Awakened: A New Twist on a Timeless Tale

by Melissa Marr

Tonight, unlike every other night I have walked on the shore, a man stands on the beach near my hiding place. I hadn't expected anyone to be on the beach at this hour, and I'm not sure what to do about the man who stands watching me with such intensity that I want to flee.

Eden has often left her home in the sea to walk on the shore in human form, free to enjoy both worlds. But everything changes one evening when a young stranger steals her hidden selchie skin, taking her soul into possession with it. He has selected her to be his future wife, certain that the magic that now binds Eden to him will grow into true devotion. But the longer Eden is forced to obey him, the stronger her desperation grows, and soon she must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to be free.

Inspired by Kate Chopin's groundbreaking novel, The Awakening, bestselling author Melissa Marr recasts the classic story in a magical twenty-first-century setting, bringing the book's inspired commentary on the roles of women in the modern age to a new, young adult audience.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Mythical Creatures, Ebooks

37 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Melissa Marr writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as overseas. Wicked Lovely, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller and evolved into an internationally bestselling multi-book series with a myriad of accolades.

In 2024 she released a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic via Bramble), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family via Penguin), and a DC Comics graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).

An Illumicrate edition of 6 Wicked Lovely books will release in 2025.

If she's not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad. Basically a Selkie girl (Eden) had left her pelt hidden on the beach, but this boy called Leo took it, which meant she couldn't go back to the sea, and she had to obey everything he said to her. When he left her at his house to return to university, she found a way around his rules, and met a man on the beach, who she then had sex with night after night, hoping that when Leo found out, he would be angry enough to hit her 3 times, which would release her from his power. The man she has sex with turns out to be Leo's best friend, and Leo does hit her, but only twice. She goes to the sea to try to drown herself, but Leo follows and give her her pelt back.

[Aine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selchies!