, Evie actually plays a large part in this plot despite her aforementioned stranded-ness. I won’t go into too much detail for fear of spoiling anything but suffice to say she has a big part to play.
There were times during this book where I felt like the plot got a little confused and too fast-moving. I think in part this one is on me, I do tend to skim read (I’m working on it) but also there were aspects such as the romance which I think could have benefitted from a bit more time spent on developing them before they…bloomed? Mixed metaphors guys – I have a problem. I also felt like the final moments of the book felt a little implausible, largely because they came about so quickly!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I don’t think it hit quite as hard as Sea Witch did, but it’s a very strong ‘sequel’ all the same. Definitely better described as a companion novel (at least in my opinion) but I would say it’s well worth a read, especially if you enjoyed the first book.
My rating: A solid 3.5-4/5 stars!
I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Sea Witch Rising publishes August 8th!