A review by scaredy_bear
The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislason, Shelley Lavigne

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The Flesh of the Sea is hands down the best book I have read this year. It has excellent pacing, endearing characters and creatures, intriguing mysteries, and some truly memorable (and fantastic) gross-out scenes. I could not ask for more. 

Wilford Bowen, a gentle, nerdy guy who joins a pirate crew after being rejected by the Royal Society of London. Determined to make new discoveries to impress the RSL and his close friend Jean Baptiste de Beaupré, Wilford documents his otherworldly encounters in a series of letters to Jean, interspersed with Jean's journal entries. 

I intended to annotate this book more formally, but my categories ended up being “Sweet Queer Stuff”, “Gross Stuff”, and “Pirates Being Better People Than the British Ever Were”. 

The monster of the week setup was used wonderfully. Discovering each anomaly through Wilford’s curious eyes is incredibly fun. The pirates are well-developed; despite their number, each one is distinct and significant, enhancing rather than overshadowing Wilford’s journey. I felt like a proud dad watching Willie come into his own. 

Please read this book. I am completely in love with it. Every person I cross paths with over the next few days (or weeks) will be hearing about this book. Despite its brevity, it has captured my heart. Thank you, Lor & Shelley. If you two ever revisit these characters, I will be first in line to preorder. 

Thank you Hedone Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.