Oh, this was so good! Queer, sapphic horror fantasy, featuring rusalkas. The prose was exquisite. It very much gives the feeling of a creepy folktale. Enough mystery to keep you compelled, I read this novella in one sitting. Looking forward to more from this author!

Rae Knowles has done it again! My first novel by Knowles was The Stradivarius and I was not disappointed with the outcome. In fact, it was one of my favorite releases of 2023. So when I heard she was releasing Merciless Waters, and after hearing the chatter about the book, I knew I had to read a copy for myself. Wow! This has taken the place as my new favorite from this author. Spoiler free review but do not hesitate to add this to the top of your TBR list today!

A short and gripping story about the female crew of a ship. I enjoyed every single page of this and honestly could not put it down. The different histories of the women on board were very gripping. Would definitely recommend this if you're in a reading slump and need a quick and atmospheric read.

This book was not for me. I did not enjoy the plot or storyline. Though I did not enjoy it, others probably will. It just wants a good fit for me. Thank you for providing me with this e arc.

Imaginative and quite striking, Merciless Waters is a sapphic, supernatural pirate novel, and doesn't that just sound like a damn good time all-around?

The writing is quite overwrought at times, but lest that comes across as a criticism, I do tend toward flowery prose so I can assure you it’s not a criticism by any means and actually adds to this eerie and fantastical tale. Excepting the passage about sucking on a woman’s breasts, described as “rolling [her nipples] in turn between my teeth like fine hors d’oeuvres.” That was . . . a bit of an odd turn of phrase. Overall, this has a defined narrative voice that works well for the story, though I'll admit to sometimes wanting to get to the point of a paragraph or sentence.

Is it confusing at first? Yes, but in a way of “oh shit, this is a bit weird and supernatural, with a lot of feminine rage,” so obviously I’m going to stick around. It's immediately intriguing, and you want to know more about this crew of women and what, exactly, drew them all to this ship.

I really enjoyed the mythology use in this novella, and loved the flashback chapters, which, to me, lended themselves well to more of a folktale kind of feel. The description of "folk horror" for this one is very apt, which is a genre that needs to be explored more, quite frankly.

The character development and specifically the relationships between the characters is something that I think was lacking, perhaps sacrificed for the style of writing. As I mentioned, I was very quickly intrigued and curious about all of these characters, and I did love the flashback chapters that we got for a couple of them, but a lot of their relationships felt very surface level, as we didn't get to know the secondary characters very well at all. Even the main relationship between Jaq and Lily, the driving force behind this story, was shallow. I never understood what drew them together, or why they loved each other (or, did they even love each other? Jaq seemed to have an obsession with Lily, and Lily only seemed obsessed with herself, to be quite honest).

Lily herself was the other weak point for me. As the romantic interest, so to speak, and the drive behind, well, basically the entire story, it was disappointing that I didn't feel like we got to know her as a character. I didn't feel invested in the relationship, and from the little we saw of Lily, I actually didn't really like her, so that made it hard to feel the emotional beats.

That meant that I was relying upon the writing (good, though in need of some editing), the mythology (very good), the premise of mysterious sapphic pirates (also very good), the mystery (intriguing), and what little I could glean from the characters. The characters were all great templates but felt underdeveloped - which can be understandable, in a novella with limited page space to dive into your characters, but is unfortunate for me, as I tend to go for characters over plot, and also meant that this novella was subsisting almost entirely on ✨vibes✨ for me.

However, the vibes were fairly unimpeachable at their core. Basically, if you support women's wrongs, then this is a novella for you.

Thank you to the publisher, Brigids Gate Press. LLC, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for the ARC copy they provided.

Lesbian pirates who eat men. Honestly, what more could you want from a book? The horror and legends are combined perfectly and the storytelling is beautiful. One of my favourite reads of 2023

I was entertained and intrigued by this novella while reading it, but didn’t feel much of anything afterward. The individual stories and uncovering the mystery was fun and kept me engaged. I enjoyed the ending, and found it to be the best part of the novella, as it was decidedly poetic and tragic. However, the story didn’t much stick with me, and I’ve had a hard time coming up with anything to say about it one way or another.

I think my main problem is that I didn’t care about Lily as much as Jaq did, and was more interested in her other crew mates and their tales.

Worth the read because of how short it was, and I think others will find it more satisfying that I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Brigids Gate Press for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review. 


TW: gore, animal death and harm, murder, violence, death, explicit sexual content 


“Merciless Waters” is a gorgeously written, strange novella that's best approached by knowing very little about the story. The “Scylla” sails the oceans carrying a group of women who can't remember their pasts and are always sailing. On board, Jaq knows that her lover, Lily, is about to leave her again because of signs from the gods. That same day, a man is found floating in the ocean and Lily insists on bringing him aboard. This isn't the first time Lily has left Jaq: she is fickle and needs a change, having done the same with other women on board. However this time Jaq isn't content to sit and wait for Lily to grow bored and come back to her, even if she has to kill him to do it. The longer the man, named Reginald, is on the ship the women of the “Scylla” begin to remember their past lives and what sent them to sea in the first place. Driven by the memories of their terrible fates, and swiftly approaching the city of Venice, the women become addicted to the possibility of revenge- and Jaq can only watch as Lily falls further than anyone. Forced to choose between denying Lily or supporting her, Jaq faces an impossible choice. 


I really enjoyed reading this, even when I didn't entirely understand what was happening. I would have loved the characters to be developed more but that's difficult in just under 130 pages. Jaq and Lily's love is the main highlight of this story, however twisted and unhealthy it might be on both sides. I loved the way Jaq was written and found the use of language to be beautiful. This is definitely a story I'm going to be thinking about for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Merciless Waters was archived before I had a chance to read it. Congrats on publishing, and I look forward to reading it in the future!

This was a beautifully written power house of a book full of good old feminine rage on the seas. Highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more from Rae Knowles.

wow, this is a whirlwind of a book. at first I felt like this book was chaotic but it grew on me. There are murders, spells, cures, gods, and of course love. So much happened and i enjoyed it!

Look at this cover! It was easy to be hooked from the beginning to end and perfect for fall and all the spookiness that comes with. I loved the characters and the atmosphere. Probably going to get a physical copy for the shelf.

Merciless Waters has to be the most tumultuous book I have read in a long time. And I was sat. Throughout the novella, the relationship between Lily and Jaq and how they fit in with their crew members unfolds, along with their discovery of what they may be. With lush, illustrative writing, a quick pace, and genuinely interesting dynamics between the characters - Merciless Waters is not a book I will forget soon. This book grabbed me from the first chapter, and I flew through it in one day. The plot of this novel was so fresh to me; I can truly say I have never read anything like it. Through nearly the entire novella, I hadn't the scarcest idea where it was going, and whenever I gleaned the end, there was another twist waiting in the wings. So much power is packed in this short novella - it is certainly worth your time. The plot was woven so well that I was shocked to learn this is only Rae Knowles' second published work! She has such a strong narrative voice; I look forward to seeing what other works she has in store. If you're a toxic lesbian, you need this on your TBR.

To my angry women who were wronged by the patriarchy, to my sapphics whose souls are trapped in toxic relationships and could not reconcile love and lust, this is for you.

This story is short and sweet (actually it is short, and both seductive and violent) so I gobbled it up in no time. I enjoyed how strong, messy and individual these seafaring women are. I absolutely loved the oceanic (dare I say borderline Lovecraftian) horror too.

While the writing is pretty, it is not as cohesive as it needs to be for this lyrical story but as you can tell, I still loved it.

A short read but incredibly creepy ! I was on my toes the entire time ! The character development was surprisingly nuanced for such a short novella.

Thank you for the arc .

This is the vengeful queer mermaid book I didn’t know I needed in my life. The writing? Exquisite. The longing? Divine. This book is incredible. I need more!!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Interesting quick read with some solid creepy folklore elements, toxic relationships, and female rage. Queer pirates are also a plus. I would love to read more from this author in future.

There are parts of the story that could have been given more time to develop with a longer book, but as a shorter read, this has an interesting premise and atmosphere. The side characters aren't really given enough time to shine, which made their storylines a little less impactful.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Merciless Waters is a fascinating story of queer love and a retelling of less popular (in the US) mythology. This book is well written, creative, and for sure worth a read.

To tell you much more about this would give away too much of what makes this plot great. Just read it, honestly.

This was short and creepy and devastating with a very surprising ending. And I loved it!

The cursed pirate vibes, the difficult love story, the admiration - it was pure perfection!

Go, read it!