This was a really interesting read.

Actually it was fantastic and completely unputdownable. It was well written and the plot was well structured and excellently paced.

We follow Esta as she grows up with the stories of her land and learns to look outside of her community for answers.

This gave me Moana but sad vibes.

I enjoyed this book, a dark tale coming of age tale set amongst an isolated and controlling island cult. The story centres on Esta, who grows up on Eden within a religious cult which is cut off from the rest of the world. Her Grandmother warns her about the Seawomen, mermaids who will try to tempt her towards darkness. On the island, changes in the weather, crops failing, or women not bearing children, are blamed on the influence of the Seawomen. Every girl on the island is married off and given a "motheryear”, she must give birth within the first year of marriage or face the brutal consequences. However, she begins to uncover the secrets of this community. It's a dark read and you are drawn right into these characters. There are complex relationships between the women, friendships and mother daughter relationships. It was a bit different and very well written, high;y recommend.

I did find this story a little bit slow in pace, but I still enjoyed it!

This was beautiful, dark and heartbreaking all at the same time. It was such an enchanting, well-written story with well-developed characters and an intriguing storyline!

Thank you for the e-arc. I have requested this book because of the synopsis, it didn't disappoint.

This is a very interesting combination of fantasy novel and old religious cults! The society is a frustrating one, but I loved how the author managed to create something that got me so emotional.

The pacing (considering that the plot takes place over a number of years) is balanced. The plot is interesting and keeps you wanting to find out more. The ending was one thing that I didn't fully appreciate. The ending is left ambiguous and I don't always appreciate this type of ending. But I see how people would love to think what was happening next.

Thank you for my eARC of this book and sorry it took me so long to get to it! I loved this genre defying book. It took me a few chapters to get into it but once I was I was v invested!

In her acknowledgments at the end of the novel Chloe Timms thanks her editor for their willingness to “embrace genre fluidity” quite simply the best thing I’ve ever read in an acknowledgment section and so true of this novel. While the blurb seems to describe this book as a dystopian, feminist novel it is also a fantasy novel at times. Fantasy is one of my least favourite genres and yet nothing could dent my love of Esta and my desire to keep frantically turning e-pages to find out what would happen to her and to hear what secrets were kept from her.
For me the overriding theme was terrifyingly one of internalised misogyny. While the male characters, in particular Father Jessop are overtly controlling of the women and girls on the island it is their own acceptance of the status quo and for some their passionate need to wield that power against their fellow women. Esta’s grandmother for example is a woman of no redeeming features whose harsh judgement of her own daughter as well as of the sea women is worn as a badge of honor and a sign of her dutiful obedience to Father Jessop’s particular brand of Christianity. This really resonated with me especially as we watch the rise of the right wing nationalists in the American Republican party with women including female politicians gleefully overturning Roe v Wade and church’s interpretation of God as a cruel master, unaccepting of different faiths, cultures, sexualities, gender expression etc
While I can’t see it being possible with current globalisation and mass media to hide a community on an Island and raise citizens with this level of fear and judgement I expect there are a good few women living in Texas and Florida who feel as though they are cut adrift and surrounded by shark infested waters.
The message of this book is, to borrow a mantra from the cartoon fish Dory in Finding Nemo “Just keep swimming” to keep fighting against oppression even if all those around you find it easier to take on the characteristics of the oppressor in order to keep themselves ‘safe’.

This book completely captured me from the get go! This was such an enchanting read, it was so well written, it was lyrical and teh characters were so interesting.

I cant rate this book highly enough, every one need to read it.

The Seawomen is quite simply magical.
This genre-bending story of Esta, trapped on ‘the island’ as part of a truly sinister religious cult is so atmospheric and beautifully written it’s almost hypnotic. The cult itself is both dark and highly-believable in turns, and has shades of the church which is then mixed in with the mystical sea people to make a rich and fulfilling universe.

Beauty - must read.

Although this wasn’t quite expected, I fell for the characters, the island and their dystopian existence; both frightening and beautifully written. Thoroughly enjoyed this!

A really interesting combination of fantasy novel and cults! I couldn’t help but be frustrated by yet another society of women being gaslit and dominated by men, but Chloe Timms put it across in an incredibly compelling way.

Considering that the novel took place over a number of years, the pacing was good and we were able to follow Establish as she developed from a pious child to a young woman with her own ideas.

I liked that the ending was somewhat ambiguous - the reader is left to imagine whether the book has a happy or tragic ending.

Overall very enjoyable.

It took me too long to get into this, and I ended up jumping to the end to see where we were headed .. totally presentable writing and mostly engaging characters but maybe just not for me

A wonderfully intriguing story with myths and fantasy mixed in. I enjoyed this book immensely, thanks for letting me review it!

This was such a powerful book, a much more serious read than my usual books, but wow was this spectacular.

It took a little bit to get into the main story, but sometimes a slow pace just makes it easier to build the storyline and I found that once you got into it you wouldn't be able to put it down.

I was wondering if there was going to be any fantasy links when I started this, but I was not disappointed in that sense either, you get a perfect mix of seriousness and supernatural and it's definitely a book I would recommend.

A novel set in an isolated community. There were elements of The Handmaids Tale in this dystopian drama. Though well written, I did not enjoy the story and failed to finish.

In the Seawomen we follow Esta, who's explaining us how the life on her island, Eden, is. How it was for her to grow up with her grand Ma on this patriarchal island where women aren't allowed to look of even think about the sea, in fear of being possessed by the seawomen who want to destroy the island. Well... at least that's what the priest and his ministers are saying.
And the more she tells us, the more we wonder... are the Seamwomen even true?Or is it just a trick of those men to keep the women in check?
The story was very appealling and slightly stressing toward the end. The beginning is Esta's life until now, and the last part is quite quick paced. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see what else Chloe Timms will bring out next.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a free e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

I really wanted to enjoy this story, but this was unfortunately not for me. Some sections were enjoyable, and I enjoyed the writing and originality of the story, but I'm not typically a huge fan of dystopian reads. It's worth a go though!

I sadly could not get into this one and I'm gutted because it sounds and looks amazing.

I'm so gutted!! Maybe I'm in the wrong headspace for it? I might try and pick it up another time.

An isolated island in the grip of a religious cult - stuck in their own dystopia that rules every aspect of their lives, and the fear creates to keep them in line

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC to review. I adored this book, and I am on the hunt for a copy for my own bookshelf. It was a beautiful story that stayed with me after I finished it.

While this was slow paced at first- it does pick up.

This is book delving into isolation and how religion is used as a weapon of control and to oppress women. It’s interesting to see, again, how elders and other women are used to spurn and spy on each other and report them.

This was a hard read as I was not in the right mood or headspace to read a “dystopian” world, considering the current world too.