Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

88 reviews

kneec's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This books is categorized at my job as fiction. It is horror. Its got body gore and very real reflections if loss in a eerie setting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death and Homophobia

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

3.75

This was a little too internal for me; I would’ve liked more focus on what Leah had going on in the submarine/ the obviously cult-ish “Centre”/the eeriness of the whole thing than Miri’s neuroticisms, but could tell pretty quickly that this was more literary than I’d bargained for. Not bad, just not what I anticipated  

Ultimately though, this was a really interesting book and a very aching sort of sapphic romance, which I liked! I’m really into spooky ocean books these days, and this mostly checked that box. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Vomit

veliana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Terminal illness, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Lesbophobia and Alcohol

ineedmorecoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I’m sorry, what the fuck?

In a good way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Confinement

Moderate: Body horror and Vomit

capitaens's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Vomit, and Body horror

mmirjamm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Confinement

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Mental illness, Dementia, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

deetabz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

zany25's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a personal 5/5, but in a way that I can easily understand how someone else may not find it so. I loved the dark very gothic-esque descriptions, rambling on about the ocean and grief and loss and love. The presentation and emotions it tries to evoke is far more important than the literal events of the book. It’s moreso just “creepy” and “somber” than outright horror despite its classification. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit and Blood

If you’re already afraid of the ocean know that it features heavily.

jaiden_grey's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

A very emotional and eye-opening read on grief, but not the kind of grief one might expect. The author had me rooting for Leah and Miri from page one. All the flashbacks Julia Armfield litters in her pages had me captivated with the beauty and love these two have for each other. The ending of this book leaves me with a pain in my chest that I can’t quite get rid of, and while the ending illustrates beautiful catharsis, I can’t help but yearn for something more.

While this book’s gorgeous prose and excellent characters truly stand out, there were a couple flaws that keep me from rating it higher. The consistently slow pace of the book was just not for me. It was sometimes a pain to get through certain sections without my eyes traveling elsewhere. It also made it hard to figure out where the book was heading towards. It didn’t feel like there was a goal until the last 25% of the book.

Leah’s descent to madness was not built well in my opinion. Her experience in the hadal zone didn’t feel like it lead to her experience with Miri in the present. Her physical and mental state felt like it came from something otherworldly, and the flashbacks in the submarine did not deliver that element.

The interesting elements that the book did deliver also didn’t feel satisfactorily tied up. The issue with the Centre and the creature Leah and Matteo witness at the end of the book weren’t given the proper time to be fleshed out, which I would’ve appreciated since those were the elements that kept me reading at the end of the book. It felt like the author squeezed those items in just to add a little flair, but didn’t close them out right.

Overall, Our Wives Under the Sea was a beautiful way to start out 2023 and an interesting dive into the functions of our sunken thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Grief

Moderate: Death

Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, and Vomit