I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. 
 THE SEA WITCH was an interesting story and I have no doubt that the other books in these series will be the same, since they explain how villains from well-known stories and fairy-tales became the way they are in said stories. As a huge fan of the musical WICKED and someone who also loves the movie MALEFICENT, I don't suppose it will be very surprising to you that I do like such stories; because hardly anyone is born evil and stays that way. Villains have stories, too. 
 That being said, I very much loved the concept of this book. The plot was pretty good, although it took me a while to really get into the story - it felt a little slow in the beginning, but the pace eventually picked up, especially near the end. The characters in themselves were, in my opinion, mostly interesting and realistic. There's Serena, hopelessly in love with the prince she works for; ambitious and determined to do good, but struggling to escape her mother's name and reputation and have people see her for who she herself is. There is Hazel, eager to please and wanting nothing more than to get her mother's attention, but she is not good enough at magic and thus lives in her older sister's shadow. Then there's Moira, the girls' mother, who is ruthless, cunning, and cruel; and Casius, the unexpected friend Serena makes who supports her and remains loyal to her throughout it all. Triton, I felt, missed some personality; I couldn't get a clear image of what he was like. There weren't really any other main characters, but that in itself was fine. 
 I think the relationships were the main things bothering me in this story, distracting me a little from the plot and making it harder for the story to draw me in. 
 It already begins with Serena mooning over Triton when she doesn't really know him yet. Of course, all girls moon over the handsome prince Triton, but Serena's obsession with him is a little creepy from the start. 
 Then there is Casius, who just appears from out of nowhere and befriends Serena, becoming her closest confidante in a single day. All right, she didn't have a lot of friends and she was probably grateful for the attention, but that went a little too fast in my opinion. 
 Moira and Hazel are both very ambiguous in their respective relationships with Serena, which was confusing sometimes - mainly Hazel. It was clear that Moira just wanted whatever would gain her the most, regardless of the means with which she had to achieve that - be it yelling at and threatening Serena or cooing at her and playing the loving mother. Hazel, however, was constantly switching between trying to help Serena and trying to destroy her. I do understand her conflicted feelings regarding her favoured older sister, but I feel like it went a little far here. One moment, she's happy for Serena and stands by her; and the next, she is practically betraying her and doing everything she can to ruin her sister's life. 
 Then there is (view spoiler)[ the relationship Serena and Triton eventually strike up, which of course goes fast because of the love potion, but it still felt a little strange to me. Of course the king doesn't approve of his son marrying a sea witch; then the king falls ill and dies. Maybe the love potion kept Triton from being suspicious, but it still felt a little rushed when he and Serena were basically married the day after his father's death. (hide spoiler)] 
 What I did like as well was the vibe throughout this whole book and Serena's character. She's obsessive and a little dark, but in the beginning, you want to root for her to get what she wants, because you can relate to her. Slowly, more and more darkness comes creeping in. (view spoiler)[ The fact that she poisoned the king and queen felt out of pace, somehow - it felt like Serena was not there yet, not yet that far gone into darkness that she would murder; (hide spoiler)] but overall, that pace was gradual and good. I wasn't sure how to feel about her for most of the book - a part of me still felt bad for her and on some level I understood her actions, while a different part just shuddered at everything she did. (view spoiler)[ The family scenes with Triton and her children would have been so sweet if there hadn't been such a creepy undertone to them, knowing that Serena had murdered to get where she was and that their love was not even real. (hide spoiler)] That was definitely very well done and set the tone for most of the story. 
 All in all, I am glad I got the chance to read this book and I might pick up its sequel at some point. For my doing, I am being quite critical in this review; but the truth is that this was just an enjoyable read and that I did like it. I would recommend it if you are interested in fairy-tales and prepared to learn about the backgrounds of their villains!