Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Our Wives Under The Sea

This was gorgeous. Beautifully written with a palpable depth. The book does have a kind of sci-fi element to it, but it isn’t the main focus of the story (in case you’re not into that). Believable characters and a reflective, touching journey. Loved it!

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olive_lol's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

The main draw of this book is its atmophere: unsettling, contemplative, and unique in use of the ocean, showcased in its lyrical and haunting prose. I can't get over the writing in this book—it fits the flowing, unnerving nature of the ocean so well.

The novel's horror is eerie and slowburn, so much so that at times, it may not really feel like horror at all, just a lingering unease. The horror aspects, I'd say, are most effective if a reader comes into the story already afraid of the ocean.

Seeing Leah's perspective from the past contrasted alongside her in the present creates a certain disconnect that leaves the reader questioning how, exactly, she could have changed so much. That said, the ending left a few more open questions than I would have liked, and some parts of it felt half-heartedly set up.

An eerie, unsettling read with haunting prose whose characters and storyline mirror the ocean it centers around.

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lilybear3's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

This book is so unique and mysterious. The slow buildup to the end was worth the wait. It's romantic, dark, and the more I read, the more captivated I became. It was very slow for me in the beginning, but it picks up towards the middle, and I couldn't put it down in the last third. The pacing gives readers a lot of time to marinate in Leah and Miri's relationship and how their dynamic is affected by the situation. I love the perspective changes with Miri's in the present and Leah's in the past, but also in the different environments. Some people don't like a book with an open ending and questions unanswered, but I don't mind and I enjoy reading other people's theories. Armfield nails the atmosphere and the sudden feeling of suffocation as the tension builds. The writing is amazingly poetic and insightful. I wish there were a tiny bit more elaboration on a few things like

the creature and the theory they were trapped on purpose. The body horror from Miri's perspective was cool, but it could've been more frightening. At the same time, I don't think that's what Armfield wanted us to focus on.

This is not a spoiler, but It's goes without saying that reading this book relatively shortly after the Titan Submersible incident (June 2023) was a weird coincidence and experience. Coming off of that, I made predictions on what would happen. Potential spoiler?: The second submarine media that I thought of was

Iron Lung, a video game and soon-to-be movie by Markiplier. In Iron Lung, the person is sent in the submarine for research, but the organization sending the person knows they will most likely die. Matteo suggests this possibility for their situation and that changed everything for me.

Another thing it reminded me of is

the movie Arrival. The part where Leah holds up her name to communicate with the creature was so reminiscent of Amy Adam's character in Arrival.

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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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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theirgracegrace's review

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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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carbinara's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I had went into this with high hopes, then got let down a bit, then left having enjoyed it. An odd process. I had went in expecting horror, not really having read lit fic, so I found the first 150 pages quite slow and tedious. However, once you get past the 150 page mark the plot starts going and I really enjoyed it. While I much preferred Leahs POV to Miri’s, both gave such an insight to these characters and the situation they’re in. I found myself really feeling for both of them by the end. I think the characterisation was well done, although I wish the plot was more neatly wrapped up. That being said, I think that was intentional.

I’m really glad we actually “saw” a sea monster and it wasn’t just left as movement in the darkness

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the_amused_forest_gnome's review

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An open-ended and slightly disturbing narrative.

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nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

It was very unsettling and a slow burn horror (specifically body horror and deep sea horror). I appreciated it for what it was but I was expecting more of the deep sea portion and just more in general. I wanted more creepiness; the parts that were creepy were done SO WELL but just ended too quickly for me. I also wanted more of an explanation as to what occurred. Armfield doesn’t fully answer any of the questions that arise and, though I like that in some instances, I REALLY wanted answers for this one.
Basically my gripes come from what my expectations were going into the book and how the story was structured (not bad just not what I wanted).
I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Armfield’s works in the future for sure though! She’s a wonderful story teller and I feel like she’s going to write some amazing things.

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