Speak the Ocean
by Rebecca Enzor • BBNYA 2025 Finalist Tour
About BBNYA
BBNYA (Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award) is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books by indie authors, ending with finalists and one overall winner. In 2025, Speak the Ocean placed 13th overall — an incredible accomplishment in a deeply competitive field.
Learn more at bbnya.com or on Twitter/X @BBNYA_Official.
Quick Facts
Blurb
Corporate tells the public the mermaids aren’t dangerous, but that’s a lie.
When the superpredator Mer kill another trainer, Finnegan Jarvis sees his chance to become a superstar trainer—until his new mermaid, Erie, refuses to perform. As she teaches herself air-words, Finn breaks Oceanica’s number one rule: Never Humanize The Mer. Now he’ll do whatever it takes to save her.
My Review
Speak the Ocean is one of those stories that grabs you by the collar in the opening chapter and refuses to let go.
From the very first pages, there’s tension. Danger. Ethical complexity humming just beneath the surface. The premise—feral mermaids held captive at a marine park—could have easily leaned into spectacle. Instead, Rebecca Enzor delivers something far more layered: a speculative story that feels disturbingly plausible, emotionally grounded, and morally sharp.
The prose is polished, cinematic, and immersive. It balances visceral detail with fast-paced momentum so seamlessly that I barely noticed how quickly I was turning pages. The alternating POV is handled with confidence, giving Erie and Finn distinct rhythms and emotional lenses that deepen the experience.
The worldbuilding is chilling in the best way. The inclusion of Oceanica’s training-manual excerpts adds this structured, corporate realism that makes everything feel disturbingly official. It’s not chaos—it’s policy. It’s procedure. And somehow that makes it worse.
Erie is unforgettable—traumatized yet fierce, curious, deeply sympathetic. Watching her refuse to be reduced to entertainment carries real emotional weight.
Finn’s arc—from corporate loyalty to moral awakening—feels earned and layered. The shift in perspective between them, especially once communication becomes possible, is one of the most satisfying elements of the book.
This story is ambitious, balancing romance, captivity drama, political tension, and marine-centered speculative elements without losing emotional clarity. It’s not light. It’s not cozy. But it is powerful.
It provokes thought. It evokes empathy. And it lingers.
Vibe Check
Dark marine dystopia meets captivity drama with a morally gray slow-burn connection.
Moody. Cinematic. Ethically sharp.
Think: SeaWorld reimagined as a speculative thriller—with teeth.
About the Author
Rebecca Enzor is a fantasy author and environmental chemist on Whidbey Island, WA, where she lives with her husband, two dogs, one cat, and sometimes chickens. Her writing leans ocean-deep (emotionally and literally), blending scientific detail with immersive speculative storytelling.
Speak the Ocean has been described as Blackfish meets The Little Mermaid.
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