Review: Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Posted September 6, 2024 by Lola in Fantasy, Review, Romance / 2 Comments

Between the Sea and Sky
Jaclyn Dolamore

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
It’s hard being a bookish mermaid when there are no books under the sea. But as a girl, Esmerine spent her days on the shore with a scholarly winged boy named Alander, even though transforming her tail to legs caused her great pain. But many years have passed since Alan went off to school. Esmerine has now taken on a great honor–becoming a siren who watches over the waters.

Esmerine’s sister Dosia was the only person who understood her interest in the surface world–and when Dosia goes missing, Esmerine will brave that world to find her. Did Dosia willingly give her heart a human man? Or was she kidnapped? The only person who could help Esmerine search for her sister is Alander…but the friendship of childhood may have become something more. Their worlds will never meet, but can their hearts find a way?

Set in a magical land modeled after Italy during the Grand Tour, inspired by swoon-worthy Regency romances and the Age of Enlightenment, this novel is suitable for younger and older readers.

My Review

When I was listening to one of Lidiya Foxglove Youtube videos and she mentioned this book she wrote under a pen name I knew I wanted to read this one. I like reading about mermaids and add in the winged folk and I was super curious about this one. I am glad I picked this one up as I had a great time reading it.

Between the Sea and Sky follows the point of view of Esmerine who used to be friends with a winged boy who taught her to read. Now years later she hasn’t seen him in years and is becoming a siren. When her sister is kidnapped by a man and taken to land Esmerine goes on land to find her. Along the way she reconnect with her winged folk friend and they team up to find her sister.

I just really liked the set up for this story, the characters and the world. I liked reading about Esmerine and seeing what life was like as a mermaid, before she goes to search for her sister. Then there was seeing her experience of being on land and how much walking hurt, but how determined she was to find her sister. I liked seeing her reconnect with Alan and seeing them grow closer again. And experiencing what life on land is like as well as a bit about the winged folk.

I liked the romance between Esmerine and Alan, although I would’ve loved a few more scenes between them and seeing them connect. I really liked them together and I liked how so much of their connection build forth upon the bond they had as children, but the also have both changed and have to get to know each other again. The bit at the end also felt a bit fast, but that might also be because I just wanted to read more of them. The ending is really sweet and I liked the glimpse of their future.

The world building was well done and I liked getting a feel for the mermaids, humans as well as winged folk. While there is a lot more I wanted to know I feel the book does a good job of giving enough information to make it come alive without bogging down the pace of the story. I just love world building and wanted to know even more. I liked how all three species felt distinct and had their own culture with their own customs and habits as well as beliefs.

To summarize: This was a lovely fantasy romance story between a mermaid and a winged boy. I liked reading about Esmerine and her determination to find her sister while along the way she reconnect with her childhood friend. I liked the romance between them, although I couldn’t help but want more of them as I enjoyed reading about them. The world building is well done with enough information to get a feel for the different species.