I did not like this book. It was boring and I could not wait to finish it. I would not recommend it.

Kaira Rouda is one of my favorite suspense authors and "Beneath the Surface" was a quick, great read.

In Beneath the Surface, a thriller by Kaira Rouda, a family who all hates each other get together for a weekend yacht trip when summoned by the patriarch of the family. I did not like ANY of the characters - the kids were. Bunch of spoiled brats who all just wanted control of their dad’s company. Secrets. Betrayals. Blackmail. Murder. This book has them all!

This was absolute fire!! I was hooked from the first page. This was so good. I would give it 6 stars if I could.
I just reviewed Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda. #BeneaththeSurface #NetGalley
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Richard Kingsley seems to have it all. A successful company, more money than he could ever spend, and a mega yacht, the Splendid Seas. Each of his children think they will be spending quality time with him on his luxurious yacht this coming weekend, but Richard always has a more in-depth plan. His sons, John and Ted, along with their wives and Richard‘s latest wife (number 4)Serena, are headed to Catalina Island.But all is not well with this family.
His sons want control of the company when he is gone, and they both carry quite a bit of, shall we say, baggage. When their sister Sibley joins them, the family skeletons fall out of each of their closets,every time the foul weather rocks the boat.
Beneath the Surface oozed family drama, and there was only one character I actually liked. It did not end the way I thought it would. No spoilers, but the Kingsleys manage to add a couple more skeletons to their already overflowing closets. Publishing on September 5,this to me would be a perfect end of summer,fast paced beach read.
Also, on the Goodreads page it says: the Kingsley’s #1, so I assume we will see this dysfunctional family again. Definitely a page turner.

Enjoyable book. The family dynamics reminded me a bit of the tv show Succession. While none of the characters were particularly likable, I still liked this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

Rich. People. Behaving. Badly.

Its my favorite trope and this one totally lived up to my own hype!

Pick this up when you crave juicy, rich people, being naughty.

This is Kaira Rouda's first book in the series about The Kingsleys- a wealthy dysfunctional family with plenty of skeletons in the closet.

The premise is that the patriarch of the family, Richard Kingsley, invites his adult children and their partners aboard his new super yacht for an overnight trip to Catalina Island. The invitation is supposedly to reconnect, but everyone knows the true purpose - to assess which one of the heirs is fit to run the billionaire family enterprise. All three siblings dislike each other and nurse personal grudges against their father. Their nearly 80 year-old father and his new 38 year-old wife Serena, his fifth, will host as the three siblings jockey for position and try to edge each other out. All's fair in love and succession. But the weather is stormy and so is the mood as carefully laid plans go wrong.

I always find Kaira Rouda's books fun to read, with characters you love to hate. Similar to your favourite trashy reality show, it's just fun to watch people behaving badly. This one was lacking however. The quality of the writing was just not there. The dialogue felt wooden and repetitive; there was just no spark in it. What could have been great fun, with snappy dialogue and underhanded scheming, just felt like a chore to read. Ted and John came across as whiny, immature and entitled. Sibley, who could have been a breath of fresh air, was just low class and rude. The wives are one-dimensional. And with about 10% of the novel left to go, there is a bizarre plot twist that made absolutely no sense to me.

Kaira Rouda can spin a tale, but this one wasn't her best effort.

Another great book by Kaira Rouda. Beneath the Surface is about billionaire CEO Richard Kingsley who invites his sons and their families to join him on his mega yacht to Catalina Island. Over rough seas, they spend a weekend with him trying to figure out who he will make the next CEO when he dies. This book has all the secrets, lies, drama and scandal that goes on with billionaires (or that I think goes on). I loved the story line and Kaira captured it all beautifully. And I especially love the beautiful cover! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published September 2023.

On a positive note, I enjoyed each chapter was a different characters viewpoint, however prefer a much quicker climax in a novel. The climax of the story was towards the end of the book and it felt very rushed after what the reader had been anticipating like a game of Clue all along. I didn’t feel the adventure on the high seas or anything necessarily “dark” about the novel. ‘Beneath the Surface’ offered what we can see play out on any reality tv show with much more twists and turns to attract the audience.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publisher for allowing me an early read in exchange for an honest review!*

4 out of 5 stars for me! Definitely a page turner. In fact, I just recommended this one to my sister to read when it comes out. A must buy!!!

"Beneath the Surface" reminds me of the popular Succession television series. The family patriarch accompanied by his third wife Serena has invited his three children and their spouses for a weekend trip to Catalina Island on his amazing new yacht.. None of them knew their siblings would be guests, and as their father was 80 something -the competition was fierce. Family secrets and drama are plentiful and the mysteries will keep you engaged.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I enjoy books by this author and was excited to see the latest available to request. I enjoyed this story, and some of the twists were unexpected. The dysfunctional family saga was entertaining and kept me wondering how it would turn out.

I enjoyed this book. Got me out of a reading slump. Solid storyline. Loved the sibling rivalry and the yacht setting. Some interesting surprises. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read. I was hoping for a great read with this book as Kaira Rouda wrote "The Best Day Ever" and that was a good book. I did not enjoy this book at all it was repetitive beyond what I could handle and it was just not thrilling at all. I was wondering when it was going to get there. The length of the book was good and I was glad it was not any longer as I would not have been able to read it.

Thank you net galley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC. I really wanted to like this book and unfortunately I couldn’t get into the story and characters. Other readers have enjoyed this book though!

Richard Kingsley, billionaire CEO, has invited his three children aboard his yacht the Splendid Seas for an overnight trip to Catalina Island. But this is more than an overnight voyage. Richard is choosing a successor to his real estate empire from among his children and it is not an easy choice. Everyone has secrets and this trip will serve to uncover and bring them all to the surface. Who will be worthy in the end? This was an entertaining novel filled with a cast of characters, each one more despicable than the next. Lots of twists and a shocking turn of events bring the book to a satisfying end.

I did not enjoy this book - the writing style was so incredibly repetitive and Ted was so deeply unlikeable. I struggled the entire way through it..

"Beneath the Surface" by Kaira Rouda is full of intense emotions from the powerful Kingsley family. We have cooperate issues, sibling hatred, affairs, illness, and maybe even murder. As the three Kingsley siblings battle it out over who will become CEO of the Kingsley Family Company. This book will keep you guessing until the end. The ending is very unexpected and will leave you shocked!!

💫THANK YOU to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an Honest Review!

#BeneaththeSurface #NetGalley

I really enjoy Kaira Rouda's writing, she can go pretty dark yet keep you invested in the story all the way through. This book might be the exception. I found almost every character (except one) completely unlikeable. I also felt that a few "gotcha" moments in the novel were not very surprising and almost predictable. That said I didn't want to put this down and walk away - the story is somewhat engaging and I liked the setting of Catalina Island. While not my favorite book from this author it is a solid 3 star book. I still remain a Rouda fan and look forward to her next book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.