Home

logo transparent lw

fantasy romance beneath the waves

A kingdom on the edge.
A monster in the depths.
And a bond that could rule or ruin…

Princess Nahlani of the Brine would rather master her siren magic than endure the responsibilities of court. So, when she’s threatened with an arranged marriage to a land-bound prince, Nahla flees—only to swim into the icy domain of the cruel Frost King.

King Aethan rules a Rime in ruins, his cold exterior concealing an unspoken shame: a curse that turns him into a bloodthirsty, unpredictable threat to his own people. The siren spy in his waters doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll be safer in behind bars…

Determined to escape her new captor, Nahla’s magic sparks a forbidden alliance. Unaware of the bond she’s formed with the kingdom’s most feared creature—the fabled clawbeast—Aethan moves her from prison to palace.

But as the truth of the beast unravels, so does the distance between Nahla and Aethan, leaving them to confront a dangerous and undeniable attraction.

Part of the Sirens of Adria series, Of Rime and Ruin is a fantasy romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast with enemies to lovers romance and an arctic mermaid twist.

Featuring your favorite romantasy tropes:

  • beauty and the beast vibes
  • arctic mermaids
  • enemies to lovers
  • a grumpy Frost King
  • Jekyll/Hyde beast shifter who secretly simps for her
  • hot chocolate fixes everything
  • only one polar bear
  • animal telepathy
  • telepathically connected mates
  • slow-burn tension
  • winter fantasy romance

A deep sea siren who’s never seen the sun comes to the surface… to ruin the life of a 6’5 cinnamon roll siren prince.

After years of hunting sirens in the black depths of the Drink, Enna Valomir can finally see the light. One more job as a death-dealer, and her ruthless master Odissa will set her free.

But that final assignment is anything but usual. Odissa has hatched her most dangerous plan yet: disguised as a dead princess, she will infiltrate the Coral Kingdom, court the siren-shifter prince, and steal his throne. To win her freedom, Enna must accompany her as a handmaid and use her song magic to convince the surface court of her master’s ruse.

But the siren prince is kind. Charming. He’s everything Enna never expected in a sun-drencher—and he’s obsessed with her wicked charms. Compelled to protect him but oath-bound to silence, she must watch the prince descend into ruin, or warn him… and die.

An interconnected standalone in the Sirens of Adria series, Of Song and Scepter is a twisted, spicy romantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid where SHE’S morally grey, with fast-burn forbidden romance and mer courts instead of fae.

Featuring your favorite romantasy tropes:

  • stabby little mermaid vibes
  • forbidden love
  • fast burn & he falls first
  • blood oaths & sea witch bargains
  • hidden identities
  • HE’S a hopeless romantic
  • SHE’S emotionally unavailable
  • morally grey FMC
  • 6’5 cinnamon roll siren prince
  • tropical fantasy romance

take the plunge

spicy fairytale retellings in a merfolk universe

The Sirens of Adria series by Liesl West is a set of interconnected standalones in a shared merfolk universe, with mermaid courts instead of fae!

  • Interconnected standalones
  • Read them in any order
  • New romantic couple in each book
  • Happily Ever Afters by the end of each book
  • Twisted fairytale retellings
  • No fae, no humans, all merfolk
  • 6 mermaid kingdoms, with 3 books to explore them all

Titles include: Of Song and Scepter (The Little Mermaid); Of Rime and Ruin (Beauty and the Beast); and TBA (Rapunzel).

Let's play mermaids

Hi, I'm Liesl West

Liesl West never became the little mermaid, to her greatest disappointment. She can’t even swim. But she can write dark fantasy mermaid romance with strong female characters and moody, broody love interests. For now, that’s close enough. She lives with her husband and their fluffy feline overlord in Virginia, where she devours books and watches way too many ocean documentaries.

Find her on social media @authorlieslwest

NAME PRONUNCIATION: 

Liesl  |  LEE-zl (rhymes with weasel)

Looking for a reader community?

Join me in my Discord server, a safe space for my readers to connect with me on a more personal level.