This was a great concept for a young adult thriller novel, I always enjoy a thriller where you can’t escape from the threat. This uses that element perfectly and builds that suspenseful atmosphere. Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn write a great story and I enjoyed the team-up in this novel. The characters were strongly written and interesting in the story, it felt like I was there in the boat with the characters.

I adore locked room and isolated location mysteries. In fact, they're probably one of my favorite troupes. I went into this hoping it would be a bit of a YA Death on the Nile, and... it's not. I shouldn't have expected so much. I rate YA novels differently, and probably with more leeway, but even by those standards I found it unenjoyable.

The characters were essentially all unlikable and made it incredibly hard to care about their fate (as in I didn't. At all.) Odd choice to have the two MCs have such similar names. The reveal wasn't shocking, and there were just too many things that didn't make sense.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this to my YA/Thriller friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A fun mystery story. Main characters names are very similar and can be a bit confusing at times.

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC!

I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Children's via NetGalley.

Aboard a luxurious yacht, two estranged friends, Naya Morgan and Yana Bunpraserit, find themselves entangled in a deadly mystery. As members of an exclusive society for recent graduates from Yatesville High, they embark on a celebratory journey to Bermuda, navigating through microaggressions and their complex history. However, their voyage takes a sinister turn when a classmate is brutally murdered, leaving them trapped at sea with a killer among them.

I had high hopes for Seasick, anticipating a blend of Below Deck allure with the thrill of a whodunit, all set against the backdrop of youthful intrigue. However, the novel fell short of my expectations. The pacing, at times, felt uneven, with several lulls and a dragging conclusion that hindered the overall engagement.

The cast of characters was, unfortunately, largely unlikable. Narrated through the perspectives of Naya and Yana, the story might have benefited from additional viewpoints, providing a more comprehensive picture of the students and their dynamics. The killer, could not possibly have done everything in the book, it stretched the bounds of capabilities.

One of the notable letdowns was the premature unveiling of the villain's identity. Clues scattered throughout the book offer readers insight into the perpetrator, diminishing the suspense that a well-executed mystery should evoke.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As far as mysteries go, this one had me questioning what I knew and who I believed throughout most of it. A good sign of a mystery is that you suspect everyone and trust no one, and I felt that throughout the book. Aside from the mystery aspect, the narrators are two outsiders in amongst a group of rich, popular friends. Biracial Naya is a part of the friend group, but she often finds herself wondering if she really fits in and if they really like her for who she is or for who she pretends to be. Thai-American Yana, never fit in with the popular kids and never really wanted to. Through tragedy and fear, can these two girls find their way back into a lost friendship?

Seasick is a YA contemporary locked-room mystery that takes place on a megayacht over the span of 24 hours. Eight students are selected to attend a luxury trip to Bermuda. Most students who are selected are from the richest and most powerful families in Oklahoma. Not coming from such backgrounds, Yana and Naya, former best friends, find themselves feeling like outsiders. Naya may have been accepted by the popular group, but she still doesn't feel like she belongs, and Yana has simply never felt like she belonged. Despite everything, both girls are determined to make the most of this epic adventure. Unfortunately, on the first night, one of the students is discovered brutally murdered and that student isn't the last. The trip soon becomes one of survival rather than luxury. As secrets are revealed and lies uncovered, the bodies begin to pile up. Who will survive? Who is the killer?

While I do love a good locked-room mystery, Seasick just didn't do it for me. The pacing was a bit off - there were quite a few slow parts and the end dragged on. The characters are all quite unlikable. The story is told through two POVs, Naya and Yana. I actually think it could have been more interesting if there were more POVs (if some of the other students had chapters). The deaths were also quite gruesome. Finally, I thought the killer, while predictable, was also unrealistic. The killer just couldn't realistically have done everything that they are believed to have done. There were also some editing issues. I feel like the author included some clues that were later deleted but then were referenced later in the book, which was a bit confusing. Overall, Seasick just wasn't that enjoyable.

This book was so good! I really liked how things played out, it was very unexpected and every time you thought you had everything figured out, something happened to completely change the story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Even though this was a YA book I still enjoyed it.
I love “locked room” mysteries and thrillers and this is definitely one of those.
Definitely worth the read.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

Seasick by Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn is a YA contemporary mystery where Naya and Yana, two former childhood best friends are on a megayacht on their way to Bermuda when some of their classmates end up dead. Yana is Thai-American while Naya is a biracial young woman in small town Oklahoma; both have had their ups and downs with their classmates and there are references to microaggressions and Thai culture, but it takes more of a backseat to the plot.

Naya’s boyfriend, Etienne, a French exchange student, is also on the ship as well as Yana’s almost boyfriend Gabe, several of Yana’s friends, and Everly, a popular girl who runs a blog exposing other people’s secrets. Naya, Yana, and the others are inducted into an exclusive society formed by Seraphina Yates, a multimillionaire who is leaving her entire fortune to her secret grandchild…until the discovery of a second grandchild risks splitting the fortune in half.

Seasick is fairly fast-paced and isn’t as focused on feelings for the interiority so much as focused on the past friendship between Naya and Yana and how they stopped being friends and the relationships between Yana and Gabe and Naya and Etienne. Naya and Yana really carry the book and the dual-POV aspect lets you see from both sides how much they miss each other.

I would recommend this to readers looking for a YA mystery with strong romance and friendship subplots.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this book. This was a quick and fast paced thriller read and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

I loved the idea of this book. Ex friends having to work together if they want to survive made the dynamic of these characters very interesting. I liked the plot a lot. The constant confusion in switching scenes totally threw me off though. I found myself having to reread or realize too late that a scene had switched which totally ruins a good mystery.

There’s nothing, I love more than a murder mystery where all the characters are trapped somewhere and one of them is the killer. In this case, a group of students who have just graduated high school are invited on a yacht to celebrate their acceptance into a secret society of sorts. But when people start dying, they realize that maybe they all have something to hide , and secrets that they really don’t want revealed. This book was fast paced, and held my interest, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A group of highly elite teens are chosen to go on a exclusive cruise and there are a couple “diversity” kids chosen to attend as well which is a bit controversial to the rich kids who feel those people shouldn’t be included. Then people slowly start to die. Who is doing this and why? Would highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved this Death on the Nile type book. YA thrillers are so enjoyable for me even when they’re “bad”. The plot is enough to get you invested. The twists keep coming at every page turn. Some parts were a letdown but overall this was a really strong YA thriller.

Review:
5⭐
From the very first page of SEASICK, I was hooked. Something drew me in(perhaps the gruesome scene that offered a glimpse of the horror to come or the descriptive writing that began the story. SEASICK embodied suspense and mystery. The rumors throughout the book were an added bonus, and I was eager to find out if they were true (and who was the person behind the biggest scheme of all.) SEASICK was written in dual pov, and I loved getting the story from different angles. This arc had me on the edge of my seat, reading page after page, devouring the words that were written. SEASICK is action-packed. There's so much goriness, and it just so crazy. Like, I was shocked as I read the ending(the figuring out of whodunit+saving the day+etc) I loved this. I loved the drama, the inheritance scheme, the mystery, the flirtation, and the overall atmosphere and writing of the story.  The perfect addition to a thriller lovers 2024 tbr.

What I Liked About It:
*everything

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

I enjoyed this book. I found it easy to read and mostly gripping. I will say that I wish I cared more for the characters, though. I found myself not connecting to them too much. Either ways, good read!

SEASICK was a quick read but completely forgettable. The plot was meandering and not very well written and there were some plot holes that made no sense.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review SEASICK.

This one was just okay. I think it may be right for some readers, but the pacing dragged on a bit and I couldn't find many of the characters relatable or likable for the most part. Maybe if they had more background, I could understand them better? Some parts had some good suspense, but I felt that the ending was pretty predictable from early on. Despite not being for me, it still had an interesting concept and would be a great fit for some! Thanks for the ARC!

The description of the book seemed interesting, so I wanted to check the story out. Unfortunately, it is not working for me right now. It is nothing against the story or the author, but I couldn't get into the story/characters. I may try and find a physical copy to add the my library when it is released, though, because I think my readers could like it!