Out of Air was an interesting read. I loved the thriller feel of the book and the characters were well explored. I would read more from this author.

#ad much love for my finished copy @wednesdaybooks #partner
& @macmilla.audio + @netgalley #partner for the ALC

A debut book that just blew out of the water - and I suspect - will make a huge splash! Ohhhhh this book was so good guys!! It’s tense, mysterious, and full of action. I finished in one sitting.

They call themselves the Salt Squad. A group of 5 friends. Twin brothers, Gabe and Will, Lani, Isobel, and Phoebe. But their friendships are tested when something goes horribly wrong after a dive.

They found the cave and all agreed to never tell a sole. They’ve heard rumblings of rumors of terrible things happening to those who dare dive there. But it’s too late for that now. Because the cave where they found some treasure is cursed, and they’ve been marked.

Out of Air by Rachel Reiss is a fast-paced YA thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Alternating between the present and 5 months prior there’s never a dull moment. It’s so full of twist and turns that’ll it’ll give you whiplash.

This book delivered!!! Oof. The suspense and action in this book is something you can actually feel. I love diving/cave thrillers and I loved this one so much.

The narrator did the most superb job narrating this story. During the high-tension moments she shift her voice at the most perfect places. She’s one of those narrators that make the story come alive. Just fantastic!

Cannot wait to see what this author creates next; because if it’s anything like this book I’m gonna be hooked! ALL THE STARS!!

This would make the perfect movie or limited series!! Where you at Netflix, Hulu?????

Triggers
Alzheimer’s
Death and Dying

If you like scuba diving in caves, beware, this story might scare you off that hobby. This is a fast-paced, entertaining, and creepy paranormal thriller for fans of YA and treasure hunting. The audiobook narration by Gail Shalan added to the overall vibe.

As someone who has only snorkeled and never gone scuba diving the vivid descriptions of life under water were so fun, as was the body horror and adventurous Outer Banks treasure hunting mystery.

The audiobook was a fun and engaging listen. It can be hard to distinguish a large cast vocally, and I appreciated the effort but overall felt some of the voices landed more believably as teens than others.

As a new diver myself this book was very eye opening and I feel like even if you aren’t a diver you should read this

Wow. So as I read this I was super mesmerized with the descriptions of all cave and the ability of Phoebe to find hidden treasures. What exactly were they changing into? Will we find out more in another book? I’m super hooked!

Great story! It was different, intriguing, mysterious, and little sci-fi, a little romance. And the ending was not perfect, which is so much better than unrealistic fairy tale endings! I will be adding this to my library. high school collection and recommending it to students. Thanks for the chance to listen to it on Netgalley.

I'm long overdue in submitting my thoughts on Out of Air, but it's only because I had to sit on how good the book and narrator were.

I fell in love with these salty teens right away, and the twists had me hanging on to the very last page. And the narrator? Superb! The dynamism of the voice acting brought an already tense and gripping story to life and sucked me right in. I listened to this book on a road trip, and there was a six hour stretch where no one in the car said a thing it was that good.

The combination of romance and horror is deliciously tense, and the unpredictable thrills had me up way past bed time. Out of Air is easily my favorite read of the past year, and I can't wait to see what Reiss writes next.

I'm so glad I listened to "Out of Air" on audiobook! The narrator was EXCELLENT and I really felt like I was right there under the water with the group, slowly running out of oxygen and starting to panic. The claustrophobia this made me feel was wild. I really enjoyed this story and how the author kept a consistent pace throughout the whole book. I was invested and wanted to know how things were going to end up, and I really liked how she wrapped up the ending in a way that still left some questions. Highly recommend checking this one out on audiobook!

Oh the suspense! I watched a cave diving documentary once and since then have been obsessed with diving'- although I have zero want to ever dive 😂. This was a dark, atmospheric, suspense/thriller. Then add in a pinch of horror. I really wish the author had gone deeper with the horror vibe.

Gail Shalan did an amazing job narrating. A single narrator that made you feel like there were multiple, she read all the characters so convincingly. Gail had me on the edge of my seat during certain parts! I love her smooth tone and intonation. I'd definitely choose audio for this book!

TW/CW: Alzheimer's, gory scenes, classism, child abandonment, language, mourning, toxic friendships, blood, violence

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Phoebe “Phibs” Ray is never more at home than when she’s underwater. On a dive six months ago, she and her four closest friends discovered a handful of ancient gold coins, rocketing them into social media fame. Now, their final summer together after high school, they’re taking one last trip to a distant Australian island to do what they love most – scuba dive.

While diving a local reef, Phibs discovers a spectacular underwater sea cave, rumored to be a lost cave with a buried treasure. But when Phibs and her best friend Gabe surface from the cave, they notice that they're undergoing strange changes. Oozing gashes that don’t heal. Haunting whispers in their heads... Something has latched onto them, lurking beneath their skin, transforming them from the inside out.

When treasure hunters arrive, desperate to find the location of the cave and hold Phibs’ group for ransom, she’ll do anything to keep her friends safe. In the process she learns that, of all the dreadful creatures of the sea, she might be the most terrifying of them all.
Release Date: May 13th, 2025
Genre: YA Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Atmospheric
2. Audiobook is intense (give the narrator an award she was great!)

What I Didn't Like:
1. Cheesy things happen
2. Boring
3. Gabe/Phibs (love) storyline


Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Right out the door we learn that Phibs is the poor one surrounded by rich friends. With that troupe in place we are supposed to believe that Phibs is so poor but she can have an expensive hobby such as scuba diving. Yeah, her family's friend pays for this journey but she had to get here to where she could scuba dive.

Soooooo Phibs is obsessed with Gabe. It drives me insane how much we have to hear it over and over.

Okay Phibs why bring such a special camera with you on a boat if you are worried about it getting more damaged?

Why do they want to start a scuba social media when they are going to be moving away for school? It doesn't make sense.

God, teenagers are so dramatic. Lol. Everything is the end of the world.

There it is our main character reminding us that she hasn't eaten in so long. Why??

So this place was so horrible and dangerous that Phibs friend (does her name even matter - they all sound the same and have no character development) threatens to throw Phibs most prized possession overboard, but then suggests they do a night dive into the same cave not even 24 hours later. Still absolutely no explanation for why she behaved this way. Personally I think her friends are terrible. Now her friend has to see it for herself ah.

I'm 152 pages into this book and maybe a few things have happened that I would consider interestingly horrorish. Other than that it's been pretty much Phibs obsession of Gabe and her googly eyes for him. Pretty boring so far. Currently she's getting attacked by a tiger shark but Gabe has stepped in to save her. How very Twilight. I know it's a YA but give us readers something more. Please! I might dnf this at 75% (page 230) if something doesn't happen.

Are beach people always in bikinis and swim trunks? They get into a fight and just strip off into their swim clothes around every corner. The characters just leave the store empty to go out to the water to have a talk.

I laughed so hard when Loni lost her fingers. It was so random and crazy.

Oh and right after that we jump into that the sheriff is Phibs dad. How random and out of this world.

Well you know you're in a YA book because now there is a love triangle between brothers Will and Gabe. How stupid. I don't need this.

Story line of the sheriff trying to kill them for the coins they found and posted on social media is ridiculous. Like no one would investigate the death of them after they posted the coins.

Final Thoughts:
The beginning of this book kind of drove me off the deep end. It kept cycling through the same things over and over;
• Phibs in love with Gabe
• Grandma's memory is disappearing
• Being poor
• Grandpa is dead

Too much going on in this book. I dnfed this because I was already barely caring then we get this weird Goonies scene of the treasure hunters finding the teens and telling them all their plans and who they were. Just too much happening in this book for you to focus on. What are we suppose to be caring about? The love triangle? Grams having Alzheimer's? Phibs being poor? The coins? Phibs finding out who her mother is? Being kidnapped and forced to show the treasure spot? Or covering up the murder of her dad the sheriff? - - TOO MUCH!

All the characters are cookie cutters of one another. All straight white rich people and the only one who isn't rich is the one that is like middle class. Don't tell me that you are soooo poor but are able to live in Key West, go surfing whenever you want, and your home life is still okay despite your grandma needing medical care (which if she loved her so much it seems like she didn't really do anything to advocate for her safety just left her alone all the time).

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Out of Air gave major underwater horror vibes with a side of teenage chaos and friendship goals (even if said friendships were unraveling thanks to supernatural sea gunk). I was hooked from the start—gold coins, viral fame, mysterious caves?? Yeah, sign me up.

The tension builds slowly, but once they come back from that cave? BABE. Everything goes off the rails. Oozing wounds, whispers, and body horror that made me squirm a little. The writing did a great job of making me feel trapped, like I was underwater with them—and not in a peaceful scuba way, more like “why is my chest tight” way.

Also: love the twist that maybe Phibs is the real monster?? Girl, be serious.

It did drag a tiny bit in the middle, and some of the side characters blended together, but overall I had a blast. Creepy, fast-paced, and just weird enough to stick with me. Would not go cave diving again, thanks.

I really enjoyed this unique book. It did have an "Outer Banks" show feel to it blended with a little horror that felt kind of mythological. It's a little difficult to explain but it worked well and kept me entertained.

The story centers around five friends who have bonded over diving. Four of them are quite wealthy while the fifth one, who is new to the group, is from the "other side of the tracks" and has no money. Yet, it doesn't matter because they feel like family to one another. When their hobby places them in harm's way, they stay together and hold firmly in their trust in one another.

When they travel to a remote island for a vacation, they don't believe the local myths are true until they experience it first hand. Then, they have to figure out how to try to undo the damage. But can they? And on top of trying to remedy a life-changing "curse," they also have to battle treasure hunters. It's an action packed book with a creative and well-written storyline.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration was very good and kept me engaged. I enjoyed being able to go back and forth between the ebook and audiobook. This book lent itself well to the audiobook format. 4 1/2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

Out of Air has everything I could possibly want in a YA novel: suspense, body horror, and adventure. The narrator was phenomenal in ramping up the suspense at the most intense points of the story. Excellent all around!

Just finished Out of Air by Rachel Reiss — 4/5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The deeper we went, the less I could tell what was real—and what was just fear.”
^This line perfectly captures the whole vibe of the book.

This book had me stressed. A school dive trip gone wrong turns into a full-on survival thriller. The underwater setting was so creepy and unique — I felt like I was there, gasping for air right along with the characters. I have had my divers license and can confirm the eery claustrophobic feeling you get.

I saw a couple twists coming, but it still kept me engaged. Dark, intense, and surprisingly emotional. If you love YA thrillers with a fresh setting and high stakes, this one’s a solid pick.

Thank you @netgalley for the audio!

Wow – this was a lot! And not in a good way. I get trying to build tension but this was all-out, constantly high tension, even when it didn’t need to be. If you keep the book at that tension level the whole time, it’s not really tension; it’s just bad writing (and the narration suffers as a result). When everything is an emergency, nothing is an emergency. The main character, Phibs, is whiny and annoying, and when the narration didn’t work for me, I tried to read this, with the same results. This had so much promise but just wasn’t for me.

Fans of outer banks will enjoy out of air. I wasn’t sure what to expect when i started the story, but it definitely turned into an adventure fast.

Told from two different times in the characters’ lives, out of air is about adventure, friendship, and the unknown of the ocean. Phibs is a well designed character. She’s realistic and won’t give up on those she cares about. She isn’t the kind of character that breaks down when things get hard. The heroine of the story you want.

Hands down a great young adult novel for those who like a little horror and mystery with their adventure and want a story focused on the ocean and what could be in it. I recommend those to those 14 and up.

Audio Review

The audiobook is really good. The narrator really pulls you in and portrays the panic in the characters really well. If I had to choose between the audio and written version, I’d recommend the audio. It really immerses the listener and pulls you in better.

In the book Out of Air, author Rachel Reiss writes about Phoebe “Phibs” Ray who loves being underwater. When Phibs and her friends were on a dive they discovered some gold coins and their find rocketed them to social media fame. Now they are diving and filming and interacting with their audience. But summer is almost over and its time to go their separate ways to college life. So they decide to have one last diving adventure together. After finding an incredible cave that has a mysterious legend, strange things begin to happen. What is going on? And who can they trust. And will they survive. This was an interesting concept that kept my interest. I would recommend this book. The audio-book narration was good. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of a deep sea story. There's something so creepy about the unknown under the surface of the ocean, so I was really excited to get my hands on Out of Air.

The storyline was really interesting, and I liked the idea of this group of teens finding a hidden underwater cavern. There were some good creepy scenes with some body horror and the mystery around what was happening to the teens was interesting.

The chapters alternated between present and past to explain some of the history of this group of friends. I did kind of think that everything in the plot moved a little too fast and would have liked a little more build up to the current events. There was a lot going on and a lot of subplots that didn't get fleshed out too well, with the book being only about 300 pages. There were also a few plot points that were a little too convenient to truly believe.

Overall, this was a decent YA book that did feel really YA. Id recommend it for a younger crowd--teenage Sunny probably would have loved it.

Stars: 3.5/5

🎧 Book Review 🎧 I recently read an article about a Korean women whose bodies have adapted to frigid waters surrounding their island. While I am terrified of what lies beneath the surface of the sea, I was fascinated by this concept. Our bodies can do amazing things and Rachel Reiss takes readers on a remarkably thrilling journey into the ocean. When Phoebe is abandoned by her mother in the Florida Keys, not only is she taken in by her grandmother, she finds solidarity in her diving crew. Forming a solid bond above and below the surface as they finish their high school careers, their lives are forever changed when they discover gold coins while on a routine dive. On their final hurrah before their life after high school begins, they again discover something hidden away - this time an almost magical cave in Australia. But long time rumors of a curse seem to be true as their bodies and minds seem to be taken over by an unseen force. Can their bodies adapt as they race against time to save themselves? Rachel Reiss pens a fast-paced, suspenseful book, wonderfully translated into an audiobook by Gail Shalan that is pretty impossible to press pause on! Out of Air is a perfect kickoff to summer treat, with the right amount of claustrophobic unease that will keep me breathing above the water line this summer.