"An all-consuming far-reaching tale set on an island where men rule using fear as a weapon, and a woman dreams of freedom."
Oh my word, this debut has speared my soul, it is beautifully smart and emotional and fantastical, yet also fiercely provocative. Esta has been brought up by her grandmother to believe in the sanctity of her island home ruled by the Minister and his Keepers, yet she dreams of the sea and the freedom it offers. Within a few sentences I found myself deeply immersed in Esta’s insular life. Author Chloe Timms writes with such a beautifully assured hand, I didn’t question, didn’t even stop to think as I stepped onto the island. This is a story that sits within reflections of the traditional fairytale, at times it overwhelms with dread and yet a hope remains, no matter how small. Esta carries with her a strength that I found myself supporting and encouraging, I was so completely invested in her story that she will forever stay in my thoughts. Not only is this a tale that sits on the edge of the unknown, it also links with and tears through any preconceptions to allow you to question and challenge. This novel fully deserves to sit within our LoveReading Star Books category and we welcome it there with open arms. The Seawomen is the most beautifully tender yet ferocious tale, and one that we wholeheartedly recommend.
| Primary Genre | Romance / Relationship Stories |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Everyone on this island has a story. This is mine.
Esta has known nothing but Eden's Isle her whole life. After a fire left her orphaned and badly scarred, Esta was raised by her grandmother in a deeply religious society who cut itself off from the mainland in the name of salvation. Here, fear rules: fear of damnation, fear of the outside world and fear of what lurks beneath the water - a corrupting evil the islanders call the Seawomen.
But Esta wants more than a life where touching the water risks corruption, where her every move is watched and women are controlled in every aspect of their lives. Married off, the women of the island must conceive a child within their appointed motheryear or be marked as cursed and cast into the sea as a sacrifice in an act called the Untethering.
When Esta witnesses a woman Untethered she sees a future to fear. Her fate awaits, a loveless marriage, her motheryear declared. And after a brief taste of freedom, the insular world Esta knows begins to unravel...
The Seawomen is a fiercely written and timely feminist novel, at once gothic, fantastical and truly unforgettable, for fans of Naomi Alderman, Margaret Atwood and Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
The Seawomen features in the following genres: Romance / Relationship Stories, Debut Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Dystopian and utopian fiction, Fantasy, Sharing Diverse Voices, Dark fantasy, Narrative theme: Social issues, Fiction, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Narrative theme: Displacement, exile, migration, Speculative fiction, Fiction: narrative themes
The Seawomen is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Seawomen was written by Chloe Timms and published by Hodder Paperback an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton
The Seawomen has 320 pages
£9.89
