An ARC of this novel was sent to me by NetGalley for reviewing purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was genuinely surprised by this novel! I, for the most part, enjoyed it, but there was definitely some parts where it felt like it dragged.

First of all, I'd like to than Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ebook.

To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The first 50% of this book was so promising, but I feel like the writing and plot took a huge nosedive at some point. I couldn't even read the last fifteen. I ONLY HAD FIFTEEN PAGES LEFT AND I COULDN'T DO IT.

I found the protagonist to be exhausting and extremely weak, and I couldn't understand why she had two guys fighting over her. SHE HAD NO PERSONALITY. She spent the entire book crying, screaming or fighting with people without a single redeeming moment. Coming from someone who has suffered with hyper-vigilance and PTSD, there is no excuse for being a shitty friend and she NEVER tried to grow unless it was for a guy.

Also, I honestly felt bad for West because he was so likable and independent at the beginning and then he became this human prop for Olivia halfway through the book. WHY.

Overall, this read like fan-fiction or a CW show. If you like teen-dramas like Riverdale or angsty high school books then I say go for it, I get it. I just wouldn't recommend this for character development or accurate depictions of PTSD.

The Summer I Drowned is a YA mystery/thriller/romance that focuses on the main character, Olivia, returning the to the town where she almost died years after the event. When Olivia was a child, she was reckless and brave but since the time where she almost drowned, Olivia has practiced a much safer life. However, after moving away immediately after the accident, she is returning for a summer of fun and most importantly, healing. She is joined immediately by her childhood friends Keely and Miles. This book contains various storylines that it's almost hard to keep them all straight as the story goes. There's romance, healing, mystery, and danger. My favorite character of the whole novel was the romantic interest, West. He was written really well. However, I really only enjoyed the romantic aspect of this novel. The mystery was far too much for me to keep up with. It seemed like it was ever changing to what the motive and means were and hearing all of Olivia's wild hypotheses during the plot made it all feel really scattered and allowed for a disconnect with the rest of the plot. I loved the romance and all the healing Olivia does throughout the summer but the mystery is where I was lost.

***Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE SUMMER I DROWNED by Taylor Hale in exchange for my honest review.***

This book is a combination between mystery, thriller, and a swoon worthy romance all wrapped into one.Olivia was a likable enough. Her mental health issues were portrayed well. Her friends felt more to me like they were selfish and I just couldn't like them at all, with the exception of West,

Olivia did some reckless things and now she is back to the place where it all started, but of course things are not always as they seem.
I liked this book and for a debut novel it was good. I will definitely read more by Taylor in the future

I hate immediately backing out of a book that I just requested, but I read the author's note at the beginning. This book contains some of my personal triggers: abusive relationships and violence to animals. I knew this was going to handle a drowning and suicide, but I didn't realize there would be even more on top of that. And even with the warning, the author says "including, but not limited to", so does that mean she didn't even list all the potential triggers in her warning? Yikes. I do appreciate this warning, though. I would've hated going into this book and be blindsighted by a sudden scene of violence against animals, or something.

So I want to thank NetGalley and Wattpad books for giving me the free copy, but I can tell from the warnings that this book has way too many things that will bother me. Since the author advises to "put your own mental health first", I'm going to be mindful of my own and not read this book. I do wish the author all the best, though, and hope they find a readership who can handle these themes.

***Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE SUMMER I DROWNED by Taylor Hale in exchange for my honest review.***

1.5 STARS

Five years after Olivia almost drowned from risk taking behavior, she returns to see her old friends and face her fears only to encounter a series of crimes in her old home town.

The blurb is the best part of THE SUMMER I DROWNED. I had heard about Taylor Hale’s debut novel before finding it available on NetGalley and was excited to be approved for the ARC.

Olivia was a likable enough protagonist, although I didn’t feel invested in her story. Her mental health issues were portrayed well, except for the manifestation of hallucinations, which was more Hollywood than reality. I couldn’t see what she saw in any of her selfish friends, with the exception of West, who I hope wouldn’t turn out to be the bad guy.

The writing was the weakest part of THE SUMMER I DROWNED. Hale’s overuse of adjectives made the prose feel overwritten and clunky. The dialogue didn’t feel like people talking to each other. I didn’t feel much tension in the writing and because I didn’t care about most of the characters, I couldn’t get invested into the story.

Back to the mental health portrayal. Hallucinations result from the brain’s misinterpretation of signals, chemicals or transmitters. They are created in the brain by the brain and often loosely connected to real sensory experiences or people. A patient who’s never seen an antelope or a picture of one can’t hallucinate one, because he doesn’t that knowledge in his brain to create the image. He won’t hear voices in Russian if he can’t speak or understand Russian. Hallucinations are much less interesting than fiction writers would lead us to believe.

I wouldn’t recommend THE SUMMER I DROWNED.