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A review by ladyramakin
Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles
4.0
Merciless Waters is a tale of female anger, sapphic love and desire, and the desire all women have for truly safe space to let out the wild violence and desire within us.
Set upon the high-seas, on a ship gained by less then honest means, sails the crew of the Scylla. They have no future and no past, only the endless present stretching out in front of them. The Seas do not change and so neither do the crew.
Jaq is our POV character, and she is violent, wild, and full of desire for Lily. Lily is blown by the wind and her own longings without a care of how they affect others. Neither are perfect, both are exceedingly human and messy. They draw you in and make you feel the desires they have, you crave for their lust and violence to reach its end fulfillment even knowing how gruesome it may be.
The sameness of the crew and seas start to shift when a man is pulled from the sea. He brings with him the terror that is known to all women who must live amongst men, and the crew that has no past begins to remember.
This novella, while shorter then I desired, was exceedingly well done. In the short amount of time I had with the crew of the Scylla I fell in love with the different personalities and their wild way of life. While the main POV at times was a bit directionless and felt like the author was trying to meld both third and first person, the story itself held up and exceeded expectations.
It is rare to find a book that so well captures what it feels like to have male violence intrude into the internal world women create for ourselves, and our safe spaces. Even less capture the anger and violence we feel capable of and at times wish to see enacted upon the men who keep this world a terrifying place to exist as a woman. By the end of this book I found myself longing to be part of the Scylla's endless now and safety and revenge.
I would recommend this to you if you like the following things:
- Horror
- Female Revenge
- Female voices
- Pirates
- Lesbian/Sapphic stories
- Sea Magic
- Stories rich in desire
- Historical Fiction
- Indie Authors
My main word of warning will be that this is a horror novella, and does have cannibalism, gore, and violent deaths. Read the trigger warning the author included prior to starting your read through.
I received and ARC of this book at no cost/for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.
Set upon the high-seas, on a ship gained by less then honest means, sails the crew of the Scylla. They have no future and no past, only the endless present stretching out in front of them. The Seas do not change and so neither do the crew.
Jaq is our POV character, and she is violent, wild, and full of desire for Lily. Lily is blown by the wind and her own longings without a care of how they affect others. Neither are perfect, both are exceedingly human and messy. They draw you in and make you feel the desires they have, you crave for their lust and violence to reach its end fulfillment even knowing how gruesome it may be.
The sameness of the crew and seas start to shift when a man is pulled from the sea. He brings with him the terror that is known to all women who must live amongst men, and the crew that has no past begins to remember.
This novella, while shorter then I desired, was exceedingly well done. In the short amount of time I had with the crew of the Scylla I fell in love with the different personalities and their wild way of life. While the main POV at times was a bit directionless and felt like the author was trying to meld both third and first person, the story itself held up and exceeded expectations.
It is rare to find a book that so well captures what it feels like to have male violence intrude into the internal world women create for ourselves, and our safe spaces. Even less capture the anger and violence we feel capable of and at times wish to see enacted upon the men who keep this world a terrifying place to exist as a woman. By the end of this book I found myself longing to be part of the Scylla's endless now and safety and revenge.
I would recommend this to you if you like the following things:
- Horror
- Female Revenge
- Female voices
- Pirates
- Lesbian/Sapphic stories
- Sea Magic
- Stories rich in desire
- Historical Fiction
- Indie Authors
My main word of warning will be that this is a horror novella, and does have cannibalism, gore, and violent deaths. Read the trigger warning the author included prior to starting your read through.
I received and ARC of this book at no cost/for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.