“Those We Drown”, with its dark, haunting cover and strong premise, was a fun read but was ultimately pretty forgettable. It stars Liv as she begins a study abroad program aboard a luxury cruise ship. As soon as she arrives there is an eerie atmosphere on The Eos, and she quickly discovers the all-expenses paid opportunity she’s just embarked on may not be the gift she thought it was. As strange disappearances affect the ship and vivid nightmares plague Liv, only time will tell what further secrets the trip may hold. And time seems to be running out.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it was a tad predictable and the characters didn’t really click with me. The promised atmospheric horror was minimal. It just didn’t have that extra chill that really pulls you into a story and produces just a bit of unease in the pit of your stomach. If it had, I think I would have been able to push aside some of the plot decisions and character arcs, ultimately enjoying the book a lot more.

I would still recommend this book to the right person and I'll be on the lookout for any promising future releases by Goldsmith.

This was an interesting book concept. A horror/thriller set on a cruise ship. An all-expenses paid semester-at-sea, what could go wrong? This book hooked me from the beginning! I could not put it down, and the story kept me guessing the entire time. The cover is very pretty, this is what originally drew me in. The atmosphere is so haunting but beautiful. Thank you netgalley for an arc.

Liv, an ostracized student, lands a scholarship on the luxurious "Eos" for a semester at sea. But her dream trip crumbles when her best friend, Will, disappears mysteriously. Fueled by a mix of grief and suspicion, Liv embarks on a desperate search for the truth, uncovering secrets and facing the darkness that lurks beneath the seemingly perfect facade of the ship.

"Those We Drown" is a captivating debut novel that blends coming-of-age themes with chilling horror. It's a perfect read for those who enjoy atmospheric mysteries with a touch of the supernatural. However, readers seeking a fast-paced story with clear-cut answers might find it lacking in certain aspects.

This book is recommended for fans of YA horror and thrillers, particularly those who enjoy stories with a sense of claustrophobia and unreliable narrators. Be prepared for an unsettling and thought-provoking journey, but keep in mind the potential for a slower pace and an ambiguous ending.

This book is a lot of fun. I think teens will really enjoy the vibe it gives off. It almost feels like it should be a Freeform or CW show. It doesn't do anything crazy, but it really doesn't need to. It does what it said out to do.

This is a novel about a teenage girl who goes onto a ship, hoping for a summer adventure and to reconnect with her estranged best friend, and instead is met with an atmospheric, gothic setting and the mysterious "disappearance" of the one person she truly wanted to be around.

This book just wasn't for me. The setting wasn't as gothic horror as I thought it could be and the plot seemed to drag. None of the characters - not the MC, not the best friend, not the romantic interest, and certainly not the entire boat full of bullies - were likable. When the characters aren't likeable, the author has to rely on the plot to bring the reader along, and I just didn't feel like that was there.

Liv is the only scholarship student aboard the cruise ship, Eos, for an educational program called SeaMester that could be her ticket into a good college. The first night, her best friend, Will, becomes sick enough to be quarantined. The more days pass without hearing from him, the more convinced Liv becomes that something terrible is happening on the ship– and that Will may no longer be aboard at all. As her paranoia increases, she fears that even the staff and her cohort may be part of a conspiracy of human sacrifices and old gods. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: human sacrifice, abduction, injury, illness, gaslighting, classism, threats, bullying, underage drinking.

Everything about this, from the title and the description to the tentacles on the cover, said this book should have been for me. Watching The Beast (1996) as a kid with my dad instilled an early love in me for water monsters. Unfortunately, Those We Drown promises way more than it delivers. What little ocean horror we have is sadly underutilized, and the plot is much more focused on spiraling into paranoia and conspiracy than it is on diving into its world-building in any depth. By the time anything remotely full of teeth and tentacles appeared, not only did I no longer care, I had no idea what basis it even had for being there. Something something old gods and sacrifices. If you have a giant squid on the page and it doesn’t attack anyone, what was even the point?

Instead, most of the page-time is devoted to Liv hating her rich cohort, obsessing about her ill-fated romance with Will, obsessing about yet another love/hate potential romance in Con, and chasing around increasingly ridiculous conspiracy theories. Does she have good reason for that? Yeah, absolutely. There is something nefarious aboard the Eos. But the reader came into the novel with that knowledge, and the whole is she being gaslit or is she genuinely unhinged cycle gets tired quick. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: paranoia is a difficult mood to sustain for any length of time, and it didn’t endear me to Liv. Pull it together and have a little dignity, girl.

On a writing level, it reads like a first novel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and the target YA audience probably won’t be put off by it. Adult readers like myself might struggle a bit more. The descriptions are frequent and a bit forced, and there are some grammar and continuity errors. The first I can never help noticing (sentence fragments for days, and not as a style choice), but the second have to be glaringly obvious for me to pick up on them, since my general attitude is that time is more like a soup than a line. It makes Liv’s character seem wildly inconsistent at times, though, when she walks into a glittering party going yes, this opulence suits me, to scorning it the next morning.

As I said, there’s little coherent explanation of the supernatural elements, and the finale is left hugely open-ended, as if Goldsmith got so deep into her plot conspiracies that she couldn’t write her way out of them. Given the complete lack of closure or explanation, I would say it reads more like the first book in a series than a standalone, but it’s not billed or listed as such. Regardless, if books don’t have plot closure, they should at least have thematic closure, or some general sense of why the readers and characters went through all of this. Those We Drown has none of those.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I had pretty low expectations going into this one which probably helped me enjoy it a little more than I would’ve otherwise. The premise is great but our characters are annoying, the plot was predictable, and the ending was lacking.

I will give the author another shot because her atmosphere was fantastic.

This was a slow burn mystery aboard a cruise ship, and when I say slow burn, I mean a slow burn. It didn’t really work for me as far as any character development, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. It was a decent storyline and the twist was pretty nice.

Once again I’m thinking YA thrillers are not for me anymore, this is yet another one I had to Dnf.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an interesting read! Those We Drown was about two friends who apply to go on a semester on the sea together, but when one goes missing, the other must find out what happened to him. I found the main character, Liv, to be really compelling and interesting. Her panic was real, and it was just as frustrating for me that no one would listen to her as it was for her. I never knew who I could trust outside of Liv, which made the whole plot that much more engaging.

I did struggle with the ending, as there were a few plot points that were built up but never answered. I found the ambiguous ending to be intriguing, though, and I was definitely dying for more even though I knew I wouldn't get it. I really enjoyed this read overall and would definitely try more of Goldsmith's books!

When Liv secures a remarkable opportunity to study abroad on the luxury cruise ship, The Eos, for a semester with all expenses covered, she can hardly believe her good fortune. The prospect becomes even more enticing as it promises a chance to reconnect with Will, her former best friend, who has distanced himself since a pivotal night altered their friendship forever.

However, as Liv steps onto the ship, she quickly realizes the magnitude of the challenge ahead. Her interactions with Will and her fellow Semester students, including the enigmatic Constantine with potential ties to The Eos, prove more complex than anticipated. The presence of the Sirens, three glamorous and mysterious influencers with apparent control over the ship, adds another layer of intrigue.

While this young adult horror story offers a delightful and entertaining experience, its mature themes may resonate more with an older audience. The writing and storytelling exhibit excellence and Liv emerges as a dynamic character, occasionally inducing anxiety with her teenage impulsiveness—a trait that aligns with her limited life experience. The visual portrayal of the creatures is both terrifying and fitting for the eerie oceanic setting. Each character is intricately detailed, contributing to the story's richness.

The narrative deserved a five-star rating but encounters a hiccup in the final chapter. While not inherently unfavourable, the ending prompts questions about the author's approach to concluding the story, creating a slight ambiguity that left me thinking.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book was completely hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down definitely recommend

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!

The central question of Those We Drown becomes "what would happen if we get what we want?" In this locked room mystery thriller, Those We Drown has an immediate sense of disease. Is it just me or would going on a boat be terrifying? There's something primordial about the sea, the danger hiding just underneath the waves. And Those We Drown emphasizes these whispering siren calls, the eeriness of darkness on unsettled waves.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. She won a scholarship to go on a prestigious cruise with her rich best friend. And what turns out to be a privileged group of other students. She immediately feels uncomfortable. Then her best friend and her get in a fight - he disappears, and she cannot find him. Then weird things start to happen. Who do you trust when you don’t really know anyone. This book has so many twists and turns it had me guessing until the end. Amazing writing. Would highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I started this but the drama got a little out of hand for me. I stopped reading about 50% in.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The book is a great YA title that reads like Agatha Christie for teens with some supernatural spooky sea shenanigans mixed in.

This young adult horror story offers an engaging and entertaining read that may resonate with a more mature audience. The narrative is skillfully crafted, drawing readers into the unsettling world of Liv, a quiet and insecure teenager who embarks on a semester-long cruise aboard the Eos, along with a group of scholarship recipients from diverse backgrounds.

Liv's self-consciousness heightens when she encounters her stunningly beautiful and ultra-wealthy travel companions. The cruise allows them to drink alcohol despite being underage, leading to a heated argument between Liv and her best friend, Will. The night takes a dark turn when Will becomes violently ill and is quarantined without explanation.

As Liv tries to connect with others in the group, she can't shake off her concern for Will. She also begins to notice something profoundly eerie about the ship's guests. They all appear to be elderly, which adds to the sense of wrongness that pervades the cruise. Liv's daydreams and nightmares take disturbing turns, as she believes she sees strange creatures disguised as humans, experiences nightmarish visions, and questions her sanity.

Liv's predicament becomes increasingly dire as she struggles to find answers about Will and the mysterious happenings on the ship. She feels threatened by unknown forces and is driven to uncover a sinister plot that may endanger the lives of her entire group. The story's suspense and eerie atmosphere keep readers on edge as they follow Liv's journey through the unknown.

Liv's character is well-crafted, and her teenage impulsivity and chaos-driven decisions are portrayed realistically. The author, Amy Goldsmith, excels in describing the terrifying visual aspects of the creatures, making them truly unsettling. The characters are fully developed and expressive, and Goldsmith's storytelling creativity shines through.

Humor is cleverly interwoven into the story to provide relief from the most intense and frightening situations. "Eos" is a well-executed horror novel with a strong infusion of science fiction elements. While it may not be for everyone due to its intense and shocking nature, it comes highly recommended for readers interested in horror, particularly with teenagers as central characters in an intricate and suspenseful narrative. Amy Goldsmith's talent for storytelling ensures a memorable reading experience, and readers may find themselves eagerly anticipating her future works.

Sad to report that I wasn't a big fan of this one. I have seen that reviews have been pretty middle of the road so I went into this knowing not to get my hopes up too high. I'm a huge fan of water-based stories, especially water-based horror.

I had so many complaints with this one. The characters weren't really well rounded in my opinion. Most of them were pretty one-dimensional and I didn't feel like we really got to know any of them, including the main character. All we know is that she's anxious and that she loves her friend Will.

I also thought the book was irritating with how obvious some of the situations were and how the characters talked and came across. The main character just listened to anything they said and ran with it for the most part.

Also, a BIG logical factor that killed it for me was the entire point of the cruise was to be some kind of educational trip. There was not a SINGLE educational part of this book. At all. Once the setup for why they were on the ship was discussed, there were no longer any educational mentionings except the occasional topic of the main character's scholarship and future opportunities. But yet not a single educational program or class or anything happened.

& to top it all off... I wasn't a fan of the ending either. It was left pretty open to imagination and theory as to what happened with everyone left in the book. After waiting so long for the final reveal to happen I was kind of just looking for something to wrap up but...never did.

I enjoyed reading this book. The story was suspenseful and you want to keep reading until finished. Ya fans will definitely enjoy this book.