Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Flowers for the Sea

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn

31 reviews

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

My rating of this book is based entirely on personal preference and not necessarily a reflection on how good or bad it is. I could see someone with different tastes than me absolutely loving this, and that’s totally cool.

This is one of those books that is purposefully unclear for the first, like, 75%, until you’re granted some grand revelation that’s supposed to make it all make sense. Except I still had more questions than answers at the end of this story, and feeling lost the entire time didn’t make for a very enjoyable reading experience for me.

The writing was beautiful and descriptive yet very cryptic in nature, which made it hard to connect with the protagonist and the story. I think I’d need to re-read this two or three times before having a clearer understanding of what’s going on. There’s definitely some allegorical meaning at play here, and if I had to guess, something to do with generational trauma.

Huge trigger warning for pregnancy and childbirth which is depicted in probably the gnarliest way I’ve ever encountered.

Content Warnings

tooyu's review

Go to review page

dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

Haha, yikes!

Content Warnings

honeyvoiced's review

Go to review page

dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

Content Warnings

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Unremarkable save for the ending and a few other bits throughout that were intriguing. Maybe this story would've benefitted from being a 350 page novel bc it would've answered some questions and made you (or ok, me) care more about Iraxi or the other characters or the story itself that worse than not caring about, I found super silly at points. Though the point was to be lyrical and mysterious and blah blah and it didn't work for me.

Content Warnings

oddreads_nicolestins's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

I was really hoping that this would be the story to reintroduce me to fantasy, but it just was not for me. I definitely didn't like the way the characters spoke- the "mine own/thine" stuff really grinded my gears. Many of the language/vocab/adjective choices were just jarring to me.

As far as the plot, nothing really happens. The MC does come to some realizations about her former partners. But the major parts of the plot that we all kinda picked up the book for didn't really change imo, so I guess this book was just for the vibes. I would be interested in seeing what else this author writes, because honestly it was a really unique/creative idea but it just didn't meet the mark for me.

Content Warnings

mmccombs's review

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

This is a novel shaking with fury. Like the plot doesn’t really matter, but the anger from our main is palpable and delicious to read. The writing was really immersive and the dark vibe was complimented by the setting. A perfect little bite size treat of a story buzzing with energy and thirsty for revenge.

Content Warnings

emco_0's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

1.0

Content Warnings

ghoulsbookclub's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

FINISHED IN ONE SITTING!

At the end you say “What did I just read!?” But this was beautifully written. I wish it was a full length book because I think you would be able to to get more insight to the characters. I’d definitely be interested to read more from this author in the future.

TW: body horror, gore, pregnancy horror (I’m not sure how else to explain that), & infertility.

Content Warnings

gay's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-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

3.75

Content Warnings

ericarobyn's review

Go to review page

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn is a unique story of love, fire, and anger. Prepare yourselves for this tale before diving in; embers of anger will ignite in you and build to a roaring fire of rage.

Content Warnings: Fire/Fire Injury, Pregnancy, & Suicidal Thoughts.
There is a beautiful note at the start of this book that readers should review –
“For my readers, Flowers for the Sea contains depictions of infant harm and death, the realities of birth, and generational trauma.“

Set on an ark after their kingdom was flooded, this group of people are doing their best to survive. Tension is thick between some of the survivors, food is limited, and their medical support is lacking. There are also rules about going onto the top deck, especially at nighttime, as there are creatures that live above and below that can attack at any moment.

Iraxi is one individual on the ship. She is heavily pregnant and covered in scarring from burns. Very early on, readers will see that she has suffered immensely already, and the pregnancy certainly isn’t helping. As the story goes on, we learn more about her past and what churns the rage inside of her.

But will she protect that fire, stoking it only when needed, or will the flames finally rage and burn themselves out to allow her to be released?

My heart broke for Iraxi on so many occasions throughout the duration of this story! The author did such an incredible job making readers feel the same emotions that Iraxi was feeling. Sure, this was seen in the rage and pain. But just one small example of this was in the yearning for being in the sunlight. I found myself so invested in the mindset as the character, my skin was prickling with anticipation of being in the sun as well.

This definitely isn’t an easy book to read. If the content warning above has you nervous, I would recommend holding off on this one for a bit until you feel more comfortable. I personally have never gone through childbirth, but the description here made me nauseous just thinking about the process, let alone seeing what this character dealt with. Phew! Of course, this is just another testament to how powerful this author’s writing is!

My Favorite Passages from Flowers for the Sea

I am insistence personified and the spite I draw is my sustenance, a weak sustenance sufficient in quieting my growing desire to perish.

Far-sea fishermen had warned us with fanciful tales of night beasts who took to the sky, blotting out the stars, muting both moons and all their brightness and all in order to hunt. They did not rest once the sun was eaten by the horizon. The night was theirs and everything that dared to cut through the ocean’s surface.

My Final Thoughts on Flowers for the Sea

A must-read. This one made me quite uncomfortable, but my goodness, does that discomfort have an incredible build up to that final scene.

I had the chance to meet the author at Merrimack Valley Book Fest, and they were wonderful! I’m so honored to have a signed copy of this one for my shelves.

Content Warnings

More...