Between the Sea and Stars

Between the Sea and Stars, Chantal Gadoury, Parliament House (2018, 258 pps.)
Reviewed by: Patricia M. Muhammad
Date: April 08, 2021
*This book review was originally published on LibraryThing:
https://www.librarything.com/work/21035458/book/198682220

*I received Between the Sea and the Stars ebook in exchange for an honest book review

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Below the sea lies a mythological world, one in which the rules of the gods, in particular Posideon, governs the merrows. The story centers around a merrow of age named Lena. She strong and independent-minded, not as an act of rebellion, but as a result of the nurture and care of her father and brother. Her mother died long ago. This creature is the family primary hunter and along with her brother Javelin cares for their father, Carrick. Lena yearns to see above the surface of the sea. She has heard of only those chosen of a special guard who are authorized to do so. They are tasked with killing humans, the merrows (mermaids) natural enemies. Asger is another merrow who believes that Lena is destined to be his wife. This is where Lena first feels the tinge of male counterparts laying claim to her or treating her as merely a possession. She allows for Asger to come nearer than any other male merrow, but this occurs only once. When he visits the family to present her brother, Javelin, with the opportunity to become a part of the guard, the Fosse Sofolk, she becomes somewhat repulsed by Asger the attempted suitor. From here the read begins to see that other than her brother and father, all other males transform as something unsavory and unrecognizable from the standards she was reared under.

Lena convinces her brother to take her to the surface of the sea. Javelin warns her it is a great risk for her as well as for him since he has yet to become officially a part of the guard. A seafaring in turbulent waters becomes shipwrecked. Her brother’s body is pierced by a sphere. He dies. Lena blames herself. She is met with an old merrow woman who recognizes the shell draped around Lena’s neck that was a gift her brother gave her. The old merrow offers a re-telling of the queen merrow’s demise. According to the infamous lore, the queen merrow was seduced by a human man who literally stabbed her in the back and consumed her blood. Despite this horrible fable, she urges Lena to follow her heart and to learn to live as her own curiosity desires—among the people of the shores. Lena follows the old merrow’s instructions concerning the time, use of the shell and blood in order to transform from merrow to a fully viable human. She is found naked by a local man who rescues her from her current dismal state. Jace is her first encounter with humankind. She attempts to quell her doubt that he would probably take advantage of her. She is initially fascinated with his appearance and physique. Lena barely speaks, is unable to walk but after some time adjusts. She becomes the charge of Jace’s family who owns a local inn. His grandmother who is the primary manager assigns Lena to care for her ailing husband. Jace is impatient with Lena’s lack of understanding of basic tasks, from using the bathtub to walking but has bouts of sympathy assuming her inabilities are due to her injuries. The merrow turned human cares for Jace’s grandfather, Edwin. Edwin “reads cards” and is fond of his new caretaker. Lena has an unintentional way about her which naturally garners the attention of a variety of men, whether it is of genuine concern, lust or attraction. Between caring for her new charge and observing the patrons of the inn, she encounters Lord Jarl. Jarl is the unscrupulous owner of the inn and business man whom no one has taken a liking to. This is the first human man who makes unwanted passes and treats here like an object. She does her best to be respectful and manage appropriate distance to safeguard her bodily integrity and for the sake of protecting Jace’s family livelihood.

Jace’s grandfather sends Lena on a routine errand to pick up books from a shopkeeper, Soren Emil. He is polite and courteous and though he finds Lena attractive, attempts to become acquainted with her as a person. He eventually discloses to Lena the story of his mother being human to become a mermaid, the inverse transformation than that of the legend of the merrow queen. On one occasion when she keeps company with Edwin, he “reads cards”. He speaks of death. He believes in the merrows. Jace makes a surprise announcement that he is to become Lord Jarl’s apprentice to pay for his family debts to him. Lena is repulsed and attempts to convince him otherwise. Here, the reader will see the parallel between Javelin accepting to be part of the guard to kill humans. It is later revealed that Jarl intends for Jace to be his heir apprentice to steal the life and artifacts of merrows, though Jace is not yet aware of his boss’ intentions.

At every turn, Lena believes that she will do something or react in a way that will reveal her secret that she is one of them. It is not until a soiree is held at the inn, similar to the Day of the Dead, in which Lena is caught, literally, by Jace’s hold of her arm, and figuratively among three men who has set their eyes upon her. Stories of men having bad intentions continue to swirl about her mind. Soren asks for her to dance. Jace intervenes from jealousy and Jarl continues to act inappropriately towards her making Lena even more uncomfortable. Lena finds a way to escape outside. Jace kisses her abruptly. She pulls away though she does not leave as if he had some authority over her. One day while Lena is out on the shore, she encounters Soren and teaches him how to hunt for crab. She inclines towards him. As much as men are attracted to Lena’s beauty and light, she is fond of Soren’s sincerity and respectful nature towards her. He does not overstep boundaries, nor did he conspire to have her. Not once did he impose himself onto her, nor did he habitually engage in any sort of speech that would make lady uncomfortable. She listens attentively, wishing she could inform Soren of her secret.

After another book run, Edwin warns Lena, to leave from the inn and never return. He believes that once his grandson accepted the Jarl’s apprenticeship offer that her life was in greater danger. One night she checks in on Jace’s grandfather, only to find Jarl in a position ready to kill him. Jarl knew who and what Lena was since their first encounter and demands the shell around her neck. In a moment of vulnerable gullibility she is about to accept his offer until Edwin convinces her otherwise. Lena escapes, taking Jace’s grandfather’s advice seeks refuge with Soren who allows her entry. The very gentleman she had come to know at a distance is the only one she can trust. She finally admits what she is causing Soren’s disappointment that Lena had never supported his claim about his mother. A natural attraction lies between them. The author implies that power courses through them. Soren asks her to explain all that she knows—from the very beginning.

Between the Sea and Stars is book one of a duology written by Chantal Gadoury. This is my first time reading a book about mermaids and is part of the fantasy genre. It is filled with action, imagery and the manner in which the author tells the story allows for the reader to peer inside a mythological world in which those of the sea (mermaids) have as much mistrust as those of the land (humans). What I enjoyed about the book was that the protagonist was strong-willed and yet idealistic. She was not arrogant in her ability to help provide for her brother and father, yet she was confident to take the leap and explore life on her own despite the opinions of others—including her own family. The dialogue leads the reader into the personality of other characters while the action keeps the reader wondering whether Lena would ever be able to trust any man besides her eventually deceased brother. Between the Sea and Stars is novel filled with curiosity, a bit of magic and action. The story would captivate the minds of adults and young teenagers alike.

If you had a choice to live in the water or on land, how would you choose? Obviously, your curiosity would probably get the better of you. Humans are often addled by ideas and misconceptions of the desires that they have. We always want the things that we don’t have and some don’t stop until they get them. Gadoury has a riveting story about the lengths that someone will go to obtain the unobtainable. For readers, this is an enticing first installment that will leave you hanging by the edge of your seat—waiting for the second installment.

Lena is trapped in her underwater prison, longing to see what the humans are like on land. She has a brother, a father and someone who loves her dearly, but that isn’t good enough. That doesn’t wash the desire to be free from the life that she has always lived. Something wiggles its way into her brain, allowing her to obsess over this new complex job offer that has been provided to her brother, Javelin. Merrows are forbidden to go to the surface by the Skagerrak king; however, the Merrow soldiers are able to swim in the sea and walk on land in order to protect their waters from human invasion. Much like the Merrow Queen, Lena’s desire to see the surface winds up being the ultimate price—a life. Once she is given a magical shell that gives her legs, will she still feel the same way about the sea? Leaving the only home that she has ever known to travel in an unforgiving world seems like a punishment, until she meets Soren—the man who believes in Merrows. Along with Serran comes others who hide in the shadows, waiting for their time to strike her down for who she is.

Gadoury has a superb first installment, filled with adventure, romance, longing, deceit, and secrets. The characters have been well thought out and the scenes flow effortlessly. Since this is complimenting the audiobook, Webb makes this story really shine. Her voice relay with this installment is stunning. Readers may find themselves impressed with how attentive Webb is to the characters personalities and emotions. If you are a reader of young adult fantasy and fairy tales, this may be perfect for you. Fair warning, if you begin this tale—there may be no putting it down until the end.

An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating to Between the Sea and Stars by Chantal Gadoury.

Between the Sea and Stars follows the current trend for fairytale retellings and appears very loosely based on the tale of The Little Mermaid, that’s not to say that it’s a retelling by numbers though. The story has great mix of content with a nod to Disney in there too, but mainly it has a whole world of imagination in the direction the story is taken. Lena is the perfect example of a sheltered child, one who has not had much to fear in her life and is therefore more reckless. Sadly her inability to recognise her own recklessness has dire consequences. I liked how Lena’s transformation was not sugar coated, not just focusing on the creation of her legs but also the impact on her lungs as she went through the realisation that the water that she breathed now had the capacity to drown her.

Through seemingly good fortune Lena quickly finds herself with a roof above her head and a plausible story as to how she came to be on the beach that night. She comes to care for the elderly Edwin, an utterly charming character, and befriends the bookish Soren and so her life starts to be pulled in different directions – those who believe in the Merrow folk and those who believe it all to be simply legend. Around it all hovers the villainous Lord Jaarl, always there to cause fear and spout cryptic clues that give Lena pause. Pieces of the story start to slot into place as Lena finds out more about those who inhabit the land so close to the sea where she grew up, these appear in tantalising morsels and I really loved how the parallels were delicately weaved.

There are some beautiful lines as well, a stand out for me was “sorrow drops anchor in the eve, but it often sails away with the dawn.” but there were many in this story which truly is beautifully written, I never found it lulled or was a chore to read. That being said I was kind of disappointed that it left of where it did, going into this I was surprised to see it was part of a series as many retelling’s are stand alone. There is a lot of of world building and character development, which is awesome but the action seemed all to take place within the last few pages and left me clawing for a few pages more! I also have to say well done to the author as writing action isn’t always easy, especially when it goes against the tone of the book up to that point, but this action was fast paced, heart pounding and seamless and I look forward to more of it in future books in the series.

The end of the book had a helpful phonic section (and a beautiful illustration!) as quite a few of the words appear to have a nod to its Scandanavian origins, I have to say I found this a little frustrating as I found I had been pretty much mispronouncing all of them in my mind as I read, it would have been helpful to have this at the front as none of the words could be considered spoilers.

I really enjoyed Between the Sea and Stars and look forward to future books in the series! 4*