Part Of Your World: A Twisted Tale Book Review

 Part Of Your World: A Twisted Tale Review

Book Name: Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale

Author Name: Liz Braswell

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: September 4, 2018

Page Number: 482 pages

Review:

    What if Ursula had won?

    Five years after Ariel went to the above world and was defeated by the sea witch, Ursula. She has lost everything; her father, her voice, her carefree life, and Eric… Now she rules the Mer-people of Atlantica voiceless. But one day a message arrives from Scuttle; Ariel’s father, King Triton, is alive! He is being held hostage by Ursula.

    Using the powers of the trident, Ariel returns to land to save her father. As she looks for a way to free him, Ariel learns that Ursula has turned Eric’s peaceful land into a military force.  The sea witch also plans to conquer surrounding countries. It doesn’t help that in a rash decision, Ariel gets her voice back by smashing Ursula’s necklace. Now Ursula knows she has returned, putting everyone Ariel loves in danger, but it also releases Eric from Ursula’s spell. Eric and Ariel team up to end the sea witch; but will they succeed?

    This is author Liz Braswell’s best Disney Twisted Tale book in my opinion. I was interested and excited throughout the book, hoping Ariel would get her father back. I also had fun with Ursula’s schemes. I feel the characters are slightly changed for the better while keeping their movie selves intact.

    Ariel is still Ariel but acts more mature thanks to ruling Atlantica for the past five years. She has times when she still does things even if it might turn out bad. Like how she smashes Ursula’s necklace to get her voice back even though she loses the element of surprise over the sea witch. Also, it’s cute to read her thoughts about her feelings for Eric. It’s fun to read Eric’s and Ursula’s interactions as well. The dinner scene is just hilarious! Seeing Eric’s super-good guy ways and how it makes Ursula underestimate him is also sweet. I wish there were more parts where we read his feelings for Ariel as they were adorable what little was there.

    The new characters were fine, but they needed more page time. Argent is a fun tattoo artist and a ‘not what she seems’ granny character and Jona gave some interesting interactions with both Ariel and Eric. Vareet as Ursula’s maid was a good concept but needed more exploration. There are some things that are brought up that mess with both this story and the original. For this story, it’s that Ursula says Ariel’s power wains due to the tides and moon. This leads to thinking Ariel leaves when her power is weakest and comes back when it's strong again many times, making this plot point a bit worthless. It also messes with the original movie plot. Does this mean Ariel would not be able to be with Eric as a human-like she wanted? This version does say Ariel will spend time in both worlds, but it still affects the original poorly.

    Though Conceal, Don’t Feel is still my favorite Disney Twisted Tale book, I feel Part of Your World has become my second! It’s a good twist on The Little Mermaid and I give this book four out of five stars.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

I Song Like This Book: 

Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

 The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide Book Review

Book Name: The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide

Author Name: J. Elle

Genre: Fantasy/Mystery

Release Date: April 11,2023

Page Number: 320 Pages

Review:

    Ariel is so excited; she’s about to be crowned Protector of her own region of the great sea! Her six other sisters already rule their own sections of the sea as Protectors. But sadly, they seem so busy with their duties that they never get together and the times they do they are always fighting. When Ariel finds out her father, King Triton, is able to arrange for her sisters to attend her Protector’s ceremony, she is determined to fix the sisters’ relationships.

    The night before the Protector’s ceremony Ariel convinces her sisters to accompany her to their mother’s memorial. The sea queen passed when Ariel was a little girl, making her remember very little of her. Her sisters on the other hand swap fun tales of times spent with their mother, finally starting to mend their sisterly bonds. Ariel Is thrilled her plan worked and hopes the family can start moving forward together.

    But the next day tragedy strikes! Ariel’s oldest sister, Mala, Is kidnapped right before Ariel’s Protector ceremony! Chaos ensues with merfolk, sea creatures, and sea monsters turning on each other. The note Found in Mala’s bedroom does not help matters. It reads: King Triton must give up the throne in exchange for Mala, or else!  It does not help that a growing group of the sea want a new ruler. With the help of her sister Perla, Ariel sets out to find Mala before it’s too late.

    This was a fun companion book to the live-action Little Mermaid by Disney. Well, more of a prequel really. This book really is about grief and holding it in. We read how each member of Ariel’s family suffered from the passing of her mother and learn the different ways they tried but failed to manage it. For example, Ariel’s sister Tamika, who was closest to Ariel when she was young, shut herself away for years and made very little contact with the outside world. Or how Ariel realizes she never really showed sadness for her mother, just tried to stay happy and upbeat for other's benefit. I liked how Ariel was able to reach and pull each of her family members out to properly grieve. She is also very determined, not giving up on the quest to find Mala no matter how little clues she has.

    I find it interesting and a bit disappointing that the author decided to have a lot of things iconic to Ariel first shown in this book. It only takes place a little before the movie, but Ariel is not friends with Flounder. In fact, they do not meet until one-third into the story. Also, Ariel is not really interested in human things, but it does grow as the book progresses. She finds her hidden grotto in this book as well. I just feel some of these points should have been established beforehand, like having Flounder and Ariel already friends.

    Overall, I think this is a good book, especially if you are a fan of the new Disney live-action Little Mermaid and want to enjoy more adventures with this version of Ariel. Also, I feel it is a great way to explore grief and the different ways people deal with it. I give The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide a four out of five and look forward to reading more books written by J. Elle.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Song Like This Book: 

Lend Me Your Voice By Kylie McNeil