Review: The Cove by Claire Rose

June 14, 2026 ~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

The Cove by Claire Rose
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

The Cove is a YA Horror-Thriller that follows 17-year old, Lindsay Weinburg. Lindsay’s parents, though able to provide for her everything she needs, are pretty absent from her life. Because of that, Lindsay acts out quite a bit.

After she gets kicked out from yet another expensive prep school, her parents are fed up. Without consulting Lindsay at all, they ship her off to remote Marbury, Maine, to stay with her estranged Uncle Levi.

When she arrives at her Uncle’s farmhouse though, he’s gone, leaving the farm in the control of his evangelical wife, Irene, who Lindsay has never met.

Another fun fact Lindsay learns upon arrival is that Irene runs a reform camp for troubled teens at the farm, and there’s four other teens currently in residence. They must follow very strict rules, and perform laborious tasks during the day. It’s exhausting, isolating, and definitely not the lifestyle Lindsay is used to.

When Lindsay meets Phin and Cass, twins who live on a nearby island, she’s intrigued by them right away. After she convinces the other teens at the farm to sneak out for a party, everything changes. They wake in their beds the next day, clutching sea shells and with zero recollection of how they got back home.

One of the camp members is missing and Lindsay and the other teens realize something is very wrong. They need to figure out what happened at The Cove, before anyone else falls victim to its mysterious pull.

This was fine for me. I wasn’t really that intrigued by what was happening, unfortunately, so my attention waxed and waned. I found Lindsay’s perspective super grating, so we got off on a wrong foot almost immediately.

The way her narrative voice was written just didn’t work for me that well. Instead of feeling like I was with her as she was relaying the events of everything happening to her, I felt more like I was just getting a laundry list of her judgements of everywhere and everyone around her.

I feel like the author did succeed in setting up a mysterious culty-vibe with the setting. It felt a little disjointed though, in the later half, as everything was coming to a head.

The writing style and pace weren’t as fluid as I tend to enjoy, and some of the more supernatural elements felt under-baked, IMO. I do think for Younger Readers looking to be exposed more to Horror Thrillers, this could work very well. More experienced Readers of the genre, whether YA or not, may feel like they’ve seen this done better elsewhere.

I will say that I did enjoy the audiobook narration by Jesse Vilinsky. Vilinsky’s delivery was believable as Lindsay and it did keep me relatively dialed in. I would recommend that format if you’re going to pick this one up.

At the end of the day, my thoughts on this one just boil down to personal taste. I know there’s a good story in here, the execution just didn’t work for me personally.

Like I always say, however, just because this didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If the content sounds interesting to you, give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. Though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more from this author.

She’s definitely someone I will keep my eye on in the future!

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Review: The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs

March 26, 2026 ~ megs14malloy

The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Night That Finds Us All is a Nautical Horror novel from John Hornor Jacobs. This story follows the journey of a century-old sailboat, The Blackwatch, as she makes her way from the shores of Washington state, all the way to England. This historic ship can’t sail herself though.

Thus, a hodgepodge crew is assembled to deliver her to her new owner. Our MC is Sam, and she gets invited on the project by a past crewmate, Loick, who believes Sam could be the only person capable of dealing with The Blackwatch’s complicated and moody engine.

Sam’s not thrilled by the idea. The head of the crew is someone she’s had issues with before, but she does care for Loick. It could be good working with him again.

The biggest motivator for her though is the money. Sam’s almost at rock bottom. Her drinking is out of control and she’s struggling to stay afloat on many fronts. Ultimately, she agrees to the job and the journey begins.

Sam’s committed to sobriety for the journey, and the withdrawels begin playing with her mind. At least, she believes it’s the withdrawels. The things she’s hearing, seeing, feeling on this ship, they can’t be real. Can they?

When one crewmate disappears and another is struck by a terrible, horrific accident, Sam’s confusion and fear grows. The Blackwatch is starting to feel a lot less like some rich man’s pet project, and a lot more like something sinister lying in wait to take them all out.

Interesting, interesting. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, and I’ve been thinking on it for a while, trying to come up with the best way to explain my experience with it. The longer time goes by though, the more at a loss I find myself. Sadly, it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It was here one moment, gone the next, in my brain.

There were aspects I enjoyed, but there were also a few things that I thought were a little odd and out of place. Sam, as an MC, is not super likable, but that’s fine. That never really bothers me. I don’t need to like book characters.

I found the atmosphere aboard the ship to be my favorite part of the story. There was an overriding sense of dread that kept me moving forward quickly. Unfortunately, in many areas, it got a bit more fever dream than I tend to enjoy, and I had a difficult time sort of imagining exactly what was going down when the action scenes were taking place.

I did, however, enjoy how JHJ leaned into the historical nature of the ship, and even introduced some occult elements that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I liked the tone and the ideas behind all that was happening, I just feel like for me, it lack a bit in execution.

This is the first that I have read from this author, though, and I would definitely be interested in picking up more. I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy Nautical Horror. It’s worth checking out. Just because it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a fun time. I wish I could have imagined the action a bit more, but still a solid read.

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Review: What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally

January 21, 2026 ~ megs14malloy

What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

What We Did to Survive is a YA Survival Thriller from well-loved author, Megan Lally. I’ve read both Lally’s previous works and was excited to get to this 3rd-book from her.

This story follows best friends, Hannah and Emmy, who while on vacation in Mexico take an ill-fated sailing charter, along with Emmy’s brother, Jackson, and her current love interest, Ben, a boy she met at the beach.

The charter is towards the end of their week-long vacation, and the girls only convince Emmy’s parents to let them go sailing with Ben, if her older brother, Jackson, also goes along. He’s not really jazzed about it.

Emmy and Jackson have their own history, so all-in-all it’s an uncomfortable traveling bunch to begin with. As they approach the docks it’s clear inclement weather is coming in. They’re even warned off by a captain of another boat, but Emmy and Ben insist they’re going, and all will be okay.

Against their better judgement, both Hannah and Jackson also agree to go along. We follow their journey from that moment until the very bitter end, and what a journey it is.

This was good. It’s very fast-paced and definitely kept me motivated to keep reading. The concept was fun, but I have to be honest, the character interactions were so grating and annoying for me. I would have tossed them all in the ocean if I’d been on this boat.

I had a hard time even believing that Hannah and Emmy would be friends, let alone best friends. They’re total opposites, with the only thing holding them together seeming to be their shared history.

Additionally, the whole plot is based on a series of dumb choices, which isn’t really bad in and of itself, I just had a hard time connecting with it, or understanding the characters motivations.

That would also be fine in a Survival Thriller if the Survival elements were front and center and kept me engaged. Here I felt the survival part played second fiddle to all of the absolutely OTT-interpersonal drama.

I found all the fighting and yelling so grating. It was like 96% of the character interactions. Also, there was too much ‘let’s air all our grievances’, instead of ‘let’s come up with a plan’ happening for my tastes.

I know this sounds a little doom and gloom, and I don’t mean it to be. This still kept me entertained and I did read it quickly, I just don’t feel like I had as much fun with it as I have with Lally’s previous books.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend it. The action is intense and there is a lot of action. I think if you’re just looking for a Popcorn Thriller, if you want to be glued to the pages, if you love stories set at sea; any of things, you absolutely need to check this one out.

As for me, though it’s not my favorite from Megan Lally, I’m still glad I read it and I look forward to whatever she writes next. I do love how varied her plots and scenarios have been. She has a lot of creativity and it’s anyone’s guess what she’s going to focus on next.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I enjoyed my time with this one.

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Review: I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert

January 15, 2026 ~ megs14malloy

I Did Warn Her by Sian Gilbert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I Did Warn Her is an Adult Thriller novel set at sea aboard the super-yacht, Opehlia. We follow a cast of characters working as crew members, or paid guests, of the Ophelia during a charter voyage across the Atlantic.

The week-long journey should be a piece of cake, but it turns out to be anything but with bodies dropping and valuable belongings going missing. Suspicions and paranoia flares. Before you know it, no one trusts anyone else. It’s a mess.

The concept of this is very Below Deck meets Locked Room Murder Mystery and I was on board for that. Unfortunately, even though the concept was strong, the execution was lacking, in my humble opinion.

Initially, I was intrigued. The group of stewardesses who work on the Ophelia are all described as carbon copies of each other. Why would the owner want such a specific type?

I thought that was a little weird, and if I had been aboard it probably would have icked me out. Unfortunately, I felt like not only were they described as carbon copies of one another, but they also felt it. I had a very hard time distinguishing between them.

We are told the story via quite a few different perspectives. Honestly, I read the whole thing and I cannot with confidence tell you how many perspectives there were, which in my mind, is sort of a problem.

I enjoyed the setting and dramatic feel, but the indecipherable perspectives sort of ruined it for me. I wish it would have been told from the perspective of one stewardess and one escort. I think it still could have been exciting and intriguing with that aspect reined in a bit.

With these issues in mind, it ended up being a big ole’ miss for me. It’s one of those cases of ‘great concept, poor execution’. Saying poor execution seems harsh, and it is a bit, I just felt like it was too messy, with too many similar characters to properly keep track of.

I enjoyed Sian Gilbert’s previous novel, She Started It, and was expecting more of the same here. At the end of the day though, I just walk away disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Even though this one didn’t work for me personally, I would definitely be willing to check out more from this author.

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Review: Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

September 20, 2025 ~ megs14malloy

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Swept Away is the 2nd-novel that I’ve tried from beloved Contemporary author, Beth O’Leary. The 1st was The No-Show, which was a bit of a miss for me.

I sort of wrote O’Leary off after that. It just wasn’t really a great time for me. However, after seeing the cover of this, call me shallow, but I had to read it. And you know what, I’m really glad that I did.

In this story we’re following Lexi and Zeke, who after a one-night stand on a houseboat, end up lost at sea together. For a sea-loving girl like myself, this sounded like a sensational set-up, and that proved to be true.

As they discover what’s happened and the reality of the situation sets in, they have a lot of adjustments to make, and a lot of ‘getting to know each other’ to do. With provisions low, it quickly turns into a game of survival.

I did end up really enjoying this one. While it did take a while for me to feel truly invested, around 50%, I ultimately did come to care about these two characters and their journeys, both as a couple and separately.

I liked that there was an age gap, with her being the older of the two. I also liked getting both of their perspectives so we could see how they were both feeling about their circumstances, and interactions. They definitely had their ups-and-downs.

I would say, it was never really gripping for me though. The plot just sort of meandered along, taking it’s time to actually get anywhere and when it did, minus one situation, the stakes never felt high, or pressing.

With this being said though, I do feel like for me, the character work made up for that. I did like how well-fleshed out both Zeke and Lexi were, and that they both had family issues that they were trying to work through.

I also enjoyed their banter, and I feel like because of their dire circumstances on the boat, it was realistic for them to fall for each other as quickly as they did. Bonus points for rescuing an injured seagull that they named Eugene.

At the end of the day, this was an enjoyable read with a satisfying conclusion. I am certainly glad I picked it up, and would recommend it to other Adult Contemporary Readers.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would be interested in checking out more of O’Leary’s work now.

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Review: Out of Air by Rachel Reiss

July 23, 2025 ~ megs14malloy

Out of Air by Rachel Reiss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Out of Air is a YA Thriller novel that follows a group of scuba diving teens, who get in too deep after discovering a legendary cave, and the power that dwells there.

This sounds creepy, right?

And that’s exactly why I picked it up. I love the idea of following a group of teen divers, and honestly, caves kind of scare me, particularly those you access via water.

I think there so much that can be hidden there, or go wrong, so the possibilities are endless!

This story is full of teen drama, and mainly follows Phibs Ray, and her five friends, who 6-months ago discovered a handful of ancient coins while on a dive. This find boosted them into some social media stardom.

In the current timeline, they have just graduated high school and are taking one last scuba trip together to an island off the coast of Australia. It’s there that they discover the cave, which seems to cause strange changes in some of the young explorers after surfacing.

From there we have some interactions with other treasure hunters, as well as spooky physical and mental ailments going on with the teens.

Overall, this was a good story. Reiss brought some interesting concepts to the page, and I loved that we were following teen divers. With this being said though, I did find the construction a little messy and I’m not sure how memorable it’s going to be long-term.

Even a few hours after finishing it, I had already forgotten all the character’s names except for Phibs, which to me just sort of shows that it lacked that special something to make it lurk around in my brain.

Also, the Horror aspects of the plot were slow to get going, and there wasn’t a ton of distinction between Past/Present in the audio version, which made it slightly confusing.

It would say it at the top of the chapter, but it all felt very one note, so was easy to get lost in time.

These are small quips though, overall, it’s entertaining, and I think it would be a great Summer Read for Teens interested in diving and ocean exploration.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely pick up future work from this author. I’m intrigued!

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Review: Seasick by Kristin Cast & Pintip Dunn

September 2, 2024 ~ megs14malloy

Seasick by Kristin Cast
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I’ll be honest, I think the trick with Seasick is going into it with the right mindset.

If you are expecting deep prose and super compelling character interactions, you may want to look elsewhere.

If however, you’re like me, and you’re just here for a good time, this could be a lot of fun for you.

To me, one of the things I appreciated about Seasick was that it didn’t seem to take itself too seriously. This is like B-Horror, which I am a huge fan of. It feels campy, and in spite of the mega-yacht setting, it feels low budget.

The plot and characters were outrageous, nevertheless, it was a wicked good time. I loved seeing that body count pile up, as I tried to figure out who was behind it.

This story follows a group of recent high school graduates, who after being inducted into a prestigious society in their small Oklahoma town, set out on a celebratory yacht trip to Bermuda. For some, a trip of a lifetime.

As the Reader, you’re clued in from the start that it’s going to end up being a total bloodbath, but it was fun watching that whole drama play out.

Estranged best friends, Yana and Naya, team up to figure out who the killer aboard is, before they fall victim themselves.

I mean, that’s it. It’s pretty simple, but it was a blast, NGL. This is like a made-for-tv movie with a ton of hot actors trying to survive a Slasher. It def gives those vibes.

The yacht setting was fun, because it feels claustrophobic. There’s literally no means of escape. These kids are trapped, and one way or another, they need to fight in order to survive, whether they like it or not.

I did enjoy a lot of the teen drama, but that’s sort of what I’m into. So, boys and girls behaving badly is like candy for me. I was eating it up.

Will this go down in history as one of my favorite YA Horror/Thrillers ever? No. However, can I walk away happy I read it and feeling like I had a really great time? Absolutely!

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Campy Teen Screams and books set on boats. This is filled with catty drama and ridiculously fun kills. There’s a whole bunch of Readers for this out there, and you know who you are!

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a wild voyage!

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Review: The Last One by Will Dean

August 15, 2023 ~ megs14malloy

The Last One by Will Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Last One, the latest release from Will Dean, is the epitome of a book you want to go into blind. Trust me on this, the less you know about the story, the better.

I first heard of this book via my friend, Holly’s, review. Within her first two paragraphs, I learned this was set on a cruise ship and frankly, that was all I needed. I was sold.

Cruise Ship + Thriller = Something I’m Gonna Read.

I requested this one from the publisher and was so excited when they approved me for a copy. I started it pretty quickly after that, because it seemed like a perfect Summer Thriller.

Spoiler alert: I was right.

I was immediately intrigued and by the 8%-mark, my jaw was on the floor. What the heck had I gotten myself into?

Dean wastes no time getting the ball rolling. It went in a direction that I never in a million years would have expected. It was giving me eerie, Twilight Zone vibes and I was over the moon about it.

I read this so quickly. I couldn’t put it down once the suspense sets in. I had to know what was at the heart of this story and even after I found out, it didn’t answer everything. In fact, it got even more perplexing.

I just had a complete blast reading it. Fun, fast-paced, original and entertaining as heck. I also liked how, without giving too much away, it shined a light a bit on modern life; the way we function day-to-day as humans.

Finally, that ending. Oh my word! That was great. I love a story that can leave me with a little sinister smile on my face at the end and this one absolutely did.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an out of the box Thriller, especially if you think a Cruise Ship setting sounds enticing.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This one was ever more fun than I expected.

I’m looking forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm (SEA #2) by Julie Kagawa

April 26, 2023 ~ megs14malloy

Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm is the second book in Disney’s Middle Grade Adventure series, Society of Explorers and Adventurers. I read the first book, Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl, just before its release last year, at the start of 2022. I absolutely adored it.

Unsurprisingly, Kagawa was able to capture my attention right away, as well as my heart, with her fun characters and pulse-pounding action. The vivid imagery can’t be beat.

As a side note, if you are unaware, Disney’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers, known as S.E.A., is a fictional organization sprinkled about various attractions at Disney Theme Parks. Google it!

The organization is said to be comprised of scientists, travelers and researchers, who traverse the globe continuing to explore the world’s oceans and exotic lands.

In this novel, Shinji is officially a member of S.E.A., along with his friend, Lucy Hightower and her mechanical mouse, Tinker. They are residing at S.E.A. headquarters, where Shinji is working to understand his new powers and struggling a bit to grow into them.

Before he is able to do that though, S.E.A. has another potential adventure on their hands and Shinji and Lucy are included as part of the team. Let’s go!

A sunken ship, thought to belong to the long-extinct Natia people, has been discovered in the South Pacific. It’s a race against the clock as the members of S.E.A. try to get there before their rival, the evil Hightower Corporation, can find it and plunder the artifacts.

Even though the kids are traveling along with veteran S.E.A. members, like Oliver Ocean and Phoebe Mystic, nothing goes as planned. It’s obstacle after obstacle as the team struggles to reach their final oceanic destination.

After Shinji accidentally awakens another guardian, a giant mythological storm boar, wild weather released by this boar threatens to ravage the coast of California.

Shinji needs to learn to control his powers and figure out how to appease the storm boar before its too late, but the odds seem to be stacked against him. Stress!!!

Kagawa knows how to deliver an entertaining sequel. Almost everything that could happen on this adventure does. There’s an erupting volcano, a nearly sinking ship, breaking into Hightower Headquarters, fighting off robot guards and flying into a storm, to name a few.

The humor Kagawa brings to the story too makes it charming and fun. I love these characters and it was interesting learning more about them, as well as more about the organization. We also meet some new characters and learn more about Hightower.

I thought the conclusion to this was heart-warming and it left off in a great spot to continue on with the series. I am really hoping for a third book.

I definitely recommend this series to Readers who enjoy an engaging Middle Grade Adventure. You cannot go wrong with Kagawa’s writing. Top shelf, beginning to end.

Additionally, the audiobook is fabulously narrated, so I do recommend that as a format. It was how I read it and I felt like I was there with these characters. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time!

Thank you to the publisher, Disney Hyperion and Disney Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was a ton of fun.

I love Shinji so much. He has all the qualities one would want in a hero. It fills my heart!

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Review: Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz

August 7, 2022 ~ megs14malloy

Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

17-year old, Sia, has been scuba diving her whole life with her parent’s charter business.

She’s used to diving with the tourists, exploring reefs and shipwrecks. There is always something new to interact with in the quiet depths.

It’s quite a serious position for her to be in as well. There’s a lot to be responsible for. Not all the tourists have a lot of experience and getting people to follow even simple instructions can be a challenge.

With Sia’s father currently incarcerated, it’s up to Sia and her mother to keep the family business afloat. On one particular dive, Sia is exploring a sunken craft with some customers when disaster strikes.

Attacked by a mysterious monster of the deep, a customer ends up dead and Sia blames herself.

Making matters worse, they need to call for help when their boat is incapacitated. Another vessel, full of students on a science expedition, comes to their rescue. Sia, her mother and the surviving tourists board that ship.

It’s now that the real fun begins. Again it seems something is after them. The boat sinks and Sia finds herself washed up on a deserted island.

Eventually teaming up with a handful of other survivors, Sia and the others must figure out the secrets of the island and a way to make it off alive. This is no normal place.

Fractured Tide is a unique YA Horror story with an enticing set-up. I was surprised when I discovered that this is told in epistolary format, which is a narrative style I enjoy.

In this case, it is told through journal entries that Sia is writing for her father. It’s a full accounting of all the events happening on the ill-fated trip, including her thoughts and feelings on what is taking place.

I felt like this was a great way to tell this story. You’re literally learning everything as Sia is relaying it and you really only know what she knows, or interprets about the events going on around her.

In the synopsis, this book is compared to Lost and I would 100% agree with that. Especially considering towards the end, I had no clue what was happening; still don’t.

Honestly, I would have preferred more answers. I was a little confused for almost the entire second half and don’t really understand the end much at all. I mean I have theories, but it’s really a shot in the dark.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this story overall. I found it to be refreshing. I love Horror stories set at sea, so this one was fun in that regard.

I would definitely be interested in picking up more books by Leslie Lutz in the future. I hope she stays in this YA Horror lane, as she is clearly very talented at writing claustrophobic, uncomfortable narratives.

Yessss, that is absolutely a compliment!!!

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