3 new books with MERMAID vibes to look forward to in 2025
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.
I love the serendipity of a few books popping onto my radar at the same time with something that makes them feel like they belong together, it always seems to me like a little sign from the universe. I got that little thrill recently after spotting (and adding to my TBR) a couple of books with mermaid vibes, all coming out early next year. Today I’m sharing a bit about each of these – and a bonus one on the same theme from a favourite author’s backlist.
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo’s wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship’s crew. Only Samuel—Luce’s best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.
One stormy morning, Luce’s plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.
But it is not only Luce’s hopes that are at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface, as dangerous as any reef. Even so, she finds that the truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.
Or the scales of a sea-maid’s tail.
I read Kell Woods’ After the Woods last year and adored it – the uneasy, gothic vibes are exactly what I love in a fairytale inspired novel. Upon a Starlit Tide is out in Australia in February 2025 from Harper Collins and you can find out more here.
The Sirens by Emilia Hart
Lucy is running from what she’s done – and what someone did to her.
There’s only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone.
Lucy is now alone, in a strange town steeped in rumour. Stories of men disappearing without a trace. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave. And women’s voices murmuring on the waves…
As Lucy searches for her sister, those voices get ever louder. They tell of two sisters, two centuries ago, bound and transported across the world. A world where men always get their way. A world that is at once distant, and achingly familiar.
Are these voices luring Lucy closer to her sister? Or will the secrets of the past pull them both under?
Emilia Hart’s Weyward has been one of my favourite books this year, so this one was bound to catch my attention. It is out in Australia January 2025 from Harper Collins. More info here.
The Woman in the Waves by Camille Booker
There’s something sinister lurking in the waves…
It’s 1921 in Widow’s Peak, a gloomy fishing village on the south coast of New South Wales. Nineteen-year-old Missy Green fills her days helping her fisherman father on his trawler, and spending time with her grandfather, the town’s reclusive lighthouse keeper. It’s a dreary existence. Everything in her sea salt-soaked life is upended, though, when she glimpses something in the water – a mermaid ominously staring at her.
Camille Booker is a new to me author, and this novel just sounds so good. I love historical fiction, and the twist on this, along with that stunning cover, really jumped out at me! The Woman in the Waves is out in Australia in March from Hawkeye Books. More info here.
Dancing on Knives by Kate Forsyth
A damaged family and their generations of dangerous secrets
At twenty, Sara is tormented by an inexplicable terror so profound she hasn’t left her home in five years. Like the mermaid in the fairytale her Spanish grandmother once told her, Sara imagines she is Dancing on Knives, unable to speak. She feels suffocated by her family, especially her father – the famous artist Augusto Sanchez – whose volcanic passions dominate their lives.
Then one stormy night, her father does not come home. His body is found dangling from a cliff face. Astonishingly, he is still alive, but the mystery of his fall can only be solved by the revelation of long-held family secrets.
As promised, here’s a bonus book with mermaid connections from the backlist of a favourite author, Kate Forsyth. This one has been out for years, and I have a copy on my shelf, but so far I haven’t managed to get to it yet – perhaps early 2025 will finally be the time. You can find out more about the book, including an excerpt and notes from the author here.
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
On the afternoon that Esther Wilding drove homeward along the coast, a year after her sister had walked into the sea and disappeared, the light was painfully golden.’
The last time Esther Wilding’s beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura’s disappearance, Esther’s family struggles to live with their loss. To seek the truth about her sister’s death, Esther reluctantly travels from Lutruwita, Tasmania to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands, following the trail of the stories Aura left behind: seven fairy tales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body.
Ok, I couldn’t resist sharing just one more title in this post, because I simply could not talk about mythical sea beings without mentioning Holly Ringland‘s The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding which I read on our trip overseas this year and just loved with every cell of my being. I haven’t quite managed to get down words to describe what it meant to me in a review, although I did review Holly’s first book, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, a little while ago – you can check it out here. Myths of selkies were central to this book, and I really loved the way they were worked into the being of the protagonists.
***
Gosh, pulling this post together has made me feel excited all over again about all the incredible books heading our way in the new year (no wonder I can’t keep up with my TBR!). Let me know if any of these are on your radar too, and do make sure to pop over to Wishful Endings where Tressa is hosting “Can’t Wait Wednesday” and a bunch of book bloggers are sharing the titles we are looking forward to getting our eyes on!
xo Bron
***
Want to see more preview of books? Click here
For more fantasy book chat click here.
2 Comments
Barb @ Booker T's Farm
Wow – who knew there were so many mermaid books. Hope you find a new fave!
Ashley S
All of these books sound fantastic! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂