Kiss of the Selkie

Kiss of the Selkie is a YA fantasy romance book part of the series Entangled with Fae.

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?

ACOTAR meets Bridgerton and The Selection in this standalone fairytale retelling of The Little Mermaid. If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, bridal contests, and snarky fae royals, then you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

My review

I rarely read YA novels anymore, but I thought this one was interesting. A retelling of my favorite Disney story, where the characters are enemies at first? Sign me up! Maisy is a resourceful person, who works very hard to be a good person and to not become like her mother. She has great powers and a very nice shapeshifting form. Dorian's story was rather sad, but even with his backstory he wasn't as hateful towards faes as he could have been. I liked that they sneaked around at night to go on dates and get to know each other outside of the watched interactions they got in the competition.  I'd rate it a 8,7/10 and recommend it to younger readers, as there is no smut at all.