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ciolaceum 's review for:
Our Wives Under The Sea
by Julia Armfield
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such an experience for me and is honestly not the kind of book I usually pick up. I’m not a horror fan by nature but this one managed to creep me out in the best way possible. Growing up surrounded by the sea and even spending years traveling it alone, I’ve always known how mysterious and terrifying the deep can be. This book didn’t tell me anything new about that, but it did serve as a chilling reminder of just how much we’ll never know about what’s lurking down there.
The structure with alternating chapters between Miri and Leah was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I really connected more with Miri’s chapters because she felt open & raw and through her we could actually see Leah’s strange changes play out. Leah’s sections, on the other hand, were harder to latch onto. They were shorter and more fragmented, and while they gave background about the submarine journey and captured the horror of it all, I didn’t feel the same emotional weight there. Sometimes that distance worked for the atmosphere but sometimes it just left me disconnected.
If I’m honest, both characters were frustrating in their own ways. Miri felt helpless, like she was constantly spiraling but not actually doing much to fix anything, while Leah’s perspective drifted between repetition and detachment. I get the sense they were written to be that way but as a reader it was definitely a little alienating. Still, there’s no denying how effective the book was at building mood. The metaphor of the ocean as a haunted house really stuck with me—it’s such a brilliant way of capturing that idea of being trapped in darkness with things moving around you that shouldn’t exist.
The strongest stretch of the book for me was in the middle, where all the tension was building and it felt like the story was at its most alive. Overall, I’d say that it’s a really solid sapphic horror novel. It’s the kind of read I’d recommend with a warning as it might be a hit or miss depending on what you want from your characters but if you’re looking for atmosphere that will give you chills, it does the job.