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A review by tendaii8
A Sea of Wrath and Scoria by Whit Stanfield
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
OH, I AM HURT. I AM VERY MUCH HURT.
I don't think I have been so personally attacked like this in a while. I don't like this. I am not ok. The only option is for me to inject this directly into my veins so I can ride on this high until the next book comes out. I don't know what kind of crack Whit put into this to demolish me so thoroughly and have me begging for more but it doesn't seem healthy. This feels like a toxic relationship, and I'm being gaslit into loving. Does this make me a masochist? It's hard to say and we won't be examining the possibilities further.
I honestly wasn't very invested for the first 40% of the book which is purely because I tend to struggle with extended journey stories (I have a short attention span and crave action). Despite this personal flaw I was still thoroughly enjoying the story and writing and initially thought I would be rating this book 4 stars. By the 60% mark, I was firmly in that place where you're on the edge of your seat, either kicking your feat or flinging the book (or in my case my phone) across the room to mitigate stress. Whit uses incredibly beautifully descriptive language that at times confuses me but keeps me thoroughly engaged no matter what is happening. She is a master of slowly building the story and getting you quietly hooked with love and trauma and then ruthlessly death-plunging you into the abyss of the Marians Trench and I appreciate that in an author. This is such a wholly unique story to me I could never guess where characters and plotlines are going, which in a genre full of commonly used tropes and well-beloved character traits is such a treasure to find. I love a good Little Mermaid retelling as much as the next H2O: Just Add Water fan, but getting new distinctive stories like this is so special.
<b>Without going into too much detail, I'm going to outline here some of my thoughts while reading through the book.</b>
I don't think I have been so personally attacked like this in a while. I don't like this. I am not ok. The only option is for me to inject this directly into my veins so I can ride on this high until the next book comes out. I don't know what kind of crack Whit put into this to demolish me so thoroughly and have me begging for more but it doesn't seem healthy. This feels like a toxic relationship, and I'm being gaslit into loving. Does this make me a masochist? It's hard to say and we won't be examining the possibilities further.
I honestly wasn't very invested for the first 40% of the book which is purely because I tend to struggle with extended journey stories (I have a short attention span and crave action). Despite this personal flaw I was still thoroughly enjoying the story and writing and initially thought I would be rating this book 4 stars. By the 60% mark, I was firmly in that place where you're on the edge of your seat, either kicking your feat or flinging the book (or in my case my phone) across the room to mitigate stress. Whit uses incredibly beautifully descriptive language that at times confuses me but keeps me thoroughly engaged no matter what is happening. She is a master of slowly building the story and getting you quietly hooked with love and trauma and then ruthlessly death-plunging you into the abyss of the Marians Trench and I appreciate that in an author. This is such a wholly unique story to me I could never guess where characters and plotlines are going, which in a genre full of commonly used tropes and well-beloved character traits is such a treasure to find. I love a good Little Mermaid retelling as much as the next H2O: Just Add Water fan, but getting new distinctive stories like this is so special.
<b>Without going into too much detail, I'm going to outline here some of my thoughts while reading through the book.</b>
- Chapter 23 was a cruel play on my emotions and it took me a couple of hours before I recovered enough to pick up the book again to continue.
- Before the end (AND OMFG THAT END) it felt like Maren, in all her naive glory (because people don't tell her shit and she never got proper life experience before being thrust into this situation), tends to make things more difficult for herself. She is a person with very real human reactions which I find sometimes bothers me when I'm reading. I caught myself a couple of times yelling "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT YOU DUMB LOVABLE ANGRY BITCH 😭." And honestly, if that's not a sign I'm loving the book I don't know what is.
- Occasionally just in my head maniacally screaming ✨vEnGeAnCe✨
- In the exploration of her (rightful) trauma responses I ended up evaluating myself too because I had never even considered those experiences having that kind of effect on her and watching her going through it and coming out stronger was heart-wrenching and tragically beautiful.
- I love some good hearty exposition and I ate my fill in this book and it was so fucking satisfying. Truly healed me from the trauma of knowing absolutely nothing in the first book.
- SLAYYYYYYYYYYY QUEEN
- If you love yourself or are even just slightly fond of yourself, sign up for her newsletter and website right now to get access to bonus chapters and content because we are being FED.
I am so grateful to have the privilege to be a member of Whit's ARC team and while this book easily added to my stress during this finals season for uni, it was definitely my favourite part. I am practically foaming at the mouth to see what happens next.