Yakira Goldsberry’s A Cascading Hope is the eleventh installment of the multi-author Hope Ever After series. This book is a retells the fairy tale The Little Mermaid.
Setting/worldbuilding
A Cascading Hope is so creative! Yakira presents a beautiful, unique world with various different societies that I loved getting to learn about. It was interesting seeing the dynamics between the different societies become revealed and seeing how each character fit into or defied the societal expectations of their cultures.
Characters
The characters in A Cascading Hope were so well written!!! Muírin was so determined and wouldn’t let ANYTHING stop her from fulfilling her objective. Ciaran was such a sweet love interest, even if he was described as having greenish hair. I love how he did everything he could to help Muírin and how much he was willing to sacrifice to save her.
Plot
The book was suspenseful and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. To be completely honest, I had to read the ending just to make sure everything turned out okay for my favorite characters in the end. A bit of the pacing could have been better in the story, but I still was interested the whole time.
Pronunciation guide
I definitely appreciated the pronunciation guide included at the front of the book! Since the story is inspired by Scotland, some of the names’ pronunciations would be hard to figure out without the pronunciation guide. Since I needed the pronunciation guide various times throughout the book, I think it would’ve been easier to read the book as a physical copy, instead of as an ecopy.
Morbid curiousity
I wish the books had discussed more of the mechanics of how the characters turning into sea foam worked. When their limbs started to dissolve I wondered if they could see what was underneath their skin (like the displacers in Beyonders). I know, some readers probably didn’t want too much description, but I could’ve used a bit more!
Content
Recommended 14+
Language: no profanity, some arguments
Violence: fight to the death with some hedge clippers, fist fights, character begins to dissolve into sea foam, sea creature violence, stabbing, two off-page murders, poisoning
Sexual content: some kisses
Magic: various magical sea creatures (along the lines of mermaids, sirens, kelpies, selkies, etc.), shape shifting, familial curse
Overall
This is the first of Yakira’s books that I’ve read, and I loved it! The worldbuilding was fabulous. I fell in love with the characters and was rooting for them the entire time! I absolutely adore Little Mermaid retellings, and this one surpassed my expectations!
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book. My opinions are my own. A positive review was not required.
Pens Pages & Pulses 