I love fairytale retellings - they are by far one of my favorite sub-genre to read. However, I love villain stories just a tad more so when there's a book that combines the two together, I get really excited. Admittedly, I went into this completely forgetting that it's an origin story of Ursula so the overall process of the story became more unexpected and exciting.

Evie is outcasted from the rest of the kingdom but secure as the best friend of the prince. She's full of longing for companionship and the freedom to be herself in a world that ostracizes her. As far as her being the main character, Evie had a lot of potential. Did she necessarily grow into that potential...that's debatable. She certainly achieved what she wanted at the end, but for the most part Evie was pretty stagnant.

“Though magic can shape life and death, love is the one thing it cannot control.” 

On the topic of characters, we have a set up where four individuals magically get paired up and all is well. We have Evie and her new friend Annemette who find the prince of their dreams with Nik and Iker. This is where most of my problems are founded. The princes were very two-dimensional: Nik is the sweetheart prince and Iker is the heartthrob. The two play their roles very well and their attraction to their respective partners seem almost instantaneous. With that said, Annemette does appear out of nowhere and Evie is lonely for female companionship so all the relationships happen very quickly without much basic foundation.

“Perhaps fantasties are only meant to come true for a moment.” 

Since the relationships are such a vital part of the story, this set up hurt the overall strength of the story. I found myself skimming over parts the detailed the "adorable" dates and "magical" romantic moments; instead choosing to focus on the setting and world. Now, this is where the author truly shined in her writing. This kingdom is set in the Norwegian landscape and the historical references and description really brought the world to life. It rooted the story in a way that the characters weren't able to and helped to flesh things out.

“It's a perfect night for burning witches.”

With all this said, I still enjoyed the story. It helped me as the reader get a better background perspective of Ursula as a character. The epilogue is by far the strongest part of the story and hit me in the heart the hardest. Like I said before, Evie reaches her potential at the end, but in a way that makes me feel for her struggles and make her more personable as the future "villain" of the Little Mermaid. I do believe that there is a sequel to this and seeing who Evie is now, I cannot wait to see her continue to grow into her character.

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