Book Review
Title: Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Of Mermaids and Orisa Book 1)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
The only reason I am picking up this book is because I managed to get on a blog tour for Soul of the Deep, the sequel without knowing it was a sequel but it sounded interesting all the same and I didn’t really know much else about it before getting into it. The opening is interesting as it introduces us to a lot of lore without being overwhelming, we are introduced to Simidele who is a Mami Wata, one of seven. Simidele died at sea after being taken by slavers and was a given the choice to become a Mami Wata, a mermaid who collects the souls of the dead at sea specifically those that die on slave ships and she has been doing that for several months. The only issue is being a Mami Wata the ocean steals their memories of their lives before which she can only regain when she is on land. Simidele has been told several times by the other Mami Watas to forget her old life but she can’t let it go. When she comes across a boy who is still alive she goes against Yemoja’s rules and saves him because he is a captive but she needs to hide his existence but he wants to go before the orisa, Yemoja and appeal for help but this is going to reflect badly on Simidele but she believes that Yemoja won’t expect her to watch someone drown who she could save but that is what I think Yemoja wants.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Simidele learns that the boy’s name is Adekola or Kola as she calls him and together they summon Yemoja to the island. When Yemoja learns of what Simidele has done she is both furious and afraid. She explains to Simi that the creation of the Mami Wata was seen by the Supreme Creator as blurring the line between humans and orisa but he allowed them to exist if they didn’t do anything more than collect souls which everyone else has done but her. Because of this choice Simi has to set things right by seeking forgiveness from the Supreme Creator but she can’t go through his messenger, Esu since he will happily see all the Mami Wata killed for his own gain. There is another way to summon him but she needs two rings held by a babalowa and the one she is talking about happens to be living close to Kola’s village. She has to go in human form and shortly after they set sail from the island they are found by a ship. This is a freed slaver ships which freed slaves are using to fight back but before they can get off this ship and continue with their journey with supplies from the captain another orisa, Sango, who control lightning begins attacking them and Simi thinks that there has to be a reason for it and remember Yemoja’s warnings about the orisa and assumes Sango is working with Esu preventing their journey and ensuring their deaths.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Simi learns that Sango and his wife, Oya are working with Esu but not because they want to. He is helping them achieve their mission of destroying the slae ships which is why they were attacked in the first place but Oya lets Simi knows that Esu isn’t telling the Supreme Creator everything he should because he is seeking the rings for himself and even warns her when Esu is on his way. She and Kola flee on their boat but the storm Oya created is sent after them and Simi knows that Esu must know that she is going for the rings that he also wants and is going to do anything in his power to stop her. After washing up on the beach she realises Kola is missing and is led to him by a creature and learns he is in the care of other mystical creature who they dine and drink with and very soon something happens to everyone except Simi and she doesn’t know what is happening. It seems that Kola might be the one being targeted not Simi and this could be because of his twin siblings, who he repeatedly say are special and unlike anyone else but I can’t wait to see.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Simi and Kola along with the help of Issa manage to get back to his home, Oko but this isn’t without troubles. Along the way they encounter another creature that tells Simi that the earth is dying and they will all die along with it and they see evidence of this as they approach Oko. Kola’s parents are overjoyed at his return but they inform him that even though the priest performed the ceremony on his siblings who are orisa reincarnated, the protection ceremony must not have worked since Esu has taken the twins. Kola more determined than ever decides that he and Simi will take two guards, Bem and a female to the priest for two reasons. The first is for Simi to get the rings and seek the forgiveness of the Supreme Creator and the second is to find out if he knows where Esu is and why he has taken the twins. I think the twins could be powerful and that the protection ceremony did work which is why Esu couldn’t kill them only take them and Kola is going to get the back no matter the cost because all he has thought about in the time he was captured was returning to his family.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, they visit the priest and learn that he doesn’t have the rings anymore and he explains that he bound both of the rings to the twins so that they can’t be used or taken from twins without their permission which is another reason Esu has taken them. His plan is to convince the twins to give him the rings so he can have more power and no one not even the Supreme Creator will be able to control him then. He tells them that Esu has taken the twins to his island and they will need to travel their to get the twins and the rings back and gives them a map which Yinka braids into Simi’s hair. As they begin they journey back to Oko, Simi can see the plague in her vision beginning to spread already and it will only take days for it to completely consume Oko. They immediately head out on their journey but Simi knows they are going to need more help and ventures into the sea once more to find that help from an orisa who has been bound beneath the sea for hundreds of years and strikes a bargain with him in exchange for his help in defeating Esu. We aren’t aware of the details of the bargain just yet but we do learn more about Simi and how she was born in the river Ogun and blessed by Yemoja who helped her mother give birth which might be why she was chosen to become a Mami Wata in the first place.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the group being to make their way across Esu’s island but the trickster has made sure there are plenty of traps waiting for them along the way. First they have an issue in navigating the island and getting through the forest but when the do and the volcano shielding Esu’s palace is near the beasts begin to come. The shapeshifting hyenas come first and then many others in their wake and both Yinka and Issa are killed during these attacks saving the others. Bem is separated from the group leaving only three of them to continue on if he can’t get to them or is killed before he can since he is already very injured from their previous fights but the end is now in sight for them despite Esu trying to prevent them from reaching him and the twins. I would have liked more time with Yinka and Bem as their loss from the story doesn’t have that much of an emotional impact like Issa’s since we got to know him better than the others. I can’t wait to see what happens in the final section of the novel and how it will affect the final showdown between Kola, Simidele and Esu to get the twins back and what is going to do after her task is complete.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, we finally get to see the showdown between Kola, Simi and Esu, I won’t give too much away but seeing Simi really understand what and who she is was beautiful and the sacrifice she makes at the end makes the entire ending bittersweet. I wasn’t sure where the sequel was going to take the story since it wrapped up pretty nicely for me with the main villain being taken care of and Simi remembering her vow to Yemoja and fulfilling it despite her love for Kola as she knows they can never be together because he is human and she belongs to the sea. Overall, I really liked the way the novel built to the ending and how West African culture is presented and delivered throughout the entirety of the novel in a variety of fashions and despite not knowing where the sequel is going to go I am going to jump into it straight away.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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