I read an eARC of Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles. Thank you NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC.

This is a relatively short horror book about a woman who lives on a ship manned by all women in a magical world set in a time when that simply wasn’t done. When we meet her, she knows something bad is going to happen. Turns out that the other women, including her partner Lily, have rescued a man from the ocean. Our protagonist knows that Lily will take the time to sleep with the man, and she immediately starts thinking of ways to kill the man.

This turns into a goal, especially when his presence appears to make people start to remember before the ship, starting with their names. Soon the women of the ship start doing self-destructive things such as jumping in the water with the intent to drown themselves. As the captain takes them to learn why this is happening and how to start it, a snake on the ship starts telling our protagonist stories of some of the women remembering on the ship.

In the end, she and Lily must decide if they will follow their memories to their final destination.

The book was odd, and the beginning didn’t grab me. Once the stories of the other women started being told, I found myself interested and invested in the crew and wished we had a few other crew members’ stories as well. The ending truly made the book for me, though I had guessed most of the revelations by that time.