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Fairytale Verses #1.5
A Harmony of Water and Weald: A Sea Foam and Silence collection
She warned of the pain. She did.
But no warning can prepare you.
Nothing can. Maris has always been intrigued by humans, whether new among them or having lived with them for a year, her curiosity remains. A Harmony of Water and Weald is a collection exploring some of Maris's darker moments as she learns what it means to be human and a glimpse at what her life and family is like after the Sea Witch's deadline has passed. Though her desire to learn about humanity is insatiable, her new life isn't all sweetness and love. She's abandoned her sisters to live among a people she doesn't understand, walking on feet like she was never meant to. Sometimes her life is homesickness, sometimes frustration, often confusion. Always, though, it is wonder and fierce delight at life. A Harmony of Water and Weald is a companion to Sea Foam and Silence and contains pieces set both during and after events in that verse novel.
But no warning can prepare you.
Nothing can. Maris has always been intrigued by humans, whether new among them or having lived with them for a year, her curiosity remains. A Harmony of Water and Weald is a collection exploring some of Maris's darker moments as she learns what it means to be human and a glimpse at what her life and family is like after the Sea Witch's deadline has passed. Though her desire to learn about humanity is insatiable, her new life isn't all sweetness and love. She's abandoned her sisters to live among a people she doesn't understand, walking on feet like she was never meant to. Sometimes her life is homesickness, sometimes frustration, often confusion. Always, though, it is wonder and fierce delight at life. A Harmony of Water and Weald is a companion to Sea Foam and Silence and contains pieces set both during and after events in that verse novel.
118 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2021
About the author
S.L. Dove Cooper
22 books73 followersS.L. Dove Cooper (she/they) is a queer author and editor. She spends much of her time exploring asexuality and aromanticism in literature, finally having found a good use for her MA in English literature and creative writing. She currently resides on the European continent and her idiom and spelling are, despite her best efforts, geographically confused, poor things. She has been chasing stories in some way or another since she was old enough to follow a narrative.
S.L. Dove also writes poetry under Dove Cooper.
S.L. Dove also writes poetry under Dove Cooper.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 30, 2017
A companion story collection of vignettes to go along with Sea Foam and Silence, the author's full-length verse novel about an a-spec mermaid-turned-human, navigating her new world, and relationships with the married prince and princess. They all seem to be together romantically or super-tight queerplatonic, and it's incredibly cute.
I love the name "Shark" for a kitten, and the way the MC describes everything, in familiar-to-her oceanic terms (humans are "tall crabs"), and the disconnection and culture shock that comes from being dropped into an entirely new society. (She tries to eat a dog at one point. Not graphic, though, and she just doesn't understand why tall-crabs object to eating some animals and not others? I see her point/confusion, even if I'm glad she didn't succeed!)
The only thing that took me a while to get used to is the use of emotes, which carries over from the main novel, I believe. I found them kind of jarring at first - although on thinking more, and reading the author's rationale for it, it does make more sense. The MC cannot speak verbally, and uses sign language (IIRC), and emote faces in the text to denote facial expressions (I imagined her face remaining completely blank - mermaids don't have the same expressions as humans? - and holding up index cards with the faces drawn on them. Kind of hilarious.) It did take me out of the read-flow a little, and most of the verse is evocative enough that it really doesn't need the emote visual aids, but it makes sense for the character, and it's all just going to come down to personal/aesthetic choice.
A Harmony of Water and Weald is a sweet, super-quick read (like a half hour), and if you enjoyed Sea Foam and Silence, you'll likely enjoy these brief looks into the characters' lives beyond the main story.
I love the name "Shark" for a kitten, and the way the MC describes everything, in familiar-to-her oceanic terms (humans are "tall crabs"), and the disconnection and culture shock that comes from being dropped into an entirely new society. (She tries to eat a dog at one point. Not graphic, though, and she just doesn't understand why tall-crabs object to eating some animals and not others? I see her point/confusion, even if I'm glad she didn't succeed!)
The only thing that took me a while to get used to is the use of emotes, which carries over from the main novel, I believe. I found them kind of jarring at first - although on thinking more, and reading the author's rationale for it, it does make more sense. The MC cannot speak verbally, and uses sign language (IIRC), and emote faces in the text to denote facial expressions (I imagined her face remaining completely blank - mermaids don't have the same expressions as humans? - and holding up index cards with the faces drawn on them. Kind of hilarious.) It did take me out of the read-flow a little, and most of the verse is evocative enough that it really doesn't need the emote visual aids, but it makes sense for the character, and it's all just going to come down to personal/aesthetic choice.
A Harmony of Water and Weald is a sweet, super-quick read (like a half hour), and if you enjoyed Sea Foam and Silence, you'll likely enjoy these brief looks into the characters' lives beyond the main story.
August 23, 2017
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I received an ARC of A Harmony of Water and Weald from the author, Lynn E. O’Connacht, herself. We’re friends and she mentioned that she had included me in her acknowledgements, so I was very excited to read it. This did not influence my opinion.
Sea Foam and Silence is one of my favourite books and an amazing verse novel. It’s a retelling of The Little Mermaid, with an asexual little mermaid. You can check out my review here. Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I was very happy to receive the ARC for the companion novel.
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One of the things that I find most fascinating with stories that feature magical people is the possibility to see the world through a non-human perspective. It challenges how I perceive certain things, and makes me think more about what it means to be me. O’Connacht does it so well here. The mermaid’s perspective really adds to the worldbuilding, as so much is explained just through how she perceives the places she goes to and the people she meets.
A Harmony of Water and Weald is a collection of verse stories. It shows different events in the little mermaid’s life. It was an interesting way of getting to know more about her and her thoughts on the human world. One of the passages that I found most fascinating is where the little mermaid discusses a mermaid story that the humans have, and where she wonders how they could have gotten so much wrong. I thought that this was an amazing allegory about how easy it is to get a portrayal of an identity wrong, if the author is not #ownvoices.
What I love about O’Connacht’s writing is how she can write about serious things and then have funny and light moments in between. There were several passages where I had to laugh, and even now, reading over them, I have a smile on my lips.
The triad relationship between the three main characters is wonderful. It’s so lovely to see the dynamic between all of them, and I especially loved how the princess and the little mermaid interacted with each other. It was adorable!
It ends on a slight cliffhanger, and has left me yearning for more.
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A Harmony of Water and Weald is a beautiful companion novel. The writing is so magical! I recommend reading it after reading Sea Foam and Silence to have a beautiful reading experience.
I received an ARC of A Harmony of Water and Weald from the author, Lynn E. O’Connacht, herself. We’re friends and she mentioned that she had included me in her acknowledgements, so I was very excited to read it. This did not influence my opinion.
Sea Foam and Silence is one of my favourite books and an amazing verse novel. It’s a retelling of The Little Mermaid, with an asexual little mermaid. You can check out my review here. Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I was very happy to receive the ARC for the companion novel.
__
One of the things that I find most fascinating with stories that feature magical people is the possibility to see the world through a non-human perspective. It challenges how I perceive certain things, and makes me think more about what it means to be me. O’Connacht does it so well here. The mermaid’s perspective really adds to the worldbuilding, as so much is explained just through how she perceives the places she goes to and the people she meets.
A Harmony of Water and Weald is a collection of verse stories. It shows different events in the little mermaid’s life. It was an interesting way of getting to know more about her and her thoughts on the human world. One of the passages that I found most fascinating is where the little mermaid discusses a mermaid story that the humans have, and where she wonders how they could have gotten so much wrong. I thought that this was an amazing allegory about how easy it is to get a portrayal of an identity wrong, if the author is not #ownvoices.
What I love about O’Connacht’s writing is how she can write about serious things and then have funny and light moments in between. There were several passages where I had to laugh, and even now, reading over them, I have a smile on my lips.
The triad relationship between the three main characters is wonderful. It’s so lovely to see the dynamic between all of them, and I especially loved how the princess and the little mermaid interacted with each other. It was adorable!
It ends on a slight cliffhanger, and has left me yearning for more.
__
A Harmony of Water and Weald is a beautiful companion novel. The writing is so magical! I recommend reading it after reading Sea Foam and Silence to have a beautiful reading experience.
September 18, 2017
There's just something so comforting for me about Maris's voice, about her confusion and love and how she navigates the world. I didn't love this as much as I did SFaS, but it's still wonderful.
We get to see more of the relationship among Maris, Bernhard, and Asta here, and I love these three a lot. (And yay, Shark is back!)
A few things I liked:
1) Shark is back!
2) The blanket story is incredibly sweet but also, oh, Maris, please take care of yourself. <3
3) Maris reading a human story about mermaids and seeing how wrong they get it and then thinking about all her misconceptions about tall-crabs.
4) All the reflections on the differences in air and water. (I do fluid dynamics; this was my favorite.)
We get to see more of the relationship among Maris, Bernhard, and Asta here, and I love these three a lot. (And yay, Shark is back!)
A few things I liked:
1) Shark is back!
2) The blanket story is incredibly sweet but also, oh, Maris, please take care of yourself. <3
3) Maris reading a human story about mermaids and seeing how wrong they get it and then thinking about all her misconceptions about tall-crabs.
4) All the reflections on the differences in air and water. (I do fluid dynamics; this was my favorite.)
July 17, 2026
A sweet retelling of the Little Mermaid written in verse, a what if of sorts. The story where the Little Mermaid finds love and doesn't turn to sea foam. Where The Prince, The Princess and The Mermaid fall in love with each other asexually.
This is the companion volume to the original Sea Foam and Silence book. It's longer and includes more of the life and experiences of The Little Mermaid as a human.
It was heartwarming and sweet but also a little sad and melancholic. A wonderful story all round.
This is the companion volume to the original Sea Foam and Silence book. It's longer and includes more of the life and experiences of The Little Mermaid as a human.
It was heartwarming and sweet but also a little sad and melancholic. A wonderful story all round.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews