book cover of The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea
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The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea

(2020)
(The first book in the Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea series)
A novel by

 
 
Awards
2021 Locus Award for Best First Novel (nominee)
2020 Otherwise Award (nominee)

In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian. Neither expects to fall in love.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, double agents, and the all-encompassing Sea herself.

Deftly entwining swashbuckling action and quiet magic, Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s inventive debut novel conjures a diverse cast of characters seeking mastery over their fates while searching for answers to big questions about identity, power, and love.


Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Praise for this book

"An utterly romantic and breathless adventure that wouldn't let me sleep until I'd devoured every last word. It's a journey of love, magic, and self-discovery unlike any I've ever read." - Dahlia Adler

"The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea will take you on the journey of a lifetime. Maggie Tokuda-Hall has created characters I've never seen before, then put them in an adventure that feels more real than real life and twice as unpredictable. I wanted to live in the world of this book forever, and I can't stop obsessing about the rich tapestry of pirates, mermaids, witches, and conniving nobles who inhabit it. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea might just remind you of why you fell in love with adventure in the first place and change how you think about the genre forever. I envy anyone who's getting to experience this incredible book for the first time." - Charlie Jane Anders

"Arrrrr you ready for the swashbuckling, gorgeous, action-packed world of The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea? I've been in love with Maggie Tokuda-Hall's writing for a long time, and I'm thrilled that you get to fall in love with it, too. A stunning fantasy that breaks all the rules--and hearts--in the best of ways." - Sara Farizan


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