A dark YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Small Favors. In the wake of her father’s death, a teen girl discovers a side of her family she didn’t know existed, and is pulled into a dark–and ancient–bargain she is next in line to fulfill.
Kit’s father had always told her he had no family, but four months ago his sudden death revealed the truth. Now she has a grandmother she never knew she had–Agatha Starling–and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown, Rosemont.
And Rosemont . . . it’s picture perfect: the famed eternal roses bloom year-round, downtown is straight out of the 1950s . . . there’s even a cute guy to show Kit around.
The longer Kit’s there, though, the stranger it all feels. The Starling family is revered, but there’s something off about how the Starling women seem to be at the center of the all the town’s important history. And as welcoming as the locals are, Kit can’t shake the feeling that everyone seems to be hiding something from her.
Agatha is so happy to finally meet her only granddaughter, and the town is truly charming, but Kit can’t help wondering, if everything is so great in Rosemont, why did her father ever leave? And why does it seem like he never wanted her to find it?
“The ocean is dark and deep and keeps its secrets.“
Amy Goldsmith. Those We Drown (Kindle Location 4733). Kindle Edition.
Let me start off by saying the cover, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Those We Drown, however, is straight murderous. It has a chilling spine that honestly leaves you feeling slickly horrified throughout the whole story.
This book had a really interesting premise. A set of young adults are all chooses to take part of a semester at sea aboard a cruise ship. The book quickly turns frightening and jumps right into uncovering the eerie mysteries of the ship and it’s so easy to get lost in the mystery of what Liv & co. are going through.
With Liv, I found myself having trouble connecting to her and I also felt like she didn’t truly connect with any of the characters, even when she showed interest in Con. With that, I really felt for Con (one of our MMCs) during a lot of this book. At first he comes off rich and arrogant, but honestly he seems truly lost the more you get to know him. Once everything comes to light for Liv and Con, it’s honestly quite horrific and devastating and I felt like I was spiraling into the depths with them.
Also, the ending was a little abrupt and you don’t necessarily get answers to all of your questions. Although maybe that’s part of the thriller of Amy’s story. I just felt myself wanting a little more or a little more clarity. Overall though, this book is wonderfully creeptastic. If you want a book that will lure you to sea, this is it!
Special thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC of this story.
Jotted by Jena 