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questionablereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The best way I could describe this book is a dark sapphic horror/fantasy tale told with bits of breadcrumbs that explores toxic relationships, a seemingly endless journey at the sea and discussions of purgatory. It’s also written in such poetic language that took a minute for me to get used to, and I often had to reread some bits just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. But I loved how unlikeable one of the main characters was, and how sinister this story played out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cannibalism
semisinful's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I felt no connection to any of the characters other than Yinka and we were stuck with Jaq’s inconsistent ass perspective. I personally found all the character’s to have extremely similar voices and I just couldn’t stand much of the prose. I was interested in the middle for a while but the beginning and the ending SUCKED. Every “love” scene felt like SA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Outing, Gore, Gaslighting, Body horror, Colonisation, Violence, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia
vixenreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The ending is a bit anti-climatic and it is hard to read about such a toxic relationship. Written more as a first draft than a complete piece, it definitely needed some rewrites, even if there was potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Torture, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcohol, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
Be aware that there are scenes of drowning, death of a sibling, romantic manipulation, strangulation, and explicit sapphic sex.themelleh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and editors for the ARC. My review is completely my own.
I’m going to leave this as my completely incoherent mess of a review but what an absolutely wild ride. It’s so dark and messy and absolutely different from what I usually read. It was also so beautiful and painful despite it’s darkness and the infuriatingness of Jaq’s devotion to Lily was so frustrating. The absolutely beauty of the sister-ship of our crew was magnificent. It’s quite the read. I would love a fully fleshed out tale of all our girls, their origins and their adventures on the seas. It’s such a gorgeous take on mythology and how women are treated.
I couldn’t stop reading. I devoured it in one sitting.
I’m going to leave this as my completely incoherent mess of a review but what an absolutely wild ride. It’s so dark and messy and absolutely different from what I usually read. It was also so beautiful and painful despite it’s darkness and the infuriatingness of Jaq’s devotion to Lily was so frustrating. The absolutely beauty of the sister-ship of our crew was magnificent. It’s quite the read. I would love a fully fleshed out tale of all our girls, their origins and their adventures on the seas. It’s such a gorgeous take on mythology and how women are treated.
I couldn’t stop reading. I devoured it in one sitting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Death, Animal death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Violence
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and Bridget's Gate Press. LLC for a copy of this book.
Jaq and her girlfriend, Lily live on the ship Scylla, with an all female crew, lead by their captain, Lucinda.
They have no knowledge of their past, until a man is pulled aboard from the sea. The crew mysteriously gain back their memories and nothing will ever be the same again.
This is beautifully written story, with a great range of characters.
I wish it had been longer as I wanted to spend some more time with the characters and learn more of their back stories.
Looking forward to reading more of Knowles' work.
Jaq and her girlfriend, Lily live on the ship Scylla, with an all female crew, lead by their captain, Lucinda.
They have no knowledge of their past, until a man is pulled aboard from the sea. The crew mysteriously gain back their memories and nothing will ever be the same again.
This is beautifully written story, with a great range of characters.
I wish it had been longer as I wanted to spend some more time with the characters and learn more of their back stories.
Looking forward to reading more of Knowles' work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity, Grief, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Suicide
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It has a dark fairy tale vibe that was so much fun to float through. It has a kind of lyrical prose that really helps with removing the elements of reality and join the crew, regardless of their horrendous acts. We are supporting women's wrongs here. Jaq can be petty and jealous and murderous if she wants. That does include Lily since I love a toxic sapphic even though she really is quite mean sometimes. I did get a little nervous in the beginning that we were leaning into bisexual stereotypes but I think it is made clear that this is how Lily would always behave as a way to get to Jaq. I wish we had spent more time with the rest of the crew and gotten their stories. It's a really short books so I think we could have spent more time here. I also think a missed opportunity is not interrogating that they all died in groups of two. I wasn't super familar with the lore so it was very fun to dive into this mythology. I also loved the ending, even if the twist was a bit predictable. Overall I had a great time, and it is perfect for spooky season.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Suicide attempt, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexism, and Physical abuse
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