Review--Kiss of the Selkie by Tessonja Odette

A handsome fugitive seeking a marriage of convenience.
A selkie with a lethal kiss sent to seal his fate…

To evade a vicious sea queen’s clutches, selkie Maisie hides on land surviving as a thief. But when she rescues a human from drowning and illegally brings him to shore, she must answer for breaking fae law. As punishment, she’ll have to hunt down the man she saved…and kiss him. But with a kiss that can kill, Maisie’s mission means more than seduction. It means murder.

Son of a notorious fae-killer, Dorian was never meant to survive the shipwreck that was orchestrated to assassinate him. Now that he’s on the forbidden fae isle, he’ll do anything to gain citizenship—even marry a fae bride. Desperate for a hasty marriage, he holds a bridal competition in the isle’s most theatrical city, where displays of frivolity aren’t just encouraged—they’re expected. And if Maisie can act like a proper debutante and join the pageantry, she’ll get near enough to deliver her fatal kiss.

But getting close to her target brings complications she didn’t expect. As she pretends to compete for Dorian’s heart, it starts to feel less like an act…and more like falling in love.

If Maisie doesn’t deliver her kiss by sunrise on the last day of the competition, she forfeits her life. But if she succeeds, Dorian dies. When the pageant ends, will there be a true victor? Or only death and broken hearts?

I finally finally picked up Tessonja Odette's Kiss of the Selkie! I've been meaning to return to this world for ages and I loooove these fairy tales retold! As you might imagine, this is a The Little Mermaid retelling. When you think that, you're probably mixed with ideas of the actual fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and the Disney movie, because, who isn't! I'm happy to say that you can kind of see a blend of both within the story and it was just as magical and romantic as you might expect!

We first met Maisie, very briefly, in Heart of the Raven Prince and we see where Maisie ended up after she ran off leaving Ember to take on her identity. Maisie is a selkie princess and has been on the run for a year running from some nefarious foe who would use her magical abilities to do harm. She has taken on an identity of a regular, poor fae, sometimes disguising herself as a boy working for a theater owner. She relieves other citizens of extra shiny, sparkly pieces that they have no need for. Yes, she's a bit of a pickpocket. But her love for shiny objects is reminiscent of another little mermaid we all know and love...even if she didn't go about taking them off people. Lol.

One night, when Maisie is staring off at the ocean she can no longer swim in, for fear of running into this mysterious enemy, she spots a shipwreck and a man drowning. Feeling an enormous sense of guilt for having spotted him, she cannot leave him to die and dives in to rescue him. He's a human and even though there was once unrest between humankind and faekind, Maisie leaves word with the nearby church that a human is need of aid.

It is this act of heroism though that leads her enemy right to her...and we soon learn, the enemy is her mother. Yes, the evil sea witch of the sea, is Maisie's mother. We learn that Maisie was once cursed by this very sea witch that her kiss would kill. So Maisie has never kissed or been kissed, for she did not wish to turn into a murderer, but now her mother is demanding that she become just that. Maisie is to kiss/kill the man she rescued for he in turn killed a fae, one who was close to one of her mother's warriors. Maisie is to kill him by entering the bridal competition for his heart that is to take place the next day. If Maisie does not kiss him before the week is up, she will die. But her mother makes it clear that she plans to force Maisie to join her warrior group of assassins and basically, forever be under her control. But if she succeeds in killing the man, her kiss curse would be removed.

Maisie doesn't wish to kill, but she doesn't wish to die either. The stories she's heard of this human, this Dorian, have all been horrifying and she finally decides killing him shouldn't be too much of a hardship. So she enters the competition for his "heart," but, naturally, will find that things are not exactly what she was led to believe.

This was a most fantastical tale indeed! I truly loved seeing bits and pieces of both the original The Little Mermaid tale and the Disney version. I am not sure if this was Odette's intent or not, or if I am not quite remembering the original tale as well, although I do remember how that one ends! But regardless I saw the elements all the same! 

Dorian was quite the catch too! He's not your typical "prince charming" either. But he never claims to be a prince either. We learn that his story his more complicated as well. He and Maisie don't exactly hit it off when they first meet at the competition. And as they spend more time together, as the competition dictates, we see things slowly begin to change between them. Dorian comes off a bit cold at first, but we soon see a different side to him as time goes by. And naturally, the love that slowly begins to grow between him and Maisie becomes heart-breakingly real. Each one is keeping their secrets close to their chest and if they were to be revealed, the results would be devastating.

This book was just so incredibly wonderful! I am a big fan of fairy tales and fairy tale retellings, so this series of Odette's is just positively perfect for me! I love that the books are all standalones set in the same world, so you can see some familiar faces and faces that will soon be familiar! Being behind in a series means when certain names pop up I know to pay attention because they'll be back! I particularly loved seeing Briony Rose early and her performance in the "talent" portion of the bridal competition! It was too perfect!

Kiss of the Selkie has all the markings of a beautiful fairy tale! There's magic, romance, a princess, a princely figure, and of course nefarious villains! There main plotline does tend to resemble ones from its original source, so that's always a plus. But at least with this series, happily ever afters are a guarantee! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish! It was a magical masterpiece and I cannot wait to pick up the next fairy tale adventure with Tessonja Odette at the helm! Truly a world not to be missed with her in charge!

 

Overall Rating 5/5 stars