Book Review: Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles

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“Tis an expansive world, full of many horrors and misdeeds. On this, men do not have a monopoly.”

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Jaq and Lily exist as lovers upon the Scylla, a seabound, female-crewed ship sailing endless waters in an infinite present where past and future are nonexistent. In this unchanging environment, mercurial Lily remains with Jaq until a stranger appears, alone and adrift: a punishment from the gods in the form of a man. When this interloper steals Lily’s affections and ushers in the plague of memory, the women not only begin to recall their previous lives, but remember how and why they came aboard. And this means vengeance. This means murder. It also means voyaging ashore and making the difficult decision between enacting retribution or thwarting it, both of which may permanently separate Jaq and Lily. Can one subsist sans personal history, thrive while in stasis, commit to a relationship without a future, or find peace through revenge?

Composed of luscious, smooth, hypnotic prose, Merciless Waters lulls and transfixes as completely and effectively as gently rolling ocean waves. With a gorgeous, rage-fueled narrative that seamlessly blends horror and fantasy, this novella weaves a mesmerizing tale of longing and schemes, rituals and punishments, remembrance and reality, and past and present that’s so richly and brilliantly recounted that it’s entirely immersive. Heartrending in its secret histories, it’s an exploration of life and death, rules and freedom, and injustice and struggle. Grotesque and beautiful, tragic and devastating, Merciless Waters is above all a powerful and unforgettable Sapphic love story that will haunt readers long after its final line.

Thank you to BookSirens and Brigids Gate Press for providing a digital ARC of this novella for review consideration.

❤Amanda

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