Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Shark Heart: A Love Story

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.

Content Warnings

emilywemily6's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5

This was weird and intriguing and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how the book has some theatrical scenes sprinkled in. I could really see how Lewis and Wren fell for each other, they loved each other so much. I loved the prose and the questions it brought up (explicitly or implicitly) about love, change, and terminal illness. While I appreciated Angela’s story, I wish it hadn’t felt so separate from Lewis and Wren’s story; it kind of took me out of the book a little, especially with how much time was spent on Angela’s life before Wren was born. Though by the end of that section I saw how it was all connected; I wish the author had taken a different direction in connecting these stories together. And I loved the ending but wanted more! I will think about this book for a long time.

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kase1190's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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katiejohns's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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kmilazzo's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

You know it’s going to be a good book when it makes you tear up in the first 2 pages. I would’ve never expected to fall in love with a story about a man turning into a shark but here I am! What a creative, gut-wrenching, thoughtful, and intricate story that manages to evoke so many heavy feelings in such a careful way. The author takes some creative liberties with form throughout that are somehow cohesive and help the story come together. This one is the definition of “trust the process.”

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tarynimwalle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

My favorite book of 2023.

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angievansprang's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

This book was totally unexpected. It was a bit weird to get into at first, but once I grasped the concept, I couldn’t put it down. I was very invested in all of the characters and I had to know what would come of them. Wren felt all too familiar to me by her structured ways of living and proclivity for perfectionism. I will be thinking about this book and it’s many lessons for quite some time to come. Overall, I think it ended on a hopeful note and I LOVE when a book that tackles deeper, darker themes is able to accomplish that. I would love to read more from Emily Habeck.

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m_liz's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

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