Speak the Ocean BBNYA 2025 Finalist Spotlight by Rebecca Enzor
What happens when the monster learns to speak - and the human finally learns to listen?
Welcome to my stop on the 2025 BBNYA Finalist Tour!
Speak the Ocean BBNYA 2025 Finalist highlights Rebecca Enzor's compelling blend of fantasy and science fiction, earning recognition this year in the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award. Each year, BBNYA shines a light on outstanding indie novels chosen and championed by book bloggers around the world. Blending the wonder of mermaid lore with thought-provoking questions about captivity, communication, and compassion, this novel invites readers beneath the surface of a world where entertainment and ethics collide.
About BBNYA
The Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is a yearly competition judged by book bloggers, for book bloggers - and most importantly, for readers who love discovering hidden gems in the indie world.
Want to learn more?
BBNYA Website
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All About Speak the Ocean, a BBNYA 2025 Finalist
Speak The Ocean By Rebecca Enzor
Series: Speak the Ocean #1
Published by Independently Published on 07/09/2019
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 354
Corporate tells the public the mermaids aren't dangerous, but that's a lie.
When the superpredator Mer kill another trainer, Finnegan Jarvis finally sees his opportunity to become a superstar trainer. No more scrubbing tanks and cleaning blood: he's gonna be in front of the audience showing off his brand-new, fully-trained mermaid. If only he can get her to do the tricks she's supposed to.That mermaid is Erie, an ocean-princess ripped from her home when she pushes another Mer out of the way of the net. She doesn't understand why she's there, but she's determined to learn air-words to find out.
While Finn trains Erie, she teaches herself air-words. And when she finally speaks, Finn breaks the number one rule at Oceanica: Never Humanize The Mer.
Now he'll do whatever it takes to save her.
View Speak the Ocean on Goodreads
View Speak the Ocean on StoryGraph
For readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy that explores the relationship between humans and the natural world, Speak the Ocean offers a unique and emotionally layered take on mermaid mythology. As a BBNYA finalist, it represents the creativity and originality thriving in indie publishing today - and may be a compelling discovery for readers looking for fantasy with both heart and consequence.
Read Speak the Ocean
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Meet Rebecca Enzor
About Rebecca Enzor
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 articles on writing science in science fiction can be found in “Putting the Science in Fiction” from Writer’s Digest Books.
Obsessed with everything ocean, she studied fisheries biology in college and electrocuted herself collecting fish in a river, which inspired several key scenes in her debut novel, Speak the Ocean, a Blackfish meets The Little Mermaid retelling.
Enzor's scientific background lends an added layer of realism to the ocean setting and the behavior of the Mer, grounding the fantasy elements in thoughtful ecological detail.
More 2025 BBNYA Finalists
Explore more of my BBNYA 2025 finalist posts here:
Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson
Closing Notes
Thank you to The Write Reads, BBNYA, and Rebecca Enzor for allowing me to spotlight this finalist today!
Watch for more 2025 BBNYA Finalists to be featured soon
As always, I'm championing indie authors and stories worth discovering - and building a calm corner of the internet where readers can slow down without falling behind.
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[…] Speak the Ocean by Rebecca Enzor […]
[…] Explore more of my BBNYA 2025 finalist spotlights here: Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson Speak the Ocean by Rebecca Enzor […]
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I read a review of this book just last week, and it really intrigued me. Thanks for sharing it again, Gina.
There will probably be lots of BBNYA posts this week! It does sound intriguing.