I love that it mentioned the infamous "witch" - Maren Spliid. I love that so much of it is rooted in history I love that I googled Øresund Kingdoms and discovered that the Øresund strait is a real thing. There are many interesting aspects of what the author has done here. Henning combines this real fear of witches on land with the story of the sea witch we all know from the Andersen tale (and the Disney remake). The Danes, especially under King Christian IV, put many "witches" to death in the 16th and 17th centuries. The story is set in 19th Century Denmark and is woven with hundreds of years of Danish history. Though, in many ways, Sea Witch is much smarter than I expected for a YA The Little Mermaid retelling. Any exciting witchy The Little Mermaid goodness you might be expecting happens in the later chapters, and even then it's pretty subdued. It's a very slowly-paced book, especially during the first two thirds of the story. And how easily you can sit through maritime chapters without falling asleep. It's really a question of how much patience you have. But I will say one thing: this book is probably not what you are expecting. Parts of it were 2 stars, other parts 4/4.5, so in the end I've settled on this. I gave myself a bit of a headache trying to rate this book. She is just as likely to bestow a kiss as to steal the breath from your lips.3 1/2 stars.
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May 2023
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