Sous une mer déchaînée

by De Elizabeth, Florence Moreau (Translator)

Au commencement, une fille chuchotait à l'océan...

Il y a treize ans, le frère jumeau de Briar a disparu, englouti par l'océan. Hantée par sa mort, la jeune fille est convaincue qu'elle subira le même sort. Lorsque Finn, son meilleur ami, se volatilise à son tour, seuls Briar et ses amis se souviennent qu'il a jamais existé. Elle se tourne alors vers Morgan, sa pire ennemie et sorcière supposée, qui est aussi l'unique personne à connaître son plus grand secret.

Aux prises avec les tourmentes de son passé, Briar découvre que ces disparitions sont liées à l'étrange histoire de sa ville natale. Dès lors, elle comprend que plus aucun habitant de Loch Creek n'est à l'abri de ce sort funeste. Car un sacrifice doit être accompli, et l'ombre malfaisante tapie sous la mer réclame ce qu'on lui a promis...

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Horror, Queer, LGBT, Romantasy

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2025

About the author

De Elizabeth is a dark fantasy and horror author, writing both YA and adult. She is passionate about creating emotionally resonant stories featuring bisexual representation, genre blends, unhinged villains, chaotic third acts, and characters with big feelings. Her debut YA novel, This Raging Sea, was published in 2025. Her upcoming books include an adult romantic horror novel titled She Haunts Me Still, and a forthcoming YA dark fantasy, A Death Kissed Song. You can follow her on Instagram @WordsByDe.

Reviews

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Our love crosses galaxies. Defies the laws of physics... Maybe we're stronger than magic too."

4.25★

ooo this gave me the PERFECT summerween transitioning into fall creepy coastal vibes, i was so here for it!

a small town on the northeast coast that hides something dark in its shores 🌊 briar has always hated her birthdays, after her losing her twin brother on their 6th birthday. and now it's her last one before her best friends all leave her behind for college.

but strange things are happening, and something even weirder is up with her best friend finn (who she's totally not been avoiding since they finally kissed).

what ensues is a magical murder mystery, a race against timelines, and a bit a (dark) practical magic.

the vibes and aesthetic were so much fun as someone who is beach goth, but the love story and found family were definitely the heart of this. i wasn't expecting to get teary eyed and i was definitely in my feels after this one.

also shout out to the bi rep: oops! i'm kind of into my arch nemesis! oops! why is the evil villain so hot?!

this was an excellent debut read and i'm excited for de elizabeth's upcoming books!



___________________

childhood friends to lovers, physics-based magic time travel, evil blonde villain, coastal town, time as an ocean, AND bi4bi!?!??!

i. am. SAT.

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!*

This Raging Sea was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I’m so happy to say it truly lived up to my expectations. From the very first chapter, the writing pulled me in with its vivid atmosphere and emotional depth. The author has such a captivating way of blending character, tension, and setting that the whole story feels like it’s moving around you.

The characters were layered and compelling, and I loved how their relationships and inner conflicts slowly unfolded. Every twist felt earned, every quiet moment carried weight, and the pacing kept me fully invested. It’s one of those books you sink into without even noticing the time pass.

Overall, This Raging Sea delivered everything I hoped for — emotion, beauty, intensity, and a story that lingers. A standout read that absolutely justified the anticipation.

- Bisexual mc's
- a found family who always chooses each other
-"I'll love you in every universe"
- mental health rep
- soft bookish boy
- wound-tending scenes
- comforting during nightmares
- popular but haunted girl

All of these tropes!!! 😩

[Brend]

I can't believe this is not the final cover; please don't take it away from me.

Bisexual characters and found family? Yep.
Yep, absolutely.
Please x3 like Sabrina would say.

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book broke me and now i need everyone to read it

[Melinda | mello_reads]

Stumbled upon this on Threads, and I’m SOLD.

[Veronica ☽◯☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➸ 4.45 ⭐️

"Because math isn't just math. Math is also faith. It's knowing the numbers, knowing the odds, knowing the conclusion—and doing it anyway. Choosing imperfect, fierce, always-too-short love. Knowing how it ends and choosing it anyway."

that third act really hurt 😭😭😭

This was a fantastic debut and there were so many things I loved about it.
Beautifully written with messy, complicated and compelling characters, This Raging Sea was dark and enthralling. The atmosphere and setting were haunting, the magic system was so well thought-out and an absolute mind-fuck, the mystery and plot twists left me gasping for air.

The first 50-60 pages had me so confused but once you pass Finn's chapter everything starts to make sense.
Speaking of Finn—I absolutely loved him and his chapters were my fav 🖤
Both him and Briar felt so painfully real, their love achingly tragic and breathlessly hopeful. I still have so many questions, especially after where the book ends 😭

The found family was one of the absolute best parts—the way it was complicated and layered and the love between the characters... 🥺🥺🥺 everything they had gone through and went through...


The only reason why this isn't rounded up is because I wasn't a fan of how the MCs had so many sexually charged scenes with their enemies. The whole plotline with Briar and Morgan didn't need to be as romantic as it was at all imo and considering how many pages it took to end I feel like it shifted the focus too much to the point where it made me question half way through whether or not this story was about Briar and Finn and if Briar's feelings were real at all and I didn't like that. To a point I understand what De tried to do here and Morgan had an important role to play but I don't think that anything needed to happen between them just to end a second later like it had never existed at all. Considering that they spent most of their lives hating each other and they were never friends, this whole thing just came out of nowhere the moment they agreed to work together. They could've went from enemies-to-we are more alike than we thought and leave it at that instead of going as far as it did.
And then there was also the whole thing with the villain. Any sexual tension between him and Briar I could understand since he's been with her for so long but Finn and him... it was super short but again I don't think it was necessary at all to show the complex threads connecting them.
My main problem was Morgan though, that whole plotline just makes you doubt Briar and cheapens what's between her and Finn so I really didn't like those chapters at all.

All this aside, the last few chapters broke my heart in more ways than one 🥺🥺 I needed more 😭

"She feels, he thinks, like home."

If you want something with the vibes of The Wicked Deep , Our Infinite Fates and Your Blood, My Bones you should check This Raging Sea out.

eternal gratitude to De Elizabeth for the physical arc and netgalley and the publisher for the earc
all quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication

_____________________________
WE HAVE A COVER

In De Elizabeth's upcoming dark fantasy YA novel This Raging Sea, 18-year-old Briar Winters seems like she has it all together: popular kid, straight-A student, with a group of best friends who are more like family. Only… they're about to leave her behind in their small Massachusetts town to head off to various colleges. Briar is terrified she'll be left to rot — and the shame around her biggest secret isn't helping matters.

That's where the story turns fantastical, leading Briar through centuries-old town secrets, haunted seaside carnivals, and oceanic monsters as she sets out on a quest to rescue her estranged friend Finn, who has gotten lost in time.

“It’s always been a story about two people loving each other fiercely in every universe, about friendship stronger than the laws of physics, and about quietly choosing love in the face of fear,” says Elizabeth about her debut YA novel. The former Teen Vogue editor began the book as a discovery draft, with just a few loose plot points and a lot of blank pages. Through its many drafts and iterations, she was always drawn to this story about the deep bonds of friendship, and “the idea that what’s lost isn’t necessarily gone," she says.

[patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️

Oh, this book left me feeling so numb. This was a devastatingly beautiful and phenomenal debut with a strong cast of friends that share an unbreakable bond and a love story that transcends darkness and time.

De Elizabeth is an author to look out for. I was floored by her writing style, so poetic and lyrical it reminded me a lot of CG Drews’ writing style. The setting felt immersive where I could really picture the world and the way it begins to slowly decay, the descriptions so visceral and gross it genuinely made me grimace. I was surprised by the depth of Elizabeth’s writing, too. While only a standalone, the lore was well developed and I feel a bit sad that as I feel like there’s so much potential to expand on the lore and its characters.

This book felt like fan service, but done in a way that didn’t feel forced. It has some of my favorite tropes, but it felt like they happened organically in the story. Time travel? Check. An ancient entity that’s evil but hot? Big yes. Who did this to you? Classic. Knife to throat? Delicious. I just loved the way everything was incorporated into the story.

Though bittersweet, I loved the message the book was trying to convey. It is a love story – both representing platonic and romantic love – that transcends darkness. Knowing you’re cursed to live out the same fate, but doing it anyway for that brief happiness. Isn’t that what love and life is, anyway? Fleeting yet something we cherish. Time loop stories are a hit or miss for me, but this one really worked and I felt invested in these characters and how desperately they fight to protect one another – even if it means dooming themselves in the process. It’s got true yearning, which I feel like a lot of books misrepresent or get wrong nowadays. The yearning between Briar and Finn felt genuine, especially since both of them spend most of their time apart yet you feel their love anyway through the author’s prose and description.

Exploring the different timelines HURT, with what could have been and what never was.

I would say there’s an unrequited love triangle in this novel between Briar and Finn and Briar and Morgan, yet I LOVED them both. I genuinely shipped Briar with both of them, though I might be leaning more to team Morgan. It was such a complex love triangle where they all tie into each other’s lives in some integral way and my heart hurt for both ships. I need an alternate sapphic timeline between Briar and Morgan because their chemistry was peak and Morgan’s devotion to Briar made my heart clench. But at the same time, I loved Briar’s devotion to Finn and he with her. I just need another timeline in which both of them end up with Briar.

I’m docking off a few points just because Briar annoyed me at times. I feel like the friendship she has with her friends is so strong she could have relied on them more and told them what was going on with her, but I get it. It’s better confiding in your toxic sapphic love interest and leads to juicier content.

[CAM · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Do you ever wish you could go back and fix something that’s already gone wrong?”

Summer is ending. High school is over. And the 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 is about to watch all her friends leave her behind—including her smart, shy boy bestie who she’s secretly yearns for (and who’s been yearning right back).

But when that best friend vanishes through space and time, and the voice in her head grows louder, and the decaying monster in the mirror whispers of her death… maybe this cheerleader isn’t so perfect after all.


𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘢 is a vibe.
Think poetic prose, creepy coastal town, physics-based magic, and all the teenage angst of a CW show.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:
This is peak horrormance wrapped up in a sea-salt soaked shroud.
The twists kept me guessing, the beautifully haunting prose gave atmosphere, and the villain?
He’s the absolute worst, but also says things like:
“Tell me, when you kissed her pretty mouth did you taste my power too?”
(if villain, why hot?)

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳:
This book is angstier than my high school emo playlist, and while I devoured the drama, I craved breathing space between all the intensity.
Also: miscommunication trope? Try no communication.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁:
If you love YA horrormance, sad-girl teenage angst, sea-soaked horror, and books like Tenderly, I Am Devoured or A Study in Drowning—you’ll eat this up.

[tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm not even kidding when i say this one hurt me so thoroughly and entirely that i think i'm entitled to free therapy for just having read it

anyway, alexa play "at the beach in every life" by gigi perez

[el ✯ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 3 out of 5]

e-arc received from Netgalley and the publisher! This is no way changes my opinion.

(3.25) THIS RAGING SEA is a wonderously dark and delirious debut, a horror romance with forgotten truths, witches, time, and the sea. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to a lot of the things it promises, falling into the trap of telling rather than showing.

Elizabeth has a gorgeous writing style, with lovely swirling prose that perfectly encapsulates her setting. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere, tense and beautiful. While THIS RAGING SEA is marketed as fantasy, the recurring gore and dark atmosphere renders it closer to horror. It often felt undecided, and instead of being genre-bending,
it just felt like a jumble of horror, fantasy, and YA romance elements, none of which were well utilised. The plot is completely predictable, and the hopeful ending felt out of place with the previous trauma.

The characters are interesting enough. There is a pointed effort to have a diverse cast, which I appreciated. While the characters all interact with each other convincingly, I struggled to believe their friendship. We are told what these characters like, but these passions never come to fruition in their dialogue or actions, and thus, their friendship seems newly formed rather than them being childhood friends. Likewise, there is little reference to past events other than in flashbacks, making their friendship feel unrealistic.

I also found it difficult to believe Blair’s backstory and her consequent feelings towards it. I wish there was more recurring and past tension between her and her family considering what an important role they play. Instead, they feel more like stilted objects, only serving to reach a plot point rather than truly affecting the characters.

Similarly, the romance felt shallow. The story begins with tension between Blair and Finn, who have kissed but have since fallen apart, with Finn disappearing shortly after. This means that we don’t see much of Blair and Finn actually interacting, and are simply told about how much they love each other. We are meant to believe Blair and Finn are fated in every way. Yes, Blair acts to save Finn, but she also literally kisses another girl while he is gone?? Yet she and Morgan have way more chemistry than Blair and Finn.

The worldbuilding is subpar. I was promised a physics-based magic system, but instead I was given element witches? I was also under the impression that this would be historical, so I got whiplash when I realised it was contemporary. There are some throwaway lines about energy but that’s it for the physics. Again, there is an issue of being told that Finn loves physics, that the world is based on physics, and this never actually affecting the plot other than cutesy vibes. A fantasy-esque romantic deity is shoved in as the antagonist, and rather than being Darkling hot, he is simply there??

Despite this, the writing was lovely and I enjoyed reading the book. It was a superb debut with gorgeous writing, and I look forward to reading whatever De Elizabeth writes next.

[Mariana ✨]

"haunted 18-year-old Briar must untangle the horrifying secrets of her picture-perfect coastal town in order to save Finn, her more-than-best-friend, after he disappears from the seaside carnival (and maybe from time itself)"

→ physics-based magic
→ tons of bi rep
→ an “I’ll love you in every universe” romance full of pining
→ tending to wounds
→ “say it again?”
→ a story about love that’s stronger than time and space. About fate. About things we lose, and what we find.


okayyyyy i'm sold

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received an advanced copy of The Raging Sea from the author, Holiday House and Peachtree! 🫶

“Time is a single thread. Looped around and around, like this. Past, present, and future - they all exist in space at once.”

It’s time to give a standing ovation to The Raging Sea because this book altered my brain chemistry and my life will never be the same! 🥹🖤 I love this book with every ounce of my heart and even though it has been days since I finished reading this book I AM STILL OKAY! 😭💔 This book wrecked my heart into a gazillion pieces, put my heart back together, only to break my heart all over again! 😱🤯🙊💔❤️‍🩹 This book is haunting, fever dream-like, beautiful, and I’m emotional thinking about how I will never get to experience this book again for the very first time! 🫶

The romance in this book is masterclass level! ❤️ The yearning, the tension, and the angst had me in my feels and made me giddy! 🤭🔥 Both the FMC and MMC are flawed in so many ways but they love each other to there moon and back and it’s everything! 🫶 I don’t even have the right words to express how much I love this but this is one that is forever engrained in my heart and I will be shouting out to everyone how this book is a must-read! 🫶

[Mella aka Maron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Holiday House Books and Netgalley for the eARC!

To say I’m disappointed by this book is a huge understatement. And partially I think it was the marketing of this one. This should have been solely marketed as a horror - maybe a horror romance. It’s so very loosely a fantasy and there ain’t no physics-based “magic system” - it’s run-of-the-mill multiverse hopping. 😅 Theoretical physics at best - you know, stuff that is not practical. As an engineer, I definitely thought we’d be getting practical physics: statics, dynamics, F=ma, hell, fluid mechanics even. And the way they use the “magic” in this book is not a system. 😩 I feel like I was misled. Why not just call it a time travel / multiverse book? Why even mention physics?? Or why not specify that it’s THEORETICAL physics??

Sigh.

Anyway, I have way more issues with this one.

- Briar is the worst protagonist I’ve ever seen. Her best friend and the guy she is supposedly in love with disappears from the timeline. She finds out she’s going to die. Then she also finds out she’s descendant of a witch. What does she do? Has sex with the girl she bullied for 13 yrs! 🤨 Obviously. 🙄 And everything that happens, she turns back to herself. She constantly thinks the world revolves around her. It is infuriating!!! And two people are in love with her???? Why, Finn??? Why???? This girl sent $500 worth of flowers that DIE to a girl she bullied whose mom died of cancer! 💩 to make herself feel better!! Because charity what? Giving it to the person herself, what? Nahhhh flowers! 🌺 That’s soo nice!!! 🙄

- Morgan was… unnecessary. I hated her character too. She felt like a plot device, not a human. What person would be tortured for 13 yrs by a girl and then be super up for getting it on with her?? 🤦‍♀️ We needed more backstory.

- Finn’s two personality traits were “smart” and “obsessed with Briar.” 🤷‍♀️ idk why. It doesn’t make sense. Six year old seeing an angel? 😐 Ok.

- The villain was non-existent to me - he was a voice inside their heads, not an evil being. He felt like an afterthought when advertising made me think he was going to be Darkling-level of amazing. Nope. We didn’t even actually get to SEE him defeated. He just kinda didn’t exist anymore. Yay?

- This book felt like book two in a series. I had no chance to get a sense of Briar and Finn’s relationship bc he just disappears. And no idea why tf Morgan and Briar even remotely see each other in a romantic aspect. Six year olds falling in love. Obviously. A 6yo who is so cognizant of things that she decides never to tell what she saw to anyone…. Umm my 7yo would have told me in five seconds k.

- The action was never IN the story!!! I always felt like I was being TOLD about the action. The entire book felt like I was watching people watch other things. Or watching people tell me about world-building that made no sense. It was all atmosphere and no action.

- The ending was too nice. Too clean. Too picture perfect. A book where we get some crazy grotesque horror and they’re just like “yay, love wins!” Please. Even Bly Manor made it bittersweet.

Ultimately, here’s the deal. If you liked A Study in Drowning and Skyla Arndt’s books, you’ll like this one. This is first and foremost, a horror. Honestly, this tried too hard to be a fantasy when it should have stuck SOLELY to the horror. The multiverse aspect cheapened the book overall. 😅

If you want a better “I’ll find you in every multiverse” book: go read A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. I liked that more.

And I’ll add one more comp and that’s the French tv show, Marianne. It’s uncanny the similarities… except that the FMC there leaves the town and comes back as an adult. But the backstory / childhood is sorta similar! And their friend group is also almost exactly the same 😅

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sitting here trying to write a review but I’m truly just stunned speechless. This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.
It’s also, something completely original. I’ve never read anything like it before. It felt like poetry, and romance, and magical realism, and even horror at times.
It made me think — hard. It had plot twists and turns I didn’t see coming.
Finn and Briar will forever live in my mind. This is one of those books that leaves a mark on you for life.

[snazzy pen ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Current rating: 4.25 stars

I have quite a few thoughts on this! This Raging Sea was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it mostly lived up to my expectations. At the moment, I feel like giving this 4-4.25 stars, but this had a lot of specific elements that I love; intriguing magic system (that uses physics?!), platonic love/found family, and a supernatural aspect w/ eldritch horrors, so I'll just say I'm rounding it up to 4.25 stars for appealing to a very specific part of my reading preference.

Firstly, I did enjoy the lush writing style, though it might not be for everyone, as even I found it bloated at times. However, I thought the atmosphere and setting were well created, and I liked the melancholic + tragic feeling threaded throughout. I especially enjoyed how the creepier events were described: odd sightings, distorting faces, flooding rooms, etc.

I enjoyed the dual POVs of both Briar and Finn, which was great. Surprisingly, I didn't really prefer one over the other, but that's also a positive. I loved seeing how everything connected and came together! Some aspects were quite obvious, but I did learn some interesting facts and had fun trying to figure everything out along with the MCs. I ended up feeling relatively satisfied by the ending, albeit a bit sad in some ways.

With the characters themselves, I liked how layered they were and also how down bad Finn was!! (There is one significant gripe I had with the romance, though, which I'll get into soon.) The found family was also one of my favourite parts of the book, but I wanted more!! Despite that, I still loved how platonic love was highlighted in the book.

Now, onto the romance... minor spoilers ahead!

I was peacefully anticipating the all-consuming romance between Briar and Finn, but was faced by multiple unnecessary romantic scenes between the MCs and other characters. Despite liking both Briar + Morgan, I felt that their plotline wasn't needed, especially since it felt like it came out of nowhere and didn't end up amounting to anything. What's more was the sexual tension between the villain and both MCs, especially since their justifications were more along the lines of them actually wanting his touches rather than feeling seduced by his powers or smth like that. I didn't mind comments about the otherworldly beauty of the villain, but the extra stuff that occurred just felt, again, unnecessary. I feel like I (probably?) wouldn't have minded as much had the main romance w/ Briar + Finn not been such a significant part of the plot, but alas, it was.

Overall, I still enjoyed reading this and found it to be a solid debut! I'm looking forward to reading De Elizabeth's future releases!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[m y r · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ‪‪★

"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜; 𝙝𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧."

Thank you so much to Holiday House and De Elizabeth for the ARC! ‪‪❤��‬

The lore for this went crazyyy. From generational secrets, to uncovered horrors and disrupting a balance in the threads of time through quantum physics, this book had me on the edge on my seat. The spooky coastal town of Loch Creek placed the aesthetics of the story right into a dark, sinister, gothic feel. I absolutely LOVED it, and could picture the town so clearly through De Elizbeth's writing!

Briar Winters is a fresh graduate out of high school, convinced the town she can't seem to escape will be her doom -- her demise. Her friends are getting ready to start their new lives until Finn, the one boy she's ever loved, disappears from the seaside carnival and their worlds turn upside down. Racing against time to find him, the mysteries Briar and her friends find uncover insane mysteries and the truths about the town that some claim to be a "safe haven." I was eagerly flipping the pages, so invested in the horrific mysteries of Loch Creek and how Finn managed to get trapped in time itself. Also the magic system involving physics was so unique and a fresh take, it was fun learning about the more the characters discovered it.

I wish we got more chapters in Finn's POV because I was just left with so many questions. The ending had me so hopeful and I just want to know what happens after that final scene! Especially with how the events unfolded, I was in disbelief with the plot twists. The villain, the Death King, was also super intriguing and I wish he was more involved (with his physical presence rather than just a voice in Briar and Finn's head), but I ate up every scene with him no matter what!

If you love romances that transcends through time, spooky small towns, unique magic systems, horror, and uncovered secrets, then you absolutely will want to read this ❤︎‬

[Kalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this beautiful, haunting, brilliant book!!!

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This Raging Sea is a YA horror debut that takes you into a seaside carnival and a world of physics-based magic with a side of a bisexual romance that haunts the pages. Readers follow Briar's journey with a friend group that's being held together by a loose thread and a best friend she's in love with who has vanished from time.

There are a lot of things to love about this story. De Elizabeth has a wholly bewitching, atmospheric writing style. The salt of the sea works its way through the pages and onto your skin. It's a book that makes you forget you're reading because it takes you so deep into it. The carnival lights in the background illuminate the eerie locations and situations Briar gets herself into as she works nonstop to uncover the truth of where Finn went and why he's gone.

The magic system was one of the aspects I was most excited about. I absolutely loved falling into this exploration of time and physics. Though this book is a horror story, we also get a love story doomed by time (which is something I will always love). This story spends some time diving into a world of time travel and twisting threads. It shows us a world that isn't as simple as most people would expected it to be. Everything about the magic system and how it played a role in both the horror side and the romantic side of the story was absolutely fascinating.

Although there are so many things to love, there were a few things I struggled with as well. The characters as individuals were great. It was a couple of the dynamics, though, that pulled me out of the story a bit. I found some of the dialogue between all the characters to be frustrating at times. Briar interacts with some enemies and her relationship with her friends is struggling, so there some inevitable arguments between them. But I thought a few of them felt unnatural and/or unnecessary. There was also a dynamic she had with one character in particular, that I'm trying not to go into for the sake of avoiding spoilers, that made it harder to root for the romance. When Briar and Finn were together in one space, their romance was perfect. The time they spent apart, though, had some moments that made their relationship feel less believable.

There was also one small thing, and this is a bit of a petty complaint, that took my focus away from the storyline. The town they live in is closely related to the Salem Witch Trials, which is mentioned quite a few times, but it gets the facts of the trials wrong. There are several mentions of/references to people getting burned at the stake, which never actually happened in Salem. I know this is such a small thing so I didn't let it affect my rating too much, but it was something I noticed more than once.

I can't say this book was perfect for me, but I can say that it's a book I won't hesitate to recommend. De Elizabeth is a talented storyteller and I can't wait for more people to fall in love with her gorgeous writing. I know I'll be continuing to pick up every book she releases and letting myself disappearing into her stories. If you want a eerie but romantic book with an ending that will haunt you, This Raging Sea is the story for you.

[Fifi’s Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok wow. To be honest I wasn’t super impressed until the last 80%, and that last part really got to me. I was enjoying it before that but I was mostly like, ok, average. Until that ending 😩 Until the last 50 pages this was not anywhere near a (rarely given) 5 star star rating in my mind but the ending was so moving that I could not give this less than a 5 star rating.

Disappearances, creepy coincidences, drownings, something is wrong with Loch Creek. Finn, Briar’s best friend (and later love interest) begs her to leave with him, saying that he’s been researching and her twin brother’s death was not a coincidence. Somehow, all of it is tied to the town, namely to the always watching sea 👀 Right after this warning, Finn disappears in a weirdly supernatural way. Full on number not in service, old text messages disappear for everyone, even his entire apartment not being his place with his things anymore, with no one else even remembering him, as if he never existed.

What drew me into this book was the setting, a gothic coastal eldritch horror at a historic, New England town, famous for witchcraft hysteria as far back as the 1600s. Theres even a local stretch of beach called Sorrow Shore that’s described as colorless, and where every time there’s a drowning, it’s always on that part of the beach. I liked this book a lot, it both somehow was exactly what I expected it to be also wasn’t? It’s ominous but in a YA way. It kind of gave Steven King It vibes, but only in the creepy small town mystery sense.

I thought that this book would be more Hitchcock in nature, but it is more of a witchy book than anything. The core of this book is that it’s primarily witchy, even if it isn’t exactly marketed as that. So that’s what I mean by, it’s exactly what I expected it to be but at the same time it wasn’t. The vibes and aesthetic were exactly what I expected though!

(There is some suspension of disbelief required because if someone dies and shows up on Sorrow Shore every thirteen years exactly, and in a popular coastal tourist trap no less, someone is going to pick up on it lol. They would not go this long without no one putting that together. I’m one of those annoying readers that calls stuff like this out, if something is a little too unrealistic 😂)

Now for the romance. I went into this expecting this big sweeping romantic arc about soulmates across time and space and in a way it IS that, but they don’t really even have any scenes together until the last 80% of the book. The blurb sort of implied that the soulmate romance would take center stage for most of it but it doesn’t really appear until the very end. BUT. When it does appear OH MAN IS IT IMPACTFUL. Impactful enough that it outweighed my grievance about the romance jot taking center stage for most of it and feeling like an afterthought until the last 80%.

Ok so the ending was SO gut wrenching but it was also too open ended for my taste. It was one of those endings where it wasn’t an unhappy ending necessarily but not a happy one either. I can’t say more without going into spoiler territory. I was really moved by it but also kind of depressed and now I’m in a weird mood? I need a little sequel novella where there is a firm happy ending please THANKS.

Overall, it’s a beautifully atmospheric book. Stick around for the end for the full impact and you’ll get it.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

[Hviareadsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Holiday House for the ARC!

I enjoyed this story, overall. It was very romantic and tragic, which is exactly what I expected walking into it. I loved the magic system, the references to covens and elemental witches, and just the overall story. I think some more time could've been spent on the world itself and the history of the town, as it felt rushed towards the end, but overall it was a perfect tragic love story for fall.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐️

[HJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Not to quote Arcane but ‘in all timelines, all possibilities, only you’ feels rather fitting.

Oh boy was I not expecting half the things this book gave us — in the best way. If it weren’t for the fact netgalley only let me read this on the netgalley shelf so I had to read it on my ipad, burning my retinas, I would have devoured this book in one sitting.
It’s original whilst also feeling oddly familiar with time slips and magic and generational curses and cruel gods of the sea. It’s very character driven, which I love, and did a great job at unpacking grief and feeling lost in life—trying to come to term with things that happened in your own past (and… future???). It will shock you, it will make you smile and it will make you cry. I finished this book with a tear in my eye after scraping my jaw from the floor.

I think my only major critique would be I would have liked a little more closure with Morgan’s character. I think her motives and characterisation could have been made a little more clear because I really enjoyed her character, was just left feeling like something was missing.

Also I just want to note on the brilliant bisexual rep!!! I’m happy more and more books are showing bi rep so casually!

I really enjoyed this story, and I can’t wait until it comes out so I can reread it without hurting my eyes haha. (Yes this is my dig at netgalley/ the publisher for providing me with a final print pdf file instead of a properly readable e-arc)

[Day · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am usually respectful of people’s differing opinions but this time I truly don’t understand how this has received so many five stars.

The premise seemed so intriguing and unique, but the story itself was rather empty. If you really think about it, barely anything happens. Briar just goes around town talking to people while being angsty and stuff, some minor supernatural things occur, and then someone just reveals everything to her without her really figuring anything out for herself. It didn’t feel earned. The ending was okay but it also didn’t feel fully fleshed out and we reached a resolution too quickly.

To quickly name a few other issues: there was no concrete magical system to wrap my head around, it was pretentiously angsty and unnecessarily sexual at times, the dialogue was INCREDIBLY cheesy, and Briar was an insufferably whiny FMC with her perpetual victim complex.

Even putting those things aside it was just kind of boring.

Disappointed and do not recommend.

[East of Reality · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a strong eerie vibe, which works well in a quiet seaside town and brings to mind stories reminiscent of Lovecraft and Ira Levin, filled with gothic atmosphere and dreams of drowning, hauntings by mysterious ghostly women, rumors of witches and trapped demons. Toss in a cult or two, a creepy old man who stares at Briar like she’s his newest toy, and it’s a wonderful setting for this story that’s a cross between horror and mystery, but mostly a romance.

Briar wakes up one morning to realize her best friend and maybe-sort-of boyfriend is gone. And not in the usual way of vanishing; instead it’s like he never existed, leading to Briar and her friends trying to find him in a world where they’re the only ones who remember he exists at all. Meanwhile Finn is in a place where time both does and doesn’t exist — very reminiscent of the Upsidedown from Stranger Things — having sacrificed himself for Briar.

But the whys and whos and wherefores and whens are all up in the air, being revealed slowly and disjointedly in a way that kept me reading. As a couple, Briar and Finn are a tad codependent, both willing to go to horrifying extremes for one another in the name of love, but the end of the book and their eventual relationship are very well done, giving both characters time to grow as people without that bone deep need and obsession.

The bisexual rep, with Briar and Morgan — a young girl whose life Briar ruined — does and doesn’t work for me. On the one hand, I get the sudden need Briar had for comfort, for someone to hold her, for a moment away from the chaos and the horror; on the other, the first move was made by Morgan with no encouragement from Briar. Though she did enthusiastically consent after the kiss, it’s still Morgan who makes the first move.

And for Morgan … this girl kept her from making friends in school from the age of 10 to 18. She started rumors, drew pentagrams on her locker, stuffed her locker with tampons dipped in blood. Morgan’s life was hell because of Briar, so why did she so easily forgive and fall in love? Personally I think rather than a love scene they should have had a long talk and maybe an apology or two from Briar.

I really like how this book played with time, and that the big fuss with cults and demons wasn’t as important as friendship and love. I mean, they’re there, but Briar and Finn are too busy with one another to really fuss with the power hungry adults and their shenanigans.

This was fun, and a quick read.

[ashley s · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the arc!

3.5-4 stars! The writing was absolutely delicious and I loved the atmosphere. There was so much life in this piece and it was a joy to read, overall! I loved the horror vibes and I thought that De's descriptions of some of the spooky, creepy stuff were so well done.

I think if I had one thing that kept this from being a solid 4 star or even a 5 star, it's that I honestly couldn't get into the romance, which DID matter considering there was such a heavy theme of soul mates. Morgan was probably one of my favorite characters to read, so I honestly really loved her and Briar having a romantic spin. However, it sits funny with me that Finn and Briar are "in every universe", soul mate loves - and having Briar and Morgan's romance in there as well just ... took away from that a fair bit. It made it fall flat for me, and I honestly had trouble buying into the romance. Obviously, platonic soul mates are ABSOLUTELY a thing - but they weren't that, and certainly Finn loved her so hard for all 350~ pages of this book.

[synzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A town that's so proud of its history but buries its tragedies."

physics based magic gotta be my favorite genre 🧎🏻‍♀️


some thoughts:

- physics + water + time travel??? is THE best combination ever found in a book
- DID I MENTION TIME TRAVEL!!!
- the vibes were amazinggggg we love a mysterious small coastal town
- beautiful writing and great pacing !!
- would've been even cooler if it had been adult, but that's just me

- I did NOT love that one of the two mc's had a whole romantic plotline with a character that wasn't the love interest :') especially considering the romance between the two mc's was like essential to the overall plot so idk why that was neccessary

- but anyway!! I really really loved this, the way the plot developed, how the mysteries unraveled bit by bit, how everything fit so perfectly!!! the ending was PERFECT

overall a very impressive debut and definitely recommend if you also love physicy watery timey wimey books 🙂‍↕️

[Lily | The Bi Library]

I am SO EXCITED for this!!

This Raging Sea is an YA dark fantasy that follows popular but haunted 18-year-old Briar whose life is turned upside down when her more-than-best-friend Finn vanishes from the annual seaside carnival (and maybe from time itself). In order to find him, she has to team up with her biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret, and ends up tumbling down a rabbit hole of sinister truths about her coastal town.

And it's dual POV with bisexual main characters? I'm sold.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Walker Books for the digital ARC, it hasn’t affected my honest review. 


Release date: 9th Oct 2025 (UK)


TW: body horror, abuse, child death, drug addiction, panic attacks, grief 


Loch Creek is a picture perfect, coastal tourist town in New England that heavily embraces its connection to the Salem witch trials- but for eighteen year old Briar Winters, it’s nothing but a trap. She’s convinced she’ll die there like her twin brother did thirteen years ago in a tragic drowning accident. All of her friends are planning to scatter once college begins, even the boy Briar has loved for years, Finn Adler. On their last night together at a carnival, Finn vanishes and it’s like he never existed. There’s only one person who can help her: the town “witch” Morgan, Briar’s biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret. As Briar uncovers the dark history of Loch Creek, she discovers that Finn isn’t just missing- he’s lost in time, having tried to protect Briar from the entity that killed her brother a decade ago. Neither of them are safe, and if they want to find each other before Briar is taken as a sacrifice, they have to face terrifying truths about their relationship, reality and their pasts. 


‘This Raging Sea’ is a dark, time twisting debut YA novel with complex main characters, a literal timeless romance and a haunting atmosphere from the first page. I’ve been excited to read this book since I read the synopsis, knowing I’d love it, and I was so excited that I did. The magic system is so original- it’s physics based and genuinely unlike anything I’ve read. Briar is deeply traumatised by what happened to her and the terrifying figure haunting her ever since she lost her brother. I found her chapters to be really impactful and powerful as she searches for Finn. He matters more than anything to her and you can feel it in absolutely every scene, the moments where she realizes he’s gone are devastating. I really liked how her relationship with their other friends changes and develops without Finn there, it’s a brilliant version of found family I couldn’t stop reading. The character of Finn is so powerfully written, he’s very different to Briar and I loved the chapters we got from his perspective. The body horror, the atmosphere and the tension of ‘This Raging Sea’ were perfectly paced and genuinely scary in places. This is my favourite kind of YA, which is unafraid to go to dark and raw places while still balancing everything out really well. One aspect of De Elizabeth’s writing that I really loved is how she handles sexuality- both Briar and Finn are bisexual, and though they love each other deeply, they have emotionally charged scenes with different characters- and the confusing, consuming way that grief can define a person after a loss. An excellent debut novel and definitely one I’ll be going back to in the future! 

[Ali (Taylor’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Finn… I’m sorry I’m late”
“That’s okay. I think we have some time”
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Este libro me ha gustado, Y MUCHO. Me ha tenido enganchada desde el inicio y no he podido parar de leer hasta acabarlo, literalmente me ha durado día y medio.
Al principio se nos presenta Briar, una protagonista envuelta en misterios y sucesos un tanto... extraños (como llamadas en mitad de la noche, voces,...) y que iremos descubriendo poco a poco qué se esconde tras la fachada que nos muestra.

En cuanto a los personajes en general he decir que me han encantado tanto Briar como Morgan, me parece que ambas son unas protagonistas con mucha carga emocional y como narran y viven la historia me pareció lo más destacable. Para mí eran 100% end game btw (rip my heart out De :()
El cómo cambia nuestra perspectiva de ambas mientras va avanzando la historia ha hecho que para mí sean los personajes más completos y redondos. Y eso no significa que no me guste Finn (que me ha gustado mucho), simplemente que no me ha parecido que haya tenido un cambio taaaaan relevante. O por ejemplo el Death King, me ha encantado como personaje, pero para mí sigue su personalidad en el punto de partida.

Entonces en cuanto a personajes, me han gustado mucho esos cuatro, destaco sobre todo a Briar! Y bueno, Finn me ha parecido monísimo. Me parece que ahora mismo el sector editorial siempre busca vender al típico malote que solo tiene un soft spot por la prota y blah blah; así que leer sobre un personaje que se hace tan vulnerable no solo frente a nuestros ojos, si no también frente a Briar se agradece (y mucho).

En cuanto a la trama ¿Qué os puedo decir? me ha encantado. Y ya no solo la singularidad de la historia en sí, no había leído nada igual en cuanto a un personaje escapando de la existencia y tiempo, sino el como juega con las lineas temporales. El hecho de que sucesos que se han narrado al principio han sucedido en un pasado que no conocemos hasta que "realmente suceden" (o más bien los vemos suceder) en los siguientes capítulos. Esto no solo le ha dado una originalidad increíble, si no también un dinamismo que en general hace que conectes muchísimo más con la historia y lo que te están contando. Cuando llegas al final y todas las lineas temporales y sucesos se armonizan es tan emotivo... (realmente me sigo recuperando de lo traumatizante que ha sido el final lol)

Y poco más os puedo decir la verdad... Simplemente que si quieréis algo nuevo, divertido, con found family, who did this to you, bi4bi, only one bed, i would love you in every universe y starcrossed lovers; este libro es para ti!!

***Gracias a Netgalley y a la editorial por darme la oportunidad de leer este libro antes de la fecha de su publicación a caambio de una reseña honesta!<3***

[WSY · Rating 3 out of 5]

A DNF Review but this was an AWESOME book.

=> dark coastal fantasy
=> grief & healing
=> time slips / alternate timelines
=> queer found family
=> slow-burn romance & loss
=> atmospheric horror / oceanic myth

🌊 The atmosphere? Unreal. De Elizabeth writes like the sea itself moody, lyrical, and full of things lurking beneath. Loch Creek felt so alive it almost breathed, dripping in saltwater secrets and carnival ghosts. I loved how she wove grief, love, and the supernatural into something that felt raw and poetic. The writing style alone could carry this book; it’s that elegant and immersive.

🌫️ But somewhere along the way, I got lost in the tide. The timelines blur, Finn’s vanishing and the whole “people forget him” angle twisted my brain in circles. It’s not that it’s bad, just confusing enough that I couldn’t stay anchored. The pacing dipped, and I caught myself rereading to piece things together. I can tell it’s a story built for the right reader, just not the one running on low attention and too many thoughts.

💔 Even so, I respect the hell out of it. The world-building, the queer undertones, the haunting intimacy all beautifully done. I just wasn’t in the right headspace to vibe. I DNF’d at 60% but I’m not mad about it. Some stories demand patience and clarity; I had neither. Still, it’s got heart, salt, and style.