Review: The Mermarium: a verse novel (the Caged Creature Chronicles #1) by Amanda N. Butler

The mermarium is a place where mermaids are exploited for entertainment and profit. This novel in verse tells of four connected stories of sisterhood, love, and the difficult choices of four mermaids who experience the mermarium in its evolution from neglectful aquarium to rehabilitating rescue center. The stories within are of mermaids who love men, mermaids who love mermaids, and mermaids who love freedom.

The Caged Creature Chronicles tell the stories of mythical beings trapped for the sake of human entertainment.

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~ My Review ~

I absolutely loved the stories that poet Amanda N. Butler crafted here. Four mermaids in this space of depravity and greed and brokenness, and each creature manages to find some strength within themselves to survive. I've never read a verse novel and now I'm not sure why, but it was captivating in its simplicity and packaging. And in its' effortless style, Butler hooked me (pun intended) within the first few lines. Quite imaginative and emotionally captivating.
​I can't wait for more mermaids!!

My Rating: 5/5

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About the Author

​Amanda N. Butler started writing poetry in 2005 and never stopped. She is the author of chapbooks with Dancing Girl Press and a microchapbook with Origami Poems Project. Her poems have also been published with Haikuniverse, Hedgerow, poems2go, and others. She holds a BA in English and an MBA in Marketing.

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