Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea is the book I never knew I needed. Between mermaids, sirens, and the creepy deep sea in between, this one made me consider if I wanted to go into the ocean again.

This anthology is a mix of short stories, flash fiction, and poetry, told from the voices of many authors. I really enjoyed that there was such a wide range of styles and voices- it made me really excited to go and seek out other stories from a few of the authors. It's one of my favorite types of anthologies because there's so much here- so many stories, so many authors.

The entries vary in told, with some being terrifying, and others making me laugh. PET by Gully Novaro particularly gave me a chuckle, especially how quaint and short it was.

It's a quick read, but more than that, it's a fun read to have laying around and take in little by little. I found myself rushing through the entries because they were so short and I had to tell myself to slow down. It's an enjoyable read for anyone who wants a little mermaid in their life.

I love this so much! So creepy and so beautiful! I love mermaids for reasons. Keep it up ladies!
Every story stuck with me.

Dangerous Waters by Julia C. Lewis is a taut, suspense-filled thriller that keeps readers on edge from beginning to end. Lewis expertly weaves mystery and danger, crafting a gripping narrative that explores the depths of human emotion and hidden secrets. With sharp writing and well-drawn characters, it’s a captivating, fast-paced read that’s hard to put down.

I really enjoyed this as a water element that I was looking for in this type of book. I enjoyed the stories and how different everything worked together. Each concept worked overall and enjoyed the use of deadly sea women.

Dangerous Waters: Deadly Women of the Sea offers an intriguing look at myths and legends surrounding powerful female figures in maritime lore. The book presents fascinating stories, but the execution feels somewhat uneven, with some sections more engaging than others. While the research is evident, the writing can be a bit dry at times, making it less immersive than expected. Overall, it’s an interesting read for mythology enthusiasts but may not fully captivate all readers.

I received a free ebook copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

There are definitely stories here I quite liked, though some of them were just kinda meh. Not bad, just not great. A good few stories slot neatly into either the "scary mermaid kills people" category or the "mermaid is wronged woman who gets revenge" category without much extra to make them more interesting. This isn't really a big problem, I do love Fish(Woman) Violence, however it is possible my love for spooky mermaids has overexposed me to the concept & I'm a bit more critical of the subgenre than others may be.

Something that did bother me though was the content warnings section. I appreciate its inclusion but its execution is flawed. Rather than listing warnings for each story, they're all lumped together, so if there was a specific trigger you wanted to avoid you have no easy way of just skipping/preparing yourself for the specific story that includes it, which is kinda the whole point of content warnings? It also doesn't mention pregnancy, which is a specific thing I avoid; I get that this is maybe not a common thing to warn for and I probably shouldn't expect warnings for it for but it was still really annoying to go into thinking I would be generally fine with the entire collection only to be caught off-guard by Jellies and Ona Dolzhna Yest.

Some standout stories:

Coral, Again by E.M. Linden was easily my favorite of the collection, and home to my favorite quote of the book. It's so good.

Five Words Scribbled on a Gift Card by Christine Lucas is a fairly standard "trapped mermaid gets her return-to-the-ocean-item back and fucks up shitty husband" story but it was the first story in the anthology to really compel me. Best of Both Worlds by Dawn Vogel also used this trope but it had an added level of intrigue with the tattoo magic, plus the ending was kinda cute.

The Wall Women by Ann Wuehler had a very interesting concept, as did The Specter of Pearlhall by Cassandra Taylor; while neither story was my favorite I do appreciate that they did something weird and different that I wasn't expecting.

I would love to see Into the Water by Megan E. Hart and Tomokazuki by Marshall J. Moore as movies. They both have this compelling cinematic quality to them.

I'm not sure why Effigy by Victoria Nations was included in this collection. It seemingly has nothing to do with mermaids or water? It's fine as a story; it just feels really out of place?

The anthology also includes poetry, if you're into that. If not, it's easy to skip. Most of the poems were fine.

Overall, this is absolutely worth your time, but it is a bit of a grab bag. That just kinda comes with the territory for anthologies though; it's impossible to please everyone.

Compilado de histórias e poesias interessantes sobre o tema sereias e selkies (focas do mar), esses seres sedutores e por vezes tão traiçoeiras, como também o papel da misoginia nesse mito com o passar dos anos.

Os diversos autores desenvolvem as diversas facetas do mito, sem cair no mais do mesmo, com pitadas de horror muito bem inseridas, com críticas singelas que são uma grata surpresa e assim como todo livro de contos e coletâneas de poesias nem todas mexem com a gente de forma parecida com a outra.

Agradeço ao netgally e a editora por essa cópia.

A short story collection centered around the theme of “Deadly Women of the Sea”. Of course, many of these short stories and poems focus on various creatures quite familiar from folklore around the globe, sirens and mermaids and selkies, but there are also some more intriguing creatures included, which I enjoyed.
This anthology includes 52 different pieces (+ one extra short story from another anthology, included by the publisher as a freebie), from very short poems over flash fiction pieces to longer short stories on only 250 pages, so as you can imagine many are too short. They often focus on the darker aspects of the lore surrounding various oceanic creatures and hauntings, but sometimes adding newer or unexpected twists, which I enjoyed. However, due to the incredible amount of stories featured here, there are quite a few repetitions, particularly when it comes to the poems, which were often quite short and nothing particularly special, which was sad. In general, I think this collection could have been better if it had included fewer stories, focusing on the standout ones and the stories doing something new with creatures from the sea (such as Meat Cute by Desirée Niccoli, which features a Leviathan or Jellies by Elana Gomel, which includes Jellyfish-pregnancy horror or The Specter of Pearlhall by Cassandra Taylor, which is an incredibly well written gothic haunting) instead of the more folklore focused stories of sailors and sirens and mermaids drowning men and selkies escaping from abusive men, of which there were many stories and so they felt a bit repetitive after a while. Especially the poetry had very few standout pieces, as many were incredibly short and focused on sirens only, which just added to the feeling of repetition.
I did however like that there are some lesbian/sapphic stories included in this anthology, which was a nice change of pace sometimes, since very many of the stories are focused on luring men to their death or abusive men.
I still enjoyed this anthology quite a bit and if you enjoy ocean-based horror as well as stories that are gothic/dark/haunting you will definitely find some short stories you can enjoy in here. My personal favorites were Meat Cute by Desirée Niccoli, Best of Both Worlds by Dawn Vogel, Coral, Again by E.M. Linden, The Wall Women by Ann Wuehler, Mother Raised You Well by A.R. Frederiksen, Jellies by Elana Gomel, The Woman Who Drowned in the Detroit River by Kaitlin Tremblay, Driftwood by Kayla Whittle, The Specter of Pearlhall by Cassandra Taylor, The Children of the Sea by Paul M. Feeney and The Pearl Weeper’s Lament by Marianne Halbert.
I also liked that the anthology included trigger warnings. All in all this was a fun read to me as someone who likes oceanic horror a lot, but unfortunately due to including too many pieces and relatively few standout pieces when measured against the 53 pieces included here, my rating is not as high as I hoped it would be.
As always, I included some short thoughts + specific trigger warnings for each piece underneath here. Beware, it’s long.
The End of the World by Sandra Ljubljanović: A poem about a mermaid-apocalypse, I liked it
TW: death
The Song Below by John Higgins: A story about three sailors adrift at sea after their boat was sunken by a whale when one of them hears a lovely voice begging him to feed her. Rather typical mermaid fare, but an interesting start for this collection.
TW: mentions of cannibalism, death, dehydration, drowning
Whitebait by Patrick Rutigliano: An interesting poem told from the perspective of a mermaid, very intriguing writing style
Enraptured by Candace Robinson: A woman caught between the man she loves on land and her fascination with the murdering sirens of the sea. I really liked the messiness of the MC of this story and the fact that she couldn’t help but be drawn towards these grisly murders, it was interesting to read.
TW: gore, murder, implied off-page suicide
Song of the Mermaid by Emmanuel Williams: A short poem about a man hearing a siren’s call. It’s… okay.
*FAV* Meat Cute by Desirée Niccoli: I love the title and I love Lady Leviathan. An environmental horror revenge ensues when Lady Leviathan wakes from her long slumber and decides it is time to defend her ocean. It was lovely. Plus, the romance is sweet. Who doesn’t want an ancient horror to rescue them and then you get to destroy your enemies together?
TW: animal peril and death, environmental destruction, injury, murder, violence
What the Water Brings by L. Marie Wood: A short terrifying poem about returning as a monster. Intriguing writing style, but very, very short.
TW: drowning
Moon Over El Cerro by Samantha Lokai: A tale about a tragic end to a young love and the haunting that beckons the man when he returns to the beach his teenage girlfriend died on all these years ago. I liked the ending, that was a fun twist!
TW: drowning
Mermaid by Christina Hennemann: Another short poem from the perspective of a mermaid. Ok, but nothing particularly interesting.
Pet by Gully Novaro: A very short story about someone taking a swim with their newly adopted pet. Intriguing ending.
Five Words Scribbled on a Gift Card by Christine Lucas: This story combines selkie lore with mermaid lore and features a woman’s desperate attempts to please her husband, hoping he will return her pearls to her. With a gift card her husband’s grandmother left her, there might be a way. Satisfying ending.
TW: domestic abuse, grief, miscarriage
A Siren’s Shanty by Alice Austin: A fun twist on the wellerman shanty, but told from the perspective of a siren.
*FAV* Best of Both Worlds by Dawn Vogel: A selkie woman whose husband has used a magic tattoo to hide her key plans her escape. I really liked the focus on friendship in this story.
TW: kidnapping, sexual assault
Effigy by Victoria Nations: A woman sculpts a statue of her ex-girlfriend, who recently left her, with seagrass and marsh clay. Intriguing, but very short.
Tear Me Down by Mark Towse: A man finds himself bewitched by a creepy painting in an art gallery. Haunting and fun and I had a good laugh at the end.
The Temptress by Kristin Cleaveland: A short poem from the perspective of a siren.
Brine Mother by Ben Monroe: A fisherman pulls up a strange catch, kills it and finds himself pursued in revenge. Haunting and interesting, I really enjoyed this one!
TW: gore, murder
The Sea Hag by Kurt Newton: A poem retelling the story of how the Sea Hag came to haunt her part of the ocean. Interesting and despite its brevity manages to tell a full story.
*FAV* Coral, Again by E.M. Linden: A husband’s wife returns from her grave, but the longer she stays with him, the more she transforms into something else entirely. Heartbreaking and haunting and very, very beautifully written.
TW: grief
Sisterhood Rites by Eva Papasoulioti: A poem about joining sirens in their song.
*FAV* The Wall Women by Ann Wuehler: A heartbreaking story about a mother and a daughter, when the sea calls for the mother again. I enjoyed the body horror here a lot as well and the depictions of grief and loss were heartbreaking.
TW: body horror, gore, grief
The Price of Freedom by Rachel Dib: A very short story about a daughter, who found her mother’s seal skin.
TW: domestic abuse (implied), murder
*FAV* Mother Raised You Well by A.R. Frederiksen: A woman saves a mermaid child from the rocky shore and raises her, but one day her past as a fin-hunter comes to haunt her. I really liked this one, it is heartbreaking, but also beautiful.
Sunken Treasure by Daniel Pyle: A very short story about a mermaid hunter. It’s okay, but just a few lines long? Meh.
Into the Water by Megan E. Heart: A bachelorette party on a cruise ship takes a deadly turn when the bride-to-be is caught cheating by the sister of the groom-to-be. Interesting enough and I liked that it was a bit different from the other stories here, more modern.
TW: cheating, drowning
From the Bridge by Ef Deal: A man rescues a woman from jumping into the ocean, but she doesn’t take too kindly to it. Very short, but interesting concept.
TW: murder, suicide
Into the Nevergo by Katherine Traylor: A woman walks into the ocean to end her life, but finds another life waiting for her instead. But even that second life must end one day. Haunting and interesting.
TW: drowning, suicide
Sometimes I Am Jealous of Their Widows by Juleigh Howard-Hobson: A short poem about a mermaid, who collects the treasures that shipwrecks rain down on her.
TW: drowning
The Kelpie by Simon Kewin: A very short story about a Kelpie.
TW: child death, drowning
*FAV* Jellies by Elana Gomel: A woman with an unknown heritage has become pregnant and can’t fight the feeling that something unnatural is growing inside her. Haunting and messy and scary, I loved this one a lot!
TW: pregnancy
Rusalnaia Nedija by Lauren E. Reynolds: A short poem about a Rusalka. Interesting rhyming scheme, I liked this one.
Ona Dolzhna Yest by Grace R. Reynolds: A poor man refuses his wife’s please to find a better life for her and her unborn son. When she returns for him from the sea, he cannot expect to find any mercy. Haunting and creepy.
TW: child death, drowning, pregnancy, suicide
Naiads by Robert René Galván: A short poem about a theater. Okay.
Tomokazuki by Marshall J. Moore: Set on an island, this story follows a young girl whose mother drowned diving for pearls and food for their small community. Bound by grief a restless spirit begins to haunt their waters.
TW: death, drowning, grief
The Siren’s Call by Ngo Binh Anh Khoa: A very short story about a siren. Again, okay, but too short to be anything interesting.
Moonlight Motu by Roxie Voorhees: Two siblings find themselves stranded on an ocean after a shipwreck where the sister receives nighttime visits. Interesting and haunting, I liked reading this one.
TW: drowning, murder
Reflections on a Mermaid by April Yates: A young woman walks to the space her girlfriend drowned herself after her mother kicks her out for being queer.
TW: drowning, homelessness, homophobia, suicide
*FAV* The Woman Who Drowned in the Detroit River by Kaitlin Tremblay: A story told about a family and a river haunted by the past and the teenage girl, with whom it all comes to a close when she can’t resist the pull of the water any longer. Heartbreaking, but really well written.
TW. Drowning, eating disorder
Senara by T.K. Howell: A very short story about a woman running from an abusive house and encountering an excited mermaid, who wants to show her her world. It doesn’t end well.
TW: domestic abuse, drowning
*FAV* Driftwood by Kayla Whittle: A woman finds her sea-side town haunted after a storm. Really well written and incredibly interesting!
TW: drowning, murder
They Drowned Me on a Sunday by Emily Y. Teng: A woman is drowned as a witch, but the townfolk made one major mistake. She’s no witch at all. Very short, but interesting concept!
TW: drowning, murder
What You Know of Sirens, You Have Heard From Men by Briana Una McGuckin: A Siren, who can return to the water under the full moon if she so chooses too, uses her ability to punish men, who walk free despite their crimes, in a very interesting manner.
TW: murder
Qalupalik by Thomas Farr: A very, very short story about a child(stealing? rearing?) creature of the sea. Very atmospheric writing style, but only two paragraphs long and so much too short.
*FAV* The Specter of Pearlhall by Cassandra Taylor: A gothic tale of a haunted estate by the seaside. Really scary and incredibly atmospheric, I really liked this short story!
TW: child death, death in childbirth, grief, murder
Jurate by Steven-Elliot Altman: A short poem about a fisher, whose nets catch a siren.
TW: drowning
*FAV* The Children of the Sea by Paul M. Feeney: A haunting story about a fishing crew with a strange bounty and the sea’s revenge. Really atmospheric and well written and also a story that makes great use of the short story format.
TW: death, drowning
The Huntress by Lucy Collins: A short poem about a mermaid.
TW: death, drowning
*FAV* The Pearl Weeper’s Lament by Marianne Halbert: A really interesting story about a greedy fisherwoman luring a mermaid for the pearls she cries when tortured and the magical properties of her flesh and the curse that is inflicted in revenge. Really brutal and incredibly well written, I liked this one a lot!
TW: cannibalism, death, torture
Skin Deep by Rosie Arcane: Another short poem about mermaids.
Onedine’s Curse by Antonia Rachel Ward: A poet seeks out a muse living in a forest lake, hoping to find inspiration for his work. When he leaves to publish his poems, he promises to return. Interesting concept and I liked the ending.
TW: death, disease, drowning (not the usual kind)
The Siren’s Song by Steven Lord: Another short poem about mermaids.
The Bittersweet Glimmer by Jessica Peter: An interesting take on the lore of Lorelei, a german mermaid myth, following the life of an old woman in a nursing home dreaming of her youth. Really fun for me, because it is one of the myths I grew up with and I really liked this take on it.
TW: elder abuse, self-harm
When the Doves Die by Jennifer Soucy: A short extra piece added to this book, originally published in another anthology functioning as a coda. This is one of the longer pieces included in this anthology, which was interesting and allowed for a lot more world building. This story follows a woman working in a brothel, seeking to free one of her fellow workers, who was kidnapped by the widow of the man, who knocked her up. Interesting and well written.
TW: csa (one of the sex workers is 15), misogyny, murder, whorephobia

I've decided not to finish this book because none of the stories and poems here have been particularly memorable or impactful. Hopefully other readers will find something here I havent.

This was both hit and miss. Some of the stories are very good but the majority don't hold the quality I would like to read. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this wonderful anthology! This beautiful collection took a concept that I adored as a young girl, and transformed it into something I could appreciate now as an adult.

Every short story and poem had its own unique take on mermaids and sirens. Each piece of this collection either taught me something new about a culture different from mine, entertained me with a riveting tale, or brought me to tears with its commentary on how we treat things we don’t understand.

When it comes to anthologies, it’s hard to criticize or comment on inconsistent writing or plot holes as all authors have their own way of telling a story. These stories, however, all drew me in one way or another. I found myself going back and rereading some of my favorites just to experience them once again. While some stories might have been lacking in one compositional element or another, they all had more pros to out-way the cons.

I appreciated that not every story followed the same theme or plot line. Some were told from the perspective of the mermaid/siren and some were told from the victims. There were some happier stories sprinkled in to equal out the darker tone of the overall book. All-in-all it felt like a very balanced collection that left me with a deeper appreciation for these fascinating mythical creatures.

Some of my favorite stories were:

-Best of Both Worlds by Dawn Vogel
-Enraptured by Candace Robinson
-Meat Cute by Desirée M. Niccoli

A wonderful collection filled with dark prose and poetry. There were many I liked and some that I didn't. Overall it was quite an enjoyable read.

Dangerous Waters is a collection of poems, micro stories, and short stories around the themes of horror and sea creatures. You'll find stories about mermaids, selkies, and some invented creatures more or less resembling what we already know from folk stories.

Disclaimer : I only talk about the stories in my review and not the poems because I don't feel qualified to say anything about them.

Overall I thought this was a very expected collections. Only one story really jumped out to me : Effigy. I thought it really departed from the rest of the stories and tried to do something new.
Most of the story are enjoyable, the first one I even quite liked. But most of the stories also feel like a first draft or something I could have read before. I did not feel like a lot of work had been put into most of the works. Most of them left me feeling like "that's it?". I think what does a disservice to this collection is also the fact that the prompt is so restrictive. The title Deadly Women of the Sea says it all, it's female creatures killing humans (often men). So some of the stories did feel a bit repetitive, especially if you are reading the collection in only a few sittings. And sometimes also very look at how feminist, women killing men.

The most successful stories to me were the shortest ones.

All in all it's a forgettable but fine collection around an interesting theme. So if you love mermaids and sea creatures, go for it. If you're in it for the horror, I'd recommend something else.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. Find my reviews on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

I was intrigued by the concept of this anthology but unfortunately I didn't find the execution particularly strong. The collection features a wealth of stories and poems (around 40): I think being more selective and focusing on the strongest pieces could have provided a stronger and more memorable collection.

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

2 stars.

Shorts stories, poems and micro-stories, some just a couple of paragraphs long, all about mermaids, sirens and selkies. There were a lot of similarities after a while. “In the Never Go” was on of the most depressing stories I’ve ever read.

I think this book was such a interesting and fascinating read. Julia C. Lewis did an excellent job with this one. I loved the idea of a darker side of ocean mythology. Each part of the anthology was written different, and I enjoyed the diversity. I think this was put together well, and the stories were so well done. I couldn't put this down because I found it so interesting. I highly recommend this to others who love to read an anthology type of book. I can't wait to read more from the authors.

Thank you Net Galley ARC, Brigids Gate Press LLC, and Julia C. Lewis.

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