I struggled a lot with this book, which is a shame because I'm obsessed with apocalyptic-esque stories and this one pulled me in with the comparisons to The Mist and The Last of Us. This genre does have some set expectations going in which I found the plot to hit a little too on the nose, which made me a little suspicious. While I liked the characters in the diner, they all were perfect archetypes of emotions or certain ideations, again sending up some red flags. As the story progressed, I began to wonder what plot twist would show up at the end, slowly eliminating them until we got to the end. And then I got there. Looking back on it, I can understand why I was frustrated with certain characters and their choices, dialogue, etc, so I will say that Godfrey did a good job with setting things up so that an observant reader will catch on. But I find that these types of endings are rarely ever executed in a way that makes the entire book not feel like a waste of a really solid plot.

This book had one hell of a plot twist! I fully enjoyed the writing and all of the characters. This author did a great job at world building and immersing the reader

3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars ⭐️

Whoa, now THIS is how you write a plot twist.
The clues were there from the very first page, yet I still didn’t see it coming.

What I really loved about this book was how atmospheric it was. The world building was incredible, it was so vivid that a movie started playing in my head✨ I also loved how the author crafted the characters, they were all so unique. You could tell them apart by their antics and the different ways they’d react to situations… which made the plot twist hit me even harder bcs I was actually invested in each of them and their individual journeys 😌😩

I really wish we got to explore more (or maybe get a full side story book that focuses on this world) about the water entity, it actually makes sense in the context of the story, especially with global warming and the idea that “dead” or dormant organisms are now waking up. It has so much potential! 🌊

OK, either my mystery and thriller radar went on vacation, or I was just so immersed in this story that I did not notice some clues.
Glen has been grieving for a long time. A recent event makes him realize that his daughter Lauren is growing up…… fast. Faster than he likes and he decides they need to get away from home to try and reconnect. But one decision to stop for something to eat on their road trip changes everything. Two armed men enter the diner they are in and tell everyone that something in the water is very very wrong. The men stop everyone from leaving, and within a short amount of time, Glen realizes that they are right.
This story went in a direction that I did not see coming. At first, I did not really like it. Then I thought about the story and the clues that I missed and realized, it made perfect sense. I went back and reread quite a bit questioning how I could have been so mistaken about what was happening. I struggled to call this horror, then I thought, well now,I suppose actually it is. Grief horror. 4.5 stars.
When more people have read this, I want to discuss on Bookstagram.🌊

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.