4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this! “Merciless Waters” is a horror novella set aboard a boat! The story is rooted in Slavic mythology.

This book is so atmospheric and unique. It’s so beautifully written and the symbolism is incredible. I also have to appreciate the fact that this is sapphic!

Overall, I recommend it to anyone who thinks this might be up their alley!

sapphic pirate mermaid man killers.

merciless waters was so delicious, i devoured it in one day. the ending had me utterly shocked.

Merciless waters introduces us to a group of seven women sailing through the endless sea in a ship named Scylla. Above it, the women live forever in the present. There is no past.

Here, we meet Jaq, who is forever in love with Lily, and who can feel her love slip through her fingers when they catch sight of a man adrift in the sea. Jaq is sure they must get rid of him, an idea that only gets more powerful when the man brings something unwanted to the ship: memories of the past.

With a book full of symbolism, toxic relationships and intriguing women, Rae Knowles delivers us a book that could be read a thousand times. Be it the feeling of being fully in the present it gave me, the more than interesting relationships on that ship, or the stories that were told, this book had me on the edge of my seat at all times.

What I liked most about this book, aside from its fucked up relationships, was the feeling it gave me of being in the present. By not giving much thought to what the characters wore, and not being too descriptive, Knowles manages to make it very hard for us to figure out which period of time we’re in. Which, at the end of the day, is one of the major themes throughout the book: the present and its endless possibilities.

Aside from that, the relationship between Jaq and Lily did more than keep me on my toes. By making me smile, angry and incredibly sad, they took me through a rollercoaster of emotions from the beginning.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

I support women’s wrongs (tearing men apart with their bare hands by the light of a full moon, doing animal sacrifice, tormenting faithless lovers for eternity)

The writing was a bit choppy at times, particularly at the beginning, and I'm not completely sold on the ending. But I just loved the vibes and the way that this story never overexplains itself.

Jaq's lover has betrayed her. She has found the bed of another man. She has done this before, and she may do this again. Together, among many other women, they are awash at sea, worshipping their goddess, Scylla. This is always how it has been. Will it be this way forever? And how long before did it begin?

This book was a ride and a HALF and I absolutely loved it! It's so dark and creepy, wildly compelling. The cast is more of a sketch, than anything, which is not surprising in a less than 150 page novella, but it does work very well for the setting. I think the character work really adds to the emotions and ambience of the story.
I love Jaq's narrative voice, and how difficult her emotions are in this novella. It was very enjoyable to read from her voice. I really look forward to getting myself a finished copy so I can share some of my favorite lines! There are some very amazing ones that I highlighted in my ARC on Netgally.

This book fits into the recent "Oh Dear God, but Good for Her I Think?" genre that I have been DEVOURING recently. I would highly recommend this novel, it is eerie and unsettling and utterly delightful.

This book is usually not the genre that I gravitate towards; however, think that the author writes in such a beautifully detailed style that it makes it amazing. I loved the world and the premise of this being about an all female crew on a pirate ship. I loved the rage that fueled each of these characters. The twists and turns in this novella will get your heart pumping.

Three stars for the concept more than the execution. Queer pirates are generally my fave but these ones were a bit hard to relate to. The main character is entirely defined by her jealousy and the object of her affection is an unbelievable narcissist who just enjoys toying with people. So that wasn't ideal.

But points for the settings and vibes, which were pretty immaculate. I don't have a ton of Slavic folklore knowledge but was interested to learn more about this mythology of vengeful female water spirits.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

i geniunely had no idea what was happening or where this novella was going until the very last 80% of it, a lot of stuff were happening all at once and everything was messy. I admit the writing was good and it had a great concept and potential but just fell flat for me. the reason for this rating is simply because i wish i had gotten more into it and understood the depth of each character well rather than being introduced to them and then being left with nothing. the ending was very abrupt and left out a couple of unanswered things, i wouldnt really recommend it to anyone if im being honest.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange of an honest review

Okay so I loved this, read it in the space of a few hours, it was phenomenal.

Merciless Waters follows a crew of seven women aboard a ship named Scylla, a ship which sails endlessly through time, forever ongoing into the present. We learn that the crew of this ship have no past, but they have no need of it, they just have the endless present laid out in front of them. However, one day Jaq notices a man floating in the sea and leaves him to his demise, but Lily her lover spots him and pulls him aboard. From here the women of Scylla know nothing but trouble as Jaq loses Lilly to this man - Reginald, Jaq's murderous rage takes hold, and the crew begin to remember their 'before' giving them new purpose.

This was a super short, but faced paced sweet sapphic novel, with a little horror thrown in, which was full of twists and turns and a smidge of feminine rage, which we all love. The love story, yes, it was toxic, however imagine having someone that would murder for you?!

5/5 from me and probably one of my top reads of the year, 100% worth it!

Started this because sapphic pirates who murder men is right up my alley, but this novella saw my expectations and then turned around and delivered something so much deeper. I was thrilled by the complexity (read: absolute messiness) of the relationships between Jaq and Lily, the slow reveal of its folkloric elements, and the prose is truly stunning. It's lush and strongly atmospheric in a way that inched its way under my skin until I couldn't look away and flips with ease between strongly sensual and deeply disturbing, sometimes hitting both at once.

Recommended for: fans of literary folk horror, unhinged women, messy sapphics, and feminine rage.

Merciless Waters
Rae Knowles
ARC
Novella, Folktale reimagining, Queer Horror

Thank you so much for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The all-women crew of the ship Scylla sail in an endless present without knowledge of their past. Between ancient magical rituals and spells, Jaq and Lily's romance has ebbed and flowed much like the tides aboard the ship alongside their found-sisters company. But a mysterious man found adrift at sea will soon change the fate of all crew members, infecting the crew with memories of their past and the sweet, poison of revenge.

Merciless Waters is a bite-size novella full of horror and unhinged romance, inspired by the Slavic folktales of the Rusalka, female sea-spirits of revenge. Rae Knowles masterfully captures feminine rage while using folk horror to amplify impassioned revenge and the pain of injustice. All the characters were mysterious but bland, with Jaq and Lily's relationship taking center stage in all its toxic glory. I loved how unhinged the story got as it progressed, delivering a satisfying, mind-boggling ending. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for short, sapphic monster-romance novels and fans of folktale reimaginings! The novella comes out November 14, 2023!

Rating: 4/5 (I enjoyed the novel but the cast of characters aside from Jaq and Lily left me unimpressed)

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Brigids Gate Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is gorgeous, and was my impulse to ask for this book. And this novella is great if you were wanting a quick story with deadly women pirates who kill and take revenge on men. The story can be a bit confusing at times, but overall is a quick read so if you were just wanting a palette cleanser, I would recommend this novella. The writing, the imagery, and the relationships all felt real and fleshed out, and getting into the head of the main character wasn’t difficult - nor was it difficult to sympathize with her, or her desires.

To get into why this story didn’t really work for me, however, it personally felt too rushed and like it was needing 100-200 more pages to make a more coherent story. There were a few times that it almost felt like there was a jumpcut between scenes that were supposed to be happening at the same time, and I had to reread it to even understand what was going on. (And some of these were important plot-related scenes, where I definitely think there should have been some buildup instead of it simply just occurring.) In some ways, reading this novella felt like watching a play happening with scene changes, but nothing in the middle to indicate why or when the scene had changed.

I enjoyed the main plot of the story, but overall I felt there was too much unexplained with the origins of the rusalka or their ship. We learn that they have no memory of their time before the ship, and it’s implied that their previous memories were removed. However, when they start to regain their memories, we’re told that the captain would be willing to help them get their revenge. If that’s the case, why the memory loss? There also seems to be some confusion about the festival, as when it was occurring it seemed to be something that they do yearly - and yet, when their destination was changed to the location it was a huge contention. Once again, I think a lot of this could be solved by just having a longer book that can go into detail about these (and other) things. Also, with such a short book, I think the other character’s histories and pasts should not have been explained in detail - they don’t really do much for us, the reader, other than adding more confusion to the plot.

I will also confess to not liking the ending, as it felt like a rather cop-out versus an actual conclusion to the story.

I’m not the biggest fan of the first person narrative that this story is told through. It wasn’t done poorly, but at times it didn’t feel like there was much variation in the storytelling voice. Even when the one telling the story wasn’t the main character, the voice still felt like the same character speaking. This isn’t the biggest deal, but it was kind of stark to have no difference in speaking voice between Jaq and the snake, during their chapters.

Overall, I can absolutely see the potential in this story and would absolutely be willing to give it another chance if it’s ever extended into a full novel. When the story was flowing well I really enjoyed it, but unfortunately for me there were too many rough patches to rate this higher than 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️
⚓🐍🐖⚗️👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

Well, this was a quick and horrific read. And I mean that in the best way.

This book was filled with "Rusalka" based on the Slavic Mythology. These women are malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. They hate men and take their revenge by eating violet ones.

It was a quick read, but it was filled with sapphic women, back stories on how many of the women died in their "past life" which they start remembering when a man comes on board their ship.

I felt sorry for Jaq, and the way she had to watch her love "play" with the man, but it is crucial to the story of Lily.

I recommend this book for those who like sapphic horror with women eating violent men as revenge.

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of the ebook. This review is left voluntarily.

I’m not going to lie, this was 100% an impulse request because of this gorgeous cover and then I heard spooky sapphic pirates and went yes please.

I don’t want to say too much because it is a novella, but I really enjoyed this. Knowles throws the reader into the story at the start and it did take some time to get bearings straight but I liked the turns the plot took and was fully engrossed in the story while reading it. I thought there was an impressive amount of character interaction and world building in such a short page length.

I think if you’re looking for retellings outside of the Greek pantheon and you’re in the mood for some feminine rage, you should definitely check this out!

Thank you NetGalley and Rae Knowles for this ARC.

It was the cover that caught my attention first. It’s beautifully illustrated and I love the subtle hints of what the narrative is within the story.

The horror aspect is very subtle but builds through the book and has roots in Slavic folklore which always captures my imagination. The narrative itself holds strong towards girl power, jealousy , love and revenge. How far would you go to get yours?

If you like lesbian fiction mixed with folklore horror in a piratesque setting. This is definitely one to read!

Merciless Waters is a tale of female anger, sapphic love and desire, and the desire all women have for truly safe space to let out the wild violence and desire within us.

Set upon the high-seas, on a ship gained by less then honest means, sails the crew of the Scylla. They have no future and no past, only the endless present stretching out in front of them. The Seas do not change and so neither do the crew.

Jaq is our POV character, and she is violent, wild, and full of desire for Lily. Lily is blown by the wind and her own longings without a care of how they affect others. Neither are perfect, both are exceedingly human and messy. They draw you in and make you feel the desires they have, you crave for their lust and violence to reach its end fulfillment even knowing how gruesome it may be.

The sameness of the crew and seas start to shift when a man is pulled from the sea. He brings with him the terror that is known to all women who must live amongst men, and the crew that has no past begins to remember.

This novella, while shorter then I desired, was exceedingly well done. In the short amount of time I had with the crew of the Scylla I fell in love with the different personalities and their wild way of life. While the main POV at times was a bit directionless and felt like the author was trying to meld both third and first person, the story itself held up and exceeded expectations.

It is rare to find a book that so well captures what it feels like to have male violence intrude into the internal world women create for ourselves, and our safe spaces. Even less capture the anger and violence we feel capable of and at times wish to see enacted upon the men who keep this world a terrifying place to exist as a woman. By the end of this book I found myself longing to be part of the Scylla's endless now and safety and revenge.

I would recommend this to you if you like the following things:
- Horror
- Female Revenge
- Female voices
- Pirates
- Lesbian/Sapphic stories
- Sea Magic
- Stories rich in desire
- Historical Fiction
- Indie Authors

My main word of warning will be that this is a horror novella, and does have cannibalism, gore, and violent deaths. Read the trigger warning the author included prior to starting your read through.

I received and ARC of this book at no cost/for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! This book was so cool! I've been loving the female pirate books this year and I think this just made the top of my list. This book was made up of horror elements, feminine rage, and sisterhood. Merciless Waters had me physically cheering for the crew members as they learned their backgrounds and took revenge on the men that had wronged them. While I read a ton of mythology retellings, I had never read anything about the rusalki before and I thought it was so fitting. This book was gruesome and twisted and I ate it up.

I normally find stories around this length (200ish pages) feel like they need to be shorter or longer. But, I thought this was perfect. It gave you plenty of time to get hooked but you were truly never bored. I read this in a few hours.

The only reason this book wasn't a five star read was because I really didn't feel that connected to the main characters especially Lily and I kind of hate reading about the main character pining over their love interest constantly. I see how it added to the book but is just a pet peeve of mine that takes me out of the story a bit.

2.5 stars
TW: Gore, ritualistic animal harm, sexual content, murder, violence against women

To see a gorgeous cover only to be confused as well as frustrated is putting it lightly on my experience with this novella. The writing was hard to get into and confusing at time from the flowery prose. It also confused me cause I thought this was going to be in a completely brand new fantasy world only to be greeted with names of countries that exist in our world.

As far as the story itself, it felt too condensed. The whole thing felt unfinished and broken off in large chunks only to be sewn back together to create this. I really wished this was much longer and gave this time to breathe.

An ethereal folklore re-telling, incandescent with female rage.

I loved this book. The prose, the soft world building, the deeply flawed, yet utterly compelling characters made it hard to put down.

As the book begins we are on an all-women pirate ship, following our main character Jaq. They've just found a man adrift at sea and have rescued him. The soft world building reveals parts of the characters and the story slowly, keeping the mystery of who these women are, how they got here, where they're going and why. The pacing was perfect, and the slow burn answering of these questions kept me turning the pages with the need to know.

The writing is beautiful. Here are a few of my favourite quotes:
"Long have I collected my anguish, stacked my rage into neat piles and sorted it. My list of grievances is written in blood. I shall grant them each their wishes, show them the trust nature of my unnatural predilections."

"Lily's love, too, is an unstable thing. Erratic like the flight path of a starling."

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

This is my first book by Rae Knowles, but I really look forward to more. Thank you to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for the advanced reader copy.

This book is best read in front of a fire, sitting in a circle with all your closest girlfriends, while offering sacrifices to the oldest gods.