I read the first sentence as Ollie's mom saying that Ollie was going to end up with small rips ("tears") on her teeth and as neither the weeping sort of tears nor the ripping sort of tears made any sense to me, as something to say, I was fairly certain this book was not for me from the first sentence on, and my feeling was confirmed by the time I got to the sentence where eyes "twinkled".

Great cover, not my kind of book, I rate this sample 4 stars because I'm clearly not the target audience and rating it lower seems inappropriately mean.

This was a fantastic excerpt to really draw the reader in!

I particularly loved how fleshed out and familiar the characters felt in just a short amount of time. Everyone felt like you either knew them or someone just like them.

The concept of dual timelines or narrators is one that can easily become confusing, but in my time with this story- things flowed smoothly and increased the sense of unknown in the best way.

I enjoyed this sampler but I can’t give a review for such a short piece of the novel. I will definitely pick it up when it’s published.

Such a quick sampler so I can’t leave any review on Goodreads but can’t wait for the full book!10/10. Ryan can do no wrong.

The Dead of Summer – Excerpt Sample, by Ryan La Sala, is one heck of a teaser. What is not to like? Creepy island setting, fast approaching storm, potential mysterious cute guy, and a strange scientific experiment. Looks like this book will have more than one perspective and some time jumps. This short sample really sets up what is sure to be an amazing, spooky tale. Ryan La Sala is an amazing storyteller that can shock a reader with his horror, keep one guessing as the plot twists, and make a heart ache with utterly relatable characters. I’m looking forward to reading this book in its entirety.

This was such a fun little excerpt! I loved the feeling of dread as Ollie and his mom, Gracie, pull up to the island. It had such a creepy atmosphere and I was so sad when the chapters ended. I can’t wait to read the book now!

Was amazing! I loved Ollie and would love to dive more into his world and his way of thinking. There are secrets and there’s a mysteries atmosphere. This cover is stunning and the writing is very unique and engaging. I cannot wait to read the entire book. I honestly think I could devour this!
I’m also a Sucker for a creepy Island!

This excerpt left me wanting more! i am every excited for the book to come in a few months! This will be a hit this year and everyone will be talking about it

"The island is a corpse. This ship is its tombstone."

The layers and levels to this opening are off the charts. Ollie is a gentle narrator, trapped in a role of caretaker to his mother who is not the same after her illness. We have a lot of moving parts, including mysterious journal entries from an unknown narrator which I personally go feral for in a book.

I cannot wait for the novel's release! I will be jumping aboard Anchor's Mercy as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

I need to read the rest of this as soon as possible!!! lol this was such a tease. This was so creative and beautifully written

Even though this was a sampler, I was instantly hooked from the very first sentence and cannot wait to read the rest upon release

A really good opening chapter! The first chapter follows Ollie and his mom on a boat back to their home on the island Anchor's Mercy. I warmed up to Ollie and his mom easily and even Sam, the boy Ollie meets on the boat, though he didn't have much time on the page.

I am so intrigued. I absolutely love plots like this and it sounds like it's going to be some kind of maritime horror. The journal entry at the end really has me interested. I can't wait to find out what went down and I'll definitely will be getting a copy of the book when it comes out!

What do you mean, don't move don't blink don't breathe?

Solid opening chapters!! This is starting off to be another fantastic YA queer horror by none other than Ryan La Sala!

I’m certain, La Sala is working his way to carving out a particular niche in horror that so many people will love.

Opening chapters give an eeriness and mystery to several things, and the intrigue is real! I need to know more about the island, Anchor’s Mercy, the sickness’s (Gracie’s including), what happened between Ollie and his friends before he left, who is writing in this journal (I love the mixed media there), why is the ship on the horizon, what happens with the storm that’s going to hit ….

I’m expecting an atmospheric read that’s going to keep me on edge with narrative whiplash, body horror draped in encrusted coral sequins, and a creeping sense that love and rot may spring from the same soil (or sunken ship).

And if La Sala is true to form, it will all end with a disquieting question rather than a tidy bow, leaving me deliciously unsettled and desperate to dive back in like The Honeys did. I absolutely cannot wait to read this one!

great opening chapters! I love La Sala’s writing, even though they’re YA books (not my typical genre) his writing skews older enough for my taste. I’m really intrigued so far and will definitely check out the full book!

I will read anything that ryan la sala writes. the honeys was incredible and the premise of his new novel has intrigued me in even more. just when I thought this first chapter was a bit tame, he introduced another strange phenomenon to be explored. I want to read this at the beach when it comes out in september, but I'm afraid it may make me afraid of the beach, can't wait!

I can't believe I have to wait until September to read the rest of this! The sampler starts out by introducing people with mysterious secrets, and then the tension ratchets up times a thousand with the next part. This really looks exciting, scary and fun.

Intriguing and interesting. I'm already hooked! Ryan La Sala is a somewhat new to me author (I have only read The Honeys by them) but I will definitely be reading more from them in the future and I will for sure be checking this out when it's released in September. So good!

This book seems really promising! I honestly can't wait to read the rest of this one. I love the introduction to the characters, the mysterious island, ugghh, it all has me hanging on a hook!

I'm excited about anything Ryan La Sala publishes, but now I'm REALLY excited for this one!

Formatting on kindle was a little wonky. I fear there was some interesting visual play here that was lost to the strange layout. Some missing letters, page breaks in strange places, drawings and markups on blank pages that didn't align with anything. I'll definitely be checking this out when it releases, hopefully those are all just puzzle pieces that will fit together later!

Content rating - 5 stars
Formatting and readability- 3 stars

I got so excited thinking this was the whole book, but it’s just a sample. Can’t wait to read the whole thing!!! I can’t really post a review since I only got a few pages though :P