“The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea will take you on the journey of a lifetime. Maggie Tokuda-Hall has created characters I’ve never seen before, then put them in an adventure that feels more real than real life and twice as unpredictable. I wanted to live in the world of this book forever, and I can’t stop obsessing about the rich tapestry of pirates, mermaids, witches, and conniving nobles who inhabit it. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea might just remind you of why you fell in love with adventure in the first place and change how you think about the genre forever. I envy anyone who’s getting to experience this incredible book for the first time.” Charlie Jane Anders, author of the Nebula Award–winning novel All the Birds in the Sky

"Careful prose juxtaposes gentleness and brutality, contrasting the tender emotions between Flora/Florian and Evelyn and the violence of a pirate’s life. Set against the backdrop of colonial expansion, this nautical fantasy goes beyond mere swashbuckling to examine the impacts of imperialism and misogyny on a diverse cast of varying ethnicities, sexualities, and gender identities. Witches, mermaids, and secret operatives add layers of magic and intrigue to the queer romance at the heart of this book...Absolutely enthralling."  Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)

"Queer, diverse pirate romance with mermaids and magic is pretty much everything you could want from a summer read in 2020. The cover makes this look like it skews on the younger end of the YA spectrum, but in fact it is full of violence and double-crosses and kissing. It's an imaginative and adventurous debut that leaves enough questions and loose ends to make one hope for another story set in this world." NPR