“It should have been the trip of a lifetime.

When Liv lands an all-expenses-paid opportunity to study aboard the luxury cruise ship the Eos for a semester, she can’t believe her luck. Especially since it will offer her the chance to spend time with Will, her ex-best friend, who’s barely spoken to her since the night their relationship changed forever.

But as soon as she steps on board, Liv realizes just how out of her depth she is. With Will, with the rest of the Seamester students – including the brittle and beautiful Constantine, who may be hiding his own ties to the Eos – and most of all, with the Sirens, three glamorous and mysterious influencers who seem to have the run of the ship.

Liv quickly discovers that the only reason she was invited to join the trip is because another girl disappeared shortly after enrolling-and no one seems to know what happened to her. When further disappearances rock the ship and strange creatures begin haunting Liv’s dreams, she wonders: Is the Eos hiding a dark secret within its shadowy decks?

The truth will come at a price . . . only, how much is Liv willing to pay?”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to join the Those We Drown blog tour with a review. Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith was published by Ink Road (an imprint of Black & White Publishing) on 15th February 2024 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free ARC of Those We Drown but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Hannah at Ink Road for sending me a finished copy.

Liv Larkin can’t believe her luck when she’s selected as a full scholarship student on the SeaMester programme. Six whole weeks aboard a luxury cruise liner with five other gifted students! Not only that, her best friend Will has also been selected to attend. As academic enrichment trips go, Liv can’t help but feel she’s struck gold. It’s an opportunity to mend their friendship following a night where everything changed for them. But during the first night, when everyone is getting to know each other, Liv and Will’s tattered friendship takes a further knock. The following morning, Liv is told that Will has fallen ill and is being looked after by the ship’s medical team in quarantine. As the days march on and Liv is blocked multiple times from seeing her friend, the feeling that something isn’t quite right about the Eos grows. Suffering from frightening hallucinations, seeing things others on the ship don’t and unable to quash the feeling that they’re all in terrible danger, Liv desperately searches for the truth. A truth that could be the death of her…..

I loved Those We Drown. I loved the concept of the story (which reminded me a little of a great short story from one of my favourite authors). I loved the mythology aspect of the plot, which I know is a big thing in literature at the moment but it’s not something I come across regularly in the books I read. I loved the setting – a vast, luxurious ocean liner cutting through the waves of the Atlantic – and I loved the sense of threat hanging over Liv’s head from the outset. It’s difficult to not like Liv. She comes across as a little naïve at times but she’s a teenager (this is a YA Horror novel btw) so her naivety felt genuine. I thought as our main protagonist she was well-rounded and believable. Liv is not the only teen on the liner though, although she is very different to her contemporaries who are monied and entitled. And oh boy, does Liv feel the odd one out! Particularly when a group of three influencers collectively known as ‘The Sirens’ make an appearance, there to promote the Eos and everything it offers. They’re beautiful, they’re privileged and they make Liv feel horribly small and insignificant. Liv really is the odd one out, surrounded by wealth and status, so struggles to understand how she ended up on the ship, with all costs covered. It just doesn’t seem to….fit with the ethos of the Eos!

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. I thoroughly enjoyed Those We Drown. Liv desperately tries to convince the few people she believes she can trust about the terrible situation they’re in and repeatedly fails. She’s gaslit no matter which direction she turns. And all the while, she sees things that she can hardly bring herself to believe. Who can Liv trust? What is happening on the Eos, where have the missing passengers gone, why won’t the staff allow her to see Will in quarantine, and why won’t anyone believe a single word she says? Liv is fighting a losing battle as the only voice of reason on the liner. The tension builds throughout the story engaging the reader in Liv’s plight. I really felt for her. I wanted her to succeed, I wanted her to escape and I felt invested in the character. She was the only one though whom I felt any warmth towards. The other characters are pretty unlikable – including possible love interest Constantine – but I think that was what the author wanted to achieve. I’m still unsure if I like Constantine or not. Probably more ‘not’. I was able to guess one small twist in the tale but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment one jot. All in all, a superb debut novel from an author to watch. Full of intrigue, irresistible tension and a wonderful overarching sense of horrible, impending, monster-laden doom. Also, I adore the cover, it’s STUNNING. I think it’s my favourite 2024 cover so far. I absolutely loved this book! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of Those We Drown. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith was published in the UK by Ink Road on 15th February 2024 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Amy grew up on the south coast of England, obsessed with obscure 70s horror movies and antiquarian ghost stories. THOSE WE DROWN is her debut novel. She studied Psychology at the University of Sussex and, after gaining her Postgraduate Certificate in Education, moved to inner London to teach. Now, she lives back on the south coast where she still teaches English and spends her weekends trawling antiques shops for haunted mirrors.