Hi friends, I’m excited to be back for another blog tour today and this time it’s for an adorable new graphic novel! I’m here to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by Toppling Stacks Tours for Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa.
Thanks to First Second Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Forgive-Me-Not
Publisher: First Second Books
Publication Date: 14 April 2026
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: LGBTQIA+, Queer
Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
📖 SYNOPSIS
In this dark and sultry romantasy a mermaid battles hatred—and lust—for the wretched warlock who saved her life.
Mermaid Zephyra of the Syl dreams of freedom. On the run from a dangerous captor and years of abuse, she’s shed her tail, grown legs, and hidden herself on land in the merrow-loathing kingdom of Mortia, left to steal and barter on the dirty streets. But her freedom is short-lived when she’s caught and sentenced to death by the brutal warlock, Arion Stone.
Arion is as beautiful as he is cold and deadly, only interested in punishing the merrow he views as evil. He has grown as strong as any warlock might, but at great personal cost…which can only be remedied by the heart of the God of Death, lost to a fabled kingdom beneath the ocean’s treacherous depths.
So Arion offers Zephyra a deal she can’t refuse; help him find the mystical heart, and he’ll spare her life. With no other options, Zephyra agrees, entangling their souls and forbidden desires in a magical bargain until death do they part. But Zephyra’s past is catching up to her, and the enemy she fled seeks vengeance. If Zephyra and Arion can’t learn to fight together–and trust each other–there are worse things awaiting them than just death.
Of course, in the wicked sea, everyone has secrets, and no one should be trusted.
For fans of: Enemies-to-lovers, Magic Sensual Bonds, Winged Romantic Lead, Forced Proximity
📚 BUY A COPY
⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Imprisonment, graphic descriptions of torture, gore, dismemberment, blood, violence, death, and murder


TL;DR: Oh my, what an adorable feel-great graphic novel! This had the cheesiest ending but it still had me giggling and feeling a buoyant giddiness that left a big smile on my face long after I’d finished reading. This is a timeless fairytale where princess meets knight and they fall in love, but with a changeling twist and a sapphic bent that I loved.
The artwork was fantastic and complemented the story really well. I loved the contrast between the brighter spring palette human world and the darker autumnal palette of the faerie world. I think this contrast was also reflected well in the personalities between Aisling and Not. I loved the art style so much, with clean lines, intense colours, and very emotive character expressions and actions! There were some chibi-adjacent illustrations that I found adorable, and I particularly loved how the expressions in those scenes were conveyed too.
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