A Magic Deep and Drowning, Hester Fox
A Magic Deep and Drowning, Hester Fox
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A Magic Deep and Drowning

Author: Hester Fox

Narrator: Lauren Ezzo

Unabridged: 11 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/24/2025


Synopsis

Set in the waning days of the Dutch Golden Age, this enchanting, lush reimagining of The Little Mermaid is perfect for fans of Jesse Burton’s The Miniaturist and Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar.

The Dutch Republic, 1650. One fine spring day in Friesland, twenty-year-old Clara van Wieren is faced with an ill omen: a whale, beached and rotting in the noonday sun. But Clara doesn’t believe in magic and superstition, and this portent is quickly dismissed when a proposal from a wealthy merchant arrives, promising Clara the freedom she seeks from her mother’s overbearing rule.

When her attempts at overseeing the household at the family’s estate lead to her chance encounter with a young man with russet hair and sparkling eyes the color of the sea, she finds herself strangely drawn to him. As Clara grows closer to Maurits, she must choose between the steady, gentle life she has been raised for and the man who makes her blood sing.

But Maurits isn’t who he seems to be, and his secrets, once hidden beneath the waves, threaten to rise up and drown them both. And when an ancient bargain, forged in blood between the mythical people of the sea and the rulers of the land, begins to unravel, Clara finds herself at the heart of a deadly struggle for power.

What can you expect in A MAGIC DEEP & DROWNING?Lush & EnchantingGender-swap of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little MermaidHistorical FantasySet in 17th Century NetherlandsFamily SecretsAtmospheric Vibes 

About Hester Fox

Hester Fox is a full-time writer and mother, with a background in museum work and historical archaeology. She is the author of such novels as The Witch of Willow Hall, A Lullaby for Witches, and The Last Heir to Blackwood Library. She lives in a small mill town in Massachusetts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Debra on June 23, 2025

A reimagining of The Little Mermaid, A Magic Deep and Drowning: A Magical Historical Romance of Love and Betrayal in the Dutch Golden Age is set in 1650 in the Dutch trepublic. I found this book to be creative, well thought out, imaginative and enchanting. A Magic Deep and Drowning: A Magical Histor......more

Goodreads review by Ila on July 23, 2025

The lovers connect at first through innocence and mutual attraction and later put through a test of separation, hardship and endurance much like the polishing of a diamond. Clara seeks to escape her unloving and abusive parents by agreeing to a marriage that appears doomed from the start. She does no......more

Goodreads review by Krissi on July 09, 2025

3.5 Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free ALC in exchange for an honest review. This is a reverse reimagining of The Little Mermaid, more like the original tale providing a darker take. It is a fantastical historical romance set in 1620s Netherlands where Clara and......more

Goodreads review by Monica on March 26, 2025

This was an incredible historical fantasy novel. It is a retelling of the classic "The Little Mermaid" but has its own unique spin. Hester Fox's A Magic Deep and Drowning just swept me away like a rogue wave! Clara van Weiren is a young woman who yearns for more. Her life is a set routine and when h......more

Goodreads review by Paulette on November 17, 2024

I don’t really review on GR anymore (find me on BookBub!) but I told Hester I would share my review/blurb here, because this book is so special. A timeless and transportive story of magic, perseverance, justice, and love lost and found. Fox takes readers on a journey to the lore-filled Netherlands, w......more