Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

20 reviews

elliebasta's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Terminal illness, Body horror, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent and Violence

kaanda's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Super engaging throughout. Romantic in the weirdest ways while stringing along a story that was so fun to put together as the book went on. Sad, but rewarding with a ton of beautiful lines.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Vomit, Gore, Violence, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Confinement, and Suicide

beth_farrelly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Death, Dementia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Body horror

Minor: Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, and Suicide

dreareads_'s review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A slow paced horror story of two wives trying to hold on to each other as they’re drifting apart.

In this book you are lulled into a state of normalcy, almost becoming frustrated at how mundane it all is. That is until you’re deep in the story and you are now grasped by the growing tension, you’re scared of what’s waiting outside in the sea, and are terrified to stay inside the house.

The body horror and horror elements are sprinkled throughout in a manner to bring forth lasting discomfort with no quick resolution.

This is a story of grief. Of ptsd. Of losing someone that is standing next to you. Of the worst and best parts of being with another human during your darkest times. A story where logic goes out the window and the characters act erratically due to their fears. You experience first hand a person detaching themselves from the world and the other trying to hold on despite of being forced to change.

I see why people think it is too slow at times but for me the pace works perfectly to develop an atmosphere that will not let you sleep at night. I loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Death, Eating disorder, Violence, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Confinement, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

avalon_green's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was weird. I had a good storyline, flipping between the wife under the sea and the wife on land, and timelines between the time under the sea and the current time (post returning from under the sea). However, the ending was strange, and a little sad. Worth a read, very interesting almost sci-fi concept.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts

ladawson's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book is a slow and haunting build to a mysterious end. I feel like I’m left with more questions than answers, but that felt more realistic given the story that was laid out. The writing is beautiful and sitting in Miri’s grief felt like being in the frozen sub with Leah. The parallels of confusion and longing between the two felt even more heartbreaking as we switched timelines and perspectives. 

I would read the trigger warnings for this story as there is some body horror. Otherwise, if you’re down for some sad times and beautiful writing, I highly recommend the story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Confinement, Body horror, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Body shaming

vicgarc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Grief

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Lesbophobia

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A story about being a hypochondriac living in a rented flat with thin walls who finds it so hard to keep up with friends, whose wife says she'll be gone for three weeks and instead stays gone for six months. And then when she comes back she comes back so wrong. How do you live with that grief? What can you even hope to do about this?
It's a love story, it's a ghost story, it's a horror story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, Dementia, Gore, Blood, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Cursing

Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Contains descriptions of

drowning and eye horror

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read this book in a whirlwind three weeks and I cannot get it out of my head. The pastiche of character moments (especially at the end) can come across as jarring but helps to solidify the main characters Miri and Leah. Their relationship deteriorates when Leah comes back "wrong" after a routine research trip in a submarine leaves her stranded on the ocean floor for six months. The point-of-view bounces between Miri trying to make sense of her wife's strange behaviour and Leah explaining how the trip might have purposefully done for some mysterious ends. A tragic ending puts this book high on my list of recommended books. A fantastic read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Body horror, Confinement, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Animal death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Dementia, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer

One of the main characters is trapped in a submarine with two other people for six months and the three of them go clinically insane.

broccoli_j's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This books reads like a mix of „a lady's guide to celestial mechanics“ by Olivia Waite and „Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead“ by Emily Austin with an amazing, thrilling story within. 

If you liked the writing style of „Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead“ you will definitely like the writing style of Julia Armfield!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Dementia