From New York Times bestseller Katy Regnery comes a new twist on a beloved fairytale.

A fisherman’s daughter.

The governor’s son.

Two very different worlds.

In this modern retelling of The Little Mermaid, a fisherman’s daughter from an Outer Banks island untouched by time, meets the son of North Carolina’s governor at a fancy party where she’s working.

Laire, who wants so much more from life than her little island can offer, is swept away by wealthy, sophisticated Erik, who is, in turn, entranced by her naiveté and charm. The two spend a whirlwind summer together that ends on the knife-point of heartbreak and forces them to go their separate ways.

Years later, when fate leads them back to one another, they will discover the terrifying depth of the secrets they kept from each other, and learn that shattered hearts can only be healed by a love that willfully refuses to die.

All novels Katy Regnery’s ~a modern fairytale~ collection are written as fundraisers. 10% of the e-book sales for in March and April 2017 will be donated to P.E.O. International, a non-profit organization that celebrates the advancement of women, awards scholarships and grants, and provides motivation for women to make their dreams come true.

**Contemporary Romance. Due to profanity, adult themes and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

This is a story of first love, lost love, and second chances loosely based on the fairy tale The Little Mermaid.  

Laire Cornish is a local girl from Corey Island. It is a place where time has stood fairly still and their lives are ruled by traditions and expectations. Their accents can be unique and harsh to make dingbatters or outsiders have a hard time understanding them. She lives a safe life with her overprotective fisherman dad and two sisters. But she longs for more than her lot in life of marriage and motherhood. She wants to go to college, travel, and be a fashion designer. 

Erik Rexford is the Governor's son. He is charming, handsome, flirty, rich, and entitled. His life is also full of expectations: go to law school, run for office, marry a woman with social standing, and have a family. But he is not that interested in any of that, but is under a lot of pressure.

When Erik sees Laire delivering crabs to his family's vacation home, he is intrigued. And despite the fact that they are from different worlds, he manages to convince her to risk going out with him. And that  begins a summer of stolen moments, first love, and hope for a happily ever after. But due to various dramas, misunderstandings, misinformation, and outside pressure, they both ended up with broken hearts at the end of the summer instead of future plans. Love, trust, innocence, and optimism are replaced by perceived betrayal, loss, repercussions, and pain.

Erik vows to never be ruled by feelings again and becomes hardened. While Laire's life is drastically changed in many ways, some good and some bad. But due to circumstances, she was able to explore the world she had always longed for, even if she lost some people along the way. Both became untrusting, but never really could forget or get over each other. 

Years later, when fate brings them together again, will they be able to navigate through the layers of secrets, lies, and heartbreak? Will their hardened hearts again soften towards each other and finally find their true Happily Ever After? Or will some of the same issues still get in the way?

Their families play a huge role in this story as their actions directly affect the plot. And some other significant characters are his friends, Pete and Vanessa, and her friends Mrs. Sebastien and Patrick. Ava Grace was a stand out character, and I liked his sister, Hillary as well. The antagonists were just as bad as they needed to be.

The setting also was important because it literally divided up classes of people. But I will admit that in the beginning some of the set up and descriptions got a bit overwhelming, and I did have a bit of trouble with the language. But it did help paint the picture of Corey Island and the surrounding areas and just how different life was there.

Once the story got going, it really sucked me in. And I hated to have to put it down. It is a fairly long book, but was really heartfelt and had quite a bit of angst. I was totally captivated by this true love story that spanned time and distance. These two were literally embedded in each other's hearts. It was a sweet, romantic, emotional, heartbreaking, and hopeful story of soul mates, hope, and finding a home.

I was gifted a story in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t Speak is a sweet, sexy second chance story based on The Little Mermaid. I think I actually enjoyed this story the further from the popular Little Mermaid plot it moved. Once the obvious connections had been made (and some subtler ones) and the story grew it’s own legs (so to speak), I really fell in love with this book.

Laire has always dreamed of leaving the tiny fishing island she grew up on. Nothing about island life appeals to her. She wants to go to New York; she wants to design fashion.

Erik Rexburg is the governor’s son. As near to royalty as possible, he is privileged, pampered, and has everything he could ever want.

Though they came from opposite backgrounds, they made their own rules. Erik was so intrigued by the sweet, innocent girl delivering crabs that he couldn’t help but pursue her. Laire is so out of her element that she initially balks at Erik’s advances. But as she finds her own strength to reach for her dreams, she realizes she likes his attention and is attracted to him in ways she has never felt for anyone before.

But though their love was sweet and pure, they wouldn’t have smooth sailing as they faced the end of summer and what happens next gutted me. The beginning of their story is almost too perfect, and the crash that signaled the end of the first part of their journey was epic in its ferocity.

Just as many of Mia’s Signs of Love couples, Erik and Laire do not have an easy road, and the things they have to deal with when they finally find each other again are as tragic as they are necessary. Once again, Mia has taken a touchy subject, class, and created a tale that treats the issue without putting either class into a stereotype, touching on the concerns while keeping the characters full and relatable.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Vixen and the Vet (Beauty & the Beast) - available now (FREE Until 2/27/17!)

Never Let You Go (Hansel & Gretel) - available now

Ginger's Heart (Little Red Riding Hood) - available now

Dark Sexy Knight (Camelot) - available now

Don't Speak (The Little Mermaid) - new release!

Swan Song (The Ugly Duckling) - available late-2017