A really promising debut with a unique turn of the well known Little Mermaid tale.
It was interesting to see it more in a romantasy setting, giving room to the characters for growth and exploration.

EN | First of all, I would like to thank Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

I had been keeping an eye on this book since the beginning of the year, but it was only after I started reading it that I realized it was a retelling of The Little Mermaid. This is the third retelling of this story I have read, but it may be my favorite. This book was extremely nostalgic, in the sense that it took me back to my childhood, reminding me of the Disney classic, as well as the anime “Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.”

This book has many of the classic elements of the original story, the deal with the sea witch, the rescue of the prince, but it is also original enough to stand on its own, both in terms of mythology and world-building, as well as in terms of storytelling.

I really liked the relationship between Celeste and Raiden, who were excellent enemies to lovers, from beginning to end, where the two things get a little mixed up, but not in the way that many romantasys do, which is “enemies with lust.”

About the story itself, how come this isn't a stand-alone? I need the sequel urgently. Okay, but seriously, I was completely immersed in the story and the characters. The story is fast-paced and there are no dull moments.

It's a book about family, generational trauma, parenting issues, and foster care. I definitely recommend it. I would like to see it translated in my country and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

"Come rest your weary bones, love. Come join us in the sea."

GENRE: Romantasy Retelling
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Long Review:
Voice of the Ocean is the second book I read this year that is focusing on The Mermaid Retelling with its own twists. This was a lovely read that I quite enjoyed and was entrapped in the tale of it. I enjoyed the found family trope and the character development of Celeste. I also quite enjoyed learning about the different kingdoms and Goddess, the history of sirens and how they came to be from the different Goddess.

This is a tale of Celeste, who is an emotional siren, where emotions are not cherished, treasured or encouraged. And as she is a princess, she is shielded from many things in life and comes off as naive. I like to think that The Little Mermaid is a story of an FMC that is naive and develops across the story (not that being naive is a bad thing per say). In Voice of the Ocean, it is very much a story of someone who does not know where she stands in society and tries to find her own place in it. She feels like she fits in the places that she shouldn't
"Unfortunately, the surface was where the young princess felt most at peace."

She basically battles with the concept that Humans are ALL meant to be the enemy of her kind and no one explains to her why this is the case. She is curious and wonders why they must consider everyone who is human as an enemy. She battles with the idea of what is evil when she sees humans for the first time in a ship. I think alot of the issues that Celeste struggles with could have been helped if her parents, friends or anyone in her surrounding addresses her questions instead of ignoring them.
"Protecting the innocent and punishing the evil. But evil didn't look the way she had imagined."

And alas, never having any of her questions answered, never getting anything addressed and everyone trying to change Celeste obviously leads to two things: Celeste always struggling with internal conflicts AND Celeste struggling to accept the decisions she makes throughout the story
"She was tired of ruining things. She was tired of everyone treating her as if she were some problem to solve."

"Celeste found herself crying whenever she was overwhelmed, or angry, or sad. Her family had teased her for it growing up. Told her to calm down. Be less human. That no one would take her seriously if she cried."

Then, she does a bunch of things that get her banned from the chorus and sirens, even though she is a princess. She receives a bit of help from her mother, the queen, and escapes to become human through the Sea Witch. She is meant to have one mission: Kill the Prince and then, come back to re-join the siren and ask for forgiveness for all her actions.

Of course, she ends up going on an adventure, learns a lot of things about Humans, herself and the voyage she joins. She discovers that they are pirates, rather than the sailors she thought they were and the Prince? He is the Prince of the Pirates. She learns, grows and develops throughout the story and her journey is a lovely one. She learns more about life and slowly peals off the layers of the shielding she grew up around. She meets new people and finds a new family in her crewmates
"Most of the time, I find life doesn't go the way you want it to," Nasir said, his dark brown eyes creasing at the corners. "But most of the time, things turn out the way they should."

And you know what? Despite growing and developing, she maintains some of that naivety, which makes her kind and a good person. It is what makes her, her and while she maintains this hope I never could as a pessimistic, it might just be what helps her unite sirens and humans in the end of it all
"As she took in the city around her, she realised that humans made all this. If she could just show her mother these things, maybe she, too, would see that humans couldn't all be bad."

This is a story of Celeste learning to accept herself and when we reach the ending, we don't really see her ending her internal conflicts. However, isn't this true in life? We dont end our internal conflict as soon as we start to learn. Its a process and we grow through the journey
"She felt foolish now. It had all been a lie. She knew nothing about this war. About the humans. About herself. And it had cost everything."

I hope book two continues Celeste's journey and we get to see what happens next, how she changes and grows and what becomes of her, her Pirate Prince and her found family + her siren family.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my eArc copy in exchange for my honest review. The quotes are taken from the eArc copy of the book and might not reflect the final copy.

3.5 Stars

A splashy debut with heart, twists, and room to grow

Voice of the Ocean is a dark, dramatic, and emotional retelling of The Little Mermaid that dives into themes of betrayal, identity, and found family. Celeste, the youngest siren princess, makes some wildly questionable decisions—but her journey is compelling, and the story delivers plenty of tension and action, especially in the back half.

The worldbuilding is rich and imaginative, especially for a debut, and fans of sea lore, pirates, and secret kingdoms will find plenty to enjoy. However, the pacing feels uneven: the beginning drags a bit while the ending rushes through major revelations, including the titular "Voice of the Ocean" concept, which doesn’t show up until very late in the book.

Still, the emotional stakes, dramatic twists, and cliffhanger ending make it a fun, if flawed, start to what could be a promising series. If you're into sirens, morally gray love interests, and high-stakes fantasy with a nostalgic fairy tale base—this one’s worth a read.

I really really loved this book. The characters are well thought out and I love the relationship dynamic between all of them. I didn’t expect this book to be as good as it was but now I’m so excited to read the next book in the series when It comes out!

I have read sooo.many gd ocean/mermaid books this year but I am in loveeee with this one!!

Its fun and flirt and fast paced. I adored our main two characters!!

I want to start by saying thank you for the ARC!
I feel awful giving this 2 ⭐️, but I think a lot of what I’ve seen other people enjoying, I wasn’t a big fan of. The book felt extremely long for what it was and I would have been much happier with the book being 100 pages shorter. I feel like a lot of the lore was only included because of things that we are going to be seeing in the next book and I think there was a lot of space towards the beginning of the book to include things regarding lore, in places like lessons and conversations with other sirens. I was also getting a little confused in some scenes, where things where changing but not mentioned so I struggled to keep up at times. It was a good story, and I’d be excited to read the next book I just don’t think this one was for me.

For the first 30-40% of this book I struggled. For retelling, I wanted it to be more unique but once I hit that 40% mark it definitely followed through on what I wanted out of this book. I’m absolutely looking forward to reading the next one in the series!

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher/author for accepting my request to read and review this one early

I have weakness for books related to mermaids and sirens and ocean settings, probably since I fell in love with Pirates of the Caribbean and the movie with the sirens <3

This book was described as YA romantasy with enemies to lovers retelling of The Little Mermaid and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Ill start by saying that I really appreciated the world building and the descriptions of places and people. Kelsey Impicciche definitely had a way with words, I appreciated the writing, some lyrical prose here and there, I think this author has written an excellent debut.

I also really enjoyed Celeste as a protagonist, and even when she was unable to speak I felt she had a lot of character and her interactions with Prince Raiden were entertaining.

I do wish the romance had a bit more OOMPH to it, not necessarily spice as I know its a YA, but I want a bit more pining and longing.

Overall, highly enjoyable, I think were I of a YA age this would have been an absolute 5 star for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Children's Fiction | Sci Fi & Fantasy | Teens & YA for providing me with this e-book in exchange for an honest review*

Little Mermaid has been my favorite fairytale growing up and Kelsey Impicciche didn't fail to deliver. Even though Celeste seemed to be the typical heroine who's badass and at the same time vulnerable, traits that are opposed to each other, the book kept me up at night. The world building was really good and the magic system was really interesting. I want to see how the story will progress in the future.

As soon as Kelsey announced she was going to publish a book, I knew I had to read it!

When it comes to the reading experience, I must say that I found the start to be a bit slow, and that some of the themes were quite close to the Little Mermaid tale by HC Andersen. Still, as we got further into the story, I found it compelling and the main characters' morality was increadably interesting to read about.

I did not know, when I incially picked up the book, that it was going to be the first in a series, but holy damn!!! What a cliffhanger! What am I supposed to do now? Just read other books? Nope, I will just read this one again and again until the next book is available

This book surprised me in a good way. I first heard about it when i saw amazing artwork of Celeste and Raiden by frostbite.studios. The synopsis sounded really interesting so of course i had to request an e-arc of it. The story was a re-telling of "The Little Mermaid" with fresh new twists and amazing characters.

Celeste is someone who feels like she doesn't quite fit in with her people. She cares a lot more and seeks adventure. She's a curious soul which leads her to bump into Raiden. Their path leads them into dangerous situations and everything they knew about themselves and each other changes. I really loved both of these characters, each of them shining in their own way. Celeste is strong and always fought for what she thought was right. Raiden is humorous and secretive (may i just add, VERY handsome too 😂). He sees through Celeste which built a lot more on their connection.

Even though the beginning felt a tiny bit slow to me, once it kicked into the action, the pacing was great for the rest of the book. I just kept turning the pages and reading on for hours. It was fun and each chapter had me hooked. I could tune out the world and get lost in its' pages. I cannot wait for book two! I'll definitely be reading it to see what happens next in the story.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for allowing me to read this for an honest review.

This is the first book the author has published and it's basically based on the little mermaid.

I really enjoyed reading the book, seeing both the world above and under the sea and feeling so much together with Celeste.
We follow her on her journey from the ocean to the top of a ship and take on an urgent quest with her.

This book is for everyone who liked the little mermaid, sirens, intrigues and books that play on the sea.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown UK for the arc.

Voice of the Ocean is a reimagining of The Little Mermaid, with a really interesting magic system, forbidden love and great world building. Celeste the mmc is a siren, who is young, strong willed, passionate and rebellious. She has been trained as a Siren soldier, but she is struggling with her role within this. I loved the themes of forbidden romance, magic, politics and fighting for your place in the world. Thank you very much LBBG for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

Voice of the Ocean is Kelsey Impicciche’s debut fantasy book- it is full of ancient magic, tense family relationships and forbidden love. This book follows Celeste, a siren and a princess who wants to become an elite warrior. As one of the ‘Chorus’, she would use her ‘Song’ and deadly skills to kill murderous sailors. But, when she saves the life of a young man, she is given a simple choice- kill him or be killed.

A darker version of the Little Mermaid, this is a compelling story about a girl from the ocean who must navigate land for the first time. It is at times tense, romantic and full of action. However, I thought that the pacing of the novel was quite slow at the start and then far too quick at the end. This may be because the author wanted to get to the climax of the story and (minor spoiler) the big cliffhanger at the end.

Nonetheless, I liked the world building and the relationship between the FMC and MMC. I also think there is definite potential in the storyline. My hope is that Impicciche’s writing and narrative style will just get better and better as she continue to hone her craft.

This is the book to read if you loved Daughter of the Pirate King and To Kill a Kingdom!

Voice of the Ocean is a captivating reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Impicciche crafts an immersive world in her debut novel by taking one of the most iconic fairy tales—one that has influenced generations—and reinventing it with fresh perspective and creativity. Retellings have become increasingly popular, and there’s always something delightful about revisiting a childhood fairytale through a modern and imaginative lens.

Celeste, our protagonist, is a young and impulsive siren with an unquenchable longing to live on land, despite the stern warnings of her people. Trained as a siren soldier—part of a deadly choir with an irresistible, lethal song—she stands apart with her kind heart. When confronted with cruelty she cannot abide, she defies siren law to rescue a ship captain, his first mate, and the capitain's loyal dog.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA novel with a protagonist who is simply a determined young girl trying to carve out her own place in the world. I rooted for Celeste the entire way—even when her decisions seemed reckless—because she consistently justified her choices, not only to the reader but, more importantly, to herself. That said, there were moments when her logic faltered, though, in fairness, teenagers aren’t exactly known for flawless reasoning.

While I would have appreciated more world-building and context, that’s likely a reflection of my penchant for epic fantasy, where intricate world-building is the norm. Still, a few interactions felt implausible (and yes, I realize I’m reading a book about sirens, but bear with me). For example, when the ship captain is rescued, his first words are a witty and somewhat flirtatious remark. In reality, adrenaline and the sheer terror of nearly dying—let alone being face-to-face with a species known for its lethal songs—would hardly allow for such casual banter.

At times, the pacing felt uneven, shifting between moments of intensity and slower stretches. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment overall. Once the story gained momentum, readers are treated to a lovable, wholesome pirate crew, entertaining antics, and heartfelt relationships aboard the ship.

I particularly loved experiencing the world through Celeste’s perspective—watching her learn from new people, forge a genuine friendship with humans, and step into an entirely unknown world, despite her fears.

Ultimately, Voice of the Ocean is an impressive debut (and an exciting return to romantasy for me) filled with lighthearted moments, sharp banter, and enough twists and turns to keep you invested until the very last page—and beyond. It has certainly left a lasting impression, and I’m eager to see where the story goes from here.

Thank you so much to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a young adult book, on the younger side of YA, for fans of The Little Mermaid and atmospheric fairy-tale based novels. The synopsis was promising and I hoped/assumed the designation of YA might be like a lot of YA Romantasy books that are popular at the moment, more of a “New Adult” (roughly 17-21) target than “Young Adult” (roughly 12-16). Unfortunately for me, it became clear from the start, this is for the younger demographic. That is a ‘me’ problem though and not an issue with the book, just something to be aware of if you are thinking of picking it up.

As for the story itself, if I have my younger self in mind, I think I would have really loved this. The writing is good, particularly in setting the scene and atmosphere. It is very immersive, well paced and easy to follow. There is adventure, romance, friendship and found family themes throughout that are well balanced. Although there is romance in this book, I would hesitate to put it squarely in the Romantasy bucket because it is not the central storyline, instead it is more of an adventure fantasy, focused on a mission-oriented journey with a romance plotline within. All in all, I think the ship has sailed (pun intended) on this being a favorite for me and my demographic, but I can absolutely recommend it to a younger audience looking for a fun and fast-paced Fantasy/Romantasy.

Firstly, thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for giving me the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really had to convince myself to keep picking this up, and don’t think I’m the intended reader.
I was really drawn in by the Siren x Prince and little mermaid inspiration but it just fell a little flat for me personally, and I found myself quite bored. I lacked connection with Celeste and couldn’t find myself caring about the plot or her relationship with Raiden.

The pacing was difficult to get into, being drawn out in odd places and rushed in others. I just felt that the writing style as a whole wasn’t for me. Although YA, it felt more like it was written for someone much younger than me, personally.

I do think my sister (14) would absolutely eat this up, though. I just personally rate it 1⭐️ and wish I had been able to love it.

Unusual fantasy. Celeste is a siren princess. A siren is like a mermaid whose song mesmerised men and lures them into the sea. She wants to be part of the Chorus whose songs are powerful as any weapon. They are also taught fighting skills.
After her first real mission to bring down a ship carrying a Prince and his crew, she is intrigued by the Prince and saves him and his friend from drowning and is banished as a punishment.
A witch helps her to have legs and to breathe on land so she can look for the Prince and she becomes part of his crew - so her adventures begin.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read the e-arc.

Voice of the ocean is about a siren named Celeste, who is told humans are evil. Of course she is going to believe other sirens and not want to be in contact with any, but she’s always wanted to go to the surface. Going to the surface shows what she was about to partake in, was something morally wrong. She saves a human prince, unraveling a whole other world.

If the little mermaid is a favourite of yours, I’d definitely say to try this!

One of my favourite characters has to be Kiyami. I loved the friendship between her and Celeste. Raidan was faint worthy at times, with the way his hair and smiles were described. Admiral was the cutest little support dog.

It was a slow read for the first half and felt a little rushed at the end.

But I loved the story and I’m excited for the next book when one’s announced.