Review of A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox

Sometimes I couldn’t tell you what drew me to a book if you asked. When I saw A Magic Deep and Drowning on NetGalley, where I received review copy, I was intrigued, but I’m not sure why. It might be the setting—the Netherlands in the early seventeenth century—or that it’s a very loose reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Whatever the reason, as I started reading, I deflated: I wasn’t enjoying it. Then … suddenly … I was? Hester Fox slow-rolled me, and literally in the turn of a page I went from “I might DNF” to “I must know how this ends.”

Clara is the daughter of a modest merchant and has led a very sheltered life. When her parents betroth her to another merchant, she is prepared to meekly accept the arrangement, desperate to escape her mother’s abusive reach. Then she meets a mysterious young man, Maurits, who seems to be more than he appears—but who swears he is no good for her. Soon, we learn that Maurits is far more magical than he appears, and Clara’s life changes irrevocably forever.

I didn’t like this book at first because I didn’t understand where the magic was. The first few chapters are mundane and seem to be setting up the love triangle between Clara, her betrothed, and Maurits. It isn’t until a tragedy alters the entire trajectory of Clara’s life that the book metamorphoses into something grander, weirder, and far more fascinating.

Clara is a frustrating protagonist at first because she is rather useless, and a lot of things happen to her. She grew on me, however, and by the end of the book, I really enjoyed her obstinacy and tenacity. I really wish, however, that we had seen more of her painter phase!! It was such a neat little moment, but Fox didn’t allow us to pause and enjoy it much before she thrust Clara back into danger. Fair enough.

I wasn’t as sold on Clara and Maurits’s romance. Similarly, the political machinations underwater felt flaccid and predictable. Maurits spends a lot of his time imprisoned with very little to do.

Overall, A Magic Deep and Drowning is fine, and if you like love-at-first-sight romances or fairytale retellings more than me, you’d probably like this more. But it just didn’t have that spark I need. I kept reading because, after the slow start, Fox’s pacing and penchant for plot twists really worked well for me—and I will give her all the credit for that. I just wish the characters had made the same kind of impact.