Blog Tour & Giveaway: Rise of the Sea Witch by Stacey Rourke

Rise of the Sea Witch
Stacey Rourke
Publication date: June 19th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Details of the sea witch’s banishment have been exaggerated. The body count that preempted it was not. Once an illustrious princess, her hands and tentacles were stained with the blood of thousands. No one could comprehend how the hooks of madness dragged her down from her life of privilege.

Born Princess Vanessa of Atlantica, the ambitious young royal was one of two children born to the great King Poseidon. She and her brother, Triton, were groomed from birth to rule. Yet only one would ascend that coveted throne. While carefree Triton flits through his training with a cavalier demeanor and beguiling charm, Vanessa’s hunger for her father’s acceptance drives her to push herself to the limits of magic, and combat to become a leader worthy of her people.

When war against the humans ravages their once regal kingdom, political sides are chosen. Factions from the seven seas challenge the existing leadership, pitting Vanessa against her brother in a vicious battle for the crown. Traitors are exposed, darkfamily secrets revealed, and a once strong sibling bond is strained to its breaking point.

Only when the ink black waters from the ultimate betrayal rescind, will the truth be known of how the villainous sea witch rose with one name on her vengeful lips–Triton.

Goodreads / Amazon

My Review:

4 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Heart-Wrenching, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Witches--

Vanessa has only had one dream and that is to be Queen of Alantica. Her every move has been designed to try and win her father's affection and approval, when it is so easily given to her younger playful brother Triton, who wants nothing more than to play. It seems that fate may not be on Vanessa's side though, and her path to the crown has more challenges that she may be able to handle.

Oh my geez, this was a great book, but is was so hard to read (in my opinion because of the life of Vanessa)! I will admit that I did not realize that this was the back story to the evil sea witch from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid, I just thought that this was a new mermaid book (with a completely gorgeous cover which I am drawn to regardless of content). Well, I found out pretty quick that this is Ursela's backstory and I loved how Ms. Rourke was able to create this history that made me love this terrible villain. Rourke was able to create depths and motivation, causing me to empathize with Vanessa and understand her in a way I never expected- her misdeeds seemed reasonable and just herek. Can I just say, that hands down, Poseidan was an epic Tool and needed to be punched, even to the end (but let's not get into that). The way he treated Vanessa was so awful, and sure it was not physical abuse and she did not want for any physical possession, but she was abused by neglect and contempt. I wanted to stage an intervention at multiple times in the story and whisk her away, and even her evil deeds I felt more ambivalent about.

​My favorite part of the story was the offhand references to the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. For example, the phrase poor unfortunate souls (hint hint the title?) was thrown around the book, made famous from Ursela in the movie. Also, "little mermaid" was what Vanessa was called a few times as a snarky put-down, "body language" was referenced (which made me chuckle to myself and want to break out in the song from the movie), a helpful seagull was mentioned, and Vanessa ends up having her voice taken away at one point just like Ariel did (but much more gruesome). I loved seeing these tidbits incorporated into the book's plot to make a seamless connection between the beloved Disney movie and this entirely new back story. I think it helped to draw me in more, making me engaged in actively finding more connections to tie the stories to together.

I found this book to be a pleasant surprise that kept me reading and anxiously invested to see what would happen next. I honestly wanted nothing but happiness, or at least love and acceptance and perhaps some contentment for Vanessa, even though I know how this story ended. I also found interesting the transition from pretty little mermaid Vanessa to full figured Ursela (and the name Ursela now makes perfect sense) to be well done and matched the expectations for the character very well. I have so many concerns for her future as well as what will happen between her and Triton that I would love to get my hands on the next book in the series to continue the journey. This is perfect of fans of The Little Mermaid, villains backstories like the Maleficent movie, general mermaid stories and anything else different you may be looking for. Pick it up, you will enjoy it.

Author Bio:

RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015

Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves totravel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a careerout of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway