Hi and welcome to the reading world!
Today, I’m going to be sharing a review of a book I received from the publisher as part of a book tour for @B2Weird. Today’s review is for Flowers for the Sea!
A Library Journal Editor's Pick! We are a people who do not forget. Survivors from a flooded kingdom struggle alone on an ark. Resources are scant, and ravenous beasts circle. Their fangs are sharp. Among the refugees is Iraxi: ostracized, despised, and a commoner who refused a prince, she’s pregnant with a child that might be more than human. Her fate may be darker and more powerful than she can imagine. Zin E. Rocklyn’s extraordinary debut is a lush, gothic fantasy about the prices we pay and the vengeance we seek.
Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
Published by Tom Doherty Associates on October 19, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Horror
Pages: 112
Flowers for the Sea is a dark, dazzling debut novella that reads like Rosemary's Baby by way of Octavia E. Butler
Flowers for the Sea was provided as a review copy by Tor Dot Com Publisher for B2W Tours of the @B2weird book club on instagram.
This novella is one that draws on imagery of earth, air, fire, and water throughout a story that follows Iraxi in her pregnancy and a mysterious future that unfolds for her. The descriptions and lyrical writing style draw the reader into a story that somehow expands past the relatively brief page count of this novella. I think that this is a distinctive and unique writing style that made the reading compelling as the story slowly unfolded.
The tensions and atmospheric build up in Flowers for the Sea is definitely evident throughout the novel, but becomes especially pronounced during the second half. I think this novella does an excellent job creating a slow build story with rapid moments of action in an epic conclusion. While it doesn’t emphasize character development as much, Iraxi still very much has depth and nuance to her character arc as she deals with complex emotions of her past, her present, and her future.
I’m going to avoid saying much about the plot due to the concise length and wanting to avoid spoilers, but I think fans of slow build tension and fast paced moments alike will find things to enjoy in this novella. It’s definitely one with a lot of complex elements that are interwoven into the story and overall does a great job with these.
Thanks for stopping by!
Rae