The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill Review

 Title: The Surface Breaks 

Author: Louise O’Neill 

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult 

Genre: Fantasy 

Series: Standalone 

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars 

I received this book as part of a swap exchange on a Facebook group—thank you so much! 

I’ve always been a huge sucker for fairy tale retellings, as when I was young, I was raised on a steady diet of folklore, mythology, and of course, fairy tales. But The Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorites. The Surface Breaks tells the story of Muirgen, the youngest daughter of the cruel, misogynistic Sea King. Desperate for answers about the human world and the disappearance of her mother, she is always focused on the world above. When a storm ravages the sea, she saves a young man named Oliver from certain death and falls desperately in love with him. Going to The Sea Witch to receive human legs, Muirgen, or Gaia, as she was called by her mother, gives up her voice and her connection to her six sisters in order to woo Oliver and make him hers. But the ocean hides more than one dark secret, and Gaia must decide if she will take Oliver for herself, or if she will unlock her true power and have revenge on those who have wronged her... 

I absolutely adored this book. As soon as I was finished with The Hunting Party, I chose to read this book, and I’m so glad I did! Lyrical, thought-provoking, feminist and more than a little brutal, I was absolutely spellbound by the story of Gaia, the little mermaid who longed for more than an unhappy arranged marriage in servitude to a cruel merman. The loss of her mother was keen and sharp, and her longing for the human world was palpable. The pacing was breakneck; despite just finishing it last night, I still can’t stop thinking about it. The prose was gorgeous, as enchanting as a little mermaid’s song. I also adored the way that this book took the original story and pushed it inside out, giving it a fresh, feminist twist. This book, though hard to get through because of all the blatant misogyny, might be one of the best I’ve ever read. The characters were rich and well-drawn, from Gaia, her father, and her jealous, often petty sisters, and Ceto, The Sea Witch, with her own wealth of dark secrets. And that ending! I did not see that coming at all. What a beautiful, dark tale that stretches the original to its very limits! Absolutely astonishing! The bottom line: Rich with detail, dark, brutal, and gorgeous, I loved The Surface Breaks! Next on deck: Half-Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian!