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Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him about the details of the deadly curse that has plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, and rumors of ghost pirates lurking the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter left from his mother that reveals Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart,or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.
Now Eric is on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch's legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win or chase a love that might not even exist? And when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric may discover that true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic.
Book Number: OneÂ
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+ | Retelling
Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟Â
Disney's "The Little Mermaid" but from Eric's point of view. Are you sold yet?
Prince Eric has always been afraid of love. But who wouldn't be when you're cursed to die if you kiss anyone who isn't your true love? Eric is desperate to find any information about the mysterious death of his mother and the curse that has haunted him since his birth. After finding a letter that changes everything, Eric sets out to find the Isle of Serein and the sea witch that is responsible for shackling his freedom. What he didn't expect to find is a red-haired beauty that he can't help but want to put his lips on. Can Eric find and kill the witch before his desires overtake his personal willpower?
I've been interested in this series since I first learned of its existence. I grew up on Disney movies, but crazily enough, this is my first book based on the Disneyverse that I decided to check out. It really isn't anything too special or different, but I had a good time with it. It most definitely makes me curious to try out some more Disney remixes in the future.
Honestly, I was concerned about how this book was going to hook me due to the fact that I already know the story of "The Little Mermaid." By chapter two, Eric's curse was revealed and I was hooked. It is so ironic that Eric isn't allowed to kiss anyone that isn't his true love due to the fact that Ariel has to kiss Eric or lose her soul. This is really a lose-lose situation for these two, and I found it quite humorous despite the stakes.
I think my favorite thing about this book was just exploring Eric more as a character. This book had me realizing how little screen time Eric has during the movie, and I found it refreshing to explore his passion for music, his love for Max, and his struggles with finding love. This book brought some more depth to his character and I thought it was fun to get to know him in a different way.
The added characters were beneficial to Eric's journey. Eric's friends Gabriella and Vanni were great compatriots to bring on our seafaring adventure. I liked how Gabriella was black and a lesbian; it added the touch of diversity that this story needs without being overbearing. Vanni has a bit of a weird sense of humor, but it is always nice to have a friend that you can pick on just a little bit.
This books biggest downfall was most definitely the plot. It wasn't exactly the most interesting and all of the fight scenes fell very flat. Rather, my favorite parts were the small moments of bantering between Eric and the other characters. Practically the dialogue during the "Kiss the Girl" scene, was quite comical to me. But like, poor Scuttle. I did enjoy how Eric had his own connections to Ursula, but knowing how the story ended took away from the weight of the actual plot. I did enjoy seeing how Eric reacted to being put under Ursula's spell at the very end of the book. This was such an interesting thing to explore from Eric's perspective.
Overall, I thought "Prince of Song & Sea" was a fun read, even if the plot was a little lacking. It might not be the strongest retelling ever, but I still enjoyed my time with it. The banter was fun (I found myself laughing aloud several times), the worldbuilding was well done, and it was fun to get to know Eric in a different way. I am very much intrigued to read more volumes in this series, though there are some princes I'm most definitely more interested in than others.
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Prince Phillip’s known from a young age that his destiny has already been decided for him by his father, King Hubert. His job is to smile and wave for the crowd and ride off into the sunset with his predetermined fiancé, Princess Aurora, after her curse is lifted on her sixteenth birthday. But just days before Aurora’s birthday party, Phillip experiences a strange burst of magic, and three fairies tell him that he is part of a prophecy set to defeat Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil. Suddenly Phillip feels as if he has a choice—maybe magic can be the freedom he has been looking for.
Although, having magic and working with fairies to retrieve powerful ancient artifacts would be much more enjoyable if he didn’t have to deal with her every night, a girl named Briar Rose who appears in his dreams on the other side of a mystical thorn maze. Phillip doesn’t know how he can be so annoyed by a person he can’t even see but having to hear the mysterious maiden’s laughs and jabs at him every time he goes to sleep is worse than any nightmare. But Phillip is starting to realize that Briar Rose isn’t so different from himself, and maybe they can change both of their fates one dream at a time.
Book Number: Two
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+ | Retelling
Review: ?Â
Back of Book:Â
Ever since the death of his mother, Prince August of Charmant has sworn off love. Now with only a few months until he inherits the throne, August is unable to delay conversations of marriage any longer. But news of a magical memory curse plaguing a nearby village—the same village he used to spend his summers with his mother—offers August a reprieve. He convinces his father to give him one week to lead the royal investigation before returning to the palace for good. Despite feeling relief, August dreads confronting his own bittersweet memories of the village, his mother, and Ella, the childhood friend he hasn’t spoken to in nearly six years. But maybe the best person to help him restore the town’s memories is the girl he hasn’t been able to forget.
Once reunited, August is surprised to see how Ella has changed. While she’s still beautiful and clever, she’s more reserved and possibly keeping secrets of her own—a fact August finds increasingly hard to ignore. Together they investigate the origins of the magic impacting the town, but with more and more people forgetting their true loves, their rekindled friendship places them in more danger than they could have imagined. With time ticking down to his return to the castle, August must grapple with his growing feelings for Ella and solve the mystery before it’s too late.
When the clock strikes midnight, the fate of the kingdom may just rely on finding the owner of a lost glass slipper…
Book Number: ThreeÂ
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+ | Retelling
Review: ?Â