*thank you to Penguin Randomhouse for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this story! We follow Addie whose mom is remarried and takes her on their honeymoon to keep her close. Addie was a competitive deep sea diver but after an accident that left her dead for more than a few minutes and now lungs that need healing, she’s forced to stay close with her new family instead of going to the training abroad with friends. On an island that is more than meets the eye, Addie runs into some trouble that might just kill her again.

I absolutely loved the way the island was a part of the story and the horror elements, the breathtaking moments both from beauty and from fear that our characters were in danger, there was this wonderful balance through it all. Highly recommend this young adult horror thriller for those who enjoy the genre along with some ghosties!.

This book has the most stunning cover I have seen in quite a long time. And it perfectly matched the story which is sometimes lacking in other books now.

But, unfortunately that is where the like of this one ends. I just couldn’t get into this one. I had high hopes especially seeing all the rave reviews all over bookstagram.

I just didn’t connect on any level at all with this read.

Thank you Netgalley for this read.

This book was so unique! I absolutely LOVED the atmospheric setting – Eulalie Island was fantastic! It’s creepy and unsettling and I never knew what was going to happen next. I adore dark and disturbing and this book definitely delivered on both points. The author brought the island to life in vivid detail! The descriptions made things so easy to picture without being too descriptive. Eulalie Island felt like a real place. This would make an awesome movie!

I found a certain twist to be predictable, but I still enjoyed the journey! [spoilers removed] I was gobbling up pages waiting for that reveal!

The pacing is quite fast because the mystery aspect keeps you wanting more, making this a quick and easy read. I read it in almost one sitting because I wanted to know the truth about the island and what really happened!

Despite the fabulous and disturbing setting, I didn’t connect to the characters like I’d hoped to. The characters fell kinda flat for me, which is why this book didn’t get a 5 star rating from me. I would definitely still recommend this book, though!

There is just enough realness and oddness combined in this one. I thought Addie’s back story was interesting and it helped to make sense of why the island would love her. The continued description of the sisters and their appearance as Addie sees them was enough to make me gag, but it added to the idea that something sinister was afoot. What was difficult for me was that I didn’t really love any of the characters, and I think it’s necessary to love Addie and Billy for this to work completely. This is definitely one that fantasy and horror readers would enjoy!

Spending two weeks on a private island for her mom's honeymoon is not what Addie envisioned for the summer...especially not after she died during a diving accident. She might've come back but her mind is still meters under the ocean, stuck on why she didn't go anywhere but the void during the minutes she was dead. With the flowers changing colors and the birds trilling her name distracting her from her misery, Addie starts to accept that there must be something magical about the island...but she's increasingly certain something sinister lurks behind the pretty facade.

This book was a delightfully terrifying ride! The horror descriptions were icky and viscerally disturbing in the most beautiful and satisfying way. I was screaming at Addie on more than one occasion for not putting things together as soon as I did, and the tension was built so well that I was sweating! I loved Addie's character and her unique, pragmatic morbidity. The rest of the cast of characters were equal parts charming and disturbing, and there were so many fascinating dynamics. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, I loved it and highly recommend it!

Through the lush greenery and vibrant flowers, a tropical oasis awaits—filled with scenic landscapes, sandy beaches, and enchanting caves. But what lurks beneath the beauty and allure of the island?

After a traumatic event that left her on the brink of death, Addie’s family takes her on a getaway to a lush and remote jungle-ridden island. But when mysterious and unsettling encounters start occurring, Addie realizes the island is hiding dark, haunted secrets beneath its depths.

This was a WILD and adventurous mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat through all the shocking unveils, ghostly discoveries, and heart-pounding moments. I loved how the story had an eerie, atmospheric tone and a deceiving, fickle setting that made readers second-guess everything.

Overall, if you want a tropical mystery escape with a little bit of a Lost TV show vibe and story, definitely keep this new thriller in mind!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Gosh, I am a sucker for horror/thriller novels set on creepy tropical islands, and my enjoyment of THE DEPTHS is a case study in that. I savored every moment of Addie's stay on Eulalie Island. One thing Lesperance does fabulously is create a perfect atmosphere for a horror story set in what seems like paradise, and combine that with Addie's POV and the reader is quite literally getting deeper and deeper into the mystery of the island as the main character is. That's a truly unique thing I find in books in general. I was hooked by Addie's story, by the ghosts of her past trauma, lost dreams and future hopes as well as the ghosts that haunt Eulalie. This book constantly surprised me with its creepiness and I was here for every minute of that. Lesperance also plants some fantastic plot twists that shocked me and that I didn't see coming. THE DEPTHS is a story of a paradise haunted by its past, and is a delightfully creepy book that I just couldn't look away from.

The Depths is the definition of all vibes and no substance. Lesperance has some beautiful prose, but however the beautiful the prose are, the weak characterization and frankly bland plot really laden this narrative.

What is it about a book set on a remote and largely uninhabited island that just instantly draws me in and convinces me I need to read it? If you’re in the same camp, The Depths is for you!

From the start I was drawn in by the mystery of Eulalie Island and wanted to tag along with Addie as she discovered all of the beautiful, weird, and frightening things this island contained. Lesperance delivered everything I was hoping for among the haunting bird calls and color changing flowers, along with a sprinkling of twists and turns that kept me flipping page after page.

Addie was the perfect character to narrate this story. I loved the mix of her personal struggles alongside her journey on Eulalie and the parallels the two had with each other. Lesperance gives Addie a fun cast of secondary characters that help to round out this story and build on the creepy adventure at hand.

There is so much I want to say about the little details of this story or plot points I adored, but they’re best kept under wraps and left for the next reader to discover on their own!

A huge thank you to Razorbill and Penguin Teen for my gifted copy!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley!! This was pretty good with the horror/ creepy vibes. It was a slow start but I loved the coming of age story!! Many thanks :)

Thank you so much, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Eulalie Island is a paradise, but, forced to tag along on her mother's honeymoon, Addie Spencer feels prisoner of this place. Even if the island is stunning, with its beaches and forests filled with white flowers, there's something eerie about everything, putting her on edge.
After meeting a peculiar boy on the beach, all the white flowers start to turn pink and the boy tells her the island loves her. Something is wrong, starting with her sleepwalking at night, a peculiar child in the woods who wants to play with her and the mysterious discovery of two sisters who died there centuries ago. There's something more to the island and she's determined to know what it is and what it wants from her. Unraveling the island's secrets may be the only things to do, in order to save herself, after all.

Eerie, unique, fantastic and well written, The Depths is the kind of book that will upset, scare and impress you at the same time. Set on a beautiful island full of darkest secrets, with a teenager determined to uncover them all, before something bad could happen to her. What could go wrong? Nicole Lesperance wrote a beautifully haunting story, impossible to put down, with intense characters, well written and characterized and a strong and stubborn main character, impossible not to root for.
I loved everything, from the marvellous setting, the eerie moments, the intense ones, the mysteries and secrets...Everything was perfect and this book is so recommended.

Goodness what a right way to hit my challenge win. This was creepy in the best way. It is balances the morbid nature with the coming-of-age story in it.

I thought this was a pretty good ghost/horror story! The setup was a bit boring for me, but once we got to Lenora and Violet and some answers started happening, I got super sucked in and ended up reading the entire book in probably 4 ish hours.

Spooky, spooky, spooky. And it never lets go. You just have to accept the inevitable, that there’s an island which is alive in ways that we can never imagine. Except Nicole Lesperance did. Imagine it. And it is amazing. It is a mystery and a thriller and a romance all rolled up into one. And it will keep you up at night. Reading.

This was the perfect book for the creepy season coming up!

A free-diving girl (Addie) who once died for 8 1/2 minutes. A mysterious island that seems to ever be changing. 2 ghostly sisters that are lost to each other (one can be seen in day and one at night). A boy who may not be all he seems.

The island of Eulalie and its ghostly inhabitants are so vividly portrayed that I felt a little like I was smack dab in the middle of it and felt claustrophobic at times. The island was a living, breathing character and it was so atmospheric.

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for an eARC! This was deliciously spooky. I loved the tropical setting, and oh my gosh, did the creep levels pop up 10 pages in! This is the kind of book that shows you the ghost almost immediately, so it makes your hair stand on end for a time.

Gosh, this is such a wonderful addition to the YA horror genre!

This book was a great start to fall / spooky season for me! It was the perfect amount of creepy and spooky. It kept me interested and intrigued the whole way through and even though I figured out some of the twists, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. I found the characters likeable and I wanted to know what happened to them. Overall, I had a very fun time reading this

Feels like a three to me but still fun! Like there were flaws but I feel like it’s the perfect kind of read for spooky season or if you’re looking for a paranormal thriller set on a very remote spooky island with ghosts, crazy plants, spooky birds you hear but never see and just altogether a lot of strangeness lol.

Also the flaws being that I felt like some parts moved very slow *for me* and the uneasy scenes didn’t give those actual creepy vibes for me. But like I’m trying to say, I think the flaws are me haha. It’s hard for a book to actually scare me and this one didn’t at all! So might be perfect for people who scare easily and want to feel uneasy!!

I did love that The Depths felt like it was set on a gothic island that definitely had a lot of mystery and intrigue which is really what kept me going!

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
TW: death, blood, drowning, medical trauma, and insects

“The island just has disturbing ways of showing its love sometimes”

Eulalie Island should be a paradise, but to Addie Spencer, it’s more like a prison. Forced to tag along to the remote island on her mother’s honeymoon, Addie isn’t thrilled about being trapped there for two weeks. The island is stunning, with its secluded beaches and forests full of white flowers. But there's something eerie and unsettling about the place. After Addie meets an enigmatic boy on the beach, all the flowers start turning pink. The island loves you, he tells her. But she can’t stop sleepwalking at night, the birds keep calling her name, and there’s a strange little girl in the woods who wants to play hide-and-seek. When Addie learns about two sisters who died on the island centuries ago, she wonders if there’s more to this place, things only she can see. Beneath its gorgeous surface, Eulalie Island is hiding dark, tangled secrets. And if Addie doesn't unravel them soon, the island might never let her go.

This book felt like some sort of fever dream in the best type of way! Written with incredible imagery, this story is beautiful, immersive, and absolutely haunting. Truly an unique plot and cast of characters, this book drew me in and did not let me go!! Not knowing who to trust or what was real, this story kept me on my toes. I really wish I could read this one all over again for the first time! This is a great choice for your spooky TBR!!

I recommend this one to lovers of beautiful yet creepy settings, fans of “Crimson Peak” and “Moana” (just trust me lol), and anyone looking for a truly unique gothic story.

The Depths follows Addie - one of the world's best freedivers, meaning she can sink to the depth equivalent of a 19-story building without an oxygen tank. Following an accident where Addie drowned and was considered clinically dead for 8 and a half minutes, she is forced to take a break from freediving. She gets whisked away to a tropical island vacation with her mother and stepfather where some crazy ish is going down. Things start to get strange - like her blood on the ground causes flowers to sprout strangely. You will find yourself turning page after page as you dive deep into the depths to solve the mystery that's happening. Lesperance brings us an eerie, mysterious, and magical tale in The Depths.