What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cove
Not yet published
Expected 5 May 26Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive and fighting to be yourself.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of yet another prep school and exiled to her uncle’s farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine. But Uncle Levi is gone, leaving the farmhouse under the strict rule of his new zealously evangelical wife, who runs a reform camp for troubled teens. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones. No computers. No way out.
When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, who live on a nearby island, everything changes. One reckless night, she convinces the others to sneak out for a party. The night is unforgettable—at least, the parts they can remember. The next morning, they wake in their own beds, clutching seashell tokens, hearts pounding, with no memory of how they got home. Except one camper never made it back.
As disappearances mount and dark secrets rise, Lindsay and her friends must unravel the mystery of the island—before The Cove claims them all.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of yet another prep school and exiled to her uncle’s farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine. But Uncle Levi is gone, leaving the farmhouse under the strict rule of his new zealously evangelical wife, who runs a reform camp for troubled teens. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones. No computers. No way out.
When Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass, who live on a nearby island, everything changes. One reckless night, she convinces the others to sneak out for a party. The night is unforgettable—at least, the parts they can remember. The next morning, they wake in their own beds, clutching seashell tokens, hearts pounding, with no memory of how they got home. Except one camper never made it back.
As disappearances mount and dark secrets rise, Lindsay and her friends must unravel the mystery of the island—before The Cove claims them all.
336 pages, Paperback
Expected publication May 5, 2026
16 people are currently reading
10587 people want to read
About the author
Claire Rose
1 book63 followersClaire Rose was born and raised in New Jersey but moved to the UK to study children's literature and fell in love with horror instead. She is a queer Jewish writer who works primarily in the intersection of fantasy, horror, and literary fiction, and can usually be found in the nearest bookstore or coffee shop. She also writes adult fiction as Claire Schultz. A PhD student by day, she lives in Edinburgh with her haunted cats.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 12, 2025
Beware the siren call of the sea….
Teenage angst has nothing on Lindsey, daughter of an aspiring senator who has committed her last act of rebellion to get herself kicked out of her private school and sent to Haven House, a tiny home on the coast that promises to rehabilitate children to be perfect members of society and to her suprise it’s ran by her aunt and uncle. With the latter away on business, Aunt Irene welcomes Lindsey to join the other group of kids to work hard and avoid leaving the farm but when a beach party invite crosses their paths they sneak out and find themselves in the middle of something far bigger, and much older than anything they could have prepared for and if they’re not careful they may find themselves washed away with the tides.
I’m a big fan of the creepy small town legend like monsters and this book feeds into that pretty well. We have this beautiful landscape that is just begging to be explored but you soon realize the adventure is actually a hunt. There were a few moments where I got lost with everyone around and not sure who was friend or foe and I might have to go back to double check a few but overall it kept interest and maintained this unsettling atmosphere that kept you on edge to see what was happening and who, if anyone would survive.
The characters were fine, again I got lost in some parts keeping track of people who seemed to flip in and out of the plot when necessary. Lindsey is a strong character who is clearly hurting and trying to get any attention so her struggles and strive to be the one to be chosen for once seems to bite her later but she forms real connections with the group that really grounds her in a way she needed. I wish we got more of everyone else because some of the romance aspects felt a little out of left field because they didn’t have a lot of time to feel organic but that could also be because I was so focused on figuring out the plot, the other build up didn’t stick in my head.
Not a bad book but I’m not sure how long it will stick around in my mind but I hope other readers get caught in its net!
**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
Teenage angst has nothing on Lindsey, daughter of an aspiring senator who has committed her last act of rebellion to get herself kicked out of her private school and sent to Haven House, a tiny home on the coast that promises to rehabilitate children to be perfect members of society and to her suprise it’s ran by her aunt and uncle. With the latter away on business, Aunt Irene welcomes Lindsey to join the other group of kids to work hard and avoid leaving the farm but when a beach party invite crosses their paths they sneak out and find themselves in the middle of something far bigger, and much older than anything they could have prepared for and if they’re not careful they may find themselves washed away with the tides.
I’m a big fan of the creepy small town legend like monsters and this book feeds into that pretty well. We have this beautiful landscape that is just begging to be explored but you soon realize the adventure is actually a hunt. There were a few moments where I got lost with everyone around and not sure who was friend or foe and I might have to go back to double check a few but overall it kept interest and maintained this unsettling atmosphere that kept you on edge to see what was happening and who, if anyone would survive.
The characters were fine, again I got lost in some parts keeping track of people who seemed to flip in and out of the plot when necessary. Lindsey is a strong character who is clearly hurting and trying to get any attention so her struggles and strive to be the one to be chosen for once seems to bite her later but she forms real connections with the group that really grounds her in a way she needed. I wish we got more of everyone else because some of the romance aspects felt a little out of left field because they didn’t have a lot of time to feel organic but that could also be because I was so focused on figuring out the plot, the other build up didn’t stick in my head.
Not a bad book but I’m not sure how long it will stick around in my mind but I hope other readers get caught in its net!
**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Claire Rose delivers a killer YA debut, blending Nancy Drew with gothic/folk horror. The Cove will lure you in for a deadly good time.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Cove, by Claire Rose, from St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 2.3 ⭐
I requested an ARC of this book because the description of it led with a reference to Misdommar, which is one of the single-most disturbing folk horror films I have ever watched on my almost 60 years on this particular planet https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/).
And, yeah, I got where some of this stuff about The Cove (the place in the book) felt like that.
But, reader? Midsommar is most very definitely a movie for adults, not anybody who’s 13. (Even Precocious Teenage Kristi.) Which is relevant, because when I started looking at reviews on Goodreads, I saw that this was classified as a Teen/YA book.
Nothing in the NetGalley description said that directly, so we can't blame me for reading too quickly this time. I had already aged out of the genre by the time R.L. Stine hit the scene with a vengeance, so the mention of Fear Street went -whooshing- right past me.
Point being, I probably wouldn’t have requested this one had I realized how targeted at a juvenile audience it was. Please note that that statement is in no way meant to diss either the Teen or YA genre; I’ve read lots of books classified as such as an adult and loved them and rated them highly.
But this book was only OK. It had continuity issues, some of the characters weren’t believable at all, and it got kinda boring in parts. Of course I had to wonder if I would’ve enjoyed it as a currently modern-day teenager with the attention span of a rat on speed and parents who weren’t present and loving in my life.
We’ll never know.
Next, please.
DESCRIPTION
Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive, and fighting to be yourself.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just gotten kicked out of another prep school, and has consequently found herself shipped to her Uncle Levi's farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine.
When Lindsay arrives at a big, old farmhouse miles from civilization, she is greeted by her uncle’s new wife, a goy with a little too much Jesus decor for Lindsay’s taste—with Uncle Levi mysteriously away on a business trip. Not only that, but Lindsay isn’t the only teen staying there. In fact, there is a small group of teens going through some kind of reform program. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones, computers or tablets.
Things start to feel hopeless until Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass. They live on an island off the Peninsula’s coast—and they have internet. Lindsay convinces the others at Haven House to sneak out for a party on the island, and the night is incredible. At least…what they can remember of it. All of them wake up in their beds with sea-shell mementos, no memory of how they got home, and wicked hangovers. All of them except one. And as the disappearances and mysteries pile up, Lindsay and the others realize that they have become involved in a terrifying fight to survive, before the Cove claims them all.
Received a complimentary copy of The Cove, by Claire Rose, from St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 2.3 ⭐
I requested an ARC of this book because the description of it led with a reference to Misdommar, which is one of the single-most disturbing folk horror films I have ever watched on my almost 60 years on this particular planet https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/).
And, yeah, I got where some of this stuff about The Cove (the place in the book) felt like that.
But, reader? Midsommar is most very definitely a movie for adults, not anybody who’s 13. (Even Precocious Teenage Kristi.) Which is relevant, because when I started looking at reviews on Goodreads, I saw that this was classified as a Teen/YA book.
Nothing in the NetGalley description said that directly, so we can't blame me for reading too quickly this time. I had already aged out of the genre by the time R.L. Stine hit the scene with a vengeance, so the mention of Fear Street went -whooshing- right past me.
Point being, I probably wouldn’t have requested this one had I realized how targeted at a juvenile audience it was. Please note that that statement is in no way meant to diss either the Teen or YA genre; I’ve read lots of books classified as such as an adult and loved them and rated them highly.
But this book was only OK. It had continuity issues, some of the characters weren’t believable at all, and it got kinda boring in parts. Of course I had to wonder if I would’ve enjoyed it as a currently modern-day teenager with the attention span of a rat on speed and parents who weren’t present and loving in my life.
We’ll never know.
Next, please.
DESCRIPTION
Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive, and fighting to be yourself.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just gotten kicked out of another prep school, and has consequently found herself shipped to her Uncle Levi's farm in the cold, isolated town of Marbury, Maine.
When Lindsay arrives at a big, old farmhouse miles from civilization, she is greeted by her uncle’s new wife, a goy with a little too much Jesus decor for Lindsay’s taste—with Uncle Levi mysteriously away on a business trip. Not only that, but Lindsay isn’t the only teen staying there. In fact, there is a small group of teens going through some kind of reform program. Up at dawn. Manual labor all day. No phones, computers or tablets.
Things start to feel hopeless until Lindsay meets the twins, Phin and Cass. They live on an island off the Peninsula’s coast—and they have internet. Lindsay convinces the others at Haven House to sneak out for a party on the island, and the night is incredible. At least…what they can remember of it. All of them wake up in their beds with sea-shell mementos, no memory of how they got home, and wicked hangovers. All of them except one. And as the disappearances and mysteries pile up, Lindsay and the others realize that they have become involved in a terrifying fight to survive, before the Cove claims them all.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Claire Rose’s “The Cove” is a sea-soaked YA folk horror that traps its characters and readers in an atmosphere of isolation, paranoia, and creeping dread. Equal parts cult mystery and coming-of-age survival story, this debut lures you in with a gorgeous coastal setting before revealing just how hungry the town really is.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg initially feels like a familiar archetype: the rich, emotionally neglected senator’s daughter who acts out at school just to be noticed. Her rebellion gets her shipped off to Haven House, an isolated “behavior rehabilitation” farm in coastal Maine, run by a step-aunt she’s never met. From the start, the rules are suffocating such as no phones, no contact with the outside world, and constant labor; the mood right from the very beginning is unmistakably off. Strange rituals, dead animals, and a sense of being watched establish an unease that never fully lets up.
When Lindsay and the other teens sneak out to attend a party at The Cove, everything shifts. They wake the next morning with no memory of how they got home; there are only seashell tokens and a growing sense of terror. One camper never returns, and soon teens begin dying one by one. What follows is a twisting mystery where no one is fully trustworthy: the aunt, the cult-like islanders, the townspeople, or possibly everyone working together in service of something far older and darker. Lies pile on lies, red herrings abound, and the truth feels deliberately just out of reach.
The horror leans visceral at times, with moments of gore that underline the brutality of what’s happening. While the main plot takes its time to ignite as some major events arrive later than expected, yet the tension steadily builds, fueled by confusion, fear, and the unsettling sense that the land itself is hunting the teens. An eldritch, god-worshipping cult lurks beneath the surface, giving the story a mythic, folkloric edge that pairs beautifully with the stormy coastal setting.
Lindsay herself grows significantly over the course of the novel. What begins as attention-seeking rebellion softens into something more vulnerable as she forms a found family among the other teens. Their bonds, often laced with dark humor, ground the story emotionally, even when the plot becomes dense with secrets. There’s a touch of romance and a mild love triangle, but it never fully overtakes the horror, even if some connections feel rushed due to the story’s relentless focus on survival.
The ending wraps up more neatly than expected, yet leaves just enough unresolved to deliver a final chill, which suggests that the horror of The Cove may not be finished after all.
Overall, “The Cove” is a modern folk horror that thrives on mistrust, isolation, and the desperate need to belong. Perfect for those who love eerie small towns, cult mysteries, and stories where the sea always takes its due.
Claire Rose’s “The Cove” is a sea-soaked YA folk horror that traps its characters and readers in an atmosphere of isolation, paranoia, and creeping dread. Equal parts cult mystery and coming-of-age survival story, this debut lures you in with a gorgeous coastal setting before revealing just how hungry the town really is.
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg initially feels like a familiar archetype: the rich, emotionally neglected senator’s daughter who acts out at school just to be noticed. Her rebellion gets her shipped off to Haven House, an isolated “behavior rehabilitation” farm in coastal Maine, run by a step-aunt she’s never met. From the start, the rules are suffocating such as no phones, no contact with the outside world, and constant labor; the mood right from the very beginning is unmistakably off. Strange rituals, dead animals, and a sense of being watched establish an unease that never fully lets up.
When Lindsay and the other teens sneak out to attend a party at The Cove, everything shifts. They wake the next morning with no memory of how they got home; there are only seashell tokens and a growing sense of terror. One camper never returns, and soon teens begin dying one by one. What follows is a twisting mystery where no one is fully trustworthy: the aunt, the cult-like islanders, the townspeople, or possibly everyone working together in service of something far older and darker. Lies pile on lies, red herrings abound, and the truth feels deliberately just out of reach.
The horror leans visceral at times, with moments of gore that underline the brutality of what’s happening. While the main plot takes its time to ignite as some major events arrive later than expected, yet the tension steadily builds, fueled by confusion, fear, and the unsettling sense that the land itself is hunting the teens. An eldritch, god-worshipping cult lurks beneath the surface, giving the story a mythic, folkloric edge that pairs beautifully with the stormy coastal setting.
Lindsay herself grows significantly over the course of the novel. What begins as attention-seeking rebellion softens into something more vulnerable as she forms a found family among the other teens. Their bonds, often laced with dark humor, ground the story emotionally, even when the plot becomes dense with secrets. There’s a touch of romance and a mild love triangle, but it never fully overtakes the horror, even if some connections feel rushed due to the story’s relentless focus on survival.
The ending wraps up more neatly than expected, yet leaves just enough unresolved to deliver a final chill, which suggests that the horror of The Cove may not be finished after all.
Overall, “The Cove” is a modern folk horror that thrives on mistrust, isolation, and the desperate need to belong. Perfect for those who love eerie small towns, cult mysteries, and stories where the sea always takes its due.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Great story line and mystery but the author clearly has very adult, personal opinions she's thrown in after the fact that interjected and distracted.
Overall: 4⭐
Plot: 5📍
Mystery: 5 🔍
YA - ness: 3*🍿
("spice" in this book = a couple kisses, a vague mention of same-sex hooking up off page)
Suggested Ages:
Read By: 16y/o +
Lindsay, our FMC, is highly disagreeable and for understandable reasons. And she's very, very well written - the 17 year old "I know everything and understand life" attitude oozes off the page. So her punishment after being expelled, yet again, makes perfect sense - being sent to an estranged family's farm for a societal detox. Granted, what her parents thought they were sending her to and what she was really headed towards were not the same!
I loved that the reader genuinely wasn't sure who to trust or believe throughout the entire story. The imagery was great. Supernatural or not? Real or imagined? You'll be guessing right up into the final big reveal (with a few great plot twists along the way). Ms. Rose's writing is fantastic! Her use of the senses, descriptions, all came together superbly, fully immersing the reader in whatever scene they're reading.
And Lindsay's friends are fantastic foils to her character. One, the disarmingly charming It Boy while another is the perpetually cheerful one. Another, the sweet but reserved with a big heart. Another who supposedly didn't have much to say, but spoke up plenty, and added comic relief. But the author's biases against certain religions and races are loud and clear, and her clear opinions felt like add-ons. OBTWs that checked boxes and genuinely added nothing of value to the storyline. If anything, it actually detracted from a sort of redemption arc for a later-introduced character.
And some of those subplot-themes, personally, I don't believe are appropriate for YA. Yes, typically YA is marketed towards 11y/o -15/16 year olds. However, the real, voracious readers, the ones who will actually be reading said books, will be younger.
With that in mind, the current version of the advanced proof I received, I can't recommend to younger readers who read above grade level and I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it to my own children when they're 11-16 y/o.
I won a physical copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways with the understanding I would read and review it.
All opinions are my own.
*I have a zero-spice policy for YA. Maybe a chaste smooch. Maybe. I want to see healthy emotional bonds modeled between MCs, romantic or otherwise, and positive character shaping.
I also understand many teens will be curious about "spice". Should their parents approve, go explore New Adult (16-21 y/o) with healthy relationships. Leave YA spice-free.
Overall: 4⭐
Plot: 5📍
Mystery: 5 🔍
YA - ness: 3*🍿
("spice" in this book = a couple kisses, a vague mention of same-sex hooking up off page)
Suggested Ages:
Read By: 16y/o +
Lindsay, our FMC, is highly disagreeable and for understandable reasons. And she's very, very well written - the 17 year old "I know everything and understand life" attitude oozes off the page. So her punishment after being expelled, yet again, makes perfect sense - being sent to an estranged family's farm for a societal detox. Granted, what her parents thought they were sending her to and what she was really headed towards were not the same!
I loved that the reader genuinely wasn't sure who to trust or believe throughout the entire story. The imagery was great. Supernatural or not? Real or imagined? You'll be guessing right up into the final big reveal (with a few great plot twists along the way). Ms. Rose's writing is fantastic! Her use of the senses, descriptions, all came together superbly, fully immersing the reader in whatever scene they're reading.
And Lindsay's friends are fantastic foils to her character. One, the disarmingly charming It Boy while another is the perpetually cheerful one. Another, the sweet but reserved with a big heart. Another who supposedly didn't have much to say, but spoke up plenty, and added comic relief. But the author's biases against certain religions and races are loud and clear, and her clear opinions felt like add-ons. OBTWs that checked boxes and genuinely added nothing of value to the storyline. If anything, it actually detracted from a sort of redemption arc for a later-introduced character.
And some of those subplot-themes, personally, I don't believe are appropriate for YA. Yes, typically YA is marketed towards 11y/o -15/16 year olds. However, the real, voracious readers, the ones who will actually be reading said books, will be younger.
With that in mind, the current version of the advanced proof I received, I can't recommend to younger readers who read above grade level and I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it to my own children when they're 11-16 y/o.
I won a physical copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways with the understanding I would read and review it.
All opinions are my own.
*I have a zero-spice policy for YA. Maybe a chaste smooch. Maybe. I want to see healthy emotional bonds modeled between MCs, romantic or otherwise, and positive character shaping.
I also understand many teens will be curious about "spice". Should their parents approve, go explore New Adult (16-21 y/o) with healthy relationships. Leave YA spice-free.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of The Cove!
I'm afraid I'm DNFing at the 55% mark. I normally adore queer folk horror, and I was excited for a coastal theme. But, I'm afraid I found the characters too 2D, the horror elements too cliché, and in general, everything too stereotypical. I was bored the whole way up until I gave in and DNF'd.
Our POV character Lindsay is emotionally neglected by her rich parents. She attempts to hide how much it hurts her by rebelling and pushing everyone away — right until she gets carted off to a Christian corrective facility for troubled teens in rural Maine. She has a strong and consistent voice throughout the novel. However, I would have liked her more had there been more depth or complexity to her character.
There's some great LGBTQ+ rep among the other teens (and with Lindsay herself, who's bi), but that aside, they're a bunch of stereotypes with limited personalities. And so, too, is everyone and everything else in the novel, from the pervy gas station attendant who Lindsay asks for help to the creepy twins in old-fashioned clothing and the order in which characters die.
While shouting at characters not to do something is a staple of the horror genre, I also found some of the characters' actions to be so illogical that it broke my immersion. For example, why did they decide not to report a murder or get help, and instead drive back to the house where they'll be locked in while someone keeps killing people and they have zero phones?
It's also worth bearing in mind that the novel starts slowly, with the plot starting to pick up at the 40% mark. However, this time is used to create atmosphere. I think had I not found the book too stereotypical to be scary or interesting, this would have worked well for me.
I'm afraid I'm DNFing at the 55% mark. I normally adore queer folk horror, and I was excited for a coastal theme. But, I'm afraid I found the characters too 2D, the horror elements too cliché, and in general, everything too stereotypical. I was bored the whole way up until I gave in and DNF'd.
Our POV character Lindsay is emotionally neglected by her rich parents. She attempts to hide how much it hurts her by rebelling and pushing everyone away — right until she gets carted off to a Christian corrective facility for troubled teens in rural Maine. She has a strong and consistent voice throughout the novel. However, I would have liked her more had there been more depth or complexity to her character.
There's some great LGBTQ+ rep among the other teens (and with Lindsay herself, who's bi), but that aside, they're a bunch of stereotypes with limited personalities. And so, too, is everyone and everything else in the novel, from the pervy gas station attendant who Lindsay asks for help to the creepy twins in old-fashioned clothing and the order in which characters die.
While shouting at characters not to do something is a staple of the horror genre, I also found some of the characters' actions to be so illogical that it broke my immersion. For example, why did they decide not to report a murder or get help, and instead drive back to the house where they'll be locked in while someone keeps killing people and they have zero phones?
It's also worth bearing in mind that the novel starts slowly, with the plot starting to pick up at the 40% mark. However, this time is used to create atmosphere. I think had I not found the book too stereotypical to be scary or interesting, this would have worked well for me.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Cove is a dread filled, sea soaked nightmare set on a farm in northern Maine where a troubled teen camp, and a watery cult collide. Our heroine Lindsay is very good at being self sufficient, but when she's shipped to Haven House to spend her summer with her estranged uncle after being expelled from her third boarding school, nothing is as it seems.
Her Uncle's wife is a cold, hard, bible thumper...a strange suprise for Jewish Lindsay, and what she thought was staying with her uncle is actually a work camp for troubled teens. Things go from bad to worse when she realizes there is no cell reception. On an excursion into town she runs into locals who live on a nearby island and invite her to a party, she attends (along with her fellow troublemaking teens) hoping to find a way back to civilization.
Instead she wakes up the next morning covered in sand, and one of her friends is dead. From there things go from bad to much, much worse.
This is the best of atmospheric YA horror. From a cast that came to life on the page, to the cult and it's blood soaked history, it's a new favorite for anyone who loves seaside horror stories.
Her Uncle's wife is a cold, hard, bible thumper...a strange suprise for Jewish Lindsay, and what she thought was staying with her uncle is actually a work camp for troubled teens. Things go from bad to worse when she realizes there is no cell reception. On an excursion into town she runs into locals who live on a nearby island and invite her to a party, she attends (along with her fellow troublemaking teens) hoping to find a way back to civilization.
Instead she wakes up the next morning covered in sand, and one of her friends is dead. From there things go from bad to much, much worse.
This is the best of atmospheric YA horror. From a cast that came to life on the page, to the cult and it's blood soaked history, it's a new favorite for anyone who loves seaside horror stories.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A sea-soaked folk horror and a cover like that immediately grabbed my attention. The plot moved quickly enough that I kept turning pages and it kept me engrossed, but there were times I was just as disoriented as Lindsay when she was lost in the mysterious fog.
Lindsay carries a lot of trauma--parents who ignore her and pass her on for someone else to deal with which has created someone who has turned into a loner in their self-sufficient protection. Her humor is inappropriate which can be funny sometimes, but in others, it's so tone-deaf to what's happening in the scene that it's off-putting, like the tension and the tension-diffusion don't align properly. It also reflects how her narrative tells us she's not used to making friends so perhaps that's just how she's trying to relate to the other teens. I know that is only my opinion and maybe resonates with other readers.
I'd recommend for ages 14+ Seggsual content is limited to kissing, but there are a lot of f-bombs. Horror elements aren't quite as graphic as I Know What You Did Last Summer, but there is blood. A farm animal is ritually slaughtered
All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books for the advanced copy.
Lindsay carries a lot of trauma--parents who ignore her and pass her on for someone else to deal with which has created someone who has turned into a loner in their self-sufficient protection. Her humor is inappropriate which can be funny sometimes, but in others, it's so tone-deaf to what's happening in the scene that it's off-putting, like the tension and the tension-diffusion don't align properly. It also reflects how her narrative tells us she's not used to making friends so perhaps that's just how she's trying to relate to the other teens. I know that is only my opinion and maybe resonates with other readers.
I'd recommend for ages 14+ Seggsual content is limited to kissing, but there are a lot of f-bombs. Horror elements aren't quite as graphic as I Know What You Did Last Summer, but there is blood. A farm animal is ritually slaughtered
All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books for the advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was sent the link for The Cove today through Netgalley and immediately thought it sounded like a really interesting premise, and not necessarily a story I would usually pick up. I thought, I’ll just read the first chapter and see how I like the writing style and see if I wanted to continue reading it soon. THEN I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. I needed to see where the story ended, I was trying to figure out where it was going and I was so invested I nearly burned my dinner because I couldn’t take my eyes off of my kindle. What a wild ride. It has mystery, intrigue, characters you never quite know who to trust/what to believe, found family. I flew through this like I said in one sitting, couldn’t go to sleep because I just needed to know how it ended. It was worth the lack of sleep I’ll get tonight, and highly recommend reading this book. I’m normally a fantasy, romantasy, rom com, monster romance reader, so again was not sure if I’d like this story and was so unbelievably surprised and delighted. Cannot wait for it to come out in May so I can get a shelf trophy to display on my bookshelf.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Lindsay, who was kicked out of her most recent boarding home, is sent to her uncle's house, but it’s set up more like a rehabilitation home for teens. Secluded in the middle of nowhere coastal Maine. Lindsay and some of the other kids go to a party on a nearby island, but they all wake up the next day feeling hungover and lacking memory. Not all of the kids return either and then they start dying one by one.
This was a fun time. It was intriguing from the start and didn’t let up. Sometimes a YA horror/thriller is just as fun as an adult one and this is one of those books. It does still have some gore and it is very eerie throughout the book. There is some mystery in it for good measure. There are quite a bit of characters which become confusing at times because many of them feel very similar to each other. I had low expectations for this book going in, but I’m very glad I gave it a try because it was very entertaining.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for sending me a link to read this early. The opinion in this review is my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! When I saw this being promoted as a Midsommar meets Fear Street I knew I had to have it. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! The book begins with Lindsay being expelled from yet another boarding school. Her parents, who are always too busy to actually parent, send her to live with an Uncle she hasn't seen in years and his new wife she has never even met. The house is very secluded on the outskirts of a very small town in rural Maine. When she arrives she doesn't find her Uncle but there is four more "troubled" teens living there with her uncles new wife. She knows there is something definitely wrong with "Haven House" but can't quite figure out exactly what.
The suspense in this novel had me itching to read the next page, the next chapter. This book was virtually impossible to put down! The plot was twisty and turny, exactly what you want in a horror thriller. I was very satisfied at how everything got wrapped up in the end. One piece of advice I will give for anyone who reads The Cove is TRUST NO ONE!
The suspense in this novel had me itching to read the next page, the next chapter. This book was virtually impossible to put down! The plot was twisty and turny, exactly what you want in a horror thriller. I was very satisfied at how everything got wrapped up in the end. One piece of advice I will give for anyone who reads The Cove is TRUST NO ONE!
January 10, 2026
The Cove by Claire Rose
Received as an arc.
Lindsay was a smart girl just hated being boarding schools forced by her parents. So she skips classes, pranks, break rules to get expelled.
Sent to Maine to a working rehabilitation farm run by her uncle to reflect and be ready to return to school. When she meets the others all well to do teens with troubling pasts their parents wanted remedied.
She plots an escape but fails until she meets Cass and Phil and the island they live on called the cove. The kids sneak out and visit them to an odd festival where a cult like ritual begins.
They awake with no recollection of how they got back.
With a missing a friend the true chaotic nightmare begins
Lindsay and her friends are not sure who to trust and which if any stories to believe
Dark, fast, Lovecraftian
5⭐️
Received as an arc.
Lindsay was a smart girl just hated being boarding schools forced by her parents. So she skips classes, pranks, break rules to get expelled.
Sent to Maine to a working rehabilitation farm run by her uncle to reflect and be ready to return to school. When she meets the others all well to do teens with troubling pasts their parents wanted remedied.
She plots an escape but fails until she meets Cass and Phil and the island they live on called the cove. The kids sneak out and visit them to an odd festival where a cult like ritual begins.
They awake with no recollection of how they got back.
With a missing a friend the true chaotic nightmare begins
Lindsay and her friends are not sure who to trust and which if any stories to believe
Dark, fast, Lovecraftian
5⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I waited to read and review this one until we finished our current homeschool book and could enjoy this together. I'm really glad I did. While it's geared towards a younger audience than myself (story of my life... ugh), I was still able to get a lot of enjoyment, nostalgia, from this one. Very reminiscent of authors I enjoyed as a teen like Lois Duncan, Dean Koontz and R.L. Stine- the author was able to bridge the gap between generations and ensure we all could immerse ourselves in this fantasy. Surprisingly, even my teenage boys flew through it without complaint... something they don't even manage to do with dinner these days.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
This book was excellent. It was the right mix of horror and suspense without being wildly bloody and macabre. I got this book via a Goodreads Giveaway and read it within days. I probably would have read it within one day because I was so hooked if I had more time. I enjoyed the diverse characters and the unique plot. I also liked that there was not a ton of mushy romance like a lot of YA fiction. Overall, I highly recommend this book to any teen or adult who loves a good horror and suspense book. I look forward to reading future books by this author who is now one of my favorites.
January 3, 2026
I had a hard time putting this book down! I knew something was up from the get go, and I felt like there were a few plot holes. But all in all, this was a great mystery! Some of the words got very repetitive. (Schlep!) But all in all I enjoyed this book. ONE THING is there are a lot of dead animals mentioned. I really think there should be a trigger warning at the beginning about the animals that die, as a lot of people(myself included) do not like watching things or reading things where animals die.
January 5, 2026
I got this book in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
There were some interesting parts - teenagers learning to cope without being attached to their phones because there is no WiFi or even cell service on the remote Maine farm they find themselves living on. Each teenagers’ reason for being there also added to the story.
There were a lot of things that felt silly and weird. An off grid cult literally steps away from the farm that no one knew about. A entire town of people who had been ensnared by the cult.
Overall the weird and silly outweighed the interesting parts for me.
There were some interesting parts - teenagers learning to cope without being attached to their phones because there is no WiFi or even cell service on the remote Maine farm they find themselves living on. Each teenagers’ reason for being there also added to the story.
There were a lot of things that felt silly and weird. An off grid cult literally steps away from the farm that no one knew about. A entire town of people who had been ensnared by the cult.
Overall the weird and silly outweighed the interesting parts for me.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I was invited to review this book through NetGalley and the publisher.
I enjoyed this book--not many books deal with the trauma involved in the industry of discipline camps for teens.
It was an interesting premise, with students disappearing and the mysterious inhabitants of the Cove. I just didn't buy that the farm was as bad as the MC made it out to be. The students seemed pretty one dimensional--caricatures almost. Didn't fully buy into the relationships presented. But overall it was a very enjoyable read!
I enjoyed this book--not many books deal with the trauma involved in the industry of discipline camps for teens.
It was an interesting premise, with students disappearing and the mysterious inhabitants of the Cove. I just didn't buy that the farm was as bad as the MC made it out to be. The students seemed pretty one dimensional--caricatures almost. Didn't fully buy into the relationships presented. But overall it was a very enjoyable read!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
WOW! When I first saw the book it definitely looked like a good read. After starting to read it I caught myself time and time again not being able to put it down because chapter after chapter it kept me wondering what was going to happen next so I'd just keep reading and reading. Overall I would say it is an excellent read with just the right amount of horror and suspense.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Whoa with the levity! Way too much of it for my tastes anyway. Never liked my horror doused with too much humor? Yea, the dialogue wasn't for me. We didn't need to know everything the MC was thinking (internal musings inserted throughout in brackets). The plot was bonkers, way too much happening that didn't gel together. Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
A darkly twisted story that feels closer to Midsommar than traditional coming of age books/movies you have seen before. So many twists and options for antagonists that I was truly suspicious of almost everyone. My poor copy got caught in the rain and the paperback became crumpled but I will definitely be purchasing another copy once it is released to keep it in my collection!
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
The Cove had me wondering who could be trusted. I found myself turning pages much faster once I reached the halfway point. If you like suspense novels with a bit of a twist, you would likely enjoy this one. I feel blessed to have won an advanced readers edition copy.
January 16, 2026
This book promised Midsommar and Fear Street combined. Believe me when I say I was SAT waiting for this one. And it was totally great! I really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed a couple of the twists. I was surprised towards the end when it started to lean more into cosmic horror, but it was understandable and at that point welcomed. I really did enjoy the characters, and the writing style of the novel. If a book has a cult, I am already there. I don't really have anything negative to say about this book. It's a solid YA horror and I think a great addition to the genre.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
This is not my usual type of read, but I DID really enjoy it. The characters are engaging, there were so many self-deprecating asides by the main character that kept cracking me up, and you simply HAVE to keep reading to find out what will happen to them. I can't wait to read more by this author.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Book was fantastic, horror element was great. Won via Goodreads giveaway (thank you!) will read other books from this author for sure!
January 14, 2026
This was pretty interesting for YA, I enjoyed wondering if the tragedies were supernatural or man made so the end was a fun twist.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Fast paced and overall not a bad story at all, despite all the anti-christianity and anti-traditional rhetoric.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I mean I wrote this book so I think it's pretty neat
EDIT: You can find a list of content warnings for The Cove on my site.
EDIT: You can find a list of content warnings for The Cove on my site.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews