Free review copy received from the publisher!

Me: I couldn’t be more afraid of the ocean if I tried

Julia Armfield: Hold my beer 

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I loved this quietly devastating and mysterious debut novel from the author of salt slow, one of my favourite short story collections, but I’m not sure 100% of readers will feel the same way. The horror isn’t as prevalent as it is in salt slow. Instead, a queer love story is at its watery heart, and exploring what happens when the person you know and love most becomes unknowable. How you come to terms with letting that person go.

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Of course, there are plenty of eerie parts and delightfully squeamish imagery, especially if sea creatures give you the creeps (one of my deep-seated fears is 🦑😐) But I loved it! It’s a far cry from lots of the dark stuff I read, which granted isn’t *that* much, but it felt original and fresh to me.

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I’ve read a few novels lately where the writing has left me seriously wanting, so it was good to be back in the assured arms of Armfield (sorry). Her writing has a strange calmness to it, beautiful even when describing something disgusting or creepy. It’s serene, which makes the unsettling even more so. It’s dual perspective and I loved both parts, though Leah’s sections when she’s entombed in a submarine cut off from the world were particularly magnetic.

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I’m going to need Julia Armfield to enjoy a long and prosperous writing career, as I need a fix of her morbid and gorgeous brain at LEAST every two years. Please and thank you.