Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: November 2, 2021
Synopsis:
An unforgettable fantasy debut inspired by West African mythology, this is Children of Blood and Bone meets The Little Mermaid, in which a mermaid takes on the gods themselves.
A way to survive.
A way to serve.
A way to save.
Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata–a mermaid–collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.
But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable–she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it.
To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . .
Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn’t, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56621869-skin-of-the-sea
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skin-of-the-sea-natasha-bowen/1138802879?ean=9780593565056
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Skin-Sea-Natasha-Bowen/9780593120941?ref=grid-view&qid=1633522735461&sr=1-2
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/skin-of-the-sea/9780593120941-item.html?ref=isbn-search
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593120941
Simi serves the gods as a mermaid. She follows those who are stolen from their homeland and brought to the sea, catching them as they fall from the boats to the murky waters below. She helps their souls move from the human world to the afterlife. Simi has a duty to help these souls on their journey, as she herself was given a second chance at life as a mermaid to complete this task. Nevertheless, she has memories of her human life. She wonders what happened to the family that she has faint memories of. Then, she makes a choice. One of the people thrown overboard is a teen boy who is still alive. Simi saves him, going against an ancient decree that demands that she only protect their souls and not interfere with the cycle of life and death. In order to protect herself and the others who serve as Mami Wata, she has to go on a journey to make amends with the Supreme Creator.
This book had a slow start steeped in the trauma of the time of the transatlantic slave trade. Mami Wata’s job was to watch over those who had been taken to their homeland and who were being tortured on their journey to become slaves in a foreign land. Most of the people didn’t know why they had been taken, but they were all suffering on these long journeys on these hellish ships. Mami Wata made sure that their souls found their way home if they died on the way, but was not allowed to interfere to save people from these ships. By saving Kola, Simi did the one thing she was never allowed to do. She never really fit into her role as Mami Wata. She dreamt of the past too much and wasn’t satisfied simply protecting souls, she wanted to save people. I really enjoyed her character and only wish we had more of a chance to learn about her life before she became a Mami Wata mermaid. This story is not your typical happy mermaid tale. It is definitely a dark fantasy journey rooted in the pain of villages and a people torn apart by cruel and greedy outsiders. It was a tough read at times, but it does show the beauty of West African mythology through the pain.
I loved the relationship between Kola and Simi. Both were dedicated to helping people, and both were very strong-headed. They were able to lean on one another a lot throughout their difficult journey. I’m not really sure what the resolution to Kola finding out about Simi being a mermaid was, but it didn’t seem to be a main issue in the story. The issue wasn’t him finding out about her, it was her saving him from dying. They have a lot of chemistry as partner characters. I want to see more of Kola and Simi, and I hope to be able to enjoy the next book in this duology.
The side characters in this book were just amazing. I loved them even more than I loved the main characters at times. Unfortunately, I cannot get into them very much or I will be spoiling parts of the story. All I can say is that I fell in absolute love and hope to see more of them in the next part of this story.
The two things that tripped me up in this book were the slow start and the ending. The slow start had me struggling to really connect with the story and with the characters. Once the real conflict of the book was revealed, I felt far more connected to Kola and Simi and their journey. I would say that the switch happened between the 40 and 50% mark. This is where I really went from just reading the book to flying through the pages, barely able to read fast enough to see what would happen next. The ending tripped me up again as it was abrupt and it disappointed me BEFORE I knew that this was a duology. Now that I know another book is coming, I have more to look forward to with these characters and don’t feel that same sense of disappointment.
I would recommend this book to those interested in African mythology and fantasy.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 books.
About the Author:
Natasha Bowen is a writer, a teacher, and a mother of three children. She is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and lives in Cambridge, England, where she grew up. Natasha studied English and creative writing at Bath Spa University before moving to East London, where she taught for nearly ten years. Her debut bookSkin of the Sea was inspired by her passion for mermaids and African history. She is obsessed with Japanese and German stationery and spends stupid amounts on notebooks, which she then features on her secret Instagram. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watched over carefully by Milk and Honey, her cat and dog.
Author Links:
Website: https://natashabowen.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skinofthesea
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasha_bowen_/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19709936.Natasha_Bowen
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