Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles is a hidden little gem that brought my 2024 reading journey to an end with the most satisfying end. It follows seven women aboard a ship that transcends time, endlessly floating across the Adriatic Sea until they pull a drowning man out of the water and he ruins everything. Suddenly, memories of pasts that have been dead and buried bubble to the surface, bonds of love are once again tested, and a fury sweeps across the sea.
While Merciless Waters could potentially be summed up as lady pirates having sex and succumbing to their fury, it's almost shocking how deep this goes in only 125 pages. All the pain, betrayal, heartache, and anger is suffocating to the point that it feels like relief when things start boiling over. But the relief is short-lived because Knowles isn't about letting her readers off easy.
Merciless Waters is beautiful, pulling you in with lyrical prose that transports you to a world that feels endless and vast but also one that's claustrophobic and cruel. I love that Knowles isn't scared to let this story be ugly and cut you with its sharp edges. It's a bravery not many authors have in their attempt to wrap everything up in a way that feels palatable for the masses.
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