Early Review – Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea, Book 1) by Natasha Bowen (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: November 2, 2021
ISBN-13: 978-0593120941
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Skin of the Sea series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata—a mermaid—collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.
But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable—she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it.
To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . .
Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn’t, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.”
Series Info/Source: 1st book in the Skin of the Sea duology. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: This was very well done and I enjoyed it a ton. It is a retelling of The Little Mermaid fairy tale but also pulls from African mythology. The story focuses on Simi who is a Mami Wata (an ocean mermaid) who pulls souls from drowning victims and brings them to Yemoja (goddess of the sea).
Unfortunately, for Simi one of the bodies she finds isn’t dead and she saves the boy, Kola, instead of bringing his soul to Yemoja. This breaks the treaty that Yemoja has with the Supreme Creator, Olodumare. As a result Simi must go on a quest to make things right again between the gods.
At its heart this is mainly a fantasy adventure. It was beautifully written with exotic locations, battles between gods, a quest for magical objects and a lot of adventuring. The characters are well done and engaging, the writing is absolutely stunning. The settings really come alive and you can really picture what these characters are going through.
In addition to all of that I really loved learning about all of this African mythology. I love mythology but African mythology isn’t in fantasy literature as much as it should be.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this. It is a beautifully written fantasy adventure that pulls both from the classic Little Mermaid fairy tale and the African mythology about Yemoja. It was an engaging read and I can’t wait to read the second book in this duology when it comes out. I would recommend it to those who enjoy adventure fantasy, mythology, or fairy tale retellings.
