A moment of appreciation for this cover art, if you will; I love it. Although it is simple, it evokes the seascapes at the heart of this novel. This fairy tale retelling is many things, but the thing that appealed to me the most is how perfectly it captures the irresistible call of the sea. Sabine is drawn to the sea from the very beginning, it is a part of her very soul. This young woman couldn’t keep away from the sea if her very life depended on it. Which is part of why I find her so relatable. Reading this in the comfort of my garden on a warm spring day, I couldn’t help but yearn to go running into the waves myself.
The Heart of the Sea is a dual narrative split between past and present, told from the perspectives of both Sabine and her Prince of the sea, Caspian. Growing up together, the two young royals transcend the boundaries of land and sea, of the differences between their two peoples, to fall catastrophically in love. But the mysterious past of the merfolk lurks not too far from shore; the condemned are an ever-present threat to both kingdoms and to the blossoming romance. When Prince Caspian goes looking for the magic of his people, he finds more than he could have bargained for, and the resulting chaos drives the two kingdoms apart.
In the present, the two royals long to be reunited, but Caspian’s dealings with the sea witch force him to pursue Sabine without his voice. Finding the bewildered, voiceless prince in the cave where they spent their childhood, Sabine cannot reconcile him with the prince that she knew and loved, and instead embarks on a mission to recover this strange man’s voice in the hopes that the mystery behind it will bring her closer to Caspian. While sometimes frustrating to see her fail to recognise him, it was also comical, and when reading from Caspian’s point of view, I rooted for him more strongly because of it. His desperate need for her to see him for who he really is kept me turning the pages.
Fun, quirky romance that I could not put down. My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed towards the end. I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll avoid the detail. Despite my feelings about the ending of the novel, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I love the main characters, and the sea-vibes were exactly what I needed!
The Haphazard Writer's Journal 