Book Review: Song of the Selkies by Sarah Pennington

Sarah Pennington’s Song of the Selkies is an extraordinary retelling of The Little Mermaid that made me want to step right into this gorgeous world!!! If you love fairy tale retellings, stories about discovering your roots, Christian themes, and slow-burn romance, you will love this book as much as I did!!!

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Book Blurb

Undercover in a foreign land, a princess discovers the secrets behind a generations-old enmity.

The youngest princess of Atìrse, Ceana always planned to marry for the good of her people and let love come later. With her sisters’ marriages ensuring peace with the nearby human kingdoms, Ceana sets her sights on their last unallied neighbor: the magical and reclusive selkies. The two peoples have experienced a wary peace for generations, and the time seems ripe for a deeper alliance that will benefit both kingdoms. The last thing Ceana expects is for Fionntan, king of the selkies, to take the proposal as a grave insult.

With relations between the two peoples suddenly precarious, Ceana is determined to set things right. Aided by her grandmother, she disguises herself as a selkie and travels to their hidden home of Emain Ablach, where she hopes to discover the reason behind King Fionntan’s reaction. But the more she learns about the selkies, the more she uncovers long-kept secrets of her people — and her heritage — that shake the foundations of how she viewed the world. Her growing friendships with and affection for some of the selkie nobility, including King Fionntan himself, further complicate matters, especially as her admiration for the selkie king begins to blossom into something more. No relationship built on a lie can survive, but revealing her true identity as an Atìrsen princess will doom her efforts towards peace.

In order to bridge the divide between selkies and humans, Ceana will have to overcome generations of selkies’ suspicion and reveal the insidious evil that’s taken root in her homeland. But the greatest obstacle to her success may be her own heart.

Characters

Ceana (Kenna)

Ceana wants to matter. She’s known she was going to marry to benefit her country her whole life, so when her father tells her he doesn’t expect that of her, she feels like she’s failed her family. She decides to marry to benefit for her country, and ends up nearly starting a war in the process. Determined to make things right, she decides to learn the root of the conflict between her people and the selkies.

Ceana is just such a relatable protagonist. I love how the author isn’t afraid to give her protagonist flaws! I admire Ceana’s determination to help her country, in spite of her fears. I love her great character arc and how she realizes that she had room for improvement.

Fionntan

Fionntan wants to keep his kingdom safe from humans intent on taking advantage of his people’s weaknesses. He also works to make his kingdom a refuge for his people and ensure everyone has what they need.

I love Fionntan so much. He is so sweet!!! I love how his life emulates what he believes in and how quick he is to help those in need. He is also so protecting and thinks of his needs last. He needs a big hug!!!

Other things I enjoyed

The setting of this book was just GORGEOUS!!! It felt very similar to the setting in the movie of Prince Caspian right when the Pevensies return to Narnia! I just want to live there forever!!!

I loved the genealogy aspect to this story!!! I really enjoyed the scene where Ceana gets to see the selkie version of a cemetery. I love researching my ancestors, so that scene was really special to me. Plus, I love cemeteries, so I love seeing the creative idea for how the selkies honor their fallen with the cemetery/Día de los muertos style ofrendas.

This book portrayed such sweet and realistic sister relationships!!! I LOVE books about sisters!!! I could definitely relate to the trio of selkie sisters trying to play matchmakers!!!

I LOVE the little differences between how the humans and selkies speak!!! Like the you vs. thou… it was so cool!!! I didn’t know this until rather recently, but thou was actually the more intimate way of saying “you.” And “you” was the formal and plural form. It just added a beautiful layer of juicy goodness to the book. There were a few cases were the subject-verb agreement was a little off with the “thou” pronoun, but I’ll forgive it because it was just such an INCREDIBLY way of showing the relationship development between characters!!!

I loved the faith elements in this book!!! I really enjoyed seeing how the author showed how important God was to each of the characters! At various times throughout the book, characters pray and encourage each other to pray before making big decisions. It is just so beautiful and inspiring seeing how Sarah seamlessly wove these Christian themes into her book!!!

Dislikes/suggestions for improvement

This book needed a pronunciation guide. The names look GORGEOUS on paper, but I have no idea how to pronounce them!!! Granted, I read an ARC copy, so the author might’ve included a pronunciation guide in the final version, but either way, I needed a pronunciation guide!!! Because I don’t speak Gaelic.

I wish the romance progressed a little faster. The romance could definitely be classified as a slow-burn, but I was just so impatient to see Ceana and Fionntan fall in love!!!!!

Content

Age Recommendation: 14+

Language

There was no profanity in this book. I don’t recall any other objectionable language.

Violence

Characters are abducted. A character gets trapped in rope while in seal form. There is a battle scene where selkies fight other people in seal form. A character breaks an arm.

Sexual content

There were no sex scenes in this book. Characters kiss and embrace.

Magic

Many of the characters are selkies, humans who can turn into seals. Fairies sell magical items. Runes are used to try to create a natural disaster.

Other

Some characters are married against their will and enslaved.

Overall

I LOVED Song of the Selkies!!! It was such an original take on the Little Mermaid fairy tale!!!

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book. My opinions are my own. A positive review was not required.

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About the Author

Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list.

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