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librarymouse's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-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
4.5
This was a short read. I'm glad I read this after Into the Drowning Deep. It answers the mystery that looms over that novel. It was good to get to know Anne after only knowing her through Tori's memories of her. The entire mermaid performer troupe being torn to bits soon after a different scientist makes a quip about chumming the waters was poetic and heartbreaking. The mermaids' mimicking of human speech is haunting, especially seeing how adept they become at it in the Into the Drowning Deep. In this book, they are a marvel of nature and are understood to be more animalistic than the humans would otherwise expect them to be from myth and legend. The parallels between this novella and its sequel with the kindly, older cameramen caring deeply about the people they're charged with filming puts those who are often relegated to the background or who are erased from the storytelling into the forefront of the novel as they are heroes.
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Death
rainbow_bookish_owl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lindseybun's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
wisecraic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tifftastic87's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
the_bookish_wallflower24's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amelieks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.0
megatza's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
For MerMay, this is a creepy prequel novella for Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep. It almost feels like it should be read after Drowning Deep because it has the origin story. But I still enjoyed it and intend to read the next. I discovered after reading this that Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire are the same, and in retrospect that resonates. There's a creepy air about this book that feels very similar to Wayward Children.