Valerie Martin

Sea Lovers consists of twelve short stories written over a period of three decades. The stories are grouped in three sections: "Among the Animals", "Among the Artists" and "Metamorphoses".

The four stories in "Among the Animals" all feature an animal and are dark and cruel. They were okay to read for me but I can understand if an animal lover would want to stop reading the book altogether.
"Among the Artists" deals with different kinds of artists. These stories are, again, very dark and they started to bore me quickly. I had to force myself to continue reading. I also kept wondering where I'd find the magical realism mentioned in the blurb.
In "Metamorphoses" I finally found it. "The Change" and "Sea Lovers" are wonderful short stories that are enchanting and creepy ("Sea Lovers").

Overall, Sea Lovers didn't meet my expectations. The title is misleading. Just like Andrew remarked on Goodreads, it should hint at all the death in the stories, the ocean or love don't play a big part in this book.