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Le Chant des sirènes (Collection R)
TOUT CE QUI NE BRILLE PAS N'EST PAS DE L'OR.
Liv n'en revient pas de sa chance : elle a obtenu une bourse qui lui permet de voyager dans le monde entier à bord de l'Eos, un luxueux navire de croisière. Pour ne rien gâcher, son meilleur ami Will est de la partie : l'occasion de resserrer leurs liens distendus.
Mais entre les gosses de riches méprisants et les Sirènes, un groupe d'influenceuses sublimes, Liv se sent vite de trop. Surtout lorsque Will disparaît, rapidement suivi par d'autres membres de leur groupe. Contre l'avis de tous, elle se lance à corps perdu dans une enquête déroutante : sous ses dorures, quel sombre secret l'Eos peut-il bien cacher ?
Un huis clos horrifique et mythologique dans les profondeurs de l'Océan.
441 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2023
167 people are currently reading
10299 people want to read
About the author
Amy Goldsmith
3 books187 followersAmy Goldsmith is the author of THOSE WE DROWN, which was a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club selection, OUR WICKED HISTORIES, and the forthcoming PREDATORY NATURES. She has a lifelong love of all things spooky and lives on the Sussex coast with her family and beloved whippet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 751 reviews
November 18, 2023
I couldn’t decide what I truly felt about this book! Trapped in a luxurious cruise ship, claustrophobic theme, slow burn mystery, horrifying sea creatures concept, Del Toro’s Shape of Water meets Strain plot line vibes are the best things about the book!
But I hate the guts of the characters! Liv, meek, shy, scholarship student, enthusiastic teenager is the main character you can feel sympathy for. Instead of her: all those characters are stereotypes of rich, privileged, arrogant, trust fund babies keep repeating the same song lyrics to Liv; “ Oh girl, you don’t belong ! You cannot afford to be here because you’re not rich enough!”
The influencer sirens group attracted my attention. At least they were creative kind of mean girl portraits!
Let’s not forget Constantine: I didn’t understand why Liv got drawn to this pretentious douche! They didn’t even have a full time conversation from the beginning. He’s handsome and he’s loaded. But he doesn’t have any good qualities to fall in love with.
And Liv’s long time best friend Will who gets sick at the first night after humiliating Liv in front of the entire passengers! He earned my ten million slapping points!
Raj was fitness addict and I don’t know which other qualities he has. He’s totally one dimensional character.
Cintia was only friendly, a little likable but she’s also self obsessed, know it all.
And Adora…I don’t know how I can differentiate between Adora and sirens. They have similar qualities. I guess Adora was more condescending, less smart.
Let’s check the plot: 18 years old Liv lands on all expenses paid opportunity to study aboard luxurious cruise ship with her best friend Will who is also creative artist, coming from wealthy and very dysfunctional family.
As soon as they board on the ship, Liv realizes she’s the only scholarship girl, last minute replacing the other candidate and the heirs of bazillionaires are adamant to remind her she doesn’t belong there!
At their first night on ship, Liv has a big argument with Will which turns into public humiliation. She cries out, running away to her cabin. She has a terrible nightmare about Will who has turned into some of kind sea creature. The very next day she realizes Will is in quarantine. Something infectious happened to him after spending his time with one of the most attractive and the meanest sirens Thalia!
Even though Liv tries to see Will and talk to him, the ship crew prevents her to contact with him. They keep texting but something fishy about the text messages. They don’t sound like Will! His absence was not the only weird thing ! There’s something ominous about the ship. Luv tells herself she’s paranoid, seeing hallucinations. But what if she’s the only one who can search the ugly truth! What if nothing as it seems!
I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 seaweed stars! Even though I found the characters so detestable, the entire gripping, slow burn mystery and final revelations were well executed!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
But I hate the guts of the characters! Liv, meek, shy, scholarship student, enthusiastic teenager is the main character you can feel sympathy for. Instead of her: all those characters are stereotypes of rich, privileged, arrogant, trust fund babies keep repeating the same song lyrics to Liv; “ Oh girl, you don’t belong ! You cannot afford to be here because you’re not rich enough!”
The influencer sirens group attracted my attention. At least they were creative kind of mean girl portraits!
Let’s not forget Constantine: I didn’t understand why Liv got drawn to this pretentious douche! They didn’t even have a full time conversation from the beginning. He’s handsome and he’s loaded. But he doesn’t have any good qualities to fall in love with.
And Liv’s long time best friend Will who gets sick at the first night after humiliating Liv in front of the entire passengers! He earned my ten million slapping points!
Raj was fitness addict and I don’t know which other qualities he has. He’s totally one dimensional character.
Cintia was only friendly, a little likable but she’s also self obsessed, know it all.
And Adora…I don’t know how I can differentiate between Adora and sirens. They have similar qualities. I guess Adora was more condescending, less smart.
Let’s check the plot: 18 years old Liv lands on all expenses paid opportunity to study aboard luxurious cruise ship with her best friend Will who is also creative artist, coming from wealthy and very dysfunctional family.
As soon as they board on the ship, Liv realizes she’s the only scholarship girl, last minute replacing the other candidate and the heirs of bazillionaires are adamant to remind her she doesn’t belong there!
At their first night on ship, Liv has a big argument with Will which turns into public humiliation. She cries out, running away to her cabin. She has a terrible nightmare about Will who has turned into some of kind sea creature. The very next day she realizes Will is in quarantine. Something infectious happened to him after spending his time with one of the most attractive and the meanest sirens Thalia!
Even though Liv tries to see Will and talk to him, the ship crew prevents her to contact with him. They keep texting but something fishy about the text messages. They don’t sound like Will! His absence was not the only weird thing ! There’s something ominous about the ship. Luv tells herself she’s paranoid, seeing hallucinations. But what if she’s the only one who can search the ugly truth! What if nothing as it seems!
I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 seaweed stars! Even though I found the characters so detestable, the entire gripping, slow burn mystery and final revelations were well executed!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
January 5, 2025
During the Summer months I love reading campy-feeling, trope-filled Horror and Thriller stories. I call them Summer Screams, Summer Scares or Summer Chillers.
I'm sure you get what I mean by that type of story. It's a vibe. A bonus is a setting near, in, or around a body of water.
With this in mind, you can probably guess my excitement level when I first hear about Those We Drown. All I needed to read was the first sentence of the synopsis, an ocean-drenched, atmospheric horror debut, and I was sold.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted to love and connect with this story, it didn't work for me at all.
In this one we follow Liv, who is setting out with her somewhat estranged-best friend, Will, for a semester-at-sea aboard a luxury cruise ship, the Eos.
Liv is in attendance after being awarded a scholarship. She didn't think much about that at first, but once she arrives at the ship, it's clear that the other students in the program are all very, very wealthy. Of particular note are a trio of stunning influencers. Basically, the Plastics of the sea.
Liv feels self-conscious now about her scholarship. She feels like she stands out because of it; like everyone knows her financial situation and is talking about it.
At least she has Will though. He doesn't care about such things. That is until they have a big blowout fight in front of everyone opening night. How embarrassing!
The next day, after several attempts to reach Will, Liv finds out he has taken ill and is now in quarantine. She tries desperately to get the powers-that-be to let her see him, but she gets shot down at every try.
From there we follow Liv as she tries to figure out what has really happened to Will. Is he actually sick, or is something more sinister going on?
After reading 400-pages of Liv, perhaps he is just hiding from her? Something to think about...
I actually feel very similarly to this as I did to They're Watching You earlier this year. I could almost cut and paste that review, but I won't.
This started out slow and in my opinion, stayed that way. It never took off. It went from nothing happening, to the MC floundering around repeating the same concerns over and over for 300-pages.
As a main character, I found Liv to be, honestly, really annoying. Her whole character was one note, desperation, but not in a way that made you feel desperate too. More in a way that you just wanted to get away from her.
Additionally, I am an atmosphere-girlie. You could give me nothing else, but if a book has a dark, eerie, ominous atmosphere, I am going to like it. I don't need to like characters, I don't need to believe your plot, but I need to have a strong atmosphere.
Sadly, I did not get what I was looking for here in that regard. They could have been anywhere. I never felt that eerie sort of vibe I wanted. It just wasn't there.
Overall, the story felt very repetitive and I didn't enjoy the direction the plot went, as far as the reveals and the truth behind the Eos. It didn't hit like I expected.
With all of this being said, this is 100% my personal opinion. I am by no means the end-all, know-all of YA Horror novels. If this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go. Just because I didn't enjoy it, doesn't mean you won't.
There's a Reader for every book and a book for every Reader. If you do read it and love it, feel free to stop back by and let me know. I would love to hear your opinion!
Even though this one didn't quite fit my tastes, I am glad I picked it up and I would consider reading future work from this author.
Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I know a lot of Readers will have fun with this.
I'm sure you get what I mean by that type of story. It's a vibe. A bonus is a setting near, in, or around a body of water.
With this in mind, you can probably guess my excitement level when I first hear about Those We Drown. All I needed to read was the first sentence of the synopsis, an ocean-drenched, atmospheric horror debut, and I was sold.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted to love and connect with this story, it didn't work for me at all.
In this one we follow Liv, who is setting out with her somewhat estranged-best friend, Will, for a semester-at-sea aboard a luxury cruise ship, the Eos.
Liv is in attendance after being awarded a scholarship. She didn't think much about that at first, but once she arrives at the ship, it's clear that the other students in the program are all very, very wealthy. Of particular note are a trio of stunning influencers. Basically, the Plastics of the sea.
Liv feels self-conscious now about her scholarship. She feels like she stands out because of it; like everyone knows her financial situation and is talking about it.
At least she has Will though. He doesn't care about such things. That is until they have a big blowout fight in front of everyone opening night. How embarrassing!
The next day, after several attempts to reach Will, Liv finds out he has taken ill and is now in quarantine. She tries desperately to get the powers-that-be to let her see him, but she gets shot down at every try.
From there we follow Liv as she tries to figure out what has really happened to Will. Is he actually sick, or is something more sinister going on?
After reading 400-pages of Liv, perhaps he is just hiding from her? Something to think about...
I actually feel very similarly to this as I did to They're Watching You earlier this year. I could almost cut and paste that review, but I won't.
This started out slow and in my opinion, stayed that way. It never took off. It went from nothing happening, to the MC floundering around repeating the same concerns over and over for 300-pages.
As a main character, I found Liv to be, honestly, really annoying. Her whole character was one note, desperation, but not in a way that made you feel desperate too. More in a way that you just wanted to get away from her.
Additionally, I am an atmosphere-girlie. You could give me nothing else, but if a book has a dark, eerie, ominous atmosphere, I am going to like it. I don't need to like characters, I don't need to believe your plot, but I need to have a strong atmosphere.
Sadly, I did not get what I was looking for here in that regard. They could have been anywhere. I never felt that eerie sort of vibe I wanted. It just wasn't there.
Overall, the story felt very repetitive and I didn't enjoy the direction the plot went, as far as the reveals and the truth behind the Eos. It didn't hit like I expected.
With all of this being said, this is 100% my personal opinion. I am by no means the end-all, know-all of YA Horror novels. If this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go. Just because I didn't enjoy it, doesn't mean you won't.
There's a Reader for every book and a book for every Reader. If you do read it and love it, feel free to stop back by and let me know. I would love to hear your opinion!
Even though this one didn't quite fit my tastes, I am glad I picked it up and I would consider reading future work from this author.
Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I know a lot of Readers will have fun with this.
July 27, 2023
Ahoy there me mateys! So this is a book where the premise sounded fun but I did not love what the author chose to write. There be spoilers ahead!
The Setting: Who doesn't love horror on the high seas? I loved the idea of a creepy cruise ship. Problem was it felt like the author had never been on one before. There were lots of descriptions of dining rooms and pools. Not much that felt like a real ship. Example: the captain's quarters would likely not be right near the bridge or accessible (ever) to tourists.
The Premise: The idea is that students are going to spend a semester (Seamester) at sea on the cruise ship where then things go wrong. First of all the book takes place in the first week of the cruise between ports one and two. Secondly there is no actual idea of what classes or life would be like. I thought it was going to be a bunch of students who learn about jobs aboard or sea life or the environment or something. Turns out ALL the students (except the main character) are rich kids whose parents pay for them to be out of the way. They spend their time drunk, eating, or supposedly joining tourist activities. Lame and unrealistic. What is the point of that for a semester?
The Main Character: While all characters are vapid one-dimensional idiots, the main character is something truly horrible. Liv has no real personality. She doesn't use her brain, whines, and dwells in lust. She spends a ton of time thinking about clothes and how poor she is. The author tries to go for a "unreliable" narrator. Problem is the reader quickly knows what is happening and who the bad guys are. So Liv screams her accusations everywhere, second guesses herself, and believes the adults ridiculous explanations. Her best friend is one of the missing and she can't focus on that. The bad guys should have immediately murdered her for being trouble. I wanted to her shut up and to stop being a moron.
The Solution: Of course the captain and some parents were in on it. Of course the social media influencers (the Sirens) are real sirens. Of course people have to be sacrifices to the sea for the sirens to keep their power. How Liv and idiot love interest didn't see this was beyond me given how much evidence there was. Also why did the students need to be the sacrifices? The sirens switch out a couple of folks during the course of the book with no consequences. Why not kill crew members? Or steal people from shore? It didn't seem to matter who they killed. Just the number of people killed. I finished this because I was hoping for an interesting twist or some answers. Nope.
The Ending: The book literally stops with Liv and dumb love interest stuck in a lifeboat wondering if they will survive. The end. No closure. Is the fire going to swamp the cruise ship? How is the whole thing going to be explained to the authorities? Nada. I thought/hoped that my e-book was missing a chapter. We don't even get an answer on the weird squid creatures on board.
I ended this book being irked that such a premise ended up with this plot. I wanted an actual horror book set on a cruise ships - mythical creatures optional. Stay away from this and read Mira Grant's into the drowning deep instead. Arrrr!
The Setting: Who doesn't love horror on the high seas? I loved the idea of a creepy cruise ship. Problem was it felt like the author had never been on one before. There were lots of descriptions of dining rooms and pools. Not much that felt like a real ship. Example: the captain's quarters would likely not be right near the bridge or accessible (ever) to tourists.
The Premise: The idea is that students are going to spend a semester (Seamester) at sea on the cruise ship where then things go wrong. First of all the book takes place in the first week of the cruise between ports one and two. Secondly there is no actual idea of what classes or life would be like. I thought it was going to be a bunch of students who learn about jobs aboard or sea life or the environment or something. Turns out ALL the students (except the main character) are rich kids whose parents pay for them to be out of the way. They spend their time drunk, eating, or supposedly joining tourist activities. Lame and unrealistic. What is the point of that for a semester?
The Main Character: While all characters are vapid one-dimensional idiots, the main character is something truly horrible. Liv has no real personality. She doesn't use her brain, whines, and dwells in lust. She spends a ton of time thinking about clothes and how poor she is. The author tries to go for a "unreliable" narrator. Problem is the reader quickly knows what is happening and who the bad guys are. So Liv screams her accusations everywhere, second guesses herself, and believes the adults ridiculous explanations. Her best friend is one of the missing and she can't focus on that. The bad guys should have immediately murdered her for being trouble. I wanted to her shut up and to stop being a moron.
The Solution: Of course the captain and some parents were in on it. Of course the social media influencers (the Sirens) are real sirens. Of course people have to be sacrifices to the sea for the sirens to keep their power. How Liv and idiot love interest didn't see this was beyond me given how much evidence there was. Also why did the students need to be the sacrifices? The sirens switch out a couple of folks during the course of the book with no consequences. Why not kill crew members? Or steal people from shore? It didn't seem to matter who they killed. Just the number of people killed. I finished this because I was hoping for an interesting twist or some answers. Nope.
The Ending: The book literally stops with Liv and dumb love interest stuck in a lifeboat wondering if they will survive. The end. No closure. Is the fire going to swamp the cruise ship? How is the whole thing going to be explained to the authorities? Nada. I thought/hoped that my e-book was missing a chapter. We don't even get an answer on the weird squid creatures on board.
I ended this book being irked that such a premise ended up with this plot. I wanted an actual horror book set on a cruise ships - mythical creatures optional. Stay away from this and read Mira Grant's into the drowning deep instead. Arrrr!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2023
Liv and her best friend Will are travelling a whole semester on the cruise ship named Eos where Liv received an all expense paid scholarship along with seven other students from other universities. Liv is normally a quiet girl with many insecurities which increase ten-fold when she meets the others in her travel group. The girls are stunningly gorgeous and the guys are unbelievably hot never mind that everyone happens to come from ultra rich backgrounds which make Liv feel self conscious of her own humble family background. The group is allowed to drink alcohol although they are all under twenty-one so of course everyone drinks too much especially Will who happens to get into a nasty argument with Liv where he becomes very cruel and spiteful to her the rest of the evening so Liv leaves the party and goes to bed.
Liv has many disturbing dreams during the night and the next morning she finds out that after she left the night before, apparently Will became violently ill and was placed in quarantine with no further explanation. Liv becomes friendly with a couple of the others but can't seem to enjoy herself without Will on her mind and she also notices that her group and a few others seem to be the only young people on the ship. All the other guests appear old not older but elderly (Can that be right?). Liv feels a wrongness about the cruise ship's guests and almost every staff member on board where she daydreams certain images of strange creatures taking the forms of humans while her nightmares about Will and a few others become so twisted that her sanity is being compromised because she sees things that no-one else can see and her visions or whatever they are absolutely incredulous so that no one believes her stories. After several struggling days without any factual updates about Will and dealing with her living nightmares, Liv just wants to get off the ship and go home. No matter what she's been told, Liv knows something insidious has.been creeping within the passengers and there have been many unseen threats toward Liv which she finally realizes that her entire group is in danger and all their lives may be in jeopardy unless some people are involved in being part of a most incredibly, heinous and evil plan that is unimaginable by any normal human being. Where and what has happened to Will? Can Liv find anyone to believe her and help her to get off the ship? Is this luxurious cruise ship haunted or is it one way cruise to hell through the water leaving no survivors during this doomed voyage?
This was a fun and entertaining young adult horror story although I think it will appeal to a mature audience overall. The writing and storytelling were wonderful. Liv was a fun character and could be nerve wracking at times but then I'd have to remember she was a teenager without any life experience behind her so it would be.normal to continually create chaos and make impulsive and poor decisions most of the.time. The visual aspects of the creatures were scary and horrifying and just perfect for being in the middle of the ocean. All the characters were completely detailed and so expressive that I was truly surprised and impressed with this author's "Amy Goldsmith" writing creativity. This was a unique shocker of a well-done horror novel and I hope to read more of this writer's books in the future. The humor imbued into the story was spot-on to break up some of the most frightening situations and it was definitely a solid horror book with many science fiction elements so it will not be for everyone but I highly recommend it to all horror readers if you're interested in some teenagers as the main characters and their experiences throughout the story.
I want to thank the publisher "Random House Children's" Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this scary book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have give a rating of 4 SPOOKY AND UNSETTLING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!
Liv has many disturbing dreams during the night and the next morning she finds out that after she left the night before, apparently Will became violently ill and was placed in quarantine with no further explanation. Liv becomes friendly with a couple of the others but can't seem to enjoy herself without Will on her mind and she also notices that her group and a few others seem to be the only young people on the ship. All the other guests appear old not older but elderly (Can that be right?). Liv feels a wrongness about the cruise ship's guests and almost every staff member on board where she daydreams certain images of strange creatures taking the forms of humans while her nightmares about Will and a few others become so twisted that her sanity is being compromised because she sees things that no-one else can see and her visions or whatever they are absolutely incredulous so that no one believes her stories. After several struggling days without any factual updates about Will and dealing with her living nightmares, Liv just wants to get off the ship and go home. No matter what she's been told, Liv knows something insidious has.been creeping within the passengers and there have been many unseen threats toward Liv which she finally realizes that her entire group is in danger and all their lives may be in jeopardy unless some people are involved in being part of a most incredibly, heinous and evil plan that is unimaginable by any normal human being. Where and what has happened to Will? Can Liv find anyone to believe her and help her to get off the ship? Is this luxurious cruise ship haunted or is it one way cruise to hell through the water leaving no survivors during this doomed voyage?
This was a fun and entertaining young adult horror story although I think it will appeal to a mature audience overall. The writing and storytelling were wonderful. Liv was a fun character and could be nerve wracking at times but then I'd have to remember she was a teenager without any life experience behind her so it would be.normal to continually create chaos and make impulsive and poor decisions most of the.time. The visual aspects of the creatures were scary and horrifying and just perfect for being in the middle of the ocean. All the characters were completely detailed and so expressive that I was truly surprised and impressed with this author's "Amy Goldsmith" writing creativity. This was a unique shocker of a well-done horror novel and I hope to read more of this writer's books in the future. The humor imbued into the story was spot-on to break up some of the most frightening situations and it was definitely a solid horror book with many science fiction elements so it will not be for everyone but I highly recommend it to all horror readers if you're interested in some teenagers as the main characters and their experiences throughout the story.
I want to thank the publisher "Random House Children's" Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this scary book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have give a rating of 4 SPOOKY AND UNSETTLING 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!
January 28, 2023
Going into this book, I was a little iffy on the whole concept. A horror/thriller book set on a cruise ship could’ve gone two way; really good or really bad.
I loved it! I couldn’t put it down once i started. The story flowed so welling and I loved Amy’s writing style!
This story keeps you guessing. It pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until the very last page.
I will say that I really loved the mc but Will was one of my favorite characters, even though he didn’t have a lot of time.
I will definitely be ordering a copy of this book when it releases!
Big thank you to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read this!
I loved it! I couldn’t put it down once i started. The story flowed so welling and I loved Amy’s writing style!
This story keeps you guessing. It pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until the very last page.
I will say that I really loved the mc but Will was one of my favorite characters, even though he didn’t have a lot of time.
I will definitely be ordering a copy of this book when it releases!
Big thank you to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read this!
March 30, 2023
I guess you could say my ocean-based horror obsession started with a little-known movie called Titanic and only grew from there.
The cover, title and blurb had me so excited at the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my first book by Amy Goldsmith and certainly won't be my last. The atmosphere of dread she was able to create was palpable. The anxiety I felt while reading it made me need a happy book afterward. I enjoyed the characters and their romance, and the much needed comedic relief. This was a fun book from start to finish.
TYSM for letting me be an ARC reader!
The cover, title and blurb had me so excited at the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my first book by Amy Goldsmith and certainly won't be my last. The atmosphere of dread she was able to create was palpable. The anxiety I felt while reading it made me need a happy book afterward. I enjoyed the characters and their romance, and the much needed comedic relief. This was a fun book from start to finish.
TYSM for letting me be an ARC reader!
December 6, 2021
I've waited forever to sing this book's praises! I devoured it in two sittings, and I know I'll do it all over again once I have a physical copy. OCEAN DARK is flooded (pun intended) with witty humor, amazing characters, and swoon worthy romance. This deep-sea horror will have you second guessing your next cruise in the best possible way.
January 30, 2023
Horror is becoming one of my all time favorite genres. What an amazing book this was. I don't even know where to begin. The cover is gorgeous and reels you in. The story is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric. I felt everything Liv felt and it was as though I was right there along with her freaking out with everything that was going on. The voice in this story is so freaking good!! Liv is relatable and you find yourself rooting for her from the very start. Amy has done such an amazing job at capturing very real feelings of feeling completely and utterly alone even when you're surrounded by others, even when you're in a group of people. The feeling of speaking yet not being heard even when someone is listening to you. I felt all of that in the very pit of my stomach and kept wanting to yell along with Liv so that she could be heard, so she could be seen, so that she could be validated and know that her feelings and thoughts and suspicions were very real. I could not stop screaming at my husband at how much I was loving this story. I did not want to stop even when I got chills and things started getting creepy and spooky. Did not want to put this down! I want more, I need more, and I cannot wait to own a copy and read more of Amy's writing. This was a brilliant story and I am so happy I got to read it!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to read an early copy!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to read an early copy!
December 2, 2022
An unputdownable YA horror-thriller featuring a fish-out-of-water MC on a cruise ship that might be harbouring a terrible conspiracy.
Featuring a memorable ensemble cast of characters, who you're never quite sure whether to trust or not, and a grump x sunshine romance (kind of), this book is a ride from start to finish.
Featuring a memorable ensemble cast of characters, who you're never quite sure whether to trust or not, and a grump x sunshine romance (kind of), this book is a ride from start to finish.
April 17, 2023
I detest books that make their main character a complete idiot in order for the mystery to be believable.
Liv has won a scholarship to study on a luxury cruise for a semester, along with her best friend, Will. Before the first day has even ended, Liv and Will have a huge argument that results in Liv leaving in tears. The next day, the cruise ship's doctor tells her that Will has caught a virus and is not allowed out of quarantine. When Liv realizes his text messages don't sound like him and starts having odd hallucinations, she feels in her bones that something is wrong. But is she just going crazy, or is there something fishy aboard?
Let's start with the characters, which are all detestable. Everyone except Liv is dripping with money, and they don't let her forget it. In a very cringeworthy way, they constantly remind Liv that she shouldn't be here. They are all shallow, snotty, and had the maturity of a group of four-year-olds. They blurred together into one being since they all shared the same two personality traits: rude and rich. Liv honestly was not much better. She is a 'woe is me' kind of girl, letting the group walk all over her. So, I did not like anyone, which is not the best way to start out the book.
For the first 50%, Liv totally denies something is wrong. She has never hallucinated or had vivid dreams before, but she is convinced that is all in her head. Even when someone physically grabs and harms her, she still chalks it up to her going crazy. If I was Liv, after the first 24 hours, I would have locked myself in the room, called my mom, and told her to pick me up at the next port. As stated before, if your main character has to be an idiot in order to sell a book's mystery, you do not have a mystery.
The romance made me want to get a lobotomy. Of course, she falls in love with one of the rich snobs. Cold, calculating, but oh-so-handsome and misunderstood. Constantine (he even has a snobby name) is just as mean as the rest of the group, and yet Liv still is attracted to him. Considering neither of them has particularly strong personalities, I am sure it will work out fine.
I won't spoil what happens, in case this review hasn't convinced you to swim far away from this book, but I figured out the mystery within the first few chapters. It's very obvious who the culprits are. In fact, it is so obvious I genuinely believed it to be a misdirection. What a foolish and naive hope.
Thank you to Net Galley and Delacorte Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Liv has won a scholarship to study on a luxury cruise for a semester, along with her best friend, Will. Before the first day has even ended, Liv and Will have a huge argument that results in Liv leaving in tears. The next day, the cruise ship's doctor tells her that Will has caught a virus and is not allowed out of quarantine. When Liv realizes his text messages don't sound like him and starts having odd hallucinations, she feels in her bones that something is wrong. But is she just going crazy, or is there something fishy aboard?
Let's start with the characters, which are all detestable. Everyone except Liv is dripping with money, and they don't let her forget it. In a very cringeworthy way, they constantly remind Liv that she shouldn't be here. They are all shallow, snotty, and had the maturity of a group of four-year-olds. They blurred together into one being since they all shared the same two personality traits: rude and rich. Liv honestly was not much better. She is a 'woe is me' kind of girl, letting the group walk all over her. So, I did not like anyone, which is not the best way to start out the book.
For the first 50%, Liv totally denies something is wrong. She has never hallucinated or had vivid dreams before, but she is convinced that is all in her head. Even when someone physically grabs and harms her, she still chalks it up to her going crazy. If I was Liv, after the first 24 hours, I would have locked myself in the room, called my mom, and told her to pick me up at the next port. As stated before, if your main character has to be an idiot in order to sell a book's mystery, you do not have a mystery.
The romance made me want to get a lobotomy. Of course, she falls in love with one of the rich snobs. Cold, calculating, but oh-so-handsome and misunderstood. Constantine (he even has a snobby name) is just as mean as the rest of the group, and yet Liv still is attracted to him. Considering neither of them has particularly strong personalities, I am sure it will work out fine.
I won't spoil what happens, in case this review hasn't convinced you to swim far away from this book, but I figured out the mystery within the first few chapters. It's very obvious who the culprits are. In fact, it is so obvious I genuinely believed it to be a misdirection. What a foolish and naive hope.
Thank you to Net Galley and Delacorte Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 12, 2023
I love every single pages of it. All the mystery and horror and suspense, the nagging feeling that something is wrong wrong wrong (but what?), and the underlying tone of romance and angst.
The whole setting reminds me of the movie Ghost Ship, but make it young adult and add cult and investigation to it. I love Liv and her determination, also Con being suave and mysterious. I have my suspicion from the start, but I really enjoyed reading through the pages and feeling the thrill of investigating rooms and passengers and people's past. It was a great read!
The whole setting reminds me of the movie Ghost Ship, but make it young adult and add cult and investigation to it. I love Liv and her determination, also Con being suave and mysterious. I have my suspicion from the start, but I really enjoyed reading through the pages and feeling the thrill of investigating rooms and passengers and people's past. It was a great read!
March 3, 2023
Hi! I wrote this --thanks so much for reading! Just a quick note to say that trigger/content warnings are listed after the blurb/description above.
April 11, 2023
Ok, hear me out. If R.L. Stine and Agatha Christie had a baby who was then raised by one of the Brontë sisters, it would be this book. I say this with complete sincerity. Those who know or follow me understand that I am not a big YA fan, but I gave this book a chance solely based on the description. I am so glad I did!
I found the pacing of this book to be just right; it never felt rushed or bogged down by exposition. The characters all played a part, and none felt out of place. Poor Liv, poor, poor sweet baby Liv. The level of gaslighting in this story is epic. I mean, the author had me questioning if I was losing it.
I was fully prepared to rate this book 5 stars until the last chapter. The ending isn't bad, but it left me questioning if the author knew how to close out this story. I wouldn't have scoffed at another chapter or two to get a bit more closure. Even just a sprinkle of closure.
Overall, a great YA Horror read that I'll be adding to my 'go-to-recs' shelf!
I found the pacing of this book to be just right; it never felt rushed or bogged down by exposition. The characters all played a part, and none felt out of place. Poor Liv, poor, poor sweet baby Liv. The level of gaslighting in this story is epic. I mean, the author had me questioning if I was losing it.
I was fully prepared to rate this book 5 stars until the last chapter. The ending isn't bad, but it left me questioning if the author knew how to close out this story. I wouldn't have scoffed at another chapter or two to get a bit more closure. Even just a sprinkle of closure.
Overall, a great YA Horror read that I'll be adding to my 'go-to-recs' shelf!
January 30, 2023
Horror is becoming one of my all time favorite genres. What an amazing book this was. I don't even know where to begin. The cover is gorgeous and reels you in. The story is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric. I felt everything Liv felt and it was as though I was right there along with her freaking out with everything that was going on. The voice in this story is so freaking good!! Liv is relatable and you find yourself rooting for her from the very start. Amy has done such an amazing job at capturing very real feelings of feeling completely and utterly alone even when you're surrounded by others, even when you're in a group of people. The feeling of speaking yet not being heard even when someone is listening to you. I felt all of that in the very pit of my stomach and kept wanting to yell along with Liv so that she could be heard, so she could be seen, so that she could be validated and know that her feelings and thoughts and suspicions were very real. I could not stop screaming at my husband at how much I was loving this story. I did not want to stop even when I got chills and things started getting creepy and spooky. Did not want to put this down! I want more, I need more, and I cannot wait to own a copy and read more of Amy's writing. This was a brilliant story and I am so happy I got to read it!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to read an early copy!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me to read an early copy!
July 3, 2023
Rating: 1.5 stars.
This was so boring. The blurb sounds so fun and then when you read the book the execution just really sucks.
The protagonist solves the mystery within 40% of the book, and as a reader, you can basically solve it within 10%. Everything is glaringly obvious and honestly not very creatively executed and then dragged out to the max to fill 300 pages. The romance was really annoying and took up way too much page time and we didn't need all those inner monologues of the protagonist whining about her life.
There was no horror involved whatsoever, there are a couple of scenes where the author tried to make it spooky but it just felt cringe. The whole concept could have been so cool but it just wasn't. The setting was also promising but there was no creepy or suspenseful atmosphere whatsoever. The ending was also really random and honestly felt like a chunk of the book was missing. Not really a great reading experience.
This was so boring. The blurb sounds so fun and then when you read the book the execution just really sucks.
The protagonist solves the mystery within 40% of the book, and as a reader, you can basically solve it within 10%. Everything is glaringly obvious and honestly not very creatively executed and then dragged out to the max to fill 300 pages. The romance was really annoying and took up way too much page time and we didn't need all those inner monologues of the protagonist whining about her life.
There was no horror involved whatsoever, there are a couple of scenes where the author tried to make it spooky but it just felt cringe. The whole concept could have been so cool but it just wasn't. The setting was also promising but there was no creepy or suspenseful atmosphere whatsoever. The ending was also really random and honestly felt like a chunk of the book was missing. Not really a great reading experience.
Want to read
August 1, 2022Maybe I'm just really into ocean-based horror right now but this SOUNDS SO GOOD
June 16, 2023
Review coming soon.
April 9, 2023
started off promising, but then the plot pace started freestyling and i ended the read absolutely confused (not in the good way).
August 8, 2023
This was a terrible book. Very poorly written, even more poorly edited. The plot lines were difficult to follow since the author seemed incapable of establishing a plot line and then following through. Images were vague, references disjointed, characters were weak. It is as if she took a handful of themes and just threw them against a wall, took a picture of them wherever they landed, and called it a book. I'm not sure how it got published in the first place. 👎🏼
August 24, 2023
WTF kind of ending was that?
January 7, 2024
i wanted to like this book so badly. i mean creepy mysterious happenings during a suite life on deck-esque cruise? yes please! lots of references to Greek mythology? sign me up! but unfortunately this book fell flat in every aspect to the point where i was so happy to be done with it.
first of all, i could not stand any of the characters. the main character Liv was just so dumb that many times i had to put the book down because i couldn’t deal with her stupid decisions. i’d think “why doesn’t she do x instead of y as it is the more logical option” but she never does and there’s no reason for why. for example, she thinks that one of the students in their group is missing and instead of going to his room to see if he’s there herself she just takes the word of another student that he’s actually fine and in his room resting despite not being seen for days. like girl if you’re so concerned, nothings stopping you from checking on him yourself. she also keeps trusting all these people who have a billion red flags. they’ve literally already proven that they’re suspicious and possibly in on it, why do you keep confiding in them?? her relationship with the love interest (?) Con made no sense. she showed no interest in him then the next minute she’s full out flirting with him. when she tries to tell him what she saw, he continuously doesn’t believe her and acts like she’s crazy. i do not understand why she kept running back to him.
speaking of Con, i did not like him at all. he was so dismissive of everything Liv was saying despite having seen some weird stuff himself. like sir if you just stopped to think for one second you’d see what’s going on.
this book honestly read like a first draft. it was so repetitive. Liv sees something, tells someone, they say she’s crazy, she believes them and repeat. it also felt like the story was going nowhere. weird things were happening but there wasn’t really any progression. there were also weird jumps in the story; numerous times i would read something and think “what? did i miss something?” then flip back to see if i did but nope.
the ending was atrocious. there are so many unanswered questions and loose ends and the book ends so abruptly that i thought i was missing a chapter. ain’t no way anyone approved this.
the premise of this book had so much potential so it’s really a bummer that it wasn’t good.
first of all, i could not stand any of the characters. the main character Liv was just so dumb that many times i had to put the book down because i couldn’t deal with her stupid decisions. i’d think “why doesn’t she do x instead of y as it is the more logical option” but she never does and there’s no reason for why. for example, she thinks that one of the students in their group is missing and instead of going to his room to see if he’s there herself she just takes the word of another student that he’s actually fine and in his room resting despite not being seen for days. like girl if you’re so concerned, nothings stopping you from checking on him yourself. she also keeps trusting all these people who have a billion red flags. they’ve literally already proven that they’re suspicious and possibly in on it, why do you keep confiding in them?? her relationship with the love interest (?) Con made no sense. she showed no interest in him then the next minute she’s full out flirting with him. when she tries to tell him what she saw, he continuously doesn’t believe her and acts like she’s crazy. i do not understand why she kept running back to him.
speaking of Con, i did not like him at all. he was so dismissive of everything Liv was saying despite having seen some weird stuff himself. like sir if you just stopped to think for one second you’d see what’s going on.
this book honestly read like a first draft. it was so repetitive. Liv sees something, tells someone, they say she’s crazy, she believes them and repeat. it also felt like the story was going nowhere. weird things were happening but there wasn’t really any progression. there were also weird jumps in the story; numerous times i would read something and think “what? did i miss something?” then flip back to see if i did but nope.
the ending was atrocious. there are so many unanswered questions and loose ends and the book ends so abruptly that i thought i was missing a chapter. ain’t no way anyone approved this.
the premise of this book had so much potential so it’s really a bummer that it wasn’t good.
June 9, 2023
Those We Drown
by Amy Goldsmith
Mystery Fantasy YA New Adult
NetGalley ARC
Ages 16 +
It was pure luck that Liv won an all-expense paid semester aboard a luxury cruise. But what makes it more special is her best friend Will is also going to be on the trip, and she hopes they can repair the damage they had done that one night they almost went too far.
But the first night aboard, Will gets drunk and snaps at Liv. Come morning Will has disappeared but the ship's staff claims he got extremely sick and was now in quarantine. Liv doesn't buy it because they won't let her see him, or even talk to him on the phone. After telling those in her group that she thinks something funny is going on, she is laughed at and she questions herself but doesn't stop looking for her best friend.
The book cover is cool, too bad the story didn't live up to it. The story wasn't bad, but honestly, it was boring. Liv whined about Will, that was the majority of the story. The mystery wasn't really explained in enough detail to make it interesting let alone scary, thus why I don't consider this horror. It wasn't scary, it was a mystery with vague descriptions of the heart of the mystery.
Because the author seemed to be more concerned with money, clothes, beauty, and that stuff, which Liv didn't have, what could have made this story scary with a little gore, was ignored, and instead it was a teenage drama with the MC whining all of the time. I did not care for her one bit.
If the author tossed out the influencer subplot and the female spitefulness, gave the MC an adult mentality, and worried about the 'mystery' by adding descriptions and details, this could have been a whole lot better.
Because of the drinking and drug use by minors, along with language, it is not suitable for those under 16.
2 Stars
by Amy Goldsmith
Mystery Fantasy YA New Adult
NetGalley ARC
Ages 16 +
It was pure luck that Liv won an all-expense paid semester aboard a luxury cruise. But what makes it more special is her best friend Will is also going to be on the trip, and she hopes they can repair the damage they had done that one night they almost went too far.
But the first night aboard, Will gets drunk and snaps at Liv. Come morning Will has disappeared but the ship's staff claims he got extremely sick and was now in quarantine. Liv doesn't buy it because they won't let her see him, or even talk to him on the phone. After telling those in her group that she thinks something funny is going on, she is laughed at and she questions herself but doesn't stop looking for her best friend.
The book cover is cool, too bad the story didn't live up to it. The story wasn't bad, but honestly, it was boring. Liv whined about Will, that was the majority of the story. The mystery wasn't really explained in enough detail to make it interesting let alone scary, thus why I don't consider this horror. It wasn't scary, it was a mystery with vague descriptions of the heart of the mystery.
Because the author seemed to be more concerned with money, clothes, beauty, and that stuff, which Liv didn't have, what could have made this story scary with a little gore, was ignored, and instead it was a teenage drama with the MC whining all of the time. I did not care for her one bit.
If the author tossed out the influencer subplot and the female spitefulness, gave the MC an adult mentality, and worried about the 'mystery' by adding descriptions and details, this could have been a whole lot better.
Because of the drinking and drug use by minors, along with language, it is not suitable for those under 16.
2 Stars
May 26, 2023
initial review— THAT IS HOW WE ARE GONNA END IT??? There better be a damn sequel are you kidding meeeee. NetGalley review to come.
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Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Those We Drown is a captivating and excited me from the get-go. The premise of this story is following Olivia - or Liv - as she travels on a luxury cruise ship with several wealthy influencers for a "seamester." One of Liv's dear friend's Will is also aboard the ship -- and although that should be comforting to Olivia who doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of them, things with Will become very strange...
I usually don't enjoy books that are too modern filled with timely references, but I actually enjoyed the shout outs to Gilmore Girls, The Bachelor, and Instagram. I thought the author was clever in the way she delivered information and instead of being hokey delivered a quality piece that stands on its own two feet.
It's hard to figure out who you can trust and what information is factual. As the story continued I started to pick up on the clues that are sprinkled throughout - different references that align with the big picture.
This novel was absolutely puzzling - and even upon the conclusion I'm not sure that I'm satisfied. I'm hopeful that there's a sequel, because I need to find out what's happening!! What a cliffhanger to end with, Ms. Amy Goldsmith!!
I highly recommend this for those looking for an easy yet mysterious read - this book will go by quickly!!
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Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Those We Drown is a captivating and excited me from the get-go. The premise of this story is following Olivia - or Liv - as she travels on a luxury cruise ship with several wealthy influencers for a "seamester." One of Liv's dear friend's Will is also aboard the ship -- and although that should be comforting to Olivia who doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of them, things with Will become very strange...
I usually don't enjoy books that are too modern filled with timely references, but I actually enjoyed the shout outs to Gilmore Girls, The Bachelor, and Instagram. I thought the author was clever in the way she delivered information and instead of being hokey delivered a quality piece that stands on its own two feet.
It's hard to figure out who you can trust and what information is factual. As the story continued I started to pick up on the clues that are sprinkled throughout - different references that align with the big picture.
This novel was absolutely puzzling - and even upon the conclusion I'm not sure that I'm satisfied. I'm hopeful that there's a sequel, because I need to find out what's happening!! What a cliffhanger to end with, Ms. Amy Goldsmith!!
I highly recommend this for those looking for an easy yet mysterious read - this book will go by quickly!!
July 6, 2023
I love horror/thriller and was excited about this novel, but sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations at all. And trust me, my expectations weren't all that high in the first place.
I know it's YA, but I wasn't expecting something so basic. The novel barely skimmed the surface of the horror, thriller, and mystery genres. There were times when I could feel the writing attempt to go deeper (there was a Lovecraftian horror-esque scene that went nowhere, and the novel itself had the perfect premise for a psychological horror), but nothing truly panned out.
Instead, we get the FMC obsessing over her poverty (I get it. I've been there) and comparing herself to completely vapid rich kid characters who were one-dimensional. There was no introspection or criticism of wealth disparities, other than "poor me, the rich kids are mean to me." It's nothing we haven't seen before in YA fiction or teen dramas.
And like other reviewers have mentioned, the romance was... strange. It felt like that scene in season 4 of Stranger Things, where the teen characters happen to find some time to have romantic moments in a damn haunted house. Just... Why??? How??? I suppose sexual tension is one way to relieve fear.
The villain reveal was so boring that I barely paid attention to their insidious purposes. Instead, I just wanted to be done with the novel.
And the ending... There wasn't really an ending? It felt like the author didn't know how to end the novel so she just did... whatever that was.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this arc.
I know it's YA, but I wasn't expecting something so basic. The novel barely skimmed the surface of the horror, thriller, and mystery genres. There were times when I could feel the writing attempt to go deeper (there was a Lovecraftian horror-esque scene that went nowhere, and the novel itself had the perfect premise for a psychological horror), but nothing truly panned out.
Instead, we get the FMC obsessing over her poverty (I get it. I've been there) and comparing herself to completely vapid rich kid characters who were one-dimensional. There was no introspection or criticism of wealth disparities, other than "poor me, the rich kids are mean to me." It's nothing we haven't seen before in YA fiction or teen dramas.
And like other reviewers have mentioned, the romance was... strange. It felt like that scene in season 4 of Stranger Things, where the teen characters happen to find some time to have romantic moments in a damn haunted house. Just... Why??? How??? I suppose sexual tension is one way to relieve fear.
The villain reveal was so boring that I barely paid attention to their insidious purposes. Instead, I just wanted to be done with the novel.
And the ending... There wasn't really an ending? It felt like the author didn't know how to end the novel so she just did... whatever that was.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this arc.
July 5, 2023
Okay, this one was fun!
I'm not going to lie - it is COMPLETELY unbelievable. And any high school student in the world would have figured out all the Greek mythology references very early in this. But it's fun.
This is one of those over-the-top and very entertaining reads full of mean girls and mean boys and crushes on the wrong people and creepy crawly killing things or people or whatever.
As long as you don't take it seriously, you should enjoy the read!
I'm not going to lie - it is COMPLETELY unbelievable. And any high school student in the world would have figured out all the Greek mythology references very early in this. But it's fun.
This is one of those over-the-top and very entertaining reads full of mean girls and mean boys and crushes on the wrong people and creepy crawly killing things or people or whatever.
As long as you don't take it seriously, you should enjoy the read!
October 12, 2023
This was a fairly middle of the road book for me. I didn’t like the main character and the book felt very repetitive. The main character Liv kept doing the same thing over and over again. It also took forever for everything to be explained and when it was, a lot of it didn’t make sense. I also found the ending to be supremely unsatisfying. I was intrigued by the premise and I am a sucker for anything set on cruise ships, but this was a pretty average read.
October 28, 2024
3.5🌟
I’d like to start this off by saying this was a random pick for me and I had no idea what it was about when I chose it. That being said, this story was interesting to say the least. I never really could tell where this was going or if it involved supernatural elements or not.
It took me a good long while to fully get into this one as the beginning felt a little bit drawn out and then it just went from one extreme to the next. It felt really hard to follow along with Liv as her thoughts were constantly so erratic and jumbled that I found it hard to keep up with her.
As the story progressed I found myself flying through the last 200 pages. I was so intrigued to see where this could possibly go and as much as the second half of the book was much better than the first I found myself a bit let down with the ending. It felt like the big reveal was really fast paced and felt as though lots of big things were skipped over. The ending was definitely rushed in my opinion, I wished we had got a bit more of a conclusion to Will’s story as it felt very unfinished.
I liked the creepy, unnatural settings this book described. I constantly felt on edge and a little freaked out about what was actually going on. I found that it was hard to tell whether the things that were occurring were real or not but that just made the scenarios much more unnerving.
Overall, this story was definitely different to what I would normally read and the story itself was very unique.
I’d like to start this off by saying this was a random pick for me and I had no idea what it was about when I chose it. That being said, this story was interesting to say the least. I never really could tell where this was going or if it involved supernatural elements or not.
It took me a good long while to fully get into this one as the beginning felt a little bit drawn out and then it just went from one extreme to the next. It felt really hard to follow along with Liv as her thoughts were constantly so erratic and jumbled that I found it hard to keep up with her.
As the story progressed I found myself flying through the last 200 pages. I was so intrigued to see where this could possibly go and as much as the second half of the book was much better than the first I found myself a bit let down with the ending. It felt like the big reveal was really fast paced and felt as though lots of big things were skipped over. The ending was definitely rushed in my opinion, I wished we had got a bit more of a conclusion to Will’s story as it felt very unfinished.
I liked the creepy, unnatural settings this book described. I constantly felt on edge and a little freaked out about what was actually going on. I found that it was hard to tell whether the things that were occurring were real or not but that just made the scenarios much more unnerving.
Overall, this story was definitely different to what I would normally read and the story itself was very unique.
December 30, 2024
It was pretty good, also this was my 100th book of the year!!!! Barely made my goal 😰
September 14, 2023
2⭐
…𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬
- high seas ya horror
- cruise ship school…a Seamester
- teen drinking
- mostly one POV…with sporadic others
- it lacked depth…lol
- 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 = 𝟑.𝟓𝟕/𝟏𝟎
I thought this was going to have actual schooling but we never even got to where they started classes, so don’t go into this thinking it’s dark academia cause it really isn’t. Suffice it to say, this didn’t live up to the potential that I thought it could’ve been. It does have a really pretty cover, though.
- Saskia Maarleveld…was mostly good…she had a bit of an accent in this.
…𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬
- high seas ya horror
- cruise ship school…a Seamester
- teen drinking
- mostly one POV…with sporadic others
- it lacked depth…lol
- 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 = 𝟑.𝟓𝟕/𝟏𝟎
I thought this was going to have actual schooling but we never even got to where they started classes, so don’t go into this thinking it’s dark academia cause it really isn’t. Suffice it to say, this didn’t live up to the potential that I thought it could’ve been. It does have a really pretty cover, though.
- Saskia Maarleveld…was mostly good…she had a bit of an accent in this.
July 10, 2023
THIS!!!! This is what I needed!! A mystery thriller set aboard a cruise ship/semester at sea, but give it have a spooky mystical flair. 😱😱😱
We love the gothic vibes in my house! It’s always Halloween! Not really… that’s more my sister’s house, because my husband is basic. 🤷🏻♂️ But I digress. I love the gothic vibes in my house! Better!!!!!!😂 NOOOOOOWWWW… back to the book!
What would you do if your best friend freaked out and embarrassed you in front of the entire ship on your first night by screaming at you? First of all, I’d want to know what the hell my BFF was doing speaking to me like that, because it’s out of character. He’s my BFF for a reason. This is exactly what our MC, Liv, goes through.
Then he gets sick… which “That’s WEIRD! That’s suspicious!” So what does she do? She spends the entire book trying to find him while everyone around her tries to make her feel like she’s crazy. 🤪 Which in turn made her look like an unreliable narrator, but we knew what she knew. So it was more of an adventure because of that.
But then we have extremely cute and kinda shady rich boy Constantine, who inadvertently becomes trapped in a love…ish triangle with Liv and her missing friend, Will. Con’s father owns the cruise ship, so he has connections. He’s also looking for his missing friend, so there is that instant bond that they’re in it together… but are they? He’s helping, but also feeding into the people who are acting like she’s losing it, so he’s really not.
And then we have the Sirens. These 3 beautiful and popular influencers that seem to have everyone wrapped around their little finger. They also seem to be in the middle of all of this. I kind of hate and love them, but also want to be them at the same time.
This was a really epic YA gothic horror! If you haven’t seen it, check it out!!! It’s Barnes & Noble’s bookclub pick for July. 🥳
Thank you to the author, Amy Goldsmith, for reaching out and asking me to read it. Also, thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
We love the gothic vibes in my house! It’s always Halloween! Not really… that’s more my sister’s house, because my husband is basic. 🤷🏻♂️ But I digress. I love the gothic vibes in my house! Better!!!!!!😂 NOOOOOOWWWW… back to the book!
What would you do if your best friend freaked out and embarrassed you in front of the entire ship on your first night by screaming at you? First of all, I’d want to know what the hell my BFF was doing speaking to me like that, because it’s out of character. He’s my BFF for a reason. This is exactly what our MC, Liv, goes through.
Then he gets sick… which “That’s WEIRD! That’s suspicious!” So what does she do? She spends the entire book trying to find him while everyone around her tries to make her feel like she’s crazy. 🤪 Which in turn made her look like an unreliable narrator, but we knew what she knew. So it was more of an adventure because of that.
But then we have extremely cute and kinda shady rich boy Constantine, who inadvertently becomes trapped in a love…ish triangle with Liv and her missing friend, Will. Con’s father owns the cruise ship, so he has connections. He’s also looking for his missing friend, so there is that instant bond that they’re in it together… but are they? He’s helping, but also feeding into the people who are acting like she’s losing it, so he’s really not.
And then we have the Sirens. These 3 beautiful and popular influencers that seem to have everyone wrapped around their little finger. They also seem to be in the middle of all of this. I kind of hate and love them, but also want to be them at the same time.
This was a really epic YA gothic horror! If you haven’t seen it, check it out!!! It’s Barnes & Noble’s bookclub pick for July. 🥳
Thank you to the author, Amy Goldsmith, for reaching out and asking me to read it. Also, thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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