Fantastically narrated audiobook! We're following a married couple; one woman who went on an under sea mission, and the other remained at home. The missions didn't go as planned, and when she comes home, things feel off. In another timeline we are visiting the mission, and I loved how Julia let us experience the claustrophobia and see the impact that the job had on the crew. It's definitely weird and perfectly my vibe.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I kept waiting for the horror, but when it came I was underwhelmed. It did give me Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy vibes which I enjoyed.

I found this to be a Kleenex box tear jerker. Left me so sad yet reflective. Leah goes on a routine submarine dive but doesn’t return like Normal, Her wife is left in a panic to have the rescue teams find her Leah is gone for months. Her wife continues to wait for word. She never gives up. Then there is word they have retrieved the submarine and Leah is coming home. Once Leah is home she paces from room to roo every night. She isn’t the same sine she was in the submarine. Overtime, it becomes the long goodbye to her love, her wife.. it was a long goodbye to the listener too...one you never wanted to end. Such a fantastic look into the lives of this couple.yes I would definitely recommend.thanks to #NetGalley,#JuliaArmfield #OurWivesBe sure to pick up a copy for a different type story of true love.

Tough topic. A woman, after a deep-sea mission, comes back home to her wife. After going through major traumatic events, one might think, coming back home is everything a person might need. Not necessarily. People see stuff. People change. People carry grief and guilt of surviving while their companions didn't.

The book is about the aftermath of surviving and the other side of dealing with it - survivor family. Often, they just happy to have their loved one back home. But for them, it's a huge adjustment as well. I think the author quite well presented those perspectives.

The main problem I had with the book was the chaos of thoughts and events. It was hard for me to see when past ends and present begin. And I see how it might be the point, tho it made it difficult to understand it overall.

I'm glad I had the audiobook version because it gave smoothness to the rough edges. Yet, I am sorry to admit, that the story won't stay long with me.

Captivating horror/love story.

Told in alternating perspectives between wives Miri and Leah, OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA recounts Leah's deep-sea mission and the days that followed her return. Marine scientist Leah was only supposed to be on a three-week research trip but was gone six months, a period of time during which the submarine's communications system ceased working and Miri eventually began to grieve Leah's death. Now that Leah's back, things are not as either of them expected.

I read this in practically one sitting, desperate for details author Julia Armfield slowly doles out. The narration by Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway was excellent and added to the text.

eerily gorgeous prose, Julia Armfield I have my eye on you. This is a perfect creepy literary horror novel to read when summer is slowly turning to fall. Loved the dual POV, although I found the narration by both voices a little dull. I would recommend reading this as a physical because the audio couldn't capture the special elements of this story for me.

This story is about the relationship between Miri and her wife Leah. Leah has just returns from a submarine mission and is acting strange and removed. She is slowly deteriorating, and Miri is trying to cope with Leah’s curious illness as Leah gets worse and worse.

Our Wives Under the Sea is a beautifully haunting story. Throughout the book there's just a sense of creeping dread and sadness.

Spooky and atmospheric. I expected this one to be open ended - but I do wish we had a little more insight into what exactly was happening. This is definitely a book for readers who don't mind some ambiguity in their stories. I particularly wish the conspiracy aspect had been fleshed out more - that was one of the most intriguing parts of the book for me and it just kind of fell flat when it came to that.

The audiobook was great! The narrator did a fantastic job.

Wow, that was unsettling. This novel is claustrophobic and expansive at the same time and I don't think I've read anything like it. Will definitely be looking forward to more Armfield.

The synopsis of the book sounded interesting to me and I heard many people recommend it so I decided to give this new author to me a try. Unfortunately, the book just fell flat for me and I was disinterested in the plot and felt no connection whatsoever to the characters. If you like literary fiction with lots of big words and heavy descriptiveness then maybe this is for you. A ton of people seemed to like it on Goodreads so I think I'm just not the right person for this book and just didn't get it. I also listened to this on audiobook so it may be different when reading but I still just didn't love this book. It's probably 1.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

3 stars. I can appreciate the foreboding elements of dread at seeing one's loved one come back from a traumatic event and be changed drastically. I appreciated the concept and I found the last 40 pages of the book to be quite moving and profound, but this is boring. It feels tedious and hard to slog through. I am quite sad to not loved this one as much as some, but even cosmic horror done to this height could make me forget how painfully bored I was for the majority of the novel. I think this would've worked more as a novella and with less time being spent inside the mind of Miri. Leah's chapters in the ship were claustrophobic and fascinating and the ending was thought-provoking, but I can't help but feel as though I will forget everything about this book quite soon. More thoughts to possibly come.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.

Oh my goodness, I felt this story in my bones! This was a quiet slow burn, but still full of tension, love, hope, and mystery.

When Miri's wife Leah leaves for a deep sea mission, she never expected her to be gone for as long as she was. But after months of no sign of her, or information, Miri expects the worst. But when Leah does finally return, she returns completely different. What happened in the deep and will life with Leah ever be the same?

I don't think I've ever read anything like this, and I was thoroughly captivated the whole time. I thought the author did a great job with the timing of the book as well as plot and character development. The uniqueness of it was a fun experience.

Genuinely this was such a drag to get through I feel so badly about stating that but it was written beautifully just not my personal cup of tea

**3.5 stars...This book was weird, slow, and sad. The narration was excellent! I was a little confused at times since I was listening versus reading because it would switch so quickly from the present day to reminiscing about the past and back again. I thought it was a little slow at times but the story kept me intrigued especially with Leah describing her experiences under water and Miri describing Leah's odd behavior upon returning home. It was so unique and creepy and the writing style was beautiful in a melancholic sort of way. I would definitely read another by Julia Armfield!

This book is eerie and amazing and not for me but definitely for other people. Our Wives Under the Sea is often compared to Annihilation and I can definitely see the parallels. This is a book about intimacy, grief and estrangement. One wife comes back from a months-long sea voyage diffferent and strange. I found the book slow. It spends time ruminating on the hurt of a loved one becoming different and the horror of the depths of the sea. I wanted this book to move faster, to tell me what happened, for one of the characters to make a choice, but instead it chooses to ratchet up tension by leaving the characters trapped together. I would recommend it to friends, but I didn't love it myself.

This story was spellbinding. The narration really elevated the experience and the writing was beautiful. So glad I read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ARC.

Our Wives Under the Sea is one of those books that tells a story through glimpses. It's not a long drawn out narrative or stream of consciousness or omniscient narrator kind of book. And if you like that kind of book, it's very well done. The narration sparkles as well, and adds a lot to the story.

Something terrible happens to Leah after she embarks on a 3-week research expedition in a submarine. But the trip goes awry for the three marine biologists, and they're presumed dead, only to return to the surface 6 months later. And, of course, Leah is drastically changed.

Now, Leah's wife, Miri, must cope with the new normal. And come to terms with Leah's emotional and psychological changes.

The book alternates between two points of view. Leah tells us her story as she's in the sub (which has sunk), explaining what's happening at the bottom of the ocean. And her love of all things water and ocean life.

Meanwhile, Miri focuses on their love story. How they met and how she grieves the loss of Leah, even when she's still alive and living in the "middle area" upon her return.

On the whole, "Our Wives Under the Sea" is quite lovely. But I must admit that I struggled mightily getting through the audiobook. While it's only 6 hours, it took me a month of stopping and starting and re-listening to each chapter several times. (I chalk this up to being super-ADHD and always wanting to multitask while listening. So it's nothing against Julia Armfield or the narrators).

Finally, having missed the book's debut in late July, I ordered the hardcover so I could listen and read along simultaneously. Having access to the book made me understand why the audio baffled me. The book has clearly marked section dividers and chapter titles and italicized dialogues... all of were lost on me in the recording. Things definitely started to click after I understood the book's layout.

Of course, the British narrators (Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway) were lovely to listen to, it is just that the marine biology topic and genre is not my go-to. But I'm glad I kept plugging away as the ending was fantastic, and pulled everything together.

Julia is quite a talented writer and book clubs will have a lot to discuss regarding: lesbianism, oceanic and water themes, isolation, transformation, relationships, grief, other life forms, and much more. Interestingly, "Wives" is classified as being in the horror genre, but to me it's more like literary fiction meets romance meets sci-fi/fantasy.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app. My three-star rating is due to the audiobook's inability to fully capture my attention.

I finished this one up last week, and it’s one I will definitely want to revisit. I enjoyed it but feel like Iay have glossed over some of the details, and I’d like to revisit go over it with more of a fine toothed comb at some point.

It’s got some of my favorite things. Queer ladies and the ocean depths. When Miri’s wife’s submarine hits the ocean floor, deviating from the routine expedition, she comes back changed. She barely eats and is lost in her thoughts, obsessed with running the water taps in the house. It’s available wherever you get your books.

Enchanting, frightening, and wondrous. This audiobook kept me hooked. I had to find out what happened to Leah under the sea in that submarine! Of course, the true story happened along the way as it usually does. The audio was beautifully soft and gentle, a perfect match to Leah and Miri. Do not miss out on this beautiful story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for access to this ALC in exchange of my honest review.