First up a big big thank you for allowing me to read this one. Sadly, I am DNF-ing as the book and I are just not clicking.

I loved the first two stories (a sailor, a rowboat, and hungry creatures in the dark + a girl who has found both love but also is intrigued by the creatures of the sea that kill), hated the third one (climate stuff is just a big fat bye bye from me as I already see it much outside of books and just want to escape it at times), liked the fourth one (though hated the MC), got bored with the 5th story (yawn). And sorry, but none of the poems worked out for me, in fact I couldn't even tell you what they were about. I tried re-reading them but they wouldn't stick. I just feel bad for skipping the poems (as they are probably half of the book) and with the way the stories went (1 and 2 great, 3 meh, 4 OK, and 5 boring) I am just not sure if I want to continue, so for now I won't. Maybe one day I will pick it up again.

Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea by Julia C. Lewis is art in book form. I loved this story sooo much! How can an author be this genious? This is a masterpiece!

Thank you so much to Brigids Gate Press and NetGalley for allowing me to access this collection in advance. This was a wonderful blend of stories and poems centered around a theme I particularly love: dangerous females from the depths.

I appreciated the eerie and dreadful atmosphere woven throughout the entire collection, and some of the most gruesome elements were executed beautifully. The high quality is maintained across all the stories; however, I did have a favorite in "Meat Cute" by Desirée M. Niccoli I adored the descriptions and setting, while my favorite poem was "The Huntress" by Lucy Collins due to its striking imagery and sentence construction. I couldn't get enough of the description of the creatures and of the sea.

Additionally, I think the cover is absolutely beautiful.

A great idea for a collection but unfortunately a weak execution. I wanted to love it, there were interesting takes on sea folk in there but most of the short stories were lukewarm at best and a bore at worst

Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea is a captivating collection that masterfully blends prose and poetry, weaving tales of mermaids, selkies, sirens, and the dangerous women lurking beneath the waves. Each piece feels both eerie and enchanting, pulling the reader into a world where beauty and peril are inseparable.

What I especially loved was the alternating structure between poetry and short stories. This format kept the pace lively, never allowing the narrative to drag. The quick transitions from verse to prose had me hooked, making it impossible to put the book down. It's the perfect read for lovers of horror and the macabre, but with a twist of mythological intrigue for those who appreciate sea creatures and folklore.

I read this anthology in just two days, not only because I was eager to review it, but because it held my attention from beginning to end. Though I breezed through it, I look forward to revisiting it at a slower pace, perhaps by the sea in the fall, to savor each story and poem more thoroughly.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Brigid Gate Press for the advance copy of this wonderfully eerie anthology. If you enjoy dark tales that still hold a sense of magic, Dangerous Waters is a must-read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This anthology of dark sea creature stories and poems is massive at 40 or so pieces. I was so excited as someone who really enjoys the darker side of mermaids, selkies, and the like. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this collection. Aside from a lot of grammar and spelling errors in my copy, I found myself largely uninterested and bored by the majority of the collection. The editor had written that they struggled with cutting down and selecting pieces and honestly, more culling needed to happen. I am normally able to note any standouts, but again, just uninteresting to me.

Thank you NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press. I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was one of the best anthologies I've ever read. There wasn't a single page that I didn't enjoy from start to finish.

It had a dark creepy tone that stayed the same across the whole book, and that tied all the stories and poetry together like a siren's wail during a storm at sea.

Absolutely wonderful in every way, and I'm sure the mermaids will be haunting my dreams for weeks to come.

This is an anthology of both poetry and short novellas all about dangerous women of the sea: mermaids, selkies, sirens amongst them. It being an anthology I’m sure you’d be able to find one piece you really enjoy. I didn’t have a clear favourite but it was a nice little read and it was nice to read shorter bits from many different authors.

I absolutely love the concept of this anthology, exploring mermaids, sirens, and other “dark” ocean mythology. I really appreciated how diverse it was, not just in the number of authors but the storytelling styles too, with everything from poems to short stories and more. This wide range let this topic be explored to its fullest. Like all anthologies, there were some I loved and some that didn’t work as much for me, but all in all there was a lot here to enjoy.