Shark Heart is, in so many ways, a very ME book. It’s well written, it’s unusually structured, and it’s about a man who turns into a shark. Books about metamorphosing have been my jam since I read Kafka decades ago, and in recent years, I have loved both Nightbitch and Chouette. People turning into animals seems to be having a moment, and I’m here for it.

Despite that, Shark Heart didn’t entirely work for me. While I did like elements of it, it just didn’t come together cohesively. It felt like it was a collection of (well done) exercises from a creative writing workshop put together to make a book. The play scenes, the vignettes, and the longer narrative sections were all interesting, but the throughline of the story kept getting lost. I enjoyed it while I was in it, but as soon as I stepped away, I just didn’t care about picking it back up.

My other issue is that the mutations in Shark Heart just didn’t make sense to me. As I mentioned, I typically love stories in this microgenre, so I never expected to have this reaction. I don’t mind weird. I’m happy to go along. But I realize now that the books that are hits for me all have transformations that fit and deepen the story. Gregor’s misery turns him into a roach-like beetle; the owl baby in Chouette represents a neurodiverse child struggling to fit into the world; the mother in Nightbitch feels herself slipping away and morphs into a primal creature. In Shark Heart, people just…transform. With no rhyme or reason. The mutation could easily be replaced by any real degenerative disease and the story wouldn’t change much. Without a bigger meaning, the mutations just felt like a plot device and almost gimmicky.

I am seeing many, many raves for Shark Heart, so my less enthusiastic review is definitely in the minority. I think if you typically shy away from “weird” books, you might give this one a try. If you read a lot of weird, you might find this one a little safe for your liking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book.

Shark Heart has a fascinating premise, but I likely wouldn't have picked it up without a rave review from a trusted source. I'm so glad I did. The writing was lyrical and lovely. The story was inventive. I instantly loved the characters. I'm always a little nervous when a book switches focus so definitively and I wasn't immediately sold on Wren's mother's storyline or hearing from the perspective of a shark; however, this book completely shattered my expectations - Wren's mother's storyline and Wren's upbringing added to my understanding of Wren and I was so intrigued hearing Lewis thoughts and life as a shark. I look forward to whatever Habeck writes next.

Thank you, Emily Habeck, Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

Wren and James are newlyweds. Shortly after their wedding, James starts to notice that his body is changing. When he goes to the doctor, he's told that he has a rare condition that is slowly turning him into a great white shark. At first, Wren and James go about living their lives as if everything is normal. Soon, the change in James is undeniable. To cope, Wren reminisces about her childhood on a houseboat, her time spent with her college ex-girlfriend, and she befriends a woman pregnant with twin birds. The story of how Angela, Wren's mother, became pregnant with Wren at the age of fifteen and was also weaved into the book. All these small stories end up guiding Wren and helping her make a huge decision at the very end.

Shark Heart is Emily Habeck's debut novel. This is one of the most uniquely written books I've ever read. This story is heartbreaking but also beautiful. You not only experience the love between husband and wife, but you also experience the love of  mother and child. This is one of those stories that is more than just a book you read. It's something you experience. It's a book that will move you and have you feeling emotions you can not put into words. I don't think this writing style or story will appeal to everyone, but if you give it a chance, it's an incredible journey.

Favorite Quote: "Just seeing what is like to love you when I can't see you."

This book wasn't quite what I expected. The premise intrigued me--as did the cover--but I wanted a little more than what the author revealed. I wanted to be immersed in the world of mutations (I'm a scientist--that could have something to do with it) and understand how these were normal things in Wren's world. I wanted to feel the characters and their emotions. I wanted to delve deeply into their psyche, but I totally felt like I was floating on the surface of this story. I also wasn't sure exactly why we needed to go back in time to hear all of Angela's story in order to understand Wren, and I felt like the writing relied heavily on telling rather than showing. Having said that, I like the message of the story, the themes, and the style was unique.

This was absolutely beautiful! I really enjoyed the writing and the non-linear timeline was done so well to further develop the characters. I really don't think the story will be for everyone as it is obviously very heavily into magical realism, but those who can see the metaphor for terminal illness would understand the storytelling choices. I also really appreciated how the narrative structure varied. Sometimes like a play, sometimes a super short chapter, sometimes a vignette into the past.

While I do think it was a bit long for my personal preference, I'm so happy a quirky, moving story like this has been published.

As I was reading this book, I had one constantly recurring word running through my head. WEIRD. Then I finished the book and took a few days to reflect on it and although it was weird, there were so many messages running through the pages that I know I will remember this story for years to come. So I urge you, if you start the book, don't be turned off by its weirdness. Keep reading and look at how much of the story really does apply to your own life and the lives of people around you.

A metaphorical look at true and unconditional love.
I loved this author’s writing despite the quirky plot of a husband mutating into a great white shark.
Most of this book kept me hooked, but there were parts where the story dragged or I was tired from the overwhelming amount of metaphor being used.
I also thought it would have benefitted from a little rearranging of the chronology of the story.
Overall, I’d love to read something new from this author. 3.75/5 stars for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon Element for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book - story and structure - as it was a unique experience. Wren and Lewis meet by chance and they're immediately drawn to each other. They fall in love and decide to get married; Wren is hoping they'll have a child. Lewis is a drama teacher and very involved with his work and students. Basically they're working through being a couple and both are caring and loving towards each other - Lewis is outing, outwardly loving and king; Wren is quiet, smart and structured - but it all works. Then Lewis starts feeling like something is off. He sees a doctor and finds out he has a mutation, and it turning in a shark. The story interweaves both of their backstories which shapes their hopes and fears in their life. The story deals with all types of relationships, grief, loss, metamorphosis, memory, living life and in the end finding the joy that creates purpose and meaning in life. What a wonderful story!

I never would have thought I’d be so captivated and emotionally invested in a love story about a newlywed man with a genetic mutation that causes him to transform into a great white shark, but here I am giving it five glowing stars!

Shark Heart is truly a love story, written in three parts. The first follows the relationship between newlyweds Wren and Lewis as Lewis learns of his carcharodon carcharias mutation, with part two exploring more of Wren’s backstory and relationship with her mother Angela, and finally part three revisiting Lewis and his transformation. The love story itself hit me in all the feels the entire way through, but the novel as a whole was also so much more. It was equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, made me laugh out loud at times while also bringing me to the verge of tears, and eloquently explored big themes of loneliness, grief and loss and love and relationships. It delved into what it means to be human and how people and relationships evolve over time, all in such an accessible and relatable way.

The writing and structure of the book is lyrical, beautiful and unique. It’s written in very short sections with some letters, poetry and scenes written in the form of a play mixed in along the way, and I just couldn’t put it down until I soaked in all of the gorgeous prose. The characters were so well-developed with unique personalities that I could relate to, and I wish I could spend more time especially with Wren and Lewis.

All in all, Shark Heart was a beautiful, bizarre, magical, spellbinding, and incredibly nuanced tale that I’ll be thinking about for a very long time. I don’t have enough words to do justice to how much of an impression this wildly unique and profound book has left on my soul!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Emily Habeck and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for us in the future after this stellar debut!

I took a chance on this book based on the intriguing description and I'm so glad I did! I'm a big fan of weird, dark books and surprisingly, this one was weird and...happy?! Ultimately, it's all about what it means to be a human and how all the mundane moments of daily life are what counts, not the big fancy accomplishments or material things that occupy so much of our mental energy.

It's fascinating to read others' reviews and see how people are interpreting the whole mutation into an animal thing. Lewis transforms into a great white shark, and as someone married to a person with depression, I read that mutation as being a metaphor for mental illness. Despite my mother dying of cancer, I didn't read it as a cancer metaphor like so many other readers did. I love that you can interpret the animal mutations any way you please--either way, humans are fallible, and life can throw all kinds of unexpected tragedies and traumas our way. What can we make of it when there's so much pain in the messy middle? How can we find joy?

At times, I found Lewis absolutely insufferable. He doesn't seem to see Wren as a whole person. Overall, Wren felt underdeveloped as a character despite being our protagonist. I LOVED the Angela section and by the end of it, I felt like I understood Angela more than Wren!

Sometimes it feels like this book is trying really hard to be deep, but I think sometimes it actually *is* deep. It may just depend on your mood when you read it.

Margaret C. Finnegan was a damn delight and I cackled picturing her singing Avril Lavigne songs to a miserable Lewis in the ocean.

Lastly, I'm glad there was no final scene where Wren and Joy meet Lewis in shark form, and no depiction of what Joy could mutate into someday. It's better without that cheesiness.

My only lingering qualm is... when the heck did Lewis have time to impregnate Wren?!? They could not have been having sex when he was 99% shark, right?!? I suspended disbelief the whole way through, and could not get past this one last thing haha.

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Note: I will be posting a review on TikTok at @evolution_of_emily sometime the week of 8/21.

This book had such a strange premise, it drew me in immediately. A woman named Wren has just gotten married to her husband Lewis, when he is diagnosed as turning into a great white shark.

This book was magic. I loved how the story was told in different perspectives/timelines/footnotes/scenes. Some of the things Lewis said and did were so profound. His realization with grief and depression made me so sad for him, but I’m glad he found companionship. As far as Wren, you can see (once you get the Angela part of the book) why she is how she is. Why she wasn’t necessarily frightened by the diagnosis, but more resigned to it and wanting to do whatever she could to stay and be with Lewis.

And oh, that epilogue! *cries* - i couldn’t believe that a book like this would affect me so much!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will need to come back to give and update so far I am enjoying this book and it looks like 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

4.5 stars!

This was a unique and fresh take on the trials and tribulations a couple must face when one of them is diagnosed with a chronic/terminal illness. In this debut novel, Lewis and Wren are newlyweds when he discovers that he has a rare genetic mutation, which gradually turns him into a great white shark (hence a magical realism element).

The story is told through alternating POVs: Lewis, as he tries adapt to the body that he no longer recognizes, and Wren, who must cope with her own grief while simultaneously navigating life as the caregiver for someone who becomes dangerous to her safety as undergoes this metamorphosis.

Many reviews I've seen compared Lewis' condition to someone with cancer, but as a psychologist, I find dementia to be a better analogy. His diagnosis is an incurable, progressive, degenerative condition that ultimately renders his brain and body unable to think, speak, or act like a human.

This was a poignant and bittersweet read about love, marriage, grief, and ultimately finding peace and joy in new beginnings, even when they were initially unwanted and unbearable. Emily Habeck is a promising and talented new voice in contemporary fiction and I look forward to her future works!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Mary Sue Rucci Books, and the author for an advanced copy of this book to read and review!

What a very interesting book. How she divided it up into sections about people who turned into animals.. It was like a play based on a novel. Lauren was a product of a teenage pregnancy, and she had to go through life... Her mother became a snake and you'll find out how this happened. Warren had a lot of problems in life, but she knows she was bisexual or heterosexual. Your husband Lewis also turned into an animal as well. He became a shark A woman named margaret who became good friends with him Because she was also a shark. This book had a lot of twist and turns in it. And it's very interesting. How many different issues in this book.

What a completely bizarre and utterly beautiful book.

When I finished Shark Heart, I closed my Kindle cover with a satisfied thwack and sat for a moment, staring into space and dumbfounded. Then, I told my husband that I had just finished the book and it was so good.

"What was it about? he asked.

I briefly started to explain but there was just no possible way. It literally seems preposterous.

I guess that is the sign of an excellent writer because to me it made perfect sense.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC of Shark Heart in exchange for an honest review.

✨ Review ✨ Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

This book is so gloriously weird that I reveled in every page.

The content is a little bonkers -- it's set in a world where humans can mutate into different animals. Leo and Wren, newlyweds, have to navigate Leo's mutation into a great white shark. And as bonkers as it sounds, Habeck beautifully humanizes the process, making Leo's transformation and Wren's care-work and the health care system seem oh-so-relatable.

The form of the book is also wild, alternating super short vignettes (some as short as a paragraph or a few lines) with slightly longer vignettes (a few pages) and intermittent theater scripts. I freaking loved this format. It was both raw and fully formed in a way that paralleled the human mutation process. Leo's passion for theater and his own work writing a play made the script excerpts feel incredibly smart (and also made me wonder whether these were pieces of HIS plays (and thus was the narration reliable??) or were they written to honor his passions?)

The book's labeled a Love Story, but it's not just romantic love, but also the love between friends, between parents and children, and between these sort of hybrid mutating creatures and humans. There are so many love stories present here in really lovely and raw forms.

Overall, I adored this book, and can't wait for what she writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: literary fiction
Reminds me of: nothing I've ever read
Pub Date: 08 Aug 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ clever / bizarre books, creative in content and form
⭕️ love -- romantic, familial, friends
⭕️ gorgeous book covers

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

One of the most unique love stories I have read recently. The book tells the story of Wren and Lewis. They meet and fall in love. We start the book as they are newlyweds and he is diagnosed with a strange mutation that will turn him in a great white shark within the next nine months. The book also tells the story of Wren’s mother Angela and her childhood. I love the way the story is told and the uniqueness of the story. This is a moving story about facing impossible choices, learning to move on and finding joy amidst grief. It has all the emotions- sadness, humor, and happiness. Many thanks to Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Shark Heart was recently published AND featured as a pick on Book of the Month! I had to check it out. It's a strange story, ostensibly of a man who discovers that he is mutating into a shark. The story, however, pivots to his wife and her story, her past, her pain, her strength, her resilience. It's a unique read for sure, but worth checking out! 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to this novel!

*𝐍𝐨 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬*

This is a book that will stay with me forever! This is very original and so refreshing. I wanted this arc based on the BEAUTIFUL cover alone, I didn’t read what it was about and I’m glad I didn’t. Why? Because a book about newly weds who discover that the husband, Lewis, is mutating into a great white shark doesn’t call my interest. But wow Emily!! Your mind is beautiful. This would’ve been a grand mistake in my part not giving this original, emotional, wonderful book a read that easily became a top fave for the year!

This is not a sci-fi or fantasy book. Although, yes, a human transforming into a great white shark isn’t possible (👀right?) you can relate it to the process of a loved one diagnosed with something terminal like Cancer or Alzheimer’s. The external and internal changes and hardships that affects the person and people around is extremely difficult.

Besides the phenomenal writing of this debut, there’s a little something for everyone in here. Theres topics that will pull on your heartstring like the difference between loneliness and being alone, mental health, love, hope, regret, what makes someone human, what makes a family, grief, moving on, and strength. While you see the transformation externally, there’s internal change within.

Part One is all about Lewis and Wren (FMC) and his transformation and their life as it’s happening. We also later on see Wrens mothers story and Wren. And two other parts that just solidifies that this book will forever live rent free in your heart.

If you are looking for a HEA, I can tell you that this isn’t for you BUT it’s still very well worth the read! It automatically went to the top reads this year! 🥹

Thank you @emily.habeck for the arc! It’s an original. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking but should be read by everyone. 🦈❤️

𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚: “you make everything better than when you found it, even me.”

What a strange but good book! I haven’t read anything quite like it. Surprisingly sad as well.
Definitely would recommend!