Man, the concept of this one was SO intriguing, but I don’t think the execution was there nor did it stick the landing. The characters were one dimensional, the culprits were obvious from the very beginning, and the ending left many questions open. I’m unsure if it’s meant to be left that way or if a sequel is coming, but either way, I didn’t feel satisfied with how things wrapped up. I can definitely see potential in the author’s writing, so I encourage readers to give this one a try for themselves in case it is a better fit for others.

What if Mean Girls occurred on a cruise, and the Plastics were mythological Sirens instead? What if there is no happy acceptance of others at the end of the story? Now throw in a locked room mystery, a main character with severe anxiety, and strange squid-like monsters, and you essentially have the plot of Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith.

Unfortunately, Those We Drown suffers from inanity and a complete lack of character development. Every character in the book is an archetype that never evolves beyond that. Even the main character, Liv, is too one-noted. Her rampant anxiety becomes a plot device, and the reader must plod through page after page of her questioning what she sees, hears, and experiences. I understand the need to show how much Liv's anxiety stifles her, but it becomes very redundant very quickly. 

There are elements of Those We Drown that could be brilliant. The references to Greek mythology and the Sirens are among those elements. Ms. Goldsmith could have done so much with the mythological references. Doing so might pull the rest of the story together in a way that makes more sense. I say this because the story is a bit of a mess. The cohesion between plot points is missing, and it is up to the reader to make sense of them and how they fit together. 

Another area of potential brilliance is the "did she or didn't she" part of the mystery. Ms. Goldsmith uses Liv's anxiety to draw out this mystery, but as I said, that quickly gets old. I believe Ms. Goldsmith could have done more or at least mixed up the reasons for Liv's uncertainty to prevent the redundancy that makes up most of the novel - Liv sees or hears something, she then spends the next two chapters questioning what she saw or heard followed by mentioning it to her classmates only to have them finally convince her she was wrong. Rinse and repeat.

While it appears that Ms. Goldsmith means for Those We Drown to be a coming-of-age horror novel (as if coming of age isn't horrifying enough), she fails to create a story that is either enlightening or scary. Liv doesn't grow up as much as others finally provide answers to her that she didn't even know she needed. Ms. Goldsmith does such a poor job of describing the horror elements it is all but impossible to feel anything but mild suspense when Liv finally confronts them. Those We Drown is Ms. Goldsmith's debut novel, which explains some of the issues. I am hopeful, however, that any future efforts will be better for her and will watch her career with interest.

A thrilling and deliciously creepy debut! The setting for this one is so unique, and the ocean-inspired horror imagery is nightmarish perfection.

I really enjoyed the concept of the story and the mystery the main character, Liv, was trying to figure out. However, Liv kind of drove me crazy. She would learn all of these things and repeatedly tell the people who she was starting to get suspicious of and not sure she could trust these people. She would continuously do this over and over again. It was to the point where I wanted to yell at her repeatedly, like she could not possibly be this naïve.
The mystery was pretty easy to figure out, for me, and I think it is supposed to be easy to figure out for the reader, but not for the MC. Which I feel as if Liv was not so naïve in her telling people all the things she has learned and seen she would have figured it out a long time ago. Constantine is another character in the book. I liked him and I completely get his denial of the weird things that are happening on the ship. However, it does get a little frustrating after a while, but that is the point because Liv is supposed to feel this way about Constantine.
I did like the ending though, however, I see the ending making a lot of people mad.

This one didn't pull me in as much as I had hoped. I think it's a case of it just wasn't for me. The mystery didn't draw me enough to keep reading. There also wasn't any character that drew me in, so i stopped halfway.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

⭐️=3 | 😘=3 | 🤬=4.25 | ⚔️=4 | 14/15+

summary: Those We Drown follows a girl on a cruise ship (for some scholarship??) where people start disappearing and there's sirens and snobby rich people and the MC sees spooooooky things everywhere when no one else does.

thoughts: eh? this was fast-paced with a decent concept; a ship is a unique confined space for a horror/thriller with different inherent stakes than a haunted house/hotel, which I liked.

the ending could've used a dramatically vague third person omniscient epilogue or something because I was definitely left hanging, and it didn't feel intentional, just lazy, like it's completely missing the last three percent or so. I also didn’t feel that I knew anyone besides the MC––the author was too focused on making every side character Super Mysterious to actually spend time creating real, distinguishable people. the book started out hinting at some class commentary (and there was a note from the editor-in-chief at the beginning raving about the book because of it??) but it didn't follow through imo.

(also, some of the character interactions were painful––like some gen x's interpretation of gen z dialogue conventions after twenty minutes on TikTok three years ago.)

despite this, I finished it in two days, so it must've done something right? and yet??

What an amazing book this was. I don't even know where to begin. The cover is gorgeous and reels you in. The story is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric. I felt everything Liv felt and it was as though I was right there along with her freaking out with everything that was going on. The voice in this story is so freaking good!! Liv is relatable and you find yourself rooting for her from the very start. Amy has done such an amazing job at capturing very real feelings of feeling completely and utterly alone even when you're surrounded by others, even when you're in a group of people.

The feeling of speaking yet not being heard even when someone is listening to you. I felt all of that in the very pit of my stomach and kept wanting to yell along with Liv so that she could be heard, so she could be seen, so that she could be validated and know that her feelings and thoughts and suspicions were very real. I could not stop screaming at my husband at how much I was loving this story. I did not want to stop even when I got chills and things started getting creepy and spooky. Did not want to put this down! I want more, I need more, and I cannot wait to own a copy and read more of Amy's writing. This was a brilliant story and I am so happy I got to read it!

Pure escapism, this excellent debut is about what happens when you get everything you think you want. Liv receives a scholarship to attend an educational cruise ship around the world. In fact, she is the only one who is not insanely rich and popular. She’s there with her BFF Will who disappears after the first night. The staff tells her how he’s quarantined and everything makes perfect sense, but Liv thinks that there’s something sinister going on. Is she paranoid and missing out on a wonderful opportunity, like everyone tells her? Or why is the cruise so creepy? Scary-looking fish (or, more properly, cephalopods), strange noises and a claustrophobic ambiance aren’t helping. The plot is twisty and suspenseful, none of my suspicions were right. The characters that were meant to be unlikable, shallow rich kids, grew on me. Liv could have been grating, growing increasingly unhinged, but I was really rooting for her. As much as the novel required a considerable suspension of disbelief, in the end I was all in… it was gratifying and a lot of fun.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Children's, Delacorte Press!

Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith was an incredible YA horror debut.
A highly entertaining story from Goldsmith.
The writing style and the character depth as well as the storytelling made me addicted to this book.
The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle.
A great YA mystery that was utterly compelling me very entertaining.
I will be picking up Amy’s future books for sure.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Delacorte Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I did not enjoy reading this book. I will highly preface this by saying that I am fully aware of the fact that this book is intended for teenagers and I am in my 30s so my opinion absolutely is not one that matters and I accept that. This is simply my own personal feelings on my experience reading this book. Those We Drown is a sea based horror about a girl going on a semester at sea that almost immediately goes poorly. The premise of this is so interesting and I was really excited for a fun horror story. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning, the hints and clues about what was really happening on the ship were so painfully obvious that the only conclusion I could come to for the main characters actions and thoughts was that she was a complete and total idiot. The clues felt like they were beating me over the head and still the main character either was not seeing them for what they were or was intentionally choosing to ignore them and either way, it just made me feel so frustrated with her as the main character that I didn't enjoy reading the book.

Those We Drown is a YA Horror/Thriller set on a luxury cruise liner. The story was intriguing, group of teens get the opportunity to travel, along with a group of influencers know.n as the Sirens.

I really liked the main character, Liv, who was chosen for a scholarship. She really grew and came into her own by the end of the book. I also liked the chemistry between Liv and Con, a rich boy whose dad owned the cruise line.

There was horror in the form of traditional Greek mythology. Sirens (evil singing mermaids), lots of tentacles and talk of sacrifices to the sea,

Overall great book and am looking forward to more from this author!

Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this e-arc!
Liv thinks she is going on a trip of a lifetime, only it isn’t what she expects!. A dream quickly turns into a nightmare in this suspenseful debut novel. This book gives me murder mystery vibes with a big splash of Greek mythology. A solid 3.5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was super excited to read a mystery taking place on a cruise ship! A ship is a closed off location I was excited to feel a claustrophobic type of mystery.

The book opens as Liv and her friend Will go on a luxury cruise ship for SeaMester- a study abroad program before the head to uni in the fall. I did not like the characters and even the protagonist, Liv, who was meek and shy, did eventually get a stronger personality towards the end. I felt the cast of characters kind of blended together and was hard to differentiate between them at time. I liked the idea of the Siren influencers being a ‘mean girl’ type group, but the almost everyone looked down on Liv as the scholarship girl and not good enough or rich enough to be there.

Will and Liv get into a fight on the first night and the next day he disappears; the staff claiming he’s in quarantine due to illness. As the days progress Liv tries to check on him and also starts to hear and see strange things around the ship.

I found the book to be a little slow paced; it was a slow burn type mystery. Even with the characters and the abrupt ending I did enjoy it overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for a free digital copy on exchange for an honest review. This book will be published 1 JULY 2023.

A creepy, fast paced YA mystery about a group of students spending a semester on a cruise ship. Liv is the only scholarship student amongst a bunch of rich kids and influencers, and things start to get weird right off the bat. When her best friend Will goes missing the first night, Liv is convinced that something terrible happened to him, but no one seems to believe her.

This was actually pretty dark at times and I was definitely creeped out. There are cults, sea monsters, sacrifices, and sirens. It had me on the edge of my seat and I really had no idea what was going to happen. While I enjoyed the story and was thoroughly entertained, I found Liv to be a little too gullible at times and I wasn’t sold on any of the side characters - I wish Liv’s relationship to Will was developed more. The ending also wasn’t very satisfying (unless it’s a series?), but I would recommend this if you want a quick spooky read.

Thank you to Random House for the Arc!

2/5 stars

What I liked:


When I first read the blurb for Those We Drown, I was excited to read a horror-mystery set on a cruise ship. Although I liked the overall premise, the execution of it isn’t quite where it needs to be.


What I didn’t like:


The two biggest problems I had with this book was the execution of the mystery element and the character development. For the mystery element, it didn’t read much like a mystery since I was able to figure out the mystery within the first 40% of the book, and so did the protagonist. I was hoping that maybe I was wrong and that we were being misled, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case. Liv, the protagonist, was piecing everything together from the start, but the only “mystery” that was created came from her writing herself off as “crazy” after every strange encounter. Because of this, the suspense was lacking and the cliffhangers didn’t pack much of a punch like they should’ve.
As for the character development, a majority of the characters are rich and arrogant, and their entire personalities revolve around those two characteristics. When they were first introduced, there were a few things that distinguished them from one another, but as the story went on, those unique traits were quickly forgotten since the characters ended up being written all the same—too similar personalities and rude mannerisms. This made it difficult for me to connect with any of the characters. Also, the romance Liv gets drawn into seemed to be written in a way that was supposed to be more of an enemies-to-lovers, but they simply had no chemistry whatsoever, and during their interactions it definitely felt very one-sided. Liv would mention via her thoughts that she took a romantic liking to him, but nearly all of her body language and actual dialogue said otherwise, making her character feel inconsistent.

The ending of the book (not going to spoil with specifics) didn’t feel complete. The climax was very anti-climatic, and I was waiting for it to pick up, but it didn’t. When I read the final chapter, I thought there was a scene missing initially. It felt like it cut off mid-scene, but after reading it through again, it seemed like an unpolished ending that was hurriedly written, leaving me disappointed.


Overall:

This is probably my least favorite book I’ve read this year. It has a neat premise, and I wish I could’ve enjoyed it, but the execution needs work.


*Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Those We Drown is a captivating and excited me from the get-go. The premise of this story is following Olivia - or Liv - as she travels on a luxury cruise ship with several wealthy influencers for a "seamester." One of Liv's dear friend's Will is also aboard the ship -- and although that should be comforting to Olivia who doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of them, things with Will become very strange...

I usually don't enjoy books that are too modern filled with timely references, but I actually enjoyed the shout outs to Gilmore Girls, The Bachelor, and Instagram. I thought the author was clever in the way she delivered information and instead of being hokey delivered a quality piece that stands on its own two feet.

It's hard to figure out who you can trust and what information is factual. As the story continued I started to pick up on the clues that are sprinkled throughout - different references that align with the big picture.

This novel was absolutely puzzling - and even upon the conclusion I'm not sure that I'm satisfied. I'm hopeful that there's a sequel, because I need to find out what's happening!! What a cliffhanger to end with, Ms. Amy Goldsmith!!

I highly recommend this for those looking for an easy yet mysterious read - this book will go by quickly!!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This was such a unique take compared to the usual books I read, and I haven't read a horror in a while!
Tropes: seafaring dark contemporary, murder mystery, horror
Would definitely recommend this book.

Liv's best friend disappears on their first night aboard their dream semester-at-sea program—but is he really sick, like everyone says, or is something darker lurking beneath the water?

The twists and turns to this book are amazing. It keeps you interested throughout the whole novel and is very well written. Amy's writing style is also an A+ in my book.

I received an ARC of this book for review.

Going into this book I wasn't really sure what to expect. This story follows Liv during the start of her semester at sea trip. The story revolves around Liv and the other participants in the SeaMester program. The author had me completely invested in Liv's story. The suspense built as people start to go "missing" on the ship according to Liv carried me through the book. I wish that the author spent a little more time giving a little more backstory for the supporting characters. I think a little more backstory would invest us more in the characters revolving around Liv. I feel like one big, missed opportunity is that we don't get more backstory about Will, he's supposed to be Liv's best friend, yet the reader is only given vague information about him. While the suspense carried me through the book, I had so many unanswered questions about supporting characters. It feels like this book is just part of a larger book. Hopefully there's a sequel.

Olivia, or Liv, as she likes to be called, has been offered the chance of a lifetime, traveling aboard the luxury ship, Eos, as part of a Seamester group in Those We Drown.

While the other students aboard are rich and privileged, Liv is not, but she tries not to be intimidated since her best friend, Will, is aboard. Unfortunately, Will hasn’t really been talking to her lately, and he disappears after their first night.

While Liv tries a hard to get answers, she cannot figure out why she can’t see a supposedly sick Will, nor why she keeps having terrible dreams.

The only person who really listens to her is the gorgeous, mysterious Constantine. But does he have anything to do with all this weirdness? What about the mysterious Sirens, rich influencers? And what happened to the girl who disappeared before the cruise, the one Liv replaced?

This was a nice, creepy YA horror story, and I was on the edge of my seat. I liked how people kept questioning Liv’s sanity, making the reader wonder, too. (But of course you knew she wasn’t crazy, and it was really frustrating.)

The ending wasn’t what I really wanted, but fit with this genre. Overall, this was excellent writing, and I would love to read more by this author.

A thank you to NetGalley, Amy Goldsmith, and Random House for the ARC of this novel.