Welcome to Litsy!

Not forgettable! I‘m very surprised this held my attention given it revolves around the mermaid myth, but it did. The narration was terrific and I‘m sure made all the difference. 🧜🏾‍♀️

It could have used less sex and more plot so I‘d say it‘s a slight pick. Definitely evocative of the islands & culture.

This caught my attention because the Europa edition cover is beautiful IMO. That is not what I have here. But I am so interested in the mermaid myths that turn up in various cultures across the world. This one is lovely. And an audiobook read with a Caribbean accent? Yes, please!

Women are so cruel to one another.

Wow. There is so much symbolism inside that I didn't expect. Women have been, are, and seemingly they will always be awful to one another.

I didn‘t want to leave this setting, these people, and this passionate love story.

I really enjoyed this especially the writing which in a slight@dialect and really made the book pop. I enjoyed both the main storyline with the mermaid and David I also really liked rain, life and Regie‘s story. Inclusive and thought provoking and kind of bweauriful - author is from Trinidad so including as my read from there #readingtheericas and also #pantone23

(Made a blueberry mojito in a mermaid tiki glass to get the tropical vibes flowing for the ending)

This was good. While it is a short read, it is certainly slower paced, you have to be patient the way David was with the mermaid. It‘s a layered poetic story highlighting ethnic identities in the Caribbean with Deaf & 🏳️‍🌈 rep, but it‘s also a very straightforward fairytale. Not an easy thing to do without feeling forced, but it hits the mark.

Listening to this on my run today. Absorbing the tropical vibes with a frozen view. it was 45 degrees today, not exactly Caribbean weather, but 62 degrees warmer then it was yesterday which …is just crazy.

Enjoying the book so far, it starts as an allegory of commodification of bodies of those deemed “other”, with representations from diverse ethnic backgrounds & the Deaf community. i‘m not sure where the plot itself is headed.

This was great! Feminist book about love and magic and friendship.

4 out of 5

I have to admit that I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, and it made me emotional which I wasn't expecting.

This story that at first seems like folklore has many hidden layers. As I was reading, the depth of the characters and the story kept me so wrapped up that I was sad to leave this tragic, yet magical world the author created.

I also liked the narrators of the audiobook a lot. 💚

Pretty good! A super quick read that covered a lot of ground. Loved the different styles - from what was essentially a poem from the mermaid to David's journal entries. I feel like this is destined to be a film one day

And that's my second book finished for this month as parr of #BFC22! 1 more and I've met my reading goal😁 @wanderinglynn

The dark evenings/nights in England have very much crept up on me and caught me by surprise, and I can't say I'm disappointed about it🌙 It's pitch black right now and I can't see a thing out of the train windows - makes the whole thing feel very atmospheric and me feel even more excited for Scarathlon🎃

This is an enjoyable tale of a woman cursed to be a mermaid and what happens after she is caught by fisherman. The island setting is beautifully drawn, and the cast of characters are well rounded and vivid. The book explores the relationships between men and women, as well as relationships among women.

Oof, this book,😭😭😭. Jealous women curse a young, beautiful woman and turn her into a mermaid. She‘ll live in the ocean for 1000s of years until she meets this one fisherman named David off the coast of a Caribbean island. After getting caught by white men, David will rescue her and for a short while she will turn back into a woman. Lots to discuss in here- love and friendship, colonialism, how would we treat something truly special? 😭pick!

Opened my book to find that it's signed!✍️

I went to three bookstores today, and bought a book at each. I am proud of my restraint!

Aycayia is a mermaid that was cursed by jealous women years ago. She is now captured and then rescued by David, a fisherman, who falls in love with her.

It‘s an ancient tale of mermaids with a modern twist as everything happens in 1976. There are also undertones of colonialism and another love story. I enjoyed it, although, I wish we learned more of what happens to Aycayia.

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Near the island of Black Conch, a fisherman sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But David attracts a sea-dweller that that he never expected - Aycayia, an innocent young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid.

I didn‘t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It was a bit of a slog. It reminded me a little of the films ‘Miranda‘ and ‘Splash‘ but with a darker overtone. It was OK but wouldn‘t rave about it. Quite a sad story, really, and dwelled on the ignorance of people when coming across someone who is different. Not a lot changes!

This is one of those books that is hard to rate - I don‘t really enjoy the story and actually found it a bit of a slog to get through but I can appreciate that this is a talented author and the writing was excellent. I wanted to give it a ‘pan‘ but that wouldn‘t do the author‘s talent justice, so it gets a reserved so-so or ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #doublespin

Out fishing one day, a fisher gets in contact with a mermaid.
I loved the characters in this novel.

A book about race, class and colonialism and love.

I was very keen to read this after listening to an abridged version and I‘m very glad I did. It‘s a beautiful and mythical story mixed with greed and jealousy. I absolutely loved it

Wow! Loved it.
Ace combination of other worldliness, friendship, culture and life! Really liked the mermaid's poetry narrative, and the use of dialect.
Looking forward to discussing this with the library club!!

Library book club... sounds intriguing.

Well that was amazing. Loved it - writing (different voices - diary, poetry) - the characters - themes. I liked how Monique Roffey writes about love, romantic love and desire. I will look for the magic around me.

Next up . . . Think this might be a bit of a departure from the norm for me but shall.give it a go.

#MayCharacters Day 30: Definitely something #mysterious going on in these two brand new books I just bought. 📚📚🧚🏼‍♀️🧚🏼‍♀️

A short but powerful book, set in 1976 on a Caribbean island. It is about a mermaid, Aycayia cursed by women centuries ago because she was too beautiful. She is attracted by to David because of this singing. The through a fishing competition, gets caught. David becomes her rescuer but it isn't plain sailing for them. You really do wish the best for them both.

These two are my #currentreads both are very interesting. I hope to finish Black Conch book today.

Well, that was a lot of sexing. if I'd expected this to be a magic-realist mermaid origin story, an exploration of culture I'd have been disappointed. This turned out to be a story about sexing. Perhaps there was some interesting stuff about a woman's sexual awakening, and the danger of being a woman in the world. But mostly it was just sexing, or thinking about sexing, or talking about sexing . I've left it mildly entertained, and a bit bemused.

Got to about the 50% mark and just not enjoying this at all. Felt tedious.

A strange, dark and brilliant tale. Winner of Costa Book of the Year 2020 for my "Award Winner" free space #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

#99ponkindle #ukkindledeal

My first Monique Roffey read and definitely won‘t be my last.
More than just a love story, dark, deep & political theme. Really hit a few nerves with me , mans desperation for ownership they dominate and violate, selfishly seeing only what can be done for them. Then there is the jealousy of the women that cursed the mermaid. Jealousy is such an ugly emotion 😞. Loved the Caribbean dialect.

Really was a unique read,
5th square #bookspinbingo 🥰

Well, wow. What an absolute little gem. I could talk about the quality of the writing (it's amazing, end of) but what really struck me was the POWER of the writing - this story really does hit hard. I was so invested in these characters - David's diary sections, so powerful & moving in their simplicity & raw emotion, Miss Rain's fraught relationships with her erstwhile lover & her own whiteness, but most wonderfully of all Aycayia's own voice ⬇️⬇️

I want to read this even more now!

Decribed as a dark love story .. “utterly original – unlike anything we‘ve ever read – and feels like a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers”. Based on a legend from the Taino, an indigenous people of the Caribbean, the novel is a dark love story about fisherman David and Aycayia, a beautiful woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid, who has swum the Caribbean for centuries.

Starting this one tonight. Very excited!

Costa book awards are announced. 🤩 I tend to like the Costa books better than Booker books now I think. 🤔