In this book a person can contract a disease that will turn you into an animal of some sort. A few weeks after getting married, Wren finds out that her new husband will turn into a great white shark. Now she must deal with this present situation, her childhood memories, and her own mothers tragic history.
This book is quite imaginative and definitely makes you think about lifes turn of fate.

THIS BOOK! oh my gosh- The concept felt SO strange and yet somehow, its one of my favorite most heart wrenching books of the year!! Such beautiful writing!

"'𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵,' 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢 𝘣𝘺𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦."

𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧 is the weird and wonderful story of Wren and Lewis who learn shortly after their wedding that he suffers from a condition that will cause his body to turn into a great white shark. I know - it sounds crazy but this outrageously imaginative premise brought me to tears.

Emily Habeck explores marriage, motherhood, grief and love in this stunning debut, and I love the way she plays with prose. She had me laughing and crying all in the span of a page, and I was blown away by how she imbued so much hope into what could have been a tragic tale.

This is our Read Spin repeat Book Club pick for August and I cannot wait to discuss what I know will be one of my favorite reads this year.

Thanks to Simon Element and Mary Sue Rucci Books for the copy to review.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you @emilyhabeck, @_simonelement, @marysueruccibooks, and @netgalley for the eARC of Shark Heart which is out NOW!

It took me a while to gather my thoughts about Shark Heart and write this review. Like lots of literary fiction, I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I finished it but overall, Shark Heart is really poignant.

I was drawn in to reading Shark Heart because I wanted to read the story of a man turning into a shark. I binged the first half of the book as a result, however, the story was so much more than that. It reflects on love, loss, marriage, the relationship between mothers and daughters, grief, and life in general. Shark Heart masterfully depicted how life and love can be so sad, but yet there are things to savor in spite of that sadness.

Love isn’t without loss, but maybe loving in spite of a long, painful loss is brave. And worth it. Even if it hurts.

Overall, Shark Heart is a beautifully written, thought provoking debut novel!

Heartbreakingly beautiful read. This book is an incredible debut novel with so many elements to completely hook you in from the beginning.

This was Such an interesting story and a incredibly unique way of telling it. The style was so captivating. I Really enjoyed this one!

Shark Heart from Simon Element

“As they say in the theater, suspend your disbelief. Otherwise, the reality of this world is very much like yours and mine.”

I think this is going to be the most memorable book I read all year. I can’t picture anything topping it, despite for months left to go in the year. It is the first book in a long while to keep me awake until 4:50 am, desperately fighting sleep to reach the ending.

This is a weird book. You can tell that from its premise alone. I think I expected the premise to be played for laughs. It wasn’t. And that made what it accomplished even more surprising. It passed what I like to think of as the “Monster Pig Test” Years ago, I was listening to a Q & A with Jonathan Sims about his horror anthology podcast, The Magnus Archives and he talked about an episode he wrote about a terrifying pig on a farm. See, it really was frightening, and he argued that it was so much harder to pull that story off properly because it wasn’t intrinsically scary, not the way something like a ghostly child singing twisted nursery rhymes is intrinsically at least creepy. It takes effort to make the pig story work.

This book passes The Monster Pig Test. It somehow manages to make the story of a man who literally transforms into a Gray White shark into a poignant and reflective love story, that is both tragic and hopeful. It would have been so much easier to play this plot for laughs or horror, but Emily Habek took the harder road and made it something beautiful instead. Horrible too, but hopeful and meaningful always.

The pacing took some getting used to - at nearly the halfway point it feels like it should be over, and there are far too many pages left for the story that’s already been told. The story slows itself almost to a stop, where nothing should be left over to even tell. But it was worth it in the end, and in retrospect I think it needed that slow space. It would have been easy for the story to end there, but this is a story about hope too and climbing from the darkest point to still build a life full of love.

This one was experimental and emotional. Lewis discovers he's mutating into a Great White Shark, and he tries to make peace with this major life transition as he prepares to lose his life. His wife, Wren, has already lost her mother to mutation. The whole story uses the strange concept of mutation as an extended metaphor for terminal illness, loss, and grief. It was done so well! I was expecting something that came across gimicky and silly, but it was presented in the most natural way. By the end, I believed there was an alternative reality where animal mutations were a normal diagnosis as common as cancer.

The writing in this one was poetic, too. It was almost stream of consciousness, with choppy vignettes, and pages of script. It was experimental, but it worked well. I cried several times and felt a deep connection to the characters. I'm glad I picked it up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Wren and Lewis are madly in love when their world gets rocked by a strange diagnosis. Lewis has a condition that is transforming him into a great white shark.

Ok sounds cuckoo I know. But I imagined this condition as any terminal diagnosis one might receive and how that person and their loved ones deal with such a diagnosis.

It was heartbreaking and sad, while also being uplifting and hopeful. It’s about overcoming grief and finding joy.

The authors writing is concise and beautiful, poetic at times. They are short pages that pack a lot in and keep the reader intrigued. Guarantee you will reread many of these lines.

Short synopsis: Lewis has a rare disease where he mutates to a Great White Shark, his wife Wren cares for him and her history.

My thoughts: I’m going to start by saying, the premise on this is weird…. But don’t let that scare you from reading this. Is so unique, creative, and special. It’s raw, and deep and painful. It has so many deeper meanings, and the words so beautiful and poetic. Words about love, family, marriage, loss and lengths you go to for those you care about most.

I told my husband about this at the airport, I was weeping reading some lines aloud to him:
“He was an aimless kite in search of a string to ground him to the world, but instead, he’d found Wren, a great, strong wind who supported his exploration of the sky. “You make everything better than when you found it, especially me. Thank you for a wonderful marriage.”
Meanwhile, my husband was googling shark people. Very romantic.

I’ve never read anything like this before, and I probably won’t read anything like it again.

Read if you love:
🌻 Unique premise
🌻 Metaphors
🌻 Stories of love and loss
🌻 Marriage, family and motherhood
🌻Magical realism mixed with family drama

A gorgeous debut novel of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great white shark.

When I first heard the premise of the novel I was unsure what to expect. It's honestly a difficult book to describe because I've never read anything like it before. The author has written an incredibly creative debut novel. I was captured from the start by her beautiful, poetic writing. I was entranced by Wren and Lewis.. The story unfurled in an unexpected way and led me to contemplate everything from marriage to motherhood to caring for ill relatives to ethical medical care. I highly recommend this beautiful debut novel; I think it will touch you as much as it did me.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an emotionally resonant debut! A newlywed couple has to grapple with a life altering diagnosis. There were some absolutely gorgeous passages and I found it to be surprisingly engaging for being so experimental.

At 55% we get a part 2 and at first I was frustrated- but I absolutely see now why the author added it.

Im not connected with it as many other readers are, but still a solid 4 star read.

This book was really enjoyable and inspiring. I loved reading it. Thank you so much for the ARC. I really appreciate it.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the entire concept of this book! The story was so real and down to earth, even when the animal mutations came into play, it felt genuine. This definitely isn’t your typical happily ever after romance but the way it played out for all the characters felt perfect for them. It was so refreshing getting to see different parts of the story from the past and future from other characters points of view. I would definitely recommend to anyone who lover true romance that can persevere no matter the circumstances!

'Shark Heart' is one of the strangest books I've ever read. It's weird! The premise, the calmness of the first few chapters as we settle into this reality where people can turn into animals, the factual way everything is presented is just so weird!

It's also one of my favorite books this year. It's beautiful. I cried several times while reading, the story and the characters are just heart wrenchingly good. Grieving for someone who is alive but not with you, who may not even remember you after a time, but all you're left with is them.

The writing is excellent, I'm so glad I picked this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately this archived before I could read it! I'm sure it's great and I'll get to it eventually, but for now I can't give it a full review. Thank you!

Shark Heart. Where to even BEGIN!

I first heard of this book when it was featured by Book of the Month Club. Its an experimental concept for a story, set in a world where humans can spontaneously mutate into other animals, following the lives and transformations of people affected by this condition. I was hooked on the premise, sight unseen. My NetGalley application came through, but I also purchased the BOTM edition of this book, and I’m so glad I did. Not only is the cover absolutely gorgeous, but this book was PHENOMENAL from start to finish!

It is very easy to manipulate my emotions and this book did just that. I don’t think I have ever cried so much while reading a single book, or at as many intervals. I had to slow down reading this one at my desk at work because I was not trying to bring attention to the crying. This book reached into my chest and pulled my heart out. The beautiful writing style enhanced the message and emotional magnitude of the story- expect lyrical chapters that are artistically pieced together, at times reading like poetry.

If you love womens/family fiction, if you are intrigued by the concept, if you are drawn to books about love and grief and the human experience, this book is for you. I think this book is best if you go into it blind, or at most with the blurb- do not look for spoilers or other plot points, just let yourself experience this book the way it was written. I will not be shutting up about this book anytime soon. Six out of five stars.

This was a surprising favorite of my year. I really enjoyed the pacing and writing tone of the author. The creativity and empathy around chronic illness was very well done. I look forward to reading more from Emily Habeck!

In an odd way this book reminds me of Nothing to See Here. The book has a world that looks very much like our own except for one key detail… in this book the detail is human to animal mutation. This is a common enough occurrence that there are medical specialists and facilities dedicated to the issue. The lead character, Lewis, mutates into a great white shark. I find myself with all sorts of questions - some odd and some philosophical Odd - all the animals were learn about are predators, do people mutate into more mundane things like lap dogs, squirrels,etc? Philosophical- once Lewis has mutated he still has human thoughts despite his animal appearance and nature, is he now and will he always be part human, what makes us human? Odd - how does divorce work? Philosophical- are the mutations a metaphor for mental illness? While the premise of the book seems silly, the feelings and issues dredged up by the book are substantial.

I wasn't sure what to expect when going into this book. I'm not typically a fan of weird books so the concept almost turned me off. I'm so glad I took a chance on it. This is such a beautiful book that I was only 15% through it when I burst into tears describing it to a friend. And it actually doesn't feel weird at all. Only wildly creative and somehow more true than if the story had been told in a straightforward way. I really appreciate getting this arc because as a bookseller, this is one of those books I feel I need to have read first to properly handsell to our patrons who might not think it's for them at first glance. Now I will be putting it into the hands of pretty much everyone who walks in.