I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

SYNOPSIS: After a fallout with her best friend... and ex boyfriend... Jade is ready for a semester at sea, to let the waves drown out her problems and quite literally escape from it all. Until both her ex-bestie, and ex-boy, turn up for the school's cruise, meaning she is forced to run into them day after day. As tensions rise, and hostility is at an all time pair between this trio... when a classmate turns up dead, everyone is ready to point fingers.

MY FEELS: I love a good ol' whodunnit, and this book has you guessing and pointing fingers as you read- with twists and turns that are truly unpredictable. It never got too creepy or intense, thanks to it being YA (phew), but stayed lighthearted and mysterious throughout the book. I'll keep this spoiler free, but let me just say... if you think you've figured it out by the end... you're probably wrong.

5/5 Stars - such a fun read! I wish I could go back and read it for the first time.

[Gifted by Razorbill / Penguin Teen & Netgalley - thank you! All opinions are my own.]

This book makes me not want to get on a boat anytime soon it freaked me out in the best way possible.

This was easily my favorite of Diana Urban’s books. It was twisty and sneaky and full of lies, betrayal, and it all took place on a cruise ship! Somewhere I now never want to go! I will say this one is 1000% better on audio, the narrator is great and she brings the book to life spectacularly!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat! I love Urban's writing style because of how it engages me from page one. Books that are fast-paced are definite wins in my book, and I think the pacing was perfect for the story that was being told. A semester at sea is such a cool setting, and I am looking forward to see what Urban does in her future books!

Well, that was a fun read. First of all, I loved the idea of the campus on board, but that might just be me because I do have an obsession with boats. But it was the perfect setting for this book.
I really liked the cast of characters and I wished their stories would've been explored a little bit more as in the end I felt like some of the relationships were a bit rushed.
As for the mystery part, you'll probably think you can guess who it was but then there's a second twist which I really liked. Once again I felt like the conclusion of the story was a bit rushed, but on the other hand I really liked the fast pace of the book.
Would recommend if you're trying to get into mystery books or just for a fun time, especially around Halloween!

It took me a while to get to this book, but I ended up really liking it! It was a fun, palate-cleansing YA thriller. I had read the synopsis and thought the book was for me, and luckily I was right. I loved the setting of the book especially. I would happily read more by this author.

I've seen people compare this to Death on the Nile and while I do agree with that slightly, I don't think it was quite up to snuff with that. The premise was fun and I did enjoy the mystery but overall I was a little bored and thought it dragged at points.

Was so excited for this one but it just didn't do it. I love YA but I really had a hard time with these characters. Also felt very unrealistic and that there were some things just thrown in randomly that I had a hard time even understanding. Meth for example? Huh?

This thriller failed to thrill me in any way, shape or form. I've previously read another on of Diana Urban's thrillers and could hardly put it down because it was so suspenseful, but I failed to find any kind of suspense in this story. Frankly, it felt like this was written by an entirely different writer. The characters were beyond annoying, nothing about the plot felt new or original, and the writing was flat-out bad, I'm sorry to say. I should have probably DNFd this, but I kept hoping it would get better, or that there would be some huge plot twist that would explain that everything being so boring had been the point. An enclosed space like a cruiseship could be such an eerie, creepy setting for a book, but the vibes were completely off in this one.

I had read and enjoyed Diana’s precious work, and this one was enjoyable as well!

Having everything take place on a boat was a smart move — it forces urgency and fear on to the characters and the reader.

Overall, this was a good read, thoroughly enjoyed seeing the web that was weaved, and then unraveled.

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Thank you to PenguinTeen for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I love to read YA books.

I loved the premise of this book, but found it a little slow at times. This book is about a girl named Jade who goes on a cruise after her boyfriend breaks up with her and her best friend betrayed her.

While on the cruise there is a murder and everyone on the ship has secrets.

This was filled with alot of twists and turns.

3. 75 stars
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TW: Murder, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Suicide, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual content
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In Diana Urban's Lying in the Deep readers are faced with a person's worst fear, being trapped on a ship with a murderer. In this YA retelling of Death on the Nile, we follow Jade as she embarks on her COB (Campus on Board) journey in hopes of getting away from her ex-boyfriend, Silas, and her ex-best friend, Lainey after a betrayal has led them together. I really enjoyed the isolation plot and felt it really added to the story, we are quickly introduced to our main "cast" of characters and at first it might be harder to follow along with, but thanks to them being picked off one by one it made it easier to follow along.

Having not known that this was a Death on the Nile retelling I wasn't able to guess the ending, but I have read some mention that to them it was obvious following the original story! I felt like the book dragged on at a few points (often with repetitive plot points that could have been edited out), and really enjoyed how the book picked up in the last 75% and ended with a plot twist!

This book is filled with DRAMA, something I needed at the time but could understand to some readers how it could come off. If you're looking for a fast-paced YA with loads of drama, this one is for you!
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I would like to thank NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group/Razorbill, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Publication date: May 2nd, 2023

I've been obsessed with Diana Urban's books since I read All Your Twisted Secrets, and this one was no different! I flew through it because I wanted to find out who the murderer was and what was going on.
Lying in the Deep has a unique concept with the characters participating in a semester at sea, where multiple murders take place. They're trapped on the boat with the killer, and the stakes are high.
Normally, I'm not a fan of romance in books, but the splash of romance wasn't over the top, so I didn't mind it.

Lying in the Deep was an interesting mystery that could have been a lot shorter. It was difficult to tell that the characters were college age with all of the drama and immaturity throughout. You wouldn't know the characters were even taking classes throughout the book if they didn't occasionally mention it. They devote all their time to drama that could have been avoided with basic conmmunication.

This book was such a quick hook for me. I really loved trying to figure out the whodunnit (and no. I didn’t get it right!)

This twist was interesting but honestly, I started to suspect it might be halfway through the book.

The premise for this book was so interesting—stuck on a cruise ship and solving a murder?!?! Love the unique setting of it. However, I feel like more could have been done to build tension given that they were essentially trapped the whole time. Sometimes it read a bit young, too—I guess I had expected the voice to lean toward more of an older YA audience. Overall it was a fun read, but it didn't stand out as much as I'd hoped it would.

If you like locked room YA mysteries, Lying in the Deep is a fun one!

Jade is excited to go on a semester at sea-like trip, only to discover that her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, who are together now, are also coming on the trip. She becomes obsessed with figuring out why he broke up with her and what they're doing together. But when her former best friend is murdered and Jade is one of the last people near her room, Jade becomes a prime suspect. She teams up with her new crush to clear her name.

It starts out as more of a contemporary, but then halfway through the mystery ramps up. There are a ton of twists, and yet, everything makes sense when looking back at it. Ultimately, I enjoyed Jade's journey and thought that the end was satisfying.

I went back and forth between rating Lying in the Deep as a 3 star book and 4 star book, but ultimately decided on 3 stars. It was good, but not *great*.

I liked the plot/setting of college students on a semester study abroad on a cruise ship. It was unique and interesting. I mostly liked the characters, though they were flawed and quite immature for college aged students. I kept thinking they were 16.

Some suspension of belief is required to enjoy the book, but it's definitely worth the read. I wouldn't necessarily say it's something to move to the top of your TBR, but I also would not say it's one to skip.

I am not the target audience for this one. Looking forward to seeing it on shelves!

Having read Diana Urban’s first two books (All Your Twisted Secrets and These Deadly Games), I was beyond excited to read Lying in the Deep. I was disappointed to find the plot twists of this book were literally just plot retractions.
The first entire half of the book is just character and motivation development along with plot points that are almost entirely irrelevant. Leading up to the murder, the story is about the main character pinning over the betrayal of two of her friends while also getting close to roughly a dozen characters who are so obviously going to the be potential killers as they are traveling the world on their cruise ship. An overwhelming amount of time was spent developing these character’s backstories and motives, but their role and personalities were entirely dull and uninspiring. Most of the character’s were introduced with a few pages of dialogue and then don’t pop up again until the murder actually occurs which makes their role in the story shallow and obvious. It was overkill, honestly. Moreover, the development of the main character’s personality and background was information overload. Her entire backstory would be offered up with in-digestible paragraphs rather than subtle behaviors and dialogue throughout the book.
When the murder *finally* occurred, all the characters began popping in and out of the story with no logical reason for their sudden presence or absence. Characters that were briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book would suddenly become of key importance and would disappear just as fast. Honestly, it didn’t make any sense that these characters would disappear considering they were on a cruise ship together and there really isn’t anywhere to hide. The speed at which the main character flew through theories about potential killers with no real investigation or evidence would give anyone whiplash. The vague timeline of events leading up to the murder wasn’t thrilling, it was just frustrating and obviously pointed to miscommunication between characters. There were also loose ends that were never tied up. A big bag of money found in someone’s room? No explanation. A broken make up bottle that clearly pointed to one character being the murderer? No explanation. Drugs stashed in the bed of the main character? No explanation.
Finally, the mystery was never quite solved because upon getting to the end you discover the murder never actually occurred! The murdered girl faked her death. Why? Daddy issues. Little miss privileged girl was tired of her big hot-shot Pharmaceuticals dad and packed a bag of money and hopped on a cruise ship. And who assisted her with this plan? The boy who was co-investigating the murder with the main character. Also, let’s talk about the fact that this fabulous plan was constructed so the white privileged girl could get away from her father who was experimenting on and killing people with his drugs but her plan literally got two additional people killed and she still walked away with no consequences? The main character (whose boyfriend was stolen by little miss privileged and who was being framed for everything) forgave her? This BS. . .
Diana Urban seems to struggle to commit to murdering and villainizing her characters. The plot twists of her books are retractions of an underdeveloped story. Her characters lack depth, strong motives, and proper backstories to be relevant in the plot. Her main character really had the “I’m so unique” energy for a girl who really was not unique.
2/5