I really wanted to love this but it just missed the mark for me 😭

From the blurb, I was expecting magical tales with a base in both family led stories and fairy tales (“The Sea Gives Up The Dead is a collection of family stories sprinkled into the soil of fairy tale and left to take root and grow wild there.“) - however I drew more similarities with Black Mirror than with fairy tales (other than the very last story).

I definitely wish I had had some trigger warnings before I read this as some of the stories were quite disturbing. I came close to a DNF in the first half of the book but I found the second half much more enjoyable - especially Esther and the Voice and the last story in the collection, Foam on the Waves.

A compilation of stories that will leave readers thoughtful and empathetic to the world and people surrounding them.

Like most short story collections, some of these offerings worked for me in a much more impactful way than others but the lions share of the tales tapped into part of humanity that I could identify with. It's the sort of compilation that will leave readers better for reading it. I think the order was thoughtfully puzzled together as the stories themselves seemed to get better and better with themes that felt more and more universally applicable as I moved towards the back half of the book.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead is worthy of your TBR shelf if you're looking for something that will remind you of the intricacies of being human in these complicated times.

This was a fair bit darker and creepier than I was expecting, but I don't think that's a negative thing. The author does a great job of creating that ominous, grim fairytale-esque atmosphere and it adds a lot to each story, especially as an audiobook as the narrator really matches that written tone. I don't think any of the stories truly wowed me, I felt there was more of a focus on feeling the ambiance of each story and while the prose was beautiful, I think I needed a bit more punch to really grab me. My lasting impression is more the feeling that the audiobook gave me rather than a lasting impression of the stories themselves.

I'm really happy to have listened to this one, and I'll definitely be recommending the audiobook to anyone looking for a quick creepy listen.

I am not a huge fan of collections of short stories but I am a fan of this! Particularly for a debut author, I think this collection is beautifully curated, just the right level of connected, and overall really captivating.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead is a compilation of cautionary tales, some verging on fantastical and all are harrowing. Molly Olguin's writing is very unique and I love the way she delivers shock value where its needed the most. The first 4-5 stories especially left my jaw hanging open from the last lines. There is a clear pattern to the stories, which I think emulates fairytales as the inspiration, but there will always be a twist. As with any short story collection, my only issues with The Sea Gives Up the Dead is I was comparing each story to the ones before it, and because the first few were my favourites, I felt like the collection lost momentum towards the end (the final 2 were very good as well though). There were just a few installations in the middle that didn't invoke a reaction like the others did. I think this is a great read if you're new to literary horror, and i have really high hopes for this author in the future.

The audiobook narrator had a great voice and I think her tone really matched the eeriness of the text.

* Note this book does include the deaths of children and animals.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

Looks like I am third time lucky on ARC audiobooks because I actually finished this one and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a deliciously dark and heartbreakingly melancholy and morbid collection of stories that are in fascinating inspiration, inversion, and antagonism with classic fairytales and the nature of storytelling.

It's not dark and edgy retellings, but a more thoughtful engagement and deconstruction of the themes of the old stories and how they relate to the modern experience, especially the immigrant and minority experience with questions and fears around identity.

I have to admit it took me a minute to really dial in with the tone and the concept here, but once I was in I was absolutely hooked.

You'll have to forgive my autistic instinct to draw comparisons, but this collection brought to mind Carmen Maria Machado and Margaret Atwood, both of who's stories I cherish.

There's a bitter wonder and a uniquely interesting voice that makes me incredibly excited to read more of this wonderful author.

The sea gives up the dead was an interesting change of style to fairy tales.

There were moments that intrigued me, but the stories did not all land.

I enjoyed the husband and wife tale, and felt like even that may have had more of a punch to end than was written. It leant towards a horror/uneasy feel towards the end, leaving me wanting just that 10% more than where it ended.

Overall the quality of writing was decent, but fell slightly shy of a lot of my enjoyed reads in the past.

The narration could have benefitted from a more serious or darker tone as i felt the energy was disconnected from what was spoken.

3.5

narration 4/5 (although the narrators voice wasn't for me) well read although I do think a voice with darker elements would of suited this better

story 2.5/5 this is a collection of short stories .. they are very macabre and most certainly not for everyone. The main reason for my rating here is that I don't feel that the stories bring much to the table I can't imagine people connecting and being excited by what they've read. But if you are a lover of the macabre .. you might like this although I feel some tws need to be added.

animal death - loss of life - gory description of internal organs.

I think it was the animal death that made this pretty unreadable for me and I kept thinking about it all day 🤷‍♀️... but the actual writing isn't bad its just not a topics I think people that are looking at this catagory of books will connect to.

characters 2/5

if im honest. I only really connected with a couple of the characters. but a lot of the story has stuck in my mind for better or for worse 🤷‍♀️

This collection was eerie, lyrical, and beautifully strange in all the right ways. Every story felt like a little ghostly shipwreck—haunting, mysterious, and soaked in atmosphere. The writing is gorgeous without being too precious, and there’s this quiet undercurrent of grief, transformation, and longing that ties everything together.

A few stories landed harder than others (as with most collections), but even the ones that didn’t totally hit still had something compelling—an image, a mood, a turn of phrase that stuck with me. It’s the kind of book that lingers after you finish, like sea mist you can’t quite shake off.

Definitely recommended if you’re into literary fiction with a touch of the uncanny and a deep, briny heart.

"The Sea Gives Up the Dead" is a collection of twelve stories including: a lovesick nanny who slays a dragon, the devil who tries to save her and three kids plot to blow up their dad. All of the stories are different and mix fairy tales with horror. This creates stories about love, grief, and yearning.

The title of this audiobook is the reason I was encouraged to listen. I believe it is a reference to "Revelation 20:13" in the Bible. I am not religious but I always find the concept of death fascinating. I was hoping the stories would peak my interest, however I was left feeling a bit confused and lost to be honest. (Explained further below).

A second reason I wanted to listen was due to each chapter being a different short story. This reminded me of "Before the Coffee gets Cold". This is a book I really enjoyed and have read several times. However, the chapters were very short (around 30-45 minutes). This meant I never felt like I could connect to the characters or their stories. The chapters felt too brief and could have done with being longer and in more depth.

I also got a bit confused when the chapters changed as it wasn't always clear that a new story was starting. Announcing the chapter number would improve this.

Although, I did not finish this audiobook, I did enjoy the narrators voice. They made the audiobook easy to listen too and the voice actor made it engaging. I think this was too far outside of my usual genre (thriller, romance and fantasy) which is probably a big contributing factor as to why I did not enjoy/finish the book. If this is your kind of audio book, I would recommend as it was easy to listen too. I just wasn't engaged enough to finish it. 2/5 stars.

I normally love short story collections, and I love magical realism, and these were well written, and there seemed to be a neat understated overarching connection with a specific family (or recycled names? it felt like the same family though). But I had a really hard time bringing myself to care about these people. I cared about the puppies, which... I mean, they were puppies. And then there was how that played out.) Oh and I cared about Eddie. Everyone else was just kinda there. Fully realized as characters, just not people I would feel inclined to voluntarily interact with. There are lots of fully realized actual people I don't feel inclined to voluntarily interact with. Anyway, well written, I think people will absolutely love this book, I was just disinterested in most of the humans.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead was an amazing collection of stories. I genuinely enjoyed all of them, and two of them completely won me over. There's a wonderful strangeness woven throughout, unsettling in the best way, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many of these tales left me wishing they were full-length novels. Some stories lingered long after I finished reading, and that’s always a good sign.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

I can recognize these are well written stories but the style is not for me. If you’re into lyrical writing this might be more up your alley.

I absolutely loved this collection of stories. The narrator did an amazing job and I really enjoyed all the stories.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Sea Gives Up the Dead is an interesting collection of short stories that blends fantasy, historical fiction, and horror.

I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection. A few were not for me, but overall, each was creative and vivid with a powerful heart. The incorporation of multiple genres, queer love stories, and Molly Olguín’s culture was beautiful, and I enjoyed the emotion and lovely prose. The characters were interesting, although I felt some lacked depth and development. It was entertaining to explore a variety of settings and plots in this collection, and the pacing was nice. This collection will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was fun and fascinating.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the audiobook. Although the narrator’s voice was beautiful, her performance lacked depth and emotion, presenting a largely monotone reading. I often found myself losing interest in the story. I would not recommend the audiobook, but I suggest reading the book if it has caught your eye!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC.

3.5/5 ⭐️

My initial impulse was to give it 3 stars flat for the incredibly dark tone most of these stories take, something I was expecting (that’s probably on me). However, given the heebie jeebies and emotional reactions I got in a couple of these that really isn’t fair. We read to feel, even if I didn’t want those feelings this book made me feel them. If you’re searching for dark fairy tails and short stories this may just be for you.

I love a good retelling, especially ones that incorporate inclusivity. However, while there are inclusive characters, there is not inclusive descriptive language Especially when there are lines to the effect of 'he screamed high like a girl' and fat-phobic dialogue. The prose may be written like a YA story, the content is definitely not. I could totally be missing something here, but while the characters and situation have been made contemporary, the sentiments don't seem to be as progressive (like blaming kids for the death of their sister while the mom is the one that left the kids alone at the house).

DNF @ the second story - I might come back and give the rest of the stories another go, but at this point I'm having a hard time wanting to continue.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This collection is marketed as a fairy tale-adjacent anthology, but it read more like a blend of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. I normally enjoy speculative and weird stories but these didn’t land.
The audiobook narration didn’t work for me. It felt more like a flat reading, which made it hard to stay engaged.

💭 Final Thoughts
Some stories stood out more than others, but overall, fell flat. The narration unfortunately pulled the experience down even more. This isn’t a collection I’d revisit.

📖 Book Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧 Audiobook Score: ⭐️⭐️✨ (2.5)
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo

ARC Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review. All thoughts are my own.