2/2.5 stars

This book started off on very strong footing. A Navy Vessel answers a Mayday from Virginie whose husband has been horribly injured. Virginie tells the Captain of the Navy vessel <i> “It’s all my fault. I killed them.” </i> I thought Yes! This is going to be a killer book. With a beginning like that, I knew I was going to love it. I was already intrigued by the synopsis of the book.

But then things petered out. Virginie and her husband Jake had purchased a yacht and looked forward to exotic and exciting travels with it. When they were told about a tiny, isolated island, Amarante, they set off for adventure but find when they arrive that they are not the only ones who had that in mind.

I thought I was going to love this book. That this book about survival was going to wow me. Why oh why do publishers use other books in their blurbs. I enjoyed The Ruins and was hoping with fingers crossed that this book would be more like that book. Well, I am her to tell you folks, it was not.

This was not for me. I was hoping for tension, suspense, and atmosphere and this was not it for me. Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please seek out those reviews as well.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading/listening to this title. It follows a couple who uses their life savings to purchase a boat and sail around the world. They sail to an extremely secluded island, where things go... wrong.

The storyline itself was fine, but the setting made me absolutely devour this book.

I thought this might be interesting. Giving up your old lives to sail the world. Adventures! I found it a little depressing. The boat wasn't appealing. The port they sailed from was depressing. I didn't think Vee was the type of woman any one would sail for hundreds of miles.
The island was supposed to be so beautiful, but the description wasn't very appealing. Jake and Vee were childish.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I like a vacation gone wrong book. This one kept me captivated throughout the whole book. It was a little confusing at first trying to understand what was going on but I loved the descriptions of the island and their little community!
The last couple of chapters were a roller coaster and I loved very minute of it!

While the concept of this book was great, it wasn't as engaging or gripping as I'd hoped. The introduction hooks the reader in and the writing is beautiful, but as a thriller it's missing a pace and twists that hold the readers attention. I would've liked it to keep me guessing a bit more. The author does do a great job creating a vibrant setting that the reader can imagine clearly.

What the hell did I just read?


This is like three books in one.

1. A whirlwind adventure of a young newlywed couple who gave up everything to sail the southern peacocks sea.

2. Some sort of attempt at calling out colonizers (which is good!) but then it also turns into cop bribery?

3. Also, a thriller?


This is a … page turning summer read. I hoped they all would die 🤷🏻‍♀️

The isolation of being stuck in the middle of the ocean was definitely compelling, but unfortunately, the rest was not. I would agree with other reviewers when they noted a lack of suspense, and I had a hard time staying engaged with a character dynamic that I feel like I've read many times before. But the ending still had some surprises, it just took a while to get there.

It's survival on the high seas in thrill seeker Emma Bamford's debut novel Deep Water. When a recently married couple cast off the landlubber life in search of adventure on the Indian Ocean in their newly purchased yacht, they get more than they bargained for after landing on a tiny, isolated island named Amarante, which turns out to be inhabited by a group of sailors harboring their own secrets.

Deep Water opens with a mystery - the ocean trek of a young couple gone horribly wrong - and then flashes back in time to the start of our seafarers' story, showing us how their sailing adventure went south. Full of boating jargon and survivalism, Deep Water invites readers onto Jake and Virginie's yacht, testing their wits as they imagine what they would do if they found themselves in dire straits like the novel's protagonists. Would YOU make it off the island of Amarante?

What Deep Water has going for it is the allure of Amarante and the ominous build of tension that engulfs this story. You can easily imagine a million different ways that paradise can turn hellish in such circumstances, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see where Bamford would take the plot. However, I found myself let down by the end. For such an apprehensive, sinister novel, the climax of the book just wasn't where it needed to be to leave me feeling satisfied. I was expecting a more clever, intricately plotted ending to really tie this story together, and without it, the rest of the novel lost some of its appeal.

Still, Deep Water is a worthy read if you love books involving island adventure!

It was fine. These are my least favorite and hardest reviews to write. It was an action packed story that read quickly and was a fine way to spend an afternoon. But I think within a week I won’t be able to remember any details. It all felt like scenes I’ve seen/read before. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Deep Water is a thriller with two people selling all their possessions in order to live aboard a small yacht. The book starts with them in Malaysia, stocking up for their trip. They meet a couple who tell them about a tiny, beautiful, and isolated island. They decide to sail there, but find an interesting situation on the island. The novel could have moved along faster and been clearer. I did have to go back to check different sections of the book, which detracts from the story. Definitely an adventurous thriller.

I love a good survival story, and I enjoyed this one. Slow paced at times, and slightly annoying characters, but still a pretty good quick read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read this one!

This one had so much promise but was boring boring boring. I love the sailing island adventure set up, but it just fell completely flat.

I really wanted to like this book, but I tried to read it and could not get into the story what so ever. The writing was boring and bland.

4 stars for the suspense!

I really enjoyed this thriller - plenty of suspense, a non-linear [but manageable] timeline, and a scenic location all in one. Some of the plot may be easily anticipated, however, as Murphy's Law usually wins out in paradise. I liked the characters and how vivid they all came to be in my mind; I felt that I had images in my head of exactly what they would be like and look like - the book read like a movie for me.

***Kind of spoilers***

The book gave vibes of survival of the fittest on a dessert island in a way. People who travelled to the island end up having to contribute to their own version of society, where everything is a currency up for trading. Nothing could go wrong with THAT idea, right? [especially if someone runs out of a critical resource, let's say?]

The ending caught me off guard in a way I had no hint of suspecting, so that was a favorite aspect for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was okay but moved a little too slowly for me. The writing was good and very descriptive and the characters were really well developed, but I would have preferred more action. I think this would have been better as a movie than a book.

I thought this book was just OK. I didn’t really find the characters that likeable and thought Vee and Jake were a bit naive to undertake the trip on a relatively small boat. Having grown up sailing I did not mind the boat jargon as much as others seemed to. Vee and Jake seemed to break one Island rule after another and I felt like Jake acted like an obstinate child about accepting help with the engine. While it did remind me of Reckless Girls, it felt a bit flat.

Wow, just wow. I don't think I was mentally prepared for this as I just welcomed a baby in early April but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Well done by the author.

Ok, not terrible in capacity but definitely not my favorite either.

I am typically a huge fan of suspense, a nice little couple mystery, and some suspect characters along the way. Unfortunately, I would not classify this as any of the above. There was little to no action until near the end which was a bit disappointing. The storyline was incredibly promising yet it never seemed to get itself of the ground.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Deep Water is Emma Bamford’s beach ready debut. Instead of the typical whodunnit this asks, “What happened?” This is one of those stories that takes its time. Things unravel slowly as each traveling couple learn that their escape
to paradise for will bring turmoil which cause their lives to fall apart.

Bamford uses her own personal knowledge from her years as a sailing journalist to create excitement on the boats and
a nail biting scuba dive gone wrong underwater. She creates a a beautiful paradise in the island of Amarante. I also enjoyed reading the history that Bamford created for this hidden island. She also avoided the temptation to create over the top scenarios such as deadly island creatures or a murdering hermit, but kept her focus on solid characterizations and steady plotting.

There is something that appeals to me about a vacation home aware story. It challenges the idea that we can escape our problems by heading off to another country, island, or state. “Deep Water” shows that we can find even more
problems in even the best of settings.

Wowza! This is a fabulous thriller in that you're always asking "what happened here?". While the beginning of this novel can feel can a bit confusing and then the plot goes through a bit of a lull period in the middle, it concluded very nicely at the end. The character development was part of the appeal for me, as you learn more about Jake and Virginie's relationship and see how that is put to the test. Well done!