
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
She’s a killer in disguise.
He’s determined to make her his queen.
As a deep sea death-dealer, Enna Valomir’s life is simple: kill the siren, deliver the body, collect the reward. There’s just one problem. Enna owes a mermaid her life, and in the cutthroat waters of the Abyss, that’s a lifelong blood oath of service.
When the mermaid orders her to kill the Abyssal Princess, Enna is pulled into an impersonation scheme with no choice but to infiltrate a gaudy surface court and help the mermaid win the heart—and throne—of its unwitting future king.
But Prince Soren isn’t interested in courting the so-called Abyssal Princess, or any power-hungry princess, for that matter. He’s finally met his match in her fierce and mysterious handmaid, and he’ll be damned if he can’t have Enna for his queen instead.
Breaking a blood oath means death, but Enna falls for Soren anyway. Now she must watch him descend into a ruin of her own making, or warn him of the ruse—and die.
Part of the Sirens of Adria series, Of Song and Scepter is a fantasy romance retelling of The Little Mermaid with forbidden love and a deep sea siren twist.
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)
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