Calling all Little Mermaid fans: If you’ve ever longed for a romance novel featuring Ariel and Prince Eric, you need to pick up Tara Sivec’s Kiss the Girl IMMEDIATELY.
Fair warning: I will be throwing a LOT of “Little Mermaid” puns and references your way in this Kiss the Girl review, so get ready.
And yes, I realize I’m quoting a different Little Mermaid tune in my title, but I just couldn’t pass up such a great pun!
While it isn’t canonical (in that it’s not a story that takes place during the events of the classic Disney film), Kiss the Girl is honestly the closest we’re ever going to get to a deep dive into Ariel and Eric’s romantic relationship.
And you know what? I’m perfectly okay with that. I’m actually more than okay. If Kiss the Girl is the only “Little Mermaid” romance novel I’ll ever read in my lifetime, I’ll be a very happy woman.
Anyone who knows me — or has even the vaguest idea of who I am — knows that “The Little Mermaid” (namely the 1989 Disney animated movie) is my favorite story of all time. I love it to my core and can’t get enough of it. So, when I heard that there was a retelling of it in romance novel form, I knew I had to read it.
In this “Little Mermaid” retelling, our heroes (and their Disney royalty pals) are late twenty-/early thirty-somethings and the world is their oyster. That is, once they can move past a few major hurdles. For Eric, that pretty much just means dealing with his rich, overbearing mother. Ariel’s path forward isn’t so simple, however.
After her disastrous marriage ends, she’s left with steep alimony payments as well as a haunting sense of low self-esteem. Not only that, but she can’t afford to keep two things that matter most to her: Her antiques shop and her home. At the beginning of this novel, the only things keeping Ariel afloat are her friends Cindy and Belle and the ladies’ at-home stripping business.
So, this Ariel is a littttttttle different from the other Ariels and Little Mermaids we’ve ever met before. In addition to being someone who has worked for everything she has in life, Ariel is a foul-mouthed “take no shit” kind of gal. In fact, I was almost turned off at the beginning of Kiss the Girl because I was blindsided by her sassy, harsh language. But, upon getting to know her as a character, I wouldn’t have wanted her to be any other way.
Though I loved her colorful vocabulary and constant barrage of insults (mainly directed at Eric, who I’ll get to in a minute), the aspect of Ariel that endeared me to her most was her very real issue with body image.
The Ariel from The Little Mermaid is constantly complimented and known for her beauty to the point where, at many times in my life, I’ve striven to look like her (minus the bright red hair, of course). She was/is #goals for me but not necessarily someone who I could relate to confidence-wise.
But, in Kiss the Girl, Ariel is a very real (human) woman with some very real insecurities and body image issues. After years of verbal abuse, her perception of her body holds her back from doing all of the things she wants. That is, aside from bingeing on Pringles and other delicious carbs. Like me, she can’t help but do that. I love that a lot of this novel features Ariel working through these issues and building up her self-esteem. Yes, Eric has a hand in it but a lot of the work is done by Ariel. He just helps push her along.
In fact, I think that’s my favorite part of this romance novel: The fact that while Eric coming on the scene helps Ariel turn her life around and gain her confidence back (her “voice,” if you will), he’s only a motivator. A catalyst, even.
There’s a chapter in the second half of this book where Ariel freaks out about her relationship with Eric and questions whether or not he’s the one who’s actually in charge of her transformation. What starts as a panic attack-sort of scene evolves into a best friends “tell it like it is” motivational pep talk where Cindy and Belle basically tell their friend that the presence of a man in your life doesn’t automatically ascribe all personality changes and self-esteem boosts to his influence. He may have helped a bit, but it was all her.
As someone who has been really struggling with body positivity lately (and who loves carbs), I really connected with this aspect of Ariel’s story and appreciated Eric’s role in all of it.
Because, let’s face it, he’s not a perfect human being, but Eric is an amazing boyfriend in Kiss the Girl. Like #GOALS-amazing.
Eric (who has always been the best Disney prince DONT @ ME BRO) is incredibly sweet and thoughtful with just enough of an edge to make him swoon-worthy and totally sexy. He selflessly gives Ariel the space she needs, growing to understand her thought processes intimately, but also motivates and challenges her. Which, for someone as outspoken and fiery as she, is practically a prerequisite.
This Eric reminds me a lot of the one from the Disney film in that he chuckles frequently at Ariel’s antics but also goes along with whatever she wants to do. But he differs from the animated prince in that he never once wavers in his feelings toward Ariel. In fact, he’s the first one on board with their relationship, not the other way around.
The only thing I don’t like about this Eric is the fact that he isn’t real. It’s just not fair. NOT FAIR, I TELL YOU.
…Where was I?
Oh right, characters!
Kiss the Girl features practically every prominent character from Disney’s The Little Mermaid in fun and sometimes unexpected ways. It’s so fun to be able to track people walking in and out of the story who call back to the animated film. For instance, Triton is the absolute best. He’s still as protective as ever, but he knows how to poke fun at himself and have a good time. In fact, he’s downright hilarious in this. His character here defies Little Mermaid fans’ expectations and his own stereotype every step of the way.
The only main-ish character from the animated movie that doesn’t make an appearance here by name is Max. But Eric’s pet in this novel more than makes up for Max, trust me. The animal isn’t as endearing, but serves as some pretty great comic relief for both the reader and the characters in the story.
Honestly, I love the way this novel makes use of familiar Little Mermaid elements and characters while also creating a world and “mythology” of its own. Little shout-outs and lines make this book incredibly fun for a Little Mermaid lover. There’s one scene in particular toward the middle where characters go to a karaoke bar that I absolutely loved and wished would happen to me in real life.
The feminist messaging and female friendships in this book are also wonderful. I love the way the three women are there for each other in times of need while they also don’t coddle each other. They’re open and honest and are really #friendshipgoals. I was hesitant about reading this at first because, while I’m in full support of female dancers and female sex workers, I wasn’t sure how they’d be portrayed here. But I’m happy to report that I loved every discussion of their business and goals.
My only criticism of this novel is the fact that, unlike other romance series, you can’t read just this novel to get everything about the main characters’ relationship and interactions. I hadn’t heard of this series before hearing about Kiss the Girl so I didn’t have time to read the first two novels before diving in to this one. Though I didn’t lose much of the plot by skipping the first two, the characters’ initial interactions apparently happened in Cindy and Belle’s books. So that was disappointing.
But there were definitely enough adorable and sassy character moments here for me to cling to, so the missing meet cute moments don’t take too much away here.
In case you couldn’t tell, I loved this Disney-inspired romance novel. I wish I could go back and read his again for the first time and get those butterflies back. (It’s almost as strong a wish as actually having my own fairy tale story one day.)
Tara Sivec’s Kiss the Girl is a fin-curling good time that will keep you squeeing and smiling the whole way through. When it comes to “Little Mermaid” books and retellings, it truly is better down where it’s wetter.
‘Kiss the Girl’ by Tara Sivec is available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Also, don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads “to read” list!