"𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝑹𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐."

Special thanks to @rachelreiss @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now deep sea diving scares me, yet intrigues me at the same time. The vastness of the ocean doesn't give me much comfort, but I'd love to go scuba diving sometime.

This definitely gives me Outer Banks vibes, with the treasure, the status of all 5 people, and their bond.

This debut was great! I read it in 1 sitting. I was entranced by the storyline and the wild world of deep sea scuba diving. The dynamic between these 5 is great and had me engulfed from page one.

Read this is you love ❤️
🤿 Friendship
🤿 Secrets
🤿 Curses
🤿 Friends to lovers
🤿 Hidden treasure
🤿 Ocean setting

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
May 13, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ Have you ever been scuba diving, if so - where?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #outofair #rachelreiss #wednesdaybooks #wednesdaybookspartner
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I was hoping to like this novel more than I actually did. I can't really get over how petty and mean this friend group is though. If they'd literally talked AT ALL about anything that was happening in their personal lives or about the cave they accidentally found, then none of the events of this book would've happened. I think I was most annoyed with Phoebe and her woe-is-me attitude. She accused Will outright of so many things and for barely a good reason. She kept singling him out and it was so dumb. Gabe was kind of an idiot too though and Lani was just plain cruel at some points with how angry she'd get and yell at her friends. The diving aspects were interesting and so was the idea that this entity latched onto them but nothing about what was happening to them was really explained.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded. read this one twice, because I was on the fence about it. On one hand, I loved the prose, the pitch, and the main lead Phoebe. On the other, I felt the pacing was off and the supernatural/horror elements overshadowed the high stakes treasure hunt (which is what I thought the book was about). Rachel’s prose is lush, particularly when describing the dives. You could tell she absolutely knew her stuff.

This book promised OBX vibes but I didn’t really get that. The treasure hunting was more of an afterthought and not really part of the main plot. I was hoping for rival treasure hunters and was excited when the other crew took them hostage, but the stakes never really escalated from there.

Regardless if the story didn’t have the vibes I hoped for, it was still a thrilling debut that kept me guessing the ending until the very end. Phoebe was a great lead and a well rounded character.

Out of Air is a promising debut and I can’t wait to see where Rachel’s next book takes us.

If you’re looking for your next summer obsession, Out of Air delivers big time—think Wilder Girls meets Outer Banks, with a splash of myth, mystery, and menace.

This book is entertaining, unique, and just plain fun. It pulls you into the depths (literally) with Phibs and her diving crew as they uncover ancient treasure, a hidden sea cave, and something far darker than gold. What starts as a dream summer adventure quickly turns eerie, strange, and deeply thrilling.

The friendships are raw and real, the setting is atmospheric and vividly described, and the creeping horror of what lurks beneath is absolutely addictive. Perfect for fans of ocean thrillers, body horror with heart, and stories that explore how far we’ll go to protect the people we love.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

This was a solid YA thriller/horror. I think the target audience will love this and have a good time reading to find out what happens. It was a little predictable for me, but it was enjoyable enough that I wanted to keep reading to see what happens! This is Reiss' debut novel, so I would be interested in reading more in the future!

OUT OF AIR by Rachel Reiss is a story featuring a main character who never feels more alive than when she is diving, exploring, discovering unexpected treasure. For a person who does not like caves above or below the water, who does not dive, I still felt the visceral pleasure in the freedom Phibs and her friends feel. A fantastic trip to Australia changes the dynamic between the friends, Phibs and her best friend Gabe, and the person Phibs believes herself to be. I did not expect to be as engaged as I was by a story featuring strange forces and drastic plot twists -- but it held me to the end. A quick and very different read. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Rachel Reiss crafts a beautifully immersive atmosphere in Out of Air. Her prose is undeniably evocative. Quietly rich, never overly ornate. The underwater setting felt tactile, almost sensual, with oceanic details that shimmer and pulse on the page. Being with the Salt Squad felt like slipping beneath the surface and staying there. Weightless, surrounded by tension you can’t quite name.

But that tension never built into something I could emotionally invest in.

The story moves slowly—achingly slow. I found myself reading passages that were undeniably beautiful in language, but I wondered when something, anything, would finally happen. The plot progression felt stalled. Character dynamics remained just out of reach. I was intrigued at first, but the more I read, the more that intrigue faded.

At 50%, I made the decision to DNF, not out of frustration, but out of detachment. This book feels like it was made for readers who love meditative, poetic storytelling with minimal momentum. If that’s you, you may fall completely in love. But for me, the weight of the pacing held me down, and I couldn’t find the spark to keep going.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title. While it wasn’t for me, I can still appreciate the lyrical voice and vivid oceanic imagery Reiss brings to life.

DNF at around 20%. I think the combination of the story and writing just wasn't it for me, I didn't find myself actively wanting to know what happens next.

A good, quick YA summer thriller. YA is not my forte, but a great choice. I love a lil ocean moment, but the Outer Banks vibes are not for me.

Wilder Girls meets Outer Banks where a group of scuba diving friends stumbles across lost treasure, a legendary cave, and a new type of power... that comes at a price.

I received an advance ebook copy of Out Of Air by Rachel Reiss from netgalley.

I enjoyed this book on a quick weekend trip to the beach (maybe it kept me out of the ocean).

It's a quick read, but didn't easily grab and keep my attention.

It's very much a YA/teen genre. Perfectly written for that target audience.

The plot and storyline are interesting. The characters and settings very descriptive. The twists kept coming.

However I did get lost sometimes in the time-line.

This book had so much potential. So, so much potential.
But let's start with the good.
First? That cover. The author adorably describes it as "etched in magic and forged from stardust," and I'm not going to disagree. If you're considering buying this book for the cover, do it. I'll live vicariously through you. SO PRETTY.
But it's okay, I'm not just going to praise the book's pretty packaging. I was drawn to this book because I thought that the idea of a scuba diving-based book would be neat, and boy oh boy, was it! The author is apparently an experienced diver, and it was fascinating to feel drawn into that underwater world through the eyes of someone who really knew their stuff. I would read Rachel Reiss writing about dives all day! In fact, if that had been the entirety of this book—just a narration of the friends' underwater explorations—I would have been all in.
Alas, 'twas not to be.
I don't say this lightly—in fact, I've literally never said this in a published review before, though I might have thought it quietly to myself—but this book just...feels...amateurish. It has the bones of a good plot, good characterization, even good writing, but it feels as if it was written without any knowledge or guidance in any of those areas. Frankly, it felt like a book written by someone with a great deal of innate talent but much less time spent reading other published books and studying what makes them work. To be clear, I don't place the blame for that on the author. The talent, like I said, is there, and debuts are often shaky! That's often the fun of them! But this needed a heck of a lot of developmental editing, and instead, it feels more like a high-quality Fictionpress project than a traditionally published work.
The book's biggest flaw is its pacing. The reader is dropped into the story just as the action is starting (usually ideal), with a lot of key backstory delivered via flashback chapters, but this means that a ton has to be established very, very quickly (most notably, very mild spoiler from the first few pages, <spoiler>we hear about a secret-ish crush and then it's almost immediately acted upon, with basically no building of tension or chemistry at all</spoiler>). It feels like we're being dragged from one beat to the next, often with minimal explanation, which doesn't work for a book that feels like it should be, at least to some degree, an exploration of the main character's internal experience. Ironically, everything feels very surface-level (ba dum chhhh), when a deeper exploration of even just one of the many interesting themes touched upon—the cave itself, the relationships between characters, the main character's family history, etc. etc. etc.—would have made this a much more compelling work.
(Thanks to Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book! All opinions are, of course, my own.)

A fabulous five member dive team heads out on a pre-college, last hurrah trip to a remote island off the coast of Australia, where strange and eerie things begin to happen. Seeped in legend and lore, the story shifts between past and present, taking readers, and the characters, on a wild, unforgettable ride.
The plot is well crafted and the pace keeps things moving. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the twists keep coming. It’s a unique, slightly darker take on the typical beach read, perfect for summer if you're looking for something a little different.

This YA horror/thriller follows a group of teen scuba divers who love exploring the ocean. The MC, Phibs, and her best friend Gabe discover this mysterious sea cave during a dive. Soon after surfacing from the water, they begin to experience strange and unsettling changes to their bodies.

I thought this was a well-written and intriguing YA read. I could tell the author had a lot of knowledge about diving. I will probably never scuba dive because the ocean freaks me out, so I liked getting to read about it instead.

I thought the main character was really interesting. She has a special ability where she can find things, like lost treasure. I thought that was cool.

There is quite a bit of body horror in this book which I loved. I was definitely getting Wilder Girl vibes with the body horror moments.

There was a lot of action and exciting moments towards the end of the book. I thought the ending was pretty good.

Overall, this was a thrilling read that I would recommend to lovers of YA thriller or horror books.

I liked this story a lot, but not as much as I thought I would going into it.

I can't put my finger on what it was exactly. The premise is a good one, I think the teen characters are interesting - perhaps there was one too many?

The body horror was interesting. I'm not sure I liked the ending.

I find any below the surface stories to raise my senses, make me feel claustrophobic and OUT OF AIR did just that for me.

This would be a fun summer story for teens looking for a touch of horror.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-copy of OUT OF AIR to review.

I rate OUT OF AIR three out of five stars. (Although if we had 1/2 star ratings, I'd make it 3 1/2 stars).

Out of Air is an emotional, suspenseful story that blends mystery with raw, heartfelt moments. Rachel Reiss delivers a compelling narrative about grief, healing, and uncovering the truth. With well-drawn characters and a steady pace, this one took me by surprise in the best (most emotional) way!

Out of Air definitely had me hooked early on! I really liked the whole scuba diving premise. I read that the author is a seasoned diver and you could really tell! She included a lot of interesting facts about diving without making it seem like straight information.

I think what fell short for me was the whole aspect of the curse. I wish it was just explained a little bit more. I also would’ve liked if we got to know all of the characters a little bit more. Besides Phoebe, everyone else just kind of felt *there* without much going on.

The ending was interesting and will stay on my mind for a while I think!

If you are looking for

Outer Banks vibes 🌊
Friendships being put to the test 🤝
Underwater world 🦈
Treasure hunting 💰

This book was such a good thriller with some horror mixed in. The author did a fantastic job of immersing you into the story especially during the diving portions of this book. It made me so nervous at times when they were diving and reading about the vast darkness of the ocean.

The ending was a twist I wasn't expecting and I actually enjoyed reading about the friendships and where the story took them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author (Rachel Reiss), and St Martins Press/ Wednesday Books for the advanced readers copy. ❤️

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting review this book. Teens that go diving and go looking for treasure and for a few of them, get more than they bargain for. Along the way, another puzzle is starting to get solved; as the clues and memories slowly click into place. Since only around 5% of the oceans have been explored; we still haven’t seen everything. This book definitely took a turn I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes things in the deep should be left undisturbed.

YA authors are producing some of the best horror at the moment. Out of Air is deeply uncomfortable, claustrophobic, and gory, yet remains appropriate for younger audiences than many adult horror novels.

Reiss does a great job at describing the beauty and terror of diving deep into the ocean. The corals and underwater landscape were beautiful, and I felt like I was there, but the panic of being underwater with limited oxygen would leave me breathless.

There were several twists in the novel that I was not expecting based on the blurb; however, they were great twists so I don't want to spoil anything.

Also, the cover is just stunning. That was what first drew me to this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I am late to my review due to sickness, but reading a book called Out of Air while I struggled with my asthma was ironic and hilarious.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.