The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines

5 stars
R- 3 (the very subtle lesbian sidestory from the first is more pronounced in this book, in addition to the other inuendos)
Sequel to The Stepsister Scheme

The quote on the front of the book, from Diana Pharaoh Francis, says "You'll never watch The Little Mermaid the same way again."

Boy, she's not kidding.

Once again, a fabulous tale starring Danielle (aka Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty), and Snow (White, of course). But this is definitely not a Disney fairy tale. Holy cow.

Between the crazy mermaid queen, her possibly crazier aunt, her timid little sister, and various possible all-out wars..... Danielle and her friends have their hands full. Add to that the fact that they're racing to save Queen Beatrice's life and well, they've all had better days.

And in case all of that didn't give you an idea, I'll warn you, this is a dark story. If you've ever read the original, you know it's not the happily ever after of the Disney, but let me tell you, this is even darker.

But for all of that, it's a really great story and has plenty of humor throughout.

Definitely recommended!