Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

354 reviews

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Terminal illness, Body horror, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, and Eating disorder

kfergy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

Enjoyed reading, I would say that it's certainly a read that intentionally leaves you feeling uneasy throughout. The first half takes time to build your perception of the characters, allowing the second half to lay out the sequence of events under the ocean and on land.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Body horror, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

hedsek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Truly an amazing read. Extremely gripping and the descriptions of how things used to be are so realistic and slice of life that it becomes heartbreaking. The horror elements go really well with the emotional stuff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Death, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Gore, Homophobia, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse

Eye stuff

thecrimsoncorsair's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

I did enjoy that this book had a lesbian couple as the main couple, and that their lesbianism wasn't a main focus. They were just treated like any other couple would be. But damn, was this a struggle to get through. Even listening to it. It was just so dull. I'm genuinely convinced that the characters all died down in the sub, and what we're witnessing is the grief induced mental breakdown of Leah's spouse. That the pov of Leah down in the sub even is just a story that Miri has made up to soothe herself. It's all such a strange narrative. Magical realism, but also not. I don't know. I'm so confused lmao. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Death of parent, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

leagllrd's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely phenomenal.

I had high expectations for this book given the very positive reviews, and it still managed to exceed them beyond belief. Armfield will have you feel heart-wrenching tenderness and bone-chilling anguish from one chapter to the next in so smooth a way that you're rocked by your emotions like the sea lung on top of the water. The characters manage to be real and tangible in situations so strange that any understanding we might have slips between our fingers like water. An incredibly impressive work, and I'm eager to read more from the author!

Song: Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine

PS: content warnings will include spoilers! scroll down at ur own risk x

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Body horror

CW ARE SPOILERS

Sorry if that shaped the ending for you, but i can understand that the mild body horror and discussions of illness and death can ruin books for some people so, here

beccaand'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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide

Minor: Lesbophobia

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense

• 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

4.0

Finished it and immediately wanted to reread it all over again. I understood what was happening as soon as it started but still didn’t expect it to go in the direction it went.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Vomit

theotwt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, and Death

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Suicide, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Confinement, Dementia, Dysphoria, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

sometimes_not_dead's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent and Chronic illness