Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

64 reviews

alissamargaret's review against another edition

emotional reflective

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death

tabookish's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Abandonment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Adult/minor relationship

janicee1223's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Alcoholism

bookrecsondeck's review

emotional sad tense

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

wowsmeows's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

"In this evanescent moment, the love of his life and the moon became indistinguishable from each other, casting everything Lewis feared about the future in the real but temporary light off goodness. Time suspended,
Lewis promised himself to always remember Wren like this, a masterpiece..."

Shark Heart follows the story of newlyweds Lewis and Wren. All seems well in their relationship until Lewis receives an unexpected diagnosis - he's mutating into a great white shark.

I went into the story thinking it would be just linear story following the main characters as they go through the strange process of the mutation, but I was very wrong. We find out about Lewis' condition within the first 10 pages, and we are also told that animal mutations are normal in this world within the book. The story is told through excerpts from a play, flashbacks and poetry. When I initially picked up the book I thought the concept sounded really interesting, so was surprised when it turned out to be more artsy than a traditional story. 

Shark Heart is an artistic exploration of grief, loss and how people change, sometimes literally. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

agucwa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness

Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Abortion, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

mxyfrzn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Dementia

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Rape, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts

heyashjp's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Grief

Minor: Abortion

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

breanneporter's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I’m not totally sure how to rate this one. It’s a very quick read and an interesting concept written in a fairly unique style, but I’m not sure I’ll be taking much away from it, and I was a bit disappointed by the ending. Shark Heart takes place in an alternate version of our timeline where humans can undergo mutations into other animals, and follows newlywed 35-year-olds, Lewis and Wren as Lewis transforms into a great white shark. It flashes back and forward through time, to both Wren’s and Lewis’ (but mostly Wren’s) childhoods and young adulthoods, and shows us the before, during, and after effects of Lewis’ transformation. 

It’s certainly a whacky concept but it was an interesting thought experiment and I liked the format of the novel, which had short chapters and various “scenes,” as if from a play that Lewis was writing. I really liked Wren’s backstory and how her past was gradually revealed to us. I was engaged and interested to keep reading, but was disappointed by the ending.

I didn’t particularly like Lewis’ final chapters, taking place in the ocean with the other human-turned-shark character, which I found just slightly too strange and cringey (I think the exaggerated audio narration may have played a part in this assessment)  I also think the ending was a cop-out, with Wren being surprised by a pregnancy and giving birth to a daughter that becomes her whole reason for living. I’m not sure what it really said about love and grief in the end, or perhaps I’m just not sure it said anything new or interesting about either one.  Also I hated the tiny pregnant woman storyline so much.

All in all it’s a fairly enjoyable short read and time will tell if it leaves a larger impression on me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Pregnancy