
Member Reviews

If you are a fan of reality tv like the show Below Deck and thrillers this is the perfect book for you to add to your weekend TBR.
Set aboard a luxury superyacht, I Did Warn Her is a deliciously dark thriller full of secrets, shifting alliances, and morally gray characters. Sian Gilbert keeps the tension high and the twists coming, I had no idea who to trust. The atmosphere is claustrophobic, Perfect for fans of locked-room mysteries with a glamorous edge. (which is what drew me in in the first place)
There were some slow points for me that delayed me from finishing this book at my normal pace. Also every single character looking the same and having multiple nicknames made it very difficult to keep up with who was who in the story. I was finally able to keep it straight in the end but that added layer made it difficult. This book is full of lies, rivalry, and hidden identities.
At the end of the book it started to pick up pace and I had to know how the story would end. I enjoyed the twists and turns and the ending wrapped everything up nicely. This book explores power, privilege, and the price of fitting in. It’s a chilling reminder that beneath a polished surface, danger often lurks.
Thank you, NetGalley, the author, and the publisher, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED She Started It, so was excited to get the author's next book early! This was a fun, easy read set on a luxury yacht. It took me forever to keep all the characters straight, as there were just too many voices. The pacing was great and kept me turning pages, as I had to know what happened! Every single character had some sort of secret or ulterior motive, and most were incredibly unlikeable, which is usually tough but I think worked well for this one. I definitely guessed some of the twists and there were a few side plots that were absolutely unnecessary, but still enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend as an entertaining summer thriller. Can't wait to see what Sian Gilbert does next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was hot and cold for me. Here’s why:
Hot—
-loved the setting
-loved the drama (def inspired by Below Deck)
-loved the concept of “beautiful crew, beautiful passengers, power imbalance because of wealth”
Cold—
-SO difficult to keep the characters and POV’s straight.
-some subplots (jewelry lol) seemed superfluous and didn’t add to the storyline
-felt like the end was rushed and it was VERY dramatic compared to the rest of the book

*Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to LibroFM for the gifted audio*
4 identical hostesses, a billionaire's cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic, and enough salacious secrets to last a lifetime. I was totally sold on the premise, but it didn't quite live up to it. Rather than being a luxurious thriller, it's more of a clunky whodunnit with an obvious culprit.

I first off want to say thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Second, I loved her first book I literally read it in one sitting.
This book was about a girl who is asked to work a yacht and all the girls look very similar. There is different point of views which were a little hard to keep up with. We know she has been let go of her previous job for an incident but we don’t know exactly what happened. The characters to me were unlikable and you were not rooting for any of them.
There is kind of a side mystery as well. A girl is pretending to be an escort for one of the men. We find out she has a motive to why she is actually on the yacht.
Overall, this book to me was not as good as her first. It was slow, repetitive at times and just a slow, slow, slow burn. To me go read her first one.
2.5 stars.

This one wasn't for me. I started out with interest in it being on a boat and how odd it was that the stewardesses looked like each other, but past that, I couldn't get into it. I ended up DNF'ing about halfway through. My first issue was the amount of POVs, especially with people who are similar to each other; so it was sometimes hard to follow. The author did do a good job of writing dislikable characters, but there wasn't really one I cared about too much to even mid finding out the twists and the ending, unfortunately.

Thriller with lots of twists and turns. Multiple narrators with some very much unreliable. Everyone on board the super yacht in this story is not who they first appear to be. This is like the novels where vacationers are stranded on an island or an isolated location, and bad things are happening. Each person suspects another and the suspects keep changing. The isolation here is on a yacht rather than on land. Quick and interesting read. Probably a 3.75 star rating rounded up to 4.

I Did Warn Her is a nice twist on the typical murder mystery, taking place on a yacht with twists you wouldn't quite expect, and some that were glaringly obvious with certain details shared early on. It certainly is a fun story with characters that you just can't help but hate with their actions and attitudes, but I do feel it accurately represents just how catty women can be, especially in a closed-off environment where you can only interact with the few people around you. The multiple character POV's were quite nice to get inside the heads of each person, but it truly makes you dislike just about everyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫
✔️ the various POV
✔️ locked room mystery on a boat with many suspects and victims
✔️ the last 25 % was quite enjoyable
✖️ really didn’t connect with or care about any of the characters 🤷🏼♀️
▪️ the first 75% or so of the book was pretty slowed paced and although I was interested enough to keep going

Quite fun! Every character was insufferable (in a fun way). The mysteries were okay - some obvious, some are interesting twists. I think seeing the personality clashes muddy up the storyline was really exciting. Overall, a fun mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a fun story! This is the second book I've read of Sian Gilbert's, and it definitely won't be my last.
I Did Warn Her was fun, twisty, and satisfying to read. If you're a fan of Below Deck on Bravo, you'll enjoy this! You'll feel like you're watching another season of the show - but with murder. There are tons of relationship drama amongst the crew, and they all have dark pasts. I loved how everyone had motive for the murder, too. It was very intriguing to see how everything played out, and I was kept guessing until the very end. The multiple POVs were wonderful as well. Even though there were a lot of characters to keep track of, I didn't find it confusing because even though all the stewards looked the same, they all had very distinct personalities. The captain and head stewardess also reminded me of two of my favorites from the OG TV series.
If you love catty drama, unreliable and unlikable narrators, and twisty storylines, you'll really enjoy this book!

I listened to this on audio and read the book and wow. It was like an episode of Below Deck and now makes me want to go on a mega yacht. Lots of drama and a diversely cast of characters. The story flowed great and it kept me very interested. I will definitely be on the look out for more from this author

Thank you Netgalley and author for earc a& audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I did a mix of audio and eARC for this one. I was excited for it after loving Sian Gilbert’s debut, but this didn’t fully land for me. Too many POVs made it hard to connect, and the characters felt too similar. It picked up at the end though, and I appreciated the humor sprinkled throughout.

I DID WARN HER by Sian Gilbert has a juicy premise but ultimately didn’t quite land for me. The plot felt overcrowded, with too many twists, red herrings, and moving parts to fully connect. That said, if you love high-drama thrillers and are obsessed with Below Deck-style settings, this one might be right up your alley. Not for me, but I can see the appeal for the right reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

Alright...I freakin' loved this one. I read the words "locked room mystery set on a billionaire’s yacht" and i was sold.
This was a fun, fast read with a really wild premise and execution. The chapters were short, I loved the alternate viewpoints and I flew through the pages. While I did have a hard time telling the identical blondes apart at times, I would absolutely recommend that you throw this one in your beach bag.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley! This is my second book by this author and I loved it. Locked room thriller on a super yacht with decades old missing person, drama and murder. Definitely one I’ll read again

I really really wanted to like this more because it has everything that makes up the bones for a juicy murder mystery: every one of the cast of characters has their own hidden agenda, they’re all on a huge superyacht miles in the middle of the ocean, and there is drama to the nth degree! But for me, I feel like the multiple POVs were sometimes confusing to keep track of and although I know the characters were written this way for a reason, the women were just all so catty and spiteful to each other and were constantly trying to one-up each other because they all looked very similar and wanted to be the most beautiful.
The twists at the end were good and also just reminded me that I will never willingly go on a cruise of any sort. It definitely did drag in parts but overall it was a decent murder mystery and I would consider it a summer beach/travel read for sure!
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and HarperCollins for sending the eARC of this book for review consideration - all thoughts and opinions are my own!

A whodunit on the high seas.
A beautiful yacht, owned by a billionaire, and a full crew is crossing the Atlantic. The stunning stewardesses, Sasha, Jade, Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola. Lots of competition and gossip among them. The handsome deck hands taking care of the ship and the ladies don’t you know. The captain on his last cruise before retiring and the chief trying to keep the schedule. Everyone’s main purpose is to keep the two rich men and their female escort guests happy and satisfied.
But the boat and its occupants are keeping lots of secrets and definitely there’s a hidden agenda for this trip. Then one of the stewardesses is murdered. Jewelry and other items going missing. Everyone is suspicious of the rest and they are all held hostage and isolated on this yacht in the middle of the ocean. Who is doing what and to whom.
This was a locked room style mystery complicated by a large cast of characters who are skulking about, lying, and doing things they should not. The story is told in shifting point of view as each stewardess reveals her thoughts, motivations, and activities. They were hard to keep straight at first, especially with the all the other names bandied about. Eventually it became easier but be sure to note who is speaking at the beginning of each chapter.
I felt this was definitely like a reality show with all the expected misbehavior below decks and the way that the clients acted during the voyage. There were red herrings and twists, but the denouement was a bit anticlimactic. Definitely a lot of irrelevant side plots but everything was wrapped up in a tidy conclusion.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The production had a large cast of all female narrators and I definitely preferred some of the voices over others. The disappointment in the audio, however, is because there was not a single male voice to do those character roles so the voices of the men were not ideal. It would have been so much better had that happened. At times I had to stop listening and just read when I became annoyed at the sound of a particular voice. I do enjoy, however, the immersive experience of both listening and reading.

I was so excited for this after DEVOURING She Started It. I was in a bit of a reading slump so I couldn’t get into the physical/e-book. I opted to try to audio. While the story was engaging and I was able to power through, there were way too many characters and I spent more time being confused that I did enjoying the actual story. This was a fun enough thriller. I would recommend this more as a palette cleanser than picking up and expecting it to blow your mind.

I did not enjoy the writing style. It felt like I was being TOLD about everything and every character. It didn't feel like I was learning anything naturally. The story also felt a little too shallow.