Enchanting Tales: The 19 Best Mermaid Books for Adults

The Mermaids are calling, will you answer? Discover 20 fin-tastic Mermaid Books for adults, guaranteed to be great reads.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Descendants of pregnant African Women who were thrown overboard by slave owners live in an underwater community in Yetu’s world. Their traumatic past is often forgotten because the memory is too hard to bear, but one person must remember it: That person is Yetu.

The memories are beautiful and painful at the same time and eventually become too much for Yetu, so she flees to the surface, leaving her responsibilities behind. But when Yetu leaves, she will learn more about the past—and future—of her people.

You can order The Deep by Rivers Solomon here.

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Flora has been living on the pirate ship Dove, but she hasn’t been her true self. She’s been dressing as a man in order to get protection and respect from the crew. The pirates take their passengers and sell them into slavery, and Flora has learned that she needs to put her emotions to the side.

But then she meets Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is on her way to an arranged marriage that she wants no part in. They quickly form a deep bond and decide to plan an escape and free a captured mermaid. This book follows their heroic journey.

Order The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall here.

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

After praying to the gods once, Simi became Mami Wata, a mermaid who collects and blesses the souls of those who die at sea. But when a boy is thrown off a ship, Simi saves him despite the fact that this betrays the gods. 

Now Simi needs to go to the Supreme Creator in order to get forgiveness. But on this journey, there is danger everywhere, and Simi must be careful if she wishes to succeed. 

You can find Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen here.

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Tavia lives in Portland, Oregon, where there are very few black people and even fewer with magical powers. As a black person who is also a siren, Tavia feels out of place. Luckily, she has her best friend Effie to get through high school with her.

But when a siren murder trial takes place, everything changes. Tavia’s favorite internet icon tells people she is also a siren, and tensions start to rise. The girls start having strange experiences, and no secret seems like it is safe.

You can find A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow here.

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is a lethal siren who has killed and claimed the hearts of seventeen men. But when she is forced to kill one of her kind, her mother (the Sea Queen) transforms Lira into a human and sends her on a mission as punishment. Before the Winter solstice, Lira must deliver the heart of Prince Elian back to the Queen. 

Prince Elian is a siren hunter, and when he rescues a drowning woman in the sea, she offers him something he can’t resist: She will help him destroy all of the Sirens forever. 

You can find To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo here.

The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

Tom is a radio talk-show host who has been a little too focused on finding love, having been divorced 3 times. Fay is his next-door neighbor who has a strong passion for mermaids and has never thought too hard about trying to find the right man.

This book is perfect if you’re looking for a romance story with a mermaid theme. It’s charming, witty, and everything you’d want in a book.

Purchase The Republic of Love by Carol Shields here.

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Penn, Lexi, and Thea are all strangers staying in a town together over the summer, and Gemma lives in that town. Gemma is carefree, beautiful, and in love with the boy next door. One night she is swimming and happens upon a party that Penn, Lexi, and Thea are having. She wakes up the next morning feeling strange and knows something has changed.

Gemma’s new powers force her to choose between the people she loves, or getting lost in a new, dark, and intriguing world.

You can buy Wake by Amanda Hocking here.

Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

Pearl, Tooth, and Eez are three mermaids who have just had their last drop of shipwreck wine. A little tipsy and looking for some fun, they decide to turn into humans and find some more wine on land.

The next morning when they groggily awake, the mermaids realize something horrible…they never learned how to break the spell! So now, the three mermaids are stuck on land, trying to simultaneously get jobs, learn how to return to the ocean, and make the most of the situation that they’ve landed themselves in.

You can purchase Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh here.

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Caroline Oresteia thought she was destined for the river, but now she’s not so sure. For generations, the River God has been calling her family’s name, but he still hasn’t called hers and it may be too late.

When her father is arrested for not transporting a mysterious box, Caro agrees to do it herself in exchange for his release. She then finds herself on a dangerous mission filled with mistrust and lies, and she’s forced to choose between the life she’s always wanted and one that she never expected.

Find and purchase Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser here.

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

In the first book of this trilogy, Luce is stuck staying with her alcoholic uncle in a remote Alaskan village after her father disappears at sea. After her Uncle oversteps his boundaries, Luce stands on a cliff and tumbles into the waves, thinking she is going to die. Instead, something astonishing happens: She turns into a mermaid.

A group of mermaids takes her in, and although she loves her new life, she discovers that she has the overwhelming urge to sing to seafarers and lure them to their death. Caught between wanting to fit in but also wanting to keep her morals intact, Luce is faced with hard decisions under the sea.

You can read Lost Voices by Sarah Porter here.

Mermaid Moon by Susann Cokal

Sanna is a mermaid who is half-seavish. When she was born, a spell was cast upon her that made it impossible for her landish mother and her people to remember how and where she was born. Now 16, all Sanna wants to do is learn who and where her mother is.

Sanna works with a witch to get legs and gain access to land. There, she goes on a quest to find her mother and accidentally stumbles upon a dangerous situation involving a baroness, people who are looking for miracles, and roses hungry for blood. 

Read Mermaid Moon by Susann Cokal here.

Sleeping With The Fishes by MaryJanice Davidson

Fred is a mermaid with blue hair who can have quite the attitude. When she starts volunteering at the New England Aquarium, she realizes that something out of sorts is going on. High levels of toxins have been found in the seawater.

A marine biologist and her merperson ruler both want to help in her investigation. This book follows her quest to find out what is really going on.

You can find Sleeping With The Fishes, the first book in the Fred the Mermaid series by MaryJanice Davidson here.

Salt for Air by M C Frank

Ellie is 17 and she is an outcast who gets bullied a lot. She has always dreamed of getting swept away by a merman and spending time in underwater kingdoms. It’s her way to escape reality, yet she knows it would never actually happen.

Until one day, when the bullies try to drown her in the ocean. A merman shows up and helps Ellie breathe, saving her life. She thinks it was all another dream, but then he shows up the next day at school. He tells her he’s an exiled prince of an ancient kingdom, and he wants Ellie to help save him.

Read Salt for Air by M C Frank here.

The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte

When the great waves covered Tempe’s planet in water, her people had to learn how to live with it. Tempe is 17 and lives on this planet, diving every day in order to find new and valuable treasures.

Her sister is dead, and Tempe wants to revive her. For a price, a research facility near her home will bring people back from the dead for 24 hours. Tempe doesn’t want to revive Elysea for a happy reunion; she wants to find out why Elysea was responsible for the death of their parents. 

When Elysea is revived, she insists she had nothing to do with it, and the two sisters go on a quest to discover what really happened to their parents.

You can read The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte here.

A Drop In The Ocean by Jenni Ogden

Anna Fergusson is a neuroscientist living in Boston. On her 49th birthday, she reaches a standstill when the funding for her research lab is cut. Not knowing what to do next, she rents a cabin on the great barrier reef for a year.

Anna doesn’t expect what she finds on Turtle Island. There she finds love for the islanders, for turtle whisperer Tom, and for the turtles themselves. But her love is also surrounded by pain as she struggles to find her dream life.

If you are looking for a novel about love and loss that is centered around the sea, A Drop In The Ocean by Jenni Ogden is perfect, and you can purchase it here.

The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea by Katherine Quinn

Margrete’s father has forced her to marry a rich man named County Casbian, and she does not want to. She turns to the gods, praying that men will no longer wish to rule her.

Across the ocean, a handsome king named Bash kidnaps Margrete in hopes that she will be able to help him. But when Bash is drawn to Margrete and things start to get intense, Margrete must choose between love and saving everyone in the realm from her dangerous magic.

You can find The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea by Katherine Quinn and read it here.

Breakwater by Catherine Payne

Jade is the daughter of a Mer-King, and she has a fiancé. But her fiancé causes tensions between kingdoms to rise when he murders a naiad.

As Jade fights against all the anger in her city, she discovers dangerous things she never knew existed. Will the city be able to repair itself before everything Jade loves is gone?

Find out by purchasing Breakwater by Catherine Payne here.

Storm Siren by Mary Weber

Nym is a slave devoid of her rights as a war breaks out around her. Her kind are only born males and always killed at birth, so Nym shouldn’t even be alive right now. Yet here she is, and she has a curse on her; A lethal curse that could save the kingdom.

Nym is given a choice: She can be trained to control her curse and help win the war, or she can be killed. She chooses not to be killed and therefore gets thrown into a crazy world, being helped by a handsome trainer all the while. 

You can read Storm Siren, the first of the Storm Siren Trilogy by Mary Weber here.

The Surface Breaks by Louis O’Neill

Gaia is a mermaid with a controlling father, and she dreams of one day being free. When she swims to the surface for the first time, she is entranced by a human boy. She wants to be part of the world above but doesn’t know how much she is willing to sacrifice.

This book offers a new look at the classic Little Mermaid, and it takes on a new feminist nature. If that sounds up your alley, you can purchase The Surface Breaks by Louis O’Neill here.

Bonus: Here 20 the top mermaid novels for adults – recently voted on by our readers:

1. Siren’s Call (2020) – Paranormal Romance by Jodi Lynn Anderson 

2. The Mermaid’s Secret (2015) – Fantasy Romance by Catherine McMullen 

3. Tempest Rising (2009) – Urban Fantasy by Nicole Peeler 

4. Of Poseidon (2012) – Young Adult Fantasy/Romance by Anna Banks  

5. Theft of the Merfolk Queen: A Water Realm Fairy Tale (2018) – Fantasy Adventure by Tish Thawer  

6. Chasing Secrets (2019) – Historical Fiction/Fantasy Romance by Carla Kelly  

7. Silver in the Blood (2015) – Young Adult Historical Fantasy by Jessica Day George   

8. A Tail of Two Kingdoms: Moonless Waters (2016) – High fantasy romance novel by Rachael Stapleton  

9. Mermaids on Mars (2017) – Science fiction with mermaid element by Alethea Kontis    

10 . The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (2019) – Historical fiction with a mythological twist Victoriamilne   

11. Of Sea and Stone (2013) – Urban fantasy romance written  Kathryn Sutton     

12. Undertow Part I & II : An Epic Love Story at Sea (2017) –  Paranormal fantasy adventure romance by Irma Geddon      

13. Wishing for a Highlander Curse  (2019) – Highland historical fantasy romance novel written Amy Jarecki  

14. Fury from the Deep Trilogy (2018) – Epic adventure science-fiction / paranormal romance series by Lindsay Buroker       

15. Spell Weaver Chronicles (2020) – Sci-fi / urban fantasy series written by Mireille Chester    

16. Starfish Sisters (2021) – YA magical realism novel with a mythology-inspired plot from Liz Kessler        

17. The Tidekeeper’s Daughter (2010) – Mystery fantasy novel by Jennifer Donnelly    

18. Seekerof All Souls (2016) – Mythology infused romantic adventure story authored by Joanne Hall        

19. Tales of the Aetherlight (2015) – Steampunk mythical fairytale by Matthew Suddain      

20. Moon Crash (2022) – Dystopian sci-fi penned by Melissa Pearl

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