Speechless

“Speechless” is the first installment on Madeline Freeman’s “Unfortunately Souls”, an urban fantasy paranormal series that offers a brand-new version of H.C. Anderson’s unforgettable “The Little Mermaid”. Set in a futuristic world Speechless focuses on Aria, who is considered an abomination due to her ability to breath under water, a fact that she keeps hidden from everyone. Those person as known as “aberrations”, targeted by the government and forced to register. Aria is hiding in plain sight, working as waitress in a restaurant in L.A. Enrique Martinez seems the opposite of Aria, he lives her life on the open, streaming 24/7 for his fans. In fact, Enrique’s life is taxing and depleting, thus he is excited to learn that all cameras as schedule to go dark for two days, and already planning to make the most of his gifted anonymity. As Enrique and Aria collide, their lives become interwoven into a governmental plot to control all “aberrations” and populate a Mars colony in the process.

Madeline Freeman has created an interesting coherent futuristic world, with distinct characteristics for both L.A. and the Mars colony. This is the start to what it already promises to be a fascinating series, that will surely appeal to Hunger Games and Divergent fans.

Good read, good characters. I liked it.

Enjoyable retelling
The Little mermaid was by itself an enjoyable fairy tale.
In Speechless, the author had managed to bring it out excellently well, making Aria as an aberration who can breathe underwater. Aria’s dream is to go to the colony on Mars and that starts her adventure in the story.
Aria has been etched very well and the essence of her character especially her determination comes out very well in the story.
I enjoyed the retelling with the novel elements brought in to suit the futuristic story.

She lives in two worlds the land and the sea. She knows it people round out she would be shut away. She spent time watching her idol on screen. She will get to meet him but her secret will come out. What will happen? Follow her and see

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Wow! This book had far more depth and nuance than I was expecting. It started with typical YA dystopian tropes but then took a turn I wasn’t expecting and got really good. This book somehow captured the essence of traditional Little Mermaid stories while completely turning all the motivations and reasons around. While there was a little romance, it was not the focus as is common with these retellings.

The book did not end of a cliffhanger, but did leave many questions unanswered. I can’t wait to see where the story will go next!

Set in a futuristic society, this Little Mermaid retelling was interesting. When the wrong person discovers her secret, Aria is forced to go on a mission. Although there are romantic elements in here, the romance was just as doomed as it was in the original fairy tale. The end doesn’t exactly have a cliffhanger, but it did leave me with a sense of worry over what may happen next for Aria. Since this is a first in series, I can hope that Aria may get her HEA eventually.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I enjoyed this book about a girl with gills and thus the ability to swim underwater like a fish. There’s a great twist about halfway through, and the pacing/tension kept up quite nicely throughout. It was interesting to read a retelling of The Little Mermaid that was unique on its own (not copycat at all) yet with nods to the original tale with the “mermaid” being mute and the pain in Aria’s legs while walking. I loved that the setting was sci-fi, and so the details were (lightly) sci-fi-themed. I did notice a handful of typos, the first ones being errors like forth instead of fourth, passed instead of past. The novel ended with a dilemma that obviously opened into the next book of the series.