For anyone who is a mermaid fan, this fantasy adventure is just for you. The six seas are made up of different kingdoms and are under threat by a monsterous levithan creature called Abbadon who was raised by even more mysterious ancestor come back from the dead and for revenge.

So it is up to the 6 merls who happen to be the descendants of the Six meant to Rule, to find the six talisams needed to lock Abbadon back up while performing diplomatic acts to jumpstart their interrealm alliances and create an army to fight power-hungry relatives.

Serafina of Miromara the and Astrid of Ondalina are arguably the main protagonists. Becca being the more standard princess for the people, kind, compassionate, unsure leader and Astrid the lone wolf, defensive, snarky one who learns to let in others. But that’s not all, Neela, Ling, Becca and Ava are all independent, flawed and strong heroines in their own right with each are given a chance to shine.

Honestly, the friendships that are cultivated in the quartet between the six is what makes the series shine and is what keeps them going. They’re all different and probably wouldn’t have bothered to talk if they had met, but thrown in this sea-ending situation, they learn to trust each other and trust themselves to save their realms. Each of their voices are distinct and it’s easy to tell them apart even as they mature but Sera dominates the POV until book 3 which may annoy some as hers focuses a lot on her insecurities and love woes.

You may be able to guess from some of the names, but Donnally does her best to be diverse with Neela ruling Matali (Indian Ocean), Ling from Qin (Chinese Seas) and Ava from Macapa (in the Amazon River). It gives the realms diversity but is a bit more surface level than others want, and sometimes veers into the stereotypical like Ava is an indigenous Afro-Brazilian who fufill the magical black person role as the most spiritual yet also given the least POV and development.

I’ve spoken a lot on the friendship, but that’s only one of the themes. Overall, love is very important here between friends, family and of course, the romantic love. This is mainly present in the push-pull angst of Serafina’s arranged marriage with Mahdi This can get tiring but I do approve of how supportive and open they are when the two are able to get together between Black Fin Resistance activities.

There’s lots of action from shipwrecks, prison camps, trawler boat kidnapping and of course, sea battles that will keep you on the edge of your seat. But the biggest strength lies in the growth of the females and their friendship/prophecy that binds them.