Ice Mermaid

' "It's my skin," he said eventually, his brown eyes glittering with earnestness as they met hers. "Where I used to live, people don't like the color of my skin. Life was...life was unbearable for us. Then we heard that things are better in America, so we put what money we had left towards this trip." '

I'm guessing that Darius is living in a non-African country to be saying that he lived somewhere where people didn't like him because they are racist and he is a (dark-skinned) black man. Fine whatever. But in what world would a person in 1912 living in a (presumably) European country not know of the violence black people face in America?! After centuries of chattel slavery, lynching and forced-breeding and a black man isn't aware of the conditions fellow black people have to live in in America? At least have him acknowledge that things are not better there either, but have him hopeful about the "American Dream" or something. I would've given this maybe a 2 star rating because I'm not a fan of the way the world building is done, but this little segment alone makes me give it a 1.

I appreciate the author for trying to uplift black people by having Lorelai be confused on how someone could hate someon so lovely like Darius just for his skin color. But that specific segment is just so laughable to me that I just can't take the rest of this serious.

Ignoring that, the book itself isn't really giving me anything. It is a prequel to a series that I haven't read yet (and probably won't just because it doesn't appeal to me, not because of this book). The plot doesn't lend itself well to a novella. Why is Lorelai so "infatuated" with saving and keeping Darius? Why is Darius so "in love" with a mermaid girl he just met? Why is Darius just so cool with everything? I don't know, it doesn't get explained. I guess it doesn't get explained to get people curious on the whys and read the series this book is a prequel to, but meh.

Also Lorelai being responsible for the Titanic sinking just feels kind of, idk, cringe? I don't know but her being the "owner" of the iceberg the ship rams into just feels cheap. The concept of fighting against death and a kingdom being "stuck" in time to fight against death is interesting and that should've been the focus of this novella in my opinion. The romance is completely unecessary.