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A review by chronicreader96
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

3.0

Rounded down from roughly 3.5 stars ⭐️

Our Wives Under the Sea swaps between the point of view of Miri and her wife Leah. Leah has just returned from a submarine work trip that did not go as expected. But the Leah who returns is a stark contrast to the one who left.

I’m not 100% sure what I’ve just read, which makes this book quite difficult to review. I absolutely loved the unique take and can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before. It had a horror element and atmosphere that I lapped up. But, I was never fully sure what was going on. Maybe it is just as the story describes it, maybe it’s meant to be confusing and suspended from reality. Or maybe I have missed something. Either way, I love reading something different and I know this haunting storyline will stay with me for a long time.

One of my biggest issues, aside from the general confusion, was that I didn’t connect to either Miri or Leah. This always dampens my enjoyment of a book but especially when books are set from multiple POV’s. That being said, this book kept me turning the pages and although I was confused and unattached, I didn’t want to put it down! The tension created by the submarine trip really sucked me in. I particularly loved Leah’s chapters because they had a dark and creepy atmosphere. I could really picture myself trapped in the submarine. Overall, I cannot wait to see what this author does next as this was a promising debut novel.

I recommend this for fans of horror but please be prepared for quite an unusual read! I want to thank Netgalley, Pan Macmillan (Picador) and Julia Armfield for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.