The Royals of Sea and Song

Rory works to fix any problem in the kingdom, no matter how small, and hopes to continue to do so when he takes over from his mother. When merfolk starts dying, Rory discovers that humans are dumping black mud into their ocean. He can’t stomach the idea of his people suffering and their homes being destroyed, so he comes up with an elaborate and risky plan to put a stop to the human king’s pollution. The Sea Warlock offers him a chance to go onto land, but he only has seven days and it’ll come at a high price.

This mermaid tale flips the script with the gender-swapped story of a prince leaving the ocean to save his people. Meanwhile, Rani spends her day as the dutiful princess, but at night she dresses as a man and engages in piracy in a small attempt to fight back against her father’s antics. The love story that blooms between them is rooted in their equal desire for justice and change in the world. Ariel Slick weaves a gritty world in this modern version of The Little Mermaid, which shows the darkness of humanity through the real issues of slavery, pollution, sexism, and status, as told from the perspectives of various characters.