Dexter Meets the Little Mermaid?
Mermaid of Venice has been racking up fantastic reviews lately. I have to say, some of these are my absolute favorites so far. I love when readers get swept away in the story and seduced by Gia. She’s an anti-hero, so you’re not necessarily supposed to adore her all of the time. She’s a baddie who does bad things. We’re talking about a mermaid serial killer here, folks!
Real 5-Star Amazon Review:
Alt text of review: Five Stars. Dexter meets The Little Mermaid, with a dash of 50 Shades of Gray...
Everyone loves a good villain story. It's why Hollywood is turning a profit these days with gritty remakes of fairy-tale femme fatales and comic book baddies. So when I heard about the premise of "Mermaid of Venice" by Jincey Lumpkin, I was sold in three words: "serial killer mermaid."
I'm not going to lie, I struggled to like Gia for most of the book until I changed my thought process and realized she wasn't doing anything to be justifiably "liked," and besides, there's plenty of men in fiction who run around killing without mercy and they make series of books and movies about them to appease the "dude bros" of society.
Gia is sinister, seductive, and so much more than human. The book can get pretty steamy, which I don't mind at all in my books, but as a reviewer I should point out that this is definitely for an adult audience. (You *did* hear the part where I said this was about a serial killer Mermaid though, right?)
I will say my favorite part of the book was learning more about the Mermaid world and I can't wait to see more of the different mer colonies throughout the ocean in future installments. Also I loved how international the series is. One chapter we're in Italy, the next New York, and so on. And judging from the titles of the forthcoming installments, we'll be seeing other places as well.
Also, I need to mention, but not spoil, that ENDING. It didn't go anywhere I thought it would, and I'm curious to see where that's going to take us moving forward. I inwardly remember going, "Gia, Gia, Gia...what are you DOING?"
The book is a fairly quick read, and the chapters are brief enough to keep you turning pages...the perfect beach read then, right? Mermaid of Venice is available now on Amazon and is the first of a six book series, with its sequel, Mermaid of Sicily, planned for a September release. If you like books with a touch of murderous mayhem while lounging out by the pool or seaside this summer, Mermaid of Venice would be the perfect choice!
REAL 5-STAR GOODREADS REVIEW:
Alt text of review: Five Stars. This is not the Little Mermaid you grew up with. Gia's out for blood.
Gia is a glamourous mogul in Venezia, but she has dark secrets. She is a mermaid and has the tendency to bury her lovers under water. But just when she thinks she found a man she can really love, her last victim gets washed up - endangering the life she built and the secret existence of her kind.
Mermaid of Venice is an intriguing introduction to a fresh take on mermaid stories.
I love mermaid stories, and obviously, most books about mermaids are in a fantasy setting with fictional worlds and magic, or sometimes with historical notes and pirates.
So this very modern interpretation with fantasy and thriller elements and a murderous badass mermaid as a main character was intriguing to me right away.
As an editor, I couldn’t help taking note of some elements of plot and style that could be more refined. I was wondering a bit about where the plot was going in the beginning and would have liked to see the mermaid being more in the water. And while I am always happy to watch powerful or morally gray badass woman conquering the world, I would still have liked to have more insight in Gia’s thoughts and reasoning to be able to connect with her earlier. But that’s just the curse of my job.
I still really liked the book.
The pace of the writing is good and I liked the short and on-point chapters. I enjoyed the scenery and watching the luxury life Gia lives in Venice and all over the globe. Then it was really cool to see a bit of the hidden mermaid society and I loved the character of Vittore.
I also liked the two different timelines – one in the present day and one in the past, telling the story of Gia’s parents and therefore, Gia’s backstory.
And I don’t want to say too much, but I am not mad about that ending and I am definitely curious to read how Gia’s story continues in the next book.
REAL 4.5-STAR INSTAGRAM REVIEW:
Alt text of review: 4.5 Stars.
I’ll argue for days to prove that I have the coolest collection of friends. Seriously, they are a grab bag of personalities and I am forever amazed that I found my tribe. Amongst my tribe is a chick who loves mermaids. So, instantly I see “mermaid” and think of her. When I stumbled across Mermaid of Venice, I obviously had to have it. I am so glad I have a mermaid lover in my tribe because I discovered this book (and apparently, there are 5 more to come in the series!) Now she must share the title because I am hooked (I swear that was not meant to be a fish pun).
This book had such a unique concept. A mermaid that isn’t just a shiny, pretty tail and clam shell bra but instead a genuine, albeit murderous, character? Yes, please and thank you. And what a character Gia is. She has all the cool, aloofness I would expect from someone with such a secret to hide. The personality is not so standoffish that you don’t connect with the character, in fact I absolutely loved her and her development through the book. The struggle in two worlds mixed in with the past story weaved within the pages, and this book kept me reading cover to cover. @storiesbyjincey came up with just the right amount of mysticism, history, and intrigue to hold me captive. Mermaid of Sicily can’t come soon enough (September 20 seems forever away)!
Want to see if Mermaid of Venice lives up to the hype?
I’m thrilled to tell you that you can now purchase the book at my online store. It’s the perfect beach read. Happy shopping!