Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, who hasn’t grown up with the Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm? But not many are familiar with their lesser known stories. Luckily, these tales get a new shot at fame via modern-day retellings, like the Elisabeth and Edvard’s World series by Astrid V.J. In her newest book, Naiya’s Wish, she brings to life the story of The Nixie of the Mill-pond.

Thank you again, Astrid, for giving me this ARC in return for my honest review!

Naiya’s Wish

This fairytale tells the story of Naiya, a naiad or water spirit living in a pond next to a mill. They* have an impossible wish and in a desperate attempt to make this wish come true, they strike a deal with the miller. But this turns out to have unexpected consequences. The miller’s son gets trapped by Naiya’s wish and his wife, Amina, needs to leave everything she has ever known behind in order to try and free him. Trapped together by fate, will any of them get their happily-ever-after?

*gender neutral pronoun usage

A beautiful fairytale retelling

I had personally never even heard of The Nixie of the Mill-pond when I started reading this book. Normally, I prefer reading the original first, because I’m quite fond of comparative literature study. I chose not to do so in this case and let myself discover the story through Astrid V.J.‘s writing. The story is not at all predictable, so I spent most of my time not knowing what was coming. After finishing the novel, I did read the original, and I have to say, I like the twist she gave to it!

Next to making these fairytale characters come to life by giving them names and full personalities, I also really appreciated the effect of the changes in narration. I was surprised by each switch and they really helped to weave together the tale. It cannot be straightforward to extend such a brief story in a full novel. But it never felt forced or stretched-out because you always got to know a new voice and a new perspective on the events. Kudos. I also quite liked that, by also getting a part of the story told from Naiya’s point of view, the author stepped away from the traditional the-other-as-monster motif from many fairytales. Finally, I had not expected the topic of gender neutral pronouns to pop up. Naiads and some other magical beings are described as without gender and are referred to as “they”. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this in a retelling, I like it!

I also quite appreciated Amina, who is one of the main characters. She’s very real in her hopes and fears, and she’s really determined to save the love of her live. Her growth throughout the years make the book feel like a Bildungsroman at some points, which I found quite interesting in combination with the quest novel elements and the fairytale elements. Now that I think about it, these three actually go together quite naturally. Huh. I had never considered that before.

At the beginning of the story, I was a bit apprehensive when it is revealed what Naiya’s wish actually entails. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s something with which I personally have little to no affinity. I’m well aware that I’m the odd ducky in this case (and in many others 😉 ) so I suspect most readers will be less alienated than I was. Although it did not prevent me in the end of enjoying the story, I have to admit that it made it difficult for me to find a real connection with Naiya, which was unfortunate.

Being a lover of all things Dragon, I cannot fail to conclude here with a cool quotation from the beginning of the book which puts forth a thought-provoking interpretation about dragons. Not a new one my any means, but definitely described beautifully and interwoven with an interesting take on religion:

“The Dragon Lord did not care. Of course they did not. It is the nature of dragons to be disinterested in anything beyond their own immediate power. [..] It is funny to think how much humans believe in the powers of dragons, especially the ones they pray to. They think there is only one dragon in the sky instead of understanding that the lords of wind and water are many. They are powerful elemental creatures who live on mountains and in lakes or oceans. There is no real difference between them, end they most certainly are neither good nor evil. The dragons just are.”

I really liked this first taste of Elisabeth and Edvard’s World and will definitely also read the other parts. Three out of five gemstones:

Age Category: Suitable for a broad audience

Representation: Non-binary main character

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Very mild. Warning for miscarriage.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads. As mentioned, I read an ARC so the book is currently not yet available on the market. It will be released on the 6th of November! You can already pre-order the eBook via Amazon though. A paperback edition will become available later on as well.

Similar to this

Naiya’s Wish is actually part four of the Elisabeth and Edvard’s World series, but all parts can be read as stand-alones. There are some interconnections between the stories though that you will only get when reading all of them. Naiya’s Wish is set around 150 years before the first three books, and provides the back story for one of the Characters in The Siblings’ Tale.

In the afterword, it is mentioned that you can do a treasure hunt in the eBook to find a hidden bonus story. It was not included in the ARC yet, but this is such a cool idea! I’m wondering how that will be done.

If you enjoy retellings as much as I do, you might want to check out some other retellings I’ve reviewed, like the Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer (Review Book 1, Book 2) or A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas (Review Book 1). Both are awesome retellings of Beauty and the Beast, but their link to the original is much less clear than it is in Naiya’s Wish.

At the beginning of the story, Naiya makes a deal with the miller. This really gave me Rumpelstiltskin vibes (I kept wanting to warn the miller that “all magic comes at a price”). Which brings me seamlessly to Marissa Meyer‘s upcoming book Gilded. This haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin will be included in my next monthly book box, so I’m already eager to start! My review will follow soon.

Finally, if you are into water beings, you might also want to check out The Mermaid by Christina Henry. This fairytale retelling introduces us to Amelia, a mermaid who longs to live on land. I have never read any of the retellings by this author, but they do look awesome I have to say. I’m still a bit traumatised by another Little Mermaid retelling I read a couple of months ago, so I’ve not yet picked up this one, but it does seem promising! Did you already read this one?