Depths

A Tale of the Little Mermaid (HighTower Little Mermaid, Book 1)

By: Jacque Stevens

Narrated by: Caroline Turner Cole

I always knew this day would come. That just as my hair lengthened and my curves formed, I would make the transition from girl to woman.

To siren.

Arianna is the youngest daughter of a siren. To become a siren herself, she must kill a man and sacrifice his heart to the God of the Deep. But she never expected to be assigned to kill a prince or to fall in love with him.

Torn between her family and her new love, Ari must decide what lies in the depths of her soul.

If you like inspirational heroines, unique love stories, and some darker thrills and chills this dark fantasy retelling is for you! Buy this audiobook now to start this emotional and spell-binding journey!

Depths is a darker twist on The Little Mermaid that borrows from Greek/Roman mythology and early Christianity. An early version of this novel was published in Kingdom of Salt and Sirens Anthology (2019).

What are HighTower Fairytales?

HighTower Fairytales lean more toward the original sources (not Disney) with rich semi-historical settings. They have magic. They have scary monsters. And, most importantly, they have unique and complex characters who are trying hard to improve themselves.

They also include plenty of humor, and all the heroes marry their prince/princess charming and live happily ever after at the end!

Basically, these stories are meant to inspire but have a very difficult and occasionally dark tower to climb. They are conservatively marked at 14+ and are appropriate for teens and young adults.

Currently these stories include:

• Winter Falls: A Tale of the Snow Queen (2017)
• Cry Wolf: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast (2020)
• Depths: A Tale of the Little Mermaid (2020)
• Robin's Hood: A Tale of Sherwood Forest (2021)
• And more on the way!

©2020 Jacque Stevens (P)2020 Jacque Stevens

Fantastic Mermaid Story!

This is story is a definite twist to the original yet exceeds expectations in multiple ways. The narrator did an exceptional job bringing the characters to life. The princess of the island whom had yet made the change to mermaid had to kill the young prince to appease her mermaid mother to give as an offering but the prince was like nothing her mother had said about men. He was nice, caring, funny, and protective of the young princess. She saved him against the wishes of her mother and when he asked her to come with him to the palace she declined. He left but she had to face the wrath of her mother and sisters. Under much pressure she made a blood oath to her mother’s god and in the process her voice was taken from her. There is so much more to this exciting story that I encourage others to listen or read for themselves as they won’t be disappointed!

retelling

so this retelling of the little mermaid was not what I expected but totally was different in a good way.

Great story line

Great coming of age story that faces a lot of morale issues in a fun way. There a few really clever things I liked about the story.

Wonder retelling of the Little Mermaid

This was a wonderful take on a familiar tale with lots of intricate twists. It’s hard to put into words without spoiling too many plot points, but there’s a family of sirens, the youngest of which is still human and yet to offer the necessary sacrifice to transform to be a siren like her mother and sisters. She fears and hates men, but when confronted by a prince who wants to protect her, she begins to question the propaganda she’s been taught her whole life. My favorite bits were the way Ariana loses her voice and learns to communicate with hand gestures similar to sign language. I also loved the way the author wove in all kinds of different religions, from worship of the fickle and vicious sea god to worship of the one God. Ariana had a great character arc and I love the ending. Will definitely enjoy more from this author. I listened to the audible version and the narration was wonderful and immersive.

Original Little Mermaid Retelling!

This was my first Jacque Stevens's book. This is the first book in the HighTower Little Mermaid Series. This Little Mermaid retelling is original, well written, and enthralling. The characters are well developed, and intriguing. I loved it. Caroline Turner Cole did a great job with the narration. Looking forward to listen to the next book in the Series, Graves.

DEPTHS OF THE SEA

A UNIQUE TALE. THOUFH DARKER. THE STORY IS INTERESTING AND INVITING.CAROLINE TURNER COLE IS A WONDERFUL NARRATOR AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES TO COME TO AUDIBLE!

Incredible Re-imagining of Little Mermaid

I absolutely loved this book! I have always loved The Little Mermaid and was horrified years ago when I learned how the original story played out. This one follows more of the original story with some of the authors own unique twists that for me really just made this a very interesting and addictive tale. This is Not the fluffy Disney version it has scary monsters, bloody/violent scenes, plenty of inner battles, more realistic emotions and falls in the darker fantasy realm. Once I got a couple chapters in I really had a hard time tearing myself away from it.

Parents- this is a story about Sirens they lure men to their deaths so there is a bit more violence, blood, mild language, along with talk of seduction and being pleasured yet without any true sex scenes. She does a good job of keeping this one pretty clean but when you add it all up I would say it's a PG13 rating.

The narrator did a great job, my only slight criticism is that I felt she made the prince sound a bit too young. If you are on the fence then just get it, you won't be disappointed!

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

Best little mermaid retelling ever

This story was gorgeous and full of so much depth(I regret nothing 😂🤣). I loved Ari, and her arc. I loved the world, the lore of the sirens. The side characters were great too(the prince and Jonas and Helene!). I was worried the end would be a cliff (BECAUSE HOW WILL SHE FIX EVERYTHING) but it was actually very satisfying. I can't wait to dive into book 2! (I STILL REGRET NOTHING MUAHAHA)

Fantastic Retelling

I really enjoyed this retelling because it sticks more to the original version. I like how the author twisted it to a new story but kept some key elements. The narrator was great at bringing the story and characters to life. I look forward to more from this author & narrator