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lucyslibraryreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Sophia L Hansen does a marvelous job of creating a beautiful underwater world where Nica and the other aqua sapiens reside. The level of detail in her world building is impressive. The deep is a place where everyone thrives. Olomi live in harmony because of how sound waves carry. Emotions carry the same way and so any cruelty or meanness would be felt by many. The beautiful Olomi are raised to be genuinely kind, but Nicca is removed from that as well as the water. She finds out that many of her people are being taken captive and forced a life of brutality and hard work by landwalkers. The oppressors rule by fear and Nica is broken to see so many of her people who have forgotten their life, their culture that has all been pushed out by fear.
Nica doesn't simply accept the oppression and her captors help her to realize that she has to fight for freedom. Her heart of compassion and love for her people & their ways makes it so that staying is not an option. She refuses to let go of that thread of hope and instead she uses it to pull herself and others out of fear and captivity. She did this in a way that convicted me as I often feel like my life is not my own. Spiritual oppression is not as obvious as a physical slavery, but it's even more deadly. God wants to use His kids to set people free from fear and oppression and so Nica's story has much power to inspire.
Water's Break is not for the faint of heart as it can be quite heavy, especially when she's first taken captive & dealing with the shock of it all. There is a brutal oppressor, but I don't believe the author was writing it for shock value or horror. There are beatings, torture, death and unplanned pregnancy. Still, this is a story of hope and it is beautiful. I have never been into any forms of horror or brutality, so my warning is for people who are more sensitive to these things. If there's a second book, I'll be getting myself a copy, because I'd love to see the aquans take back their planet!
Nica doesn't simply accept the oppression and her captors help her to realize that she has to fight for freedom. Her heart of compassion and love for her people & their ways makes it so that staying is not an option. She refuses to let go of that thread of hope and instead she uses it to pull herself and others out of fear and captivity. She did this in a way that convicted me as I often feel like my life is not my own. Spiritual oppression is not as obvious as a physical slavery, but it's even more deadly. God wants to use His kids to set people free from fear and oppression and so Nica's story has much power to inspire.
Water's Break is not for the faint of heart as it can be quite heavy, especially when she's first taken captive & dealing with the shock of it all. There is a brutal oppressor, but I don't believe the author was writing it for shock value or horror. There are beatings, torture, death and unplanned pregnancy. Still, this is a story of hope and it is beautiful. I have never been into any forms of horror or brutality, so my warning is for people who are more sensitive to these things. If there's a second book, I'll be getting myself a copy, because I'd love to see the aquans take back their planet!
stewardofbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Water's Break is a story that manages to be thought-provoking as well as exciting and fun to read. I'm just going to highlight a couple of points that stood out to me.
1. The research. The level of detailed description of the physical adaptations of the amphibious Olomi people and the practical realities of living underwater is amazing. The biological accuracy is fascinating (at least for a zoologist!).
2. The social system. The way that captivity and life away from the water really affected and changed the kidnapped Olomi was intriguing. It made me do a lot of reflecting on what people are capable of doing to each other and what a difference hope can make.
3. The characters. I liked the depth of the characters.
I enjoyed Water's Break and highly recommend it for sci-fi readers who want a little less robots and computers and more unique worlds.
1. The research. The level of detailed description of the physical adaptations of the amphibious Olomi people and the practical realities of living underwater is amazing. The biological accuracy is fascinating (at least for a zoologist!).
2. The social system. The way that captivity and life away from the water really affected and changed the kidnapped Olomi was intriguing. It made me do a lot of reflecting on what people are capable of doing to each other and what a difference hope can make.
3. The characters. I liked the depth of the characters.
I enjoyed Water's Break and highly recommend it for sci-fi readers who want a little less robots and computers and more unique worlds.
veni_vidi_legi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
A bit slow for the middle of the book, but gripping in the second half. The plot twist around chapter 29 caught me massively off guard, but the author made it work. A bit darker than I expected and deals with heavy themes, but overall a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Slavery
Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, and Death
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