This was a great YA mystery/suspense novel! The plot and characters were well written. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

When I saw the premise of this book and knew that Diana Urban wrote it, it made me really excited! I enjoyed Diana's previous works and this one still has that same vibe to them. If you loved the past ones, give this one a chance too!

Diana Urban's books just speak to me! They are always gripping quick paced reads that involve some kind of mystery. Lying in the deep is a young adult thriller centering around a murder on the Campus on board program. This book has a death on the nile feel, I would have enjoyed more time actually on the ship. The main character was likeable and I honestly enjoyed the angsty college students. Jade was my favorite character and this book kept me guessing until the very end. Overall I enjoyed it even with plot holes and all.

🩸Book Review 🛳
Lying in the Deep
By: Diana Urban
Published by: Penguin
Rating: ⭐️⭐️

#qotd : What was the last book that disappointed you?

Thank you to @penguinteen and @netgalley for my digital copy of the book. All opinions are my own. (Swipe for synopsis.)

Y'all. I was very close to DNFing this one, but I try not to do that when I'm doing a review. I slogged through and I'm not sure it was worth it.
The premise seemed cool. A cruise ship that travels the world as part of your schooling (think Suite Life on Deck) but a murder happens in the middle of the ocean. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it just felt like there wasn't enough plot or back story. I didn't feel like I could sympathize with any of the characters and I didn't even feel like the story picked up until literally halfway through.
Anyway. Maybe I'm being too harsh? I just really did not enjoy this book.

#lyinginthedeep #netgalley #review #yamystery #cruiseship #murder #murdermystery #ya #youngadult #bummed #disappointed #penguinteen #picsart #canva #bookart #bookpictures

I received an ARC copy from Penguin Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This book right here! I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the suspense. It is the story of Jade a poor Stanford student who goes on a study abroad . This study abroad is amazing, it goes for 4 months on a cruise ship. Jade is so ready to set sail on her life, after her boyfriend left her for her best friend in a text message. However, when she finds out the backstabbing couple is also joining the cruise her obsession grows. Then her friends begin to drop like flies, Jade most clear her name and figure out who the killer is with her new found crush. Can they do it before they themselves get killed?

Read if you enjoy:
Suspense
Thriller
Whodunnit
Cruise
Traveling

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. Jade has been waiting for her semester away with Campus at Sea after being dumped by her boyfriend and her best friend. The new happy couple winds up on board which makes it difficult for her to enjoy her time since they keep showing up everywhere. When her best friend disappears and is suspected to have been murdered, Jade becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. Two more students end up murdered as well and people are starting to suspect Jade. The book overall was an entertaining read and I didn't completely figure out the twist at the end. The characters were supposed to be college students but despite frequent mention of alcohol their behaviors often felt more juvenile. As with many stories that involve a main character trying to investigate on their own, the actions taken by Jade were often times unbelievable or comical. I found myself skimming over some of the paragraphs trying to get through the book at the end. I would definitely recommend it but it wasn't the gripping mystery as I was hoping to find.

Jade is ready to set sail on Campus on Board, a luxurious semester abroad on a cruise ship. She is ready for the escape- from her mom and their tiny house, and from her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend, who got together and ghosted Jane.
Unfortunately Jade’s escape is going to be a bit difficult, as the new happy couple are also on board. While Jade first tries to ignore them, she soon finds herself obsessed. Why did the two people she loved the most betray her? Did she do something wrong?
Just when the tension is at its highest, a shocking murder casts suspicion on Jade. Will she be able to clear her name before she becomes the next victim?

Okay. I have liked all of Diana Urban’s books in the past. The twists might not always be shocking, but they were fun. This one? I may have been a little surprised, but I just didn’t particularly care. While I sympathized with Jade at first, I quickly became tired of her. She was supposed to be sympathetic and empathetic, but she was mostly annoying. The same goes for the side characters. So when they started being killed off, it just didn’t have the right effect.

There were also a couple points where I was convinced that Jade might be the dumbest protagonist I’ve ever read.

Usually books involving people trapped in isolated settings while being killed off one by one are my jam, but this one just missed the mark for me.

This was a first time read for me by Diana Urban and I can't wait to read more. I definitely recommend for readers who enjoy a fun and fast-paced YA Mystery-Thriller. The cruise setting makes this the perfect Summer read so grab a chair at the beach and have fun reading.


Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

I want to thank NetGalley for a copy of this book for review purposes.

I really enjoyed this, even though it was YA it didn’t come off as cheesy for childish. There was absolutely no way for me to guess the ending and was shocked at the twists. I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author.

Diana Urban’s writing is absolute perfection. She has nailed the art of building towards the big reveal by giving away tiny clues as the book goes on while making the reader care about the characters and drawing them in to their world.

This feels like a modern version of Death on the Nile, and the ship setting is just delicious.

Buckle up for this one!

This book had me hooked from the very beginning! I thought I had it all figured out from the beginning and once that character was brought into question I was like yesss I knew it, but dang this book was predictable. However, that’s when the big twist happened and I was completely wrong with everything and in the best way! And once there was one twist several twists just kept coming and made the book so much better! Overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend!

Rated 3.5 ROUNDED up to 4 STARS
Lying in the Deep captivated my interest as soon as I started reading and I couldn't put it down until I finished (hence, the rounded up score). College student, Jade and her roommate (turned frenemy) Lainey and her ex-boyfriend Silas (who now dates Lainey) all attend Stanford (WHY do all of the YA books lately place characters at the most exclusive schools that are unattainable for the majority of students?? Other students in this book attend Harvard, BU, etc) and ALL find themselves on the Campus On Board ship (similar to Semester At Sea) for 4 months. The descriptions of the ship, the ports-of-call, the food, the characters and situations all brought the story and mysteries to life. There were several twists that added to the story (some were easily guessed, others were more complex), however I was distracted by the interactions, vocabulary and dialog that clearly placed these students more in the upper middle school to early high school category, vs the elite college they were supposed to be attending ("zillions" and "lots of" occurred several times, along with many other examples.). Had the interactions been a bit more realistic and age appropriate, this book would have been a solid 4 to 5 STAR read for me. I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work!

**4.5-stars rounded up**

After being betrayed by her best friend, Lainey, and her boyfriend, Silas, who are now a couple, Jade cannot wait to start her COB-adventure. She needs a way to escape from her regular life and what better way than aboard a shop? 'COB' is short for Campus on Board and is essentially a Semester at Sea program that Jade has been anticipating for years. It couldn't have arrived at a better time.

Set on a luxury cruise ship, Jade is ready to meet new people and escape from the dark hole she's been in. In the line to board though, she's shocked to see Lainey and Silas. They're kissing and laughing, clearly happy. Lainey attracting attention, as always. Jade's stomach drops. What are they even doing here!? This is her thing.

As annoyed as she is by the new couple, Jade is also confused as heck as to how it even happened. She wants answers and become set on getting them. Luckily, on the ship, Jade's mostly distracted from her heartache. She's making new friends, her roommates are supportive, they're going on excursions at various ports, but Lainey and Silas are never too far from her mind.

With time at sea, the players involved begin to get to know each other fairly well, their various dramas and secrets on full display. Therefore, they all know Jade holds a bit of a grudge against Lainey and Silas. When there's a murder, some people suspect Jade. She didn't do anything, but now needs to prove it, because if she didn't do it, that means there's a killer on board.

Along with her new crush, Felix, Jade sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery before more people die.

Lying in the Deep is easily my favorite Diana Urban yet. This was close to a perfect YA Mystery/Thriller for me. It features a fantastic setting, a varied cast of characters, wildly over-the-top drama, a classic-feeling locked room mystery, a shady corporation housing deadly secrets, blackmail, murder and more...

I had an absolute blast reading it. Lainey and Silas were so unlikable and I loved being on Jade's side and rooting for her as she tried to survive this dangerous cruise. There were moments I wanted to shake her, she didn't always make the greatest choices, but I was invested in her character and her life. The side characters were equally messy and fun. I loved watching their relationships grow and change over the course of the story.

I am an atmosphere-girlie and I loved the setting of the luxury cruise ship. A bunch of students, strangers to one another before boarding, being trapped on a ship together. You just know juicy things are going to go down. I also liked the idea of the excursions they went on in the various ports. There was always some action happening during those events.

Additionally, I thought the mystery was really well done. I loved how it progressed and the amateur sleuthing aspects involving Jade and Felix were so fun. I had many theories, some panned out, but a lot didn't. I didn't fully catch on to the whodunit until very close to the final reveal. I had a lot of fun getting to that point.

The ending was completely insane, almost too much, but not. I liked it and was fully satisfied with the very final moments. Overall, I think Urban nailed this one. I definitely recommend for Readers who enjoy a fun and fast-paced YA Mystery-Thriller. The cruise setting makes this the perfect Summer read.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Razorbill, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm excited to pick up more from Urban in the futur

Enjoyable, great pacing, exciting settings kept me hooked. Fun novel that will be the perfect to lose yourself in. Thank you Net Galley for ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I really enjoyed this. The story is fast paced and I did not guess the events that were going to happen. This was twisted in the most fun sense of the word.

Rating; Really Enjoyed It, 4 stars

Lying in the Deep is a soapy, YA thriller set during a semester at sea aboard a cruise ship. Jade has been looking forward to Campus on Board since before she started college, and she is determined to have a fantastic semester, despite having been recently betrayed by her ex-boyfriend and best friend. She plans to forget about them in the whirlwind that is CoB, but as she boards the ship, she realizes that they are both there. It becomes impossible for her to move on when the happy couple is flaunting their relationship everywhere that she turns. She becomes obsessed on making Silas jealous and trying to figure out what really happened to their relationship when a grisly murder sets a domino effect in motion and students start showing up dead at an alarming rate. Now Jade must figure out what is going on aboard the ship before she is framed for the murders, or worse is murdered herself.

This was such a good time. I would have read it all in one sitting if I had had the time to do so. It was fast-paced and kept me guessing for a good chunk of it. I don't read a lot of mystery/thrillers, but I feel like I prefer them in YA books. I enjoy the soapiness of it and the need to suspend disbelief. I feel like the MC in this made some really terrible decisions, and some of the events were a bit unbelievable, but that's really part of the fun.

Definitely had a great time with this and will be checking out more by Diana Urban when I'm in the mood for a thriller. I received an ARC from Netgalley and Razorbill. All opinions are my own.

First of all, thank you for Netgalley for sharing a copy of Lying in the Deep for me to review- I am SOOO happy to finally be a part of the Netgalley community!

And now for the book: Jade is taking part in a semester at sea voyage to help her get over her ex-boyfriend and ex best friend who have turned their backs on her, except SURPRISE! They are going on the trip as well. When people on the ship start dying, Jade needs to get to the bottom of it before she is blamed.
This book was a fun YA mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I found out after I had finished the book that it was based on Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, which I wish I would have read first so that I could compare the similarities. I really enjoyed that the whole book was written with different locations as the backdrop.
I think that reading this book is showing my age because I couldn't always relate to the characters. Many of them came across as bratty and selfish. Jade was a bit whiny and self-centered and the WORST sleuth in the history of sleuthdom. Each time she would get a TINY clue she would go into this wild rant where she "magically connected all of the clues" but nope, she kept being wrong. Until she finally wasn't. But I won't spoil the ending.
This book was a quick, fun read. I appreciated it more by the last 1/3 because there were some fun twists and turns. And an ending that made my jaw drop a bit, so kudos for that, Diana Urban. There was also a message in there about the jerks that are Big Pharma, so I appreciated that. Overall, a fun book to read on the beach, but I don't think it made me lose any sleep worrying about the characters.

🌟🌟🌟

Lying in the Deep is Diana Urban’s latest YA Mystery/Thriller. Set on a cruise ship, college student Jade, attends a semester at sea type program called Campus On Board. While on board, her ex-best friend and ex-college roommate, Lainey, is murdered. She races to find the killer before the ship docks at the next port and she is blamed for the murder.

The first half of the book seemed juvenile and was a bit underwhelming. While the last half of the book really took off and left me wanting to finish the book and solve the mystery. I liked how there were multiple characters with motive and you as a reader suspected everyone to be the killer. The ending was a bit complicated, although I appreciated that since most mystery books can be solved half way through reading.

Overall, this was a fun summer read.

I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

For me this book started off slow and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through it. Around 40 percent in, that changed though. The story picked up, things started happening. I liked the ending and thought the mystery part of it was good. Stick through the beginning and you have a pretty good YA mystery!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review
I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get into it. I felt it was more of a YA book. I think for that audience it would be more enjoyable.