Skin of the Sea: Skin of the Sea, Book 1

On the opening page, the reader meets Simidele, a mermaid, or Mami Wata. Her job is to collect, bless, and usher the souls of those persons who die at sea back to the gods. Simi’s existence goes sideways when she saves Adekola, a half-dead boy thrown off a slave ship. Her mistake and the threat of dire punishment from the gods send her on a journey to right the wrong inadvertently committed.The journey, first to return Kola home and then to rescue his siblings and get what she needs to summon and appease the gods, starts Simi and a group of young warriors on a journey filled with adventure and bits of heartbreak.My favorite character was not the determined Simi or the courageous Kola, but Issa, the precocious little elf. Things didn’t go well for him but he added life, color, and amusement to this gripping tale.Aside from the variety of creatures harvested from this writer’s imagination, I enjoyed the vivid pictures she painted which kept me reading. Her writing is such that her words and nicely-crafted sentences brought life to Skin of the Sea. I was able to visualize the characters and setting. Along with great world-building, she did a solid job with foreshadowing and adding twists that kept the story interesting.The historical angle, cultural references, and the involvement of the various gods tell me the writer did her research. At times, I thought the register was high when it came to some of the characters’ speech, given their ages. I wouldn’t describe the end as satisfying but understood what was at stake and why it had to be bittersweet. Of course, picking up the second book is almost a compulsion to see what’s next for Simi.If you enjoy stories that involve quests, action/adventure, and particularly mermaid tales, Skin of the Sea will keep you turning the pages.

I loved this story's mixture of lore and love. I was engaged by the characters and their development, while being pleasantly surprised by the ending.

The writing is amazing. Gorgeous gorgeous read this one. A page turner I couldn't get out of my head while I was away from it.

2.5 rounded up to 3Summary: I loved the premise and I really wanted to like this book but was left disappointed by lack of promised treacherous lands and vengeful gods. The writing is good, but the plot twists weren't surprising and the characters felt flat.Characters:Simidele (main character) - her complexity and agency are watered down until she becomes little more than a lovesick teen. She only has a few true moments of agency, otherwise she'd dragged through the plot by Kola and his friends.Kola (love interest) - the most realistic character of them all. I loved how his flaws and mistakes, based in good intent, drove his narrative.Esu - I'm really tired of villains who are evil for the sake of being evil or for wanting more power.PlotI was so excited after the first few chapters, thinking the entire book would be fast paced and packed with action...However it was pretty slow moving until the last 20%. It was very typical YA retelling with a twist of African mythology that left me wanting more (mythology, not plot). The blurb painted this as a darker story than it actually was, which left me disappointed in the watered down (pun intended) depictions of loss and grief. And the plot twists were...expected. From reviews, I'd really expected more.Would I recommend? Eh, depends on the reader.

I saw it on tiktok and wanted to give it a try. I enjoyed the book and definitely was different for me. I like the genre

The book was good. I enjoyed it

Really well written and for me an introduction into African mythology. I am excited to learn more. I really liked having the audiobook ended the Kindle book, allowing me to hear the correct pronunciation of names and words that I am unfamiliar with as well as so that I could easily look them up with the help of the Kindle app. This book makes me excited to learn more about African mythology the continent being so vast and full of different stories, as well as to go to follow up with Simi.

***4.25 Stars***Overall,I very much enjoyed this book. Based on African mythology, taking place in the 1400’s this book navigates a fantastical world steeped with African culture and stories. Simi our heroine is a Mami Wata (a Mermaid) who is suddenly thrust into an adventure after saving a human from the sea. Natasha Bowen has created a beautiful new version of the Little Mermaid and to quote the authors note at the end of this book “representation matters”. This book is fast paced and at 320 pages is a pretty easy read.Cover,The cover is beautiful, although (and I don’t feel like this is a real spoiler) her fin color on the cover is not the same as what it is in the book.Recommendation,If your favorite Disney movie is the Little Mermaid and or you are interested in stories about mermaids, or African Mythology, I would recommend this book to you. It is YA and there are a couple trigger warnings that can be found at the beginning of the book, but it was not TOO dark and no spice. Also I thought that this was a standalone (the ending felt like it could have stayed there) but apparently there is a sequel coming out, and I am very excited about that.

QOTD: Have you ever felt like you have waited your whole life for a book?Thanks to Michelle Nathan at at Penguin Books for my stunning proof copy and to Natasha for being so patient with my excitement for her book! Thanks also to Netgalley for my e-copyThis is the story I have been waiting for since I was a little girl and I watched The Little Mermaid. To see a black mermaid, a mermaid who looked something like me, is a dream come true.Skin of The Sea is a blend of history, myth and fiction. It’s has made me want to learn more about African history, culture and stories.I loved the descriptions of the Orisha’s and the magical creatures and their abilities.There are not enough words for how much I love this book. To become absorbed in the world in a book is fairly normal for me but this book was different. I felt like a child again, first discovering the little mermaid. Only this time she looks something like me.The fluidity of the story was just magical and I felt like there were easy traditions between Simi’s present and past.I loved the parallels drawn in the book between the water and its power and Simi and Yemoja.To see Simi learn to trust those around her to help her on her quest and how she took them into her heart.That ending thoI read this via the stunning physical proof and then again via the audio read by @yetide which just made it that bit more real to meWhether you are a lover of mermaids and black girl magic or not, this is a book you want to dive into

My first book by this author,the cover grabbed me and this is not a genre I typically enjoy. However this was a beautiful read,I appreciate the author's use of traditional African Deities that are so close to my heart. She did not misrepresent them,which white author or movie makers do. The story gripped me from start to finish,I read a sample then bought the book. I recommend this as a read for all women of colour,representation and not forgetting our roots mixed with a great story and descriptive writing style! I'll read book #2

I bought this book based on a recommendation from a book tik-tok video suggesting stories by black authors.It was a good read, the story flowed well and I found myself absorbed from the first chapter.I loved the mixture of traditional fairytale and African mythology. It was so different from the usual retelling of a fairytale.I read the book in two sittings, only able to put it down when I was too tired to focus on the words.I will be giving this one to my kids to read, they’ll love it too!

I bought this for my daughter-in-law, who is black herself, after I overheard her talking about dressing up as a mermaid and being sad because she thought there were no black mermaids and my heart went out to her.

I enjoyed reading something about African mythology. Slow start but by the end I was invested in the characters. I would recommend