The Witch Sea

The story itself is the most engaging part of this book- you find yourself questioning the existence of the main character, her backstory, why she's on this island. The romance however... is a little lacking. It's barely there, the development is mainly subtext with some throw away lines and the ending is very... light. It sorta just decides "yep this is it." Overall a nice little read, especially for free.

I chose four stars because the tender times with Nor could be more explicit before the sea witch gave into Galo's wish. Otherwise, the storyline kept me reading to find out what happens next. It's not what I would call a horror story, but I would recommend it for anyone to read. It was enjoyable.

Interesting story. I like that it wasn't all about sex, but more about the bond. Will not give any more away for fear of divulging spoilers. But this was a good read, and I will definitely I'll nicely be checking out more works by this author

I loved the style of writing. I love mythology so the storyline was one I enjoyed. I just wish the author hadn't made this story so short! I would like to know what happens after Meriel breaks the spell.

Diemer's short story about a witch and passionate visitor stokes the imagination, but leaves a gap between what is insinuated and what the audience wishes to truly know about the world. Meriel's loneliness comes through in the story, and her attraction to Nor - one she should not trust and could never truly have - is both heartbreaking and undeniable. Her relationship with her mother and grandmother is complex and compelling.

Although this story leads one to question their own motivation for what he feels he must do, the story stops short of reaching a true resolution. A few more pages and a smoothing-out of the sometimes stilted writing could bring so much more into the world Diemer has created.

Overall: 6/10

Gorgeously written this story was a gift I didn't know I needed - a gift for the lesbian soul - a fairy tale that actually spoke openly to me as a lesbian. What surprised me was the pain that came up, again, even though I am well into crone status, at the fact I grew up with no images to reflect who I am, who I was born to be, and how to escape the wicked spells cast by the fearful. Witch Sea can help change this for the generations who are yet to come.

Like the characters in the story, lesbians have historically been held invisible prisoners to illusion, prisoners to the popular social construction of reality passed on by the voices of our mothers, fathers, husbands (got to be fair here *S*) as we stood both isolated and lonely and on the shore looking out and longing for "home". This fairy tale both pointed out the void and then immediately and satisfying filled it.

At the risk of repeating myself, I realized/was reminded that my younger self had been deprived by not having this type of literature available, and I recognized an old longing as profound as Meriel's, as she struggles with separating her voice from her family tradition in an effort to discover her true voice (Self), free of the repeating tapes of her straight mother's commands as well as the mother/grandmother's ugly lack of empathy - the extreme lack of empathy by the way - being one definition of evil (see M. Scott Peck), but we all know the battles of evil and magic are the classic fodder of the hidden teachings within fairy tales. Nor, already knows who she is and longs to return to her true essence. She is the embodiment of empathy and love, a power more potent than the fear holding the illusion in place. A beautifully spun tale and hey, who says there can't be two good witches in the same story, one helping the other find truth?

The author is onto something special here and I am very glad to have stumbled across this treasure.

Based on the description of the book as "lesbian erotic fantasy", I wasn't expecting too much, in spite of the positive reviews. But I found myself drawn I by the hopeless plight of the characters, the mystery, the internal struggle. In the end, the "erotic" bit was beautiful and meaningful instead of dirty and lusty. I only wish it had lasted a little longer, but perhaps leaving the reader wanting more is part of the design.