Lost Voices spoke to me like a dark reminiscent fairytale. It almost seemed like a very vague retelling of The Little Mermaid. Little things sometimes just reminded me of the classic tale. But Lost Voices brought a whole new world to mermaids, in a very compelling and ominously beautiful way. It was darkly fantastic, full of luscious intrigue and secret enchantments. Its foreboding melodious lull swept me into the world of these killer mermaid girls. The writing was beautiful, intricately woven with the mermaids haunting, stunning songs of death.

Nearly all the mermaids annoyed me, with their bitter and rude natures and their abrupt mood changes, but I think that’s kind of what Porter was going for. Mean, murderous mermaids molded from the horrors of their past. They did posses a lot of sadness and heartbreak, too much for girls their age when they changed, so I can understand how and why they act the way they do and why they use their voices to kill. What I did like was that Luce held true to the end. She could have given in to her cruel mermaid nature, but she fought it, striving to use her voice for good. The ending was sad, but also held a moment of promise, letting Luce know that not everything is bad and cruel and that there is hope.

Porter created a really original and intriguing dark story, and I’m excited to see what happens next. I think this may be a series that I would like to own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harcourt Books for the arc, it was amazing!