Another year of me completing The Bright Side Girl’s 2-week Mermaid Readathon! I started participating in this readathon last year when I was going through a mermaid phase. I decided to join in again, because I really enjoyed last year’s readathon. This year, I took a different approach to this readathon as a way to not go too overboard on mermaid and run into a reading rut, which is what happened to me last time. I read a total of 6 books, which I’m proud of because my goal was to read 4-5 books during the mermaid readathon.
Technically, this is a mermaid vs pirate readathon. You can choose to read mainly mermaid/ocean/sea-themed books, or you can choose to read pirates/treasure hunt/island-themed books, or a mix of both! Along with the readathon, there is also a photo challenge, and this year, Maci introduced a treasure hunt! Every day for the next fourteen days, there is a prompt for each photo. You participate in the daily photo challenge by posting your photo and tagging @thebrightsidegirl. Every post is an entry for one of her giveaways. You know, I love flay lay photos, so I find this challenge so fun! Last year, I even won one of the giveaways!
This year, there was also a treasure hunt, which was basically an extra way for you to join in on a challenge. I didn’t really track this one too much, but I ended up completing 8 of the 10 treasure hunt challenges!
Make sure to follow me on Goodreads to be updated on what I’m reading and on StoryGraph if you’re curious about my book statistics.
My star reading scale
★★★★★/5 – Loved it! Would reread and recommend it to others.
★★★★/5 – Kept me entertained. I would reread.
★★★/5 – Didn’t love or hate but would recommend to others.
★★/5 – Did not enjoy it and probably skimmed through most of it.
★/5 – I hated it and regret wasting my time with this book.
DNF – Did not finish. This will probably be rare because I like to finish every book I start.
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This was my TBR for the 2025 Mermaid readathon. I ended up reading 4 out of the 6 books I chose. I DNF’d Merrow by Ananda Braxton-Smith because I couldn’t get into it. Also, I wasn’t able to get a digital copy of The Sirens by Emilia Hart in time for the challenge.
I entered 10 out of my 14 photo challenges. You can see all my mermaid/island-inspired photos on my Instagram, or you can see some of them in this post.
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray ★★★★/5
My favorite read from this challenge was this smutty-looking book (seriously, I hate this cover), Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. I listened to the audiobook, which is also narrated by Libba Bray, and it was so entertaining! It’s a very silly yet engaging book about teenage pageant contestants who get stranded on an island. I deducted a star because halfway through this book, a major thing happens on the island which I thought was unnecessary. I also think this book would’ve benefited by leaving the ending open to interpretation rather than giving a perfect, clean ending.
You can purchase Beauty Queens here
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler ★★★/5
Out of all the books I read, the Emily Windsnap series was the only book that was all about mermaids. This series is about Emily, a girl who finds out that she is a mermaid after diving into her school’s swimming pool. It’s a middle grade series, so it’s targeted toward a younger audience, but it was a cute and light summery read. There are a lot of books in this series, so if I join this challenge next year, I’ll continue the series because it’s a cute fun series.
You can purchase The Tail of Emily Windsnap here
Mermaids, Sirens and Selkies: Myths and Legends (Edited) by Jean Menzies ★★★/5
I bought this book when I was visiting Savannah. I didn’t want to purchase any mermaid books this time around as I kind of went overboard last year, but I was on the hunt for books about mermaids whilst in Savannah and came across this little book titled Mermaids, Sirens and Selkies: Myths and Legends! I thought it would make the perfect photo prop as it covered both photo and treasure hunt prompts!
This is a book about myths and legends of mermaids, sirens, selkies, etc. I love reading about stories from around the world, but because they’re passed down and told from an older generation, these stories can be very frustrating, even though they’re made up. However, I was entertained! This tiny book also included the original Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, which was fascinating to read as I had never read the full tale before.
You can purchase Mermaids, Sirens and Selkies: Myths and Legends here
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins ★★★/5
This was another stranded on a remote island book. A group of 20-somethings sail to a mysterious island to explore and get stranded until a couple finds them. I didn’t enjoy this island book as much as I loved Beauty Queens because I felt like the characters weren’t well developed. Besides, the main character, I felt like the rest of the characters were pretty similar. Also, even though they were stuck on an island, no one seemed to care to leave. Like they weren’t struggling to survive or trying to find a way out, like being lost on an island was just the setting of this book rather than the main reason, if that makes sense. Yeah, not my favorite read, but it wasn’t bad either.
You can purchase Reckless Girls here
Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep by Liz Kessler ★★★/5
Because I DNF’d Merrow by Ananda Braxton-Smith, I decided to read the second book in the Emily Windsnap series since it was available on the Libby app. This book picks up from the ending of the first book. Emily is trying to get comfortable in her new home but ends up running into a mystery cave and finds a strange creature that ends up becoming a big issue in her new home. Again, it was cute. This is a cute series. If you’re looking for a mermaid book series that isn’t heavy on fantasy or world-building, this series is perfect for you!
You can purchase Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep here
The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn ★★★/5
Last year, The Island of Sea Women here by Lisa See, was my favorite book of the mermaid readathon, so I thought that because The Mermaid from Jeju also tells the story of Haenyeo (Korean all-female deep sea divers) that it would be similar. Unfortunately, I didn’t like this as much as The Island of Sea Women. This historical fiction novel focuses more on the main character and her life on Jeju post-World War II, rather than her life as a Haenyeo. It’s still a decent read, but if I had to recommend one book about Haenyeo, I would urge you to read The Island of Sea Women over this one.
You can purchase The Mermaid from Jeju here
Have you read any of these books before? What’s your favorite mermaid or pirate book?
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