Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling

Tales of Akatsuki, Book 1

By: Nicolette Andrews

Narrated by: Joanna Roddy

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Rin is an immortal kitsune, or at least she was until a witch’s curse turned her human. To regain her yokai powers and avoid being turned into a fox, she must make the lord’s son fall in love with her before the next full moon. Her kind has been seducing humans for centuries, and it should be easy, as long as he doesn’t find out she’s a kitsune…except the curse also took her voice. 

Hikaru is betrothed to the daughter of a rival lord, and he will fulfill his duty, protecting his clan from others and from the yokai. But when he’s saved by a mysterious red-haired woman, he can’t forget her, try as he might. Then she turns up at his door....

Only it can’t be his savior, since this woman has ebony hair, but there’s something inexplicably bewitching about her. Yet his father’s treaty depends on his marriage to another, and even an innocent dalliance could ruin everything. 

Falling in love is dangerous for them both. Not only are they from different worlds, but their time together can only end in heartache. Hikaru’s marriage means security for his clan, and Rin must destroy it or be turned into a fox. And truly loving Hikaru means revealing she’s one of the hated yokai and an immortal. Will they risk it all for love? Or will their two worlds rip them apart for good?

Fans of fairy tale retellings, anime, and manga love Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling, an old tale retold from a fresh perspective. 

Dive into a rich world of intrigue and adventure, spirits and humans - get your copy of this heartfelt fantasy romance today!

©2015 Nicolette Andrews (P)2021 Nicolette Andrews

Kitsune

This was a very good audiobook. I love the narration. As I have said before, and will continue to say, a narrator should enhance the story. They should make you see and experience things that you may have missed while reading the book. Well, this narrator did all of that and more. I also loved that it was centered around Japanese culture.

Creative and unique

This was such an interesting, fresh and unique take on the “little mermaid” story. It was totally different, but in the coolest way. I loved the yokai powers and felt like I was transported to such a different world. The storytelling was excellent and the characters were easy to enjoy. I’m excited for book two! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Interesting story

It was a nice story…. Part of the story was slightly confused… nice ending ….

Was not my kind of story….

For Lovers of Japanese Folklore

A complicated, twisted tale about a fox yokai. Nicolette Andrews created a magical, complex world in Kitsune. Colorful and evocative. I listened to this tale while typing in data into a spreadsheet, and it made the dull hours pass by in a flash.

Narration excellent.

Fantastic

I absolutely loved this story. This retelling of the little Mermaid was special. With the Narrator’s help you’re drawn in and feel like you’re a part of everything.

Mixed feelings, but the lore elements were great.

This is supposedly a retelling of ‘The Little Mermaid’ but it has hardly any similarities to the original. (And I mean the ‘original’ by Hans Christian Andersen, not the Disney version.)
I had ended up reading the second book of this series (Yuki: A Snow White Retelling) prior to this one. I love how neatly the ending of this segued into the second. At the same time, the second works perfectly as a standalone too. The author’s plot is well-planned! Rin is a wonderful lead character and carries the story well on her shoulders. I liked Shin as well, though Hikaru failed to live up to my expectations. To me, its biggest plus point was that it gave me a nice background to the proceedings in Yuki, the next book in this series.
On the flip side, there are too many characters, and too many character perspectives. After a while, it becomes tough to remember who is who and who is fighting under whom and against whom. Many of the characters are interconnected, which worsens the problem. The plot becomes repetitive in between. Unlike in Yuki, there is a whole lot of rambling and hardly any action. Moreover, my brain refused to accept a ‘Little Mermaid’ retelling set in a forest. I missed the ocean!
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 9 hours, is narrated by the talented Joanna Roddy. Reading a slow-paced book in the audio version is definitely a benefit. At the same time, there are too many sub plots during which the narration keeps shifting to the respective character. If you are the kind who loses focus easily in the audio version, stick to reading.
On the positive side, the author does seem to have sharpened her craft after this book because most of the flaws I mentioned were not present in ‘Yuki’. I still want to read the final book of this trilogy, especially as it focusses on Shin. I want to know what happens to him.
Overall, I liked ‘Kitsune’, but I didn’t love it. Worth a one-time read.
3.25 stars.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

A Captivating Re-Telling

I really enjoyed how the author turned this into a new story of it's own. The characters were in depth & flow on point. The narrator was wonderful at bringing the story to life

Baskerville Book Reviews

Much like the other books in this series, it featured a lot of Japanese words and cultural references that I have no prior knowledge of what they mean. While on the topic of my confusion, I’m all for women with tails, and then some. But I have no idea what the hell anything in this story has to do with mermaids. I have no familiarity with the original story, which means I can’t rate this as a retelling.

As a standalone romance, it was great. It’s been a minute since I listened to the other 2 stories, but I know at least 1 character “the Dragon” makes an appearance in this book, as well as the others. I enjoy the world-building and interconnectedness of the stories, despite being able to listen to them alone. The romance moves at a reasonable pace for a romance novel and the characters grow as people along the way. The side plots are equally as compelling and interesting, so there’s never a dull moment.

The narrator did a fine job of bringing the characters to life, as well as adding personality to them. It was never an issue to tell who was speaking and the audio lacked any issues.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Interesting

This was definitely an interesting twist of a retelling.
There is so much going on and still so much to learn, hoping for more answers in book 2.

Fun YA Japanese Fairytale Retelling

I found the Japanese Fae side of this story to be really interesting and beautifully described. The story draws you in, the world building and character development was very well done. Basically, Ren, our little mermaid character, is a kitsune which is a fox/person.... She can go between forms and has special powers. The love triangles are more like multiple overlapping love polygons, which of course got very sticky and problematic for the characters and the reader to follow at times. I really had major issues with the fact that the "prince" is married and Ren is cursed by a witch to start a war by seducing him and then must kill him or his wife. The fact that the story tries to make it acceptable for the adulterous relationship is my biggest issue. This is definitely geared towards a more adult crowd with the content.

Parents- PG13-R- more young adult +17 and up
Language: some but no f-bombs
Violence: moderate violence with murders and fight scenes but not overly graphic
Sexual Content- undertones and insinuations, heavy desires, seduction attempts, naked scenes and a few love making scenes (build up, starting and after)

The narrator was great although I thought it was better at 1.3x speed. She had good differentiation between characters and the overall acting was well done.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.