I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. This is like no horror novel I’ve ever read.

Liv just got a dream opportunity for an all expenses paid semester at sea aboard The luxurious Eos. As the only one in her group who is there on scholarship, she immediately feels out of place. Thankfully, her estranged best friend, Will, is joining her and she sees this as a perfect time for them to patch things up. But then, Will disappears and she’s alone again. Liv is told Will is sick, but something is off. She discovers she only got the position because the girl who got it first also disappeared. This can’t possibly be a coincidence. Now, her friends disappear one by one. Liv is trapped and doesn’t know who to trust.

This gave me Ghost Ship x Titanic vibes right from the start, which I was here for. I did find myself getting distracted as there wasn’t enough to keep me completely engaged at the start. This is the first type of book I’ve read like this, so maybe that had something to do with it. However, once it got going, it was hard to put down! The ending, however, gave me real Scooby Doo vibes- “We would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” And the non ending really sent me. Along with all the unanswered questions. 🤬

Other than that, I did enjoy this. It was a familiar, yet completely new story that I found myself wrapped up in after a bit. I’ve always been intrigued with Sirens and this was eerie and captivating.

I do not like give reviews with spoilers. It seems unfair to the next reader, but with this book I’m not sure how to fully review it without some spoilers. I’m going to do my very best so only read this if you’re okay with light spoilers and jump to the next if not.
This book is from the point of view of Olivia (Liv), she’s the only member of six on a scholarship to a semester at sea (SeaMester) on a luxury cruise liner. She obviously goes into this situation feeling less than, but she’s also going with her wealthy best friend Will who she just so happens to have pushed the line of friendship with recently. The five of the characters in her “class” (no one learns anything and the teacher feeds them alcohol and they all have zero supervision) are ridiculously wealthy and make her feel uncomfortable from the boat taking off. Liv is an odd main character because she constantly doubts herself, ignores her own warning signals, and runs into strange situations like it’s her favorite past time while all the other characters feel almost like single minded Instagram personalities - the beautiful one (Adora -Dor) who is catty and loves to gossip, the curvy one who loves Oreos and wants to be beautiful but isn’t as skinny as the others (Cintia), the jock sexy boy who isn’t following in his parents footsteps (Raj), the blonde-ignorant-to-everything love interacted with a wealthy dad who owns the boat (Constantine - Con), and our main characters bestie who she had a very mild fling with who has a rich dad with a much younger wife replacement (Will).
The another gives you just enough of each character so we know them, but we only really care about a few - Will (obviously), Cinthia (who tries to befriend our main character with humor and self deprecation), and Con (the new love interest who might be evil). We also only get a real backstory for no one, even the main character has little to no back story other than growing up in poverty (like myself). It makes it hard to care when something happens to the characters, but this novel is not about the characters we meet and much more about the situation they find themselves in and the choices they make which the author knows exactly how to write to keep you interested from start to finish.
I won’t give away what exactly is happening on the ship because it really does keep you flipping pages and demanding answers! I felt that ever throughout this entire story. I desperately needed to know who was involved and who was working it all behind the scenes. The foreshadowing left little to be determined by the end, but I still craved every detail.
I wanted to give this book five stars because I really did need to stay up to finish it and find out how it concluded, but I couldn’t. Why you may ask? The writing. I may be a bit too old to fully enjoy this novel and I know it may not be meant from someone past thirty, but phrases like “he is fire” and “hashtag blessed” just seem meant for an age I may not be in. I know the characters are 17-18 and in current times referring to themselves as “insta-poets” and only messaging each other through WhatsApp, but the language made it feel like this story won’t have a long shelf life and I think if some of the current lingo had been tamed it could have been a story for any age. It delved deep into Greek mythology and the legend of sirens and without the time stamp of lingo it could be for any age group.
Overall, I found myself engaged with the story. I wanted to scream at the main character for so many bad decisions or for excusing the truth with her own anxiety - but it was a fun story filled with creepy visuals and a story I really enjoyed.
Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My first issue here is that we are in adjective overload- just about every other noun had an adjective attached to it. It's unnecessary, distracting, and just plain bad writing. The characters all felt very placid and sterotypical. The plot had promise, but the execution fell very flat for me.

18 years old Liv lands on all expenses paid opportunity to study aboard luxurious cruise ship with her best friend Will who is also creative artist, coming from wealthy and very dysfunctional family. I felt everything Liv felt and it was as though I was right there along with her freaking out with everything that was going on. The voice in this story is so freaking good!! Liv is relatable and you find yourself rooting for her from the very start.

A fun and fast-paced YA horror debut with a splash (pun intended) of dark academia. I probably won't be going on a cruise anytime soon.

I absolutely love the cover for Those We Drown. I also really liked the idea behind this story but I never truly felt terror. I also didn't enjoy any of the characters which made it difficult to enjoy the story as well. I felt like a lot of this book was the main character knowing she wasn't crazy but everyone around her telling her she was. I know the author was trying to make a point but it was a really repetitive thing that got pretty boring for me. I liked the Greek aspect and the idea behind what the terror was supposed to be but ultimately I don't think that the horror aspect was focused on enough. I had a love hate relationship with the ending. It was very abrupt and left a lot of questions unanswered but I also liked that it felt like a true horror ending... No answers, no happy ending and the idea that sometimes things are well and truly messed up. I really wanted there to be more sea details since half the premise of the story was The Sea Provides and I wanted more visuals on the deep and dark creepy sea things because the few times there were in depth details it was awesome! I also enjoyed the connection to Homer's stories and his version of sirens.

What if you got the opportunity to study abroad on an all expense paid luxury cruise ship you should take it right? Wrong. Olivia “Liv” has won a scholarship to an all expenses paid opportunity to study abroad luxury cruise ship The Eos for a semester. She is absolutely excited and can’t wait, she’s also going to be reunited with her ex best friend Will who hasn’t spoken to her since the night their friendship changed. Yet the moment she steps onto the ship she realizes just how out of place she is, all the other students are wealthy and attractive individuals, and Will is distant, it also doesn’t help that there are a group of three mysterious and gorgeous influencers knowns as the Sirens on board too. Liv also begins hearing and seeing creepy things... and then Will gets sick and disappears and no one will let her see him. Other students begin disappearing too and despite the fact that Liv can hear and see things and people that shouldn’t be on the ship no one else seems to believe her. Can she escape or will she have to pay the price? The story is meant to be a greek mythology inspired one with sirens and horror and a bit of romance but honestly, it was all over the place. The romance was not great, in fact I could do without it altogether because Con was just so bland and irritating. Liv on the other hand spends the majority of her time just trying to save her friend who doesn’t even want to be her friend. Then the book kind of abruptly ends after the reveal of what is on the ship and what is going on. I was kind of just left with a “wheres the rest of it” kind of feeling. Overall, this was a miss for me, which is unfortunate because I went in with such high hopes for a cool horror story with sirens on it.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book. I liked the concept of this book which is why I requested it, unfortunately I did not like it at all. The dialogue in the books was very forced. I am not sure how old the author is but the things the characters were saying was very that Steve Buscemi meme. I also didn't think the plot was explained well enough and yet it also seemed way to simple, for example the baddies of the ship are literally named the baddies (no spoilers but as soon as you meet the characters, you'll be like oh gotcha). And after all that, I didn't appreciate the ending. It felt like the author left off a couple chapters.

Those We Drown is an atmospheric YA horror/thriller with an interesting setting and premise that, unfortunately, I don't think it quite lived up to. Those We Drown follows Liv, a senior from a working class background who wins a scholarship to attend a semester at sea onboard a luxury cruise ship. She is immediately at odds with the rich, privileged other members of her Seamester group, even her childhood friend, Will. Within the first night Liv beings to see strange visions on the ship and hears a voice telling her that the sea provides if the sea is fed.

I think the atmosphere was done very well in this book. The luxurious cruise ship gives a trapped and almost claustrophobic feel that is at odds with the gleaming, expensive exterior of the ship. However, that was my favorite part of the book, and it wasn't enough to save the book. I will admit that I am not usually a fan of YA thriller, but the teenage relationship drama in this book really took me out of the thriller aspect. I couldn't care less that Liv is pining over some rich asshole while her bestfriend is probably dead and she doesn't seem to care despite claiming to.

However the thing that annoyed me the most about this book is that it was supposed to be about gaslighting, however Liv was really gaslighting herself the entire time. She would constantly acknowledge that something was wrong or weird in a situation, and then instantly say "No, never mind, this is fine and normal!" When Liv did speak to other people they only had to say "Don't worry" in the least threatening way possible to get her to back off. And she always did. The entire time I desperately wished that Liv would fight for herself or for her friends just a bit more. And she rarely did.

Overall this book was not my favorite, but I do think that it will be a hit for those who really enjoy atmospheric YA thrillers,, particularly those that involve things lurking in the deep.

A delightfully slippery thriller, THOSE WE DROWN, kept me reading until the early morning hours and checking strangers for pitch-black eyes for a few days after. The paranoia and eerie atmosphere Goldsmith creates is deliciously palpable; this book will be the perfect way to cool off during the hot months of summer vacation.

This was creepy, unusual, weird, and oddly sinister at times. It was also incredibly captivating. I wasn't sure how well it would be considering it's a fairly short book, but there was still plenty of detail.

I wasn't sure if I was gonna like this one but turns out I really, REALLY did!

The characters - especially Liv, (I loved her) – were colorful and engaging and I have an unapologetic soft spot for Con who isn't the cookie cutter of love interest we usually see in YA.

Best of all, was how unpredictable this book was, and I really enjoyed the themes that were presented. The splash of Greek mythology also added something special, especially as there are so many by-the-numbers retellings out there rn (although this was not a retelling).

How could I forget the setting! A glamorous but eerie cruise ship, full of weird and creepy old people. At points, this kind of gave me Midsommar vibes and every time I thought I knew what was happening, I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. It was not afraid to be scary but without just describing gore.

Last of all THAT ENDING. My jaw was on the floor. I can see how people might not like it but I am tired of neat, let's wrap everything up in hugs and rainbows endings and so loved that the author WENT THERE.

I will be definitely checking out whatever Amy writes next!

I flew this book in two days! I had to find out what was happening next -- whether Liv was actually imagining all these dark and sinister things or whether they were truly happening!

Creepy, unusual -- the horror of the ocean aspect mixed in with the Greek mythology vibes -- I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I have never read a book quite like this. I went into this blind with no knowing what I could expect. I was drawn in by the characters right away. I enjoyed how the author made the narrator very unreliable. I questioned the reality of what was occurring.

My only dislike is that I wish there was more storyline about the Sirens, how they got where they are and how they have adapted. I am fascinated by how they chose a cruise ship. I would love a follow-up book that is from the Siren POV.

This book pulled me on right away with a unique siren spin. I haven’t really seen anything with a boat since the movie Ghost Ship way back so this was a real treat! I also loved the characters!

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I went into this book hoping it would run along the same vein as 'Into the Drowning Deep' by Mira Grant and I am happy to say that it did, sort of.

Things that worked for me:
Spooky, no where to go, atmosphere
Descriptive horror.
Pacing (Slow for around the first 10% then it took off running)
I genuinely felt for the MC and wanted her succeed

What didnt for me:
SO. MUCH. GASLIGHTING.
The ending was VERY abrupt and alot was left up to interpretation
I wanted there to be more SPOOKY/HORROR elements, the main character spends alot of time running around the ship.

Overall, a solid 3 star read. Forever looking for the next spooky ocean read!

Those We Drown was addictive. I was just the right amount of intrigued and just the right amount of chilled. Amy Goldsmith has us journeying out on the Atlantic with Olivia—it’s Liv, actually—a scholarship recipient on a SeaMester cruise with five rich teens, a sketchy chaperone, three professional Influencers, and a ship full of other—mostly elderly—passengers who we get to know far less.
The story leans a little heavily on certain tropes: gaslighting male love interest, awkward poor girl who wishes she was like the popular kids, etc., but it was a fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Additionally, while the characters could come across as flat from time to time, my heart truly ached for Adora by the end, and I think Goldsmith accomplished something by making that happen.
I am a little concerned by the ending, because it left off on a cliffhanger while still feeling like there may not be enough story to warrant a sequel..? I am interested to see if this ends up being a standalone or not.
Wonderful debut by Amy Goldsmith! And thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press, and the author for an eGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

This book drew me in right away and kept my attention the whole time. I loved how creepy and dark this book was! I really enjoyed it and think this is a perfect spooky read for any time! Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

I knew very early on that The Sirens would turn out to be....sirens. It was quite obvious. A fast read though. I thought the back and forth between Con and Liv was weird. Lets kiss and have this sweet moment than in two seconds I hate you go away you think i'm crazy. Then it's all good again when we see each other next. Very up and down and strange. I absolutely hated the ending. How can you have them escape the boat and then not tell us if the sirens die, and if they do, does the ship sink? How do they explain the dead kids onboard if it doesn't sink? What happens to Con now that his dad has been revealed to be this monster of a dad? How does Liv go back home and deal with Will's dad and the made up story about how he died?

Unless we're gearing up for a sequel (which honestly I would only pick up to answer said questions) then this book isn't high on my list.

I have a deep love for horror and all things ocean, so this book immediately appealed to me. It only got better as I started reading, and I couldn't have been more excited!

Liv and her best friend, Will, are invited to take part of an amazing opportunity to take a "SeaMester" on a cruise ship. While Liv isn't entirely excited about being out on the ocean, she's grateful to be taking part in this academic dream experience. But things start going wrong very quickly, and it only escalates the longer she's on the ship.

Greek mythology plays an important part in this story, and usually I'm a little worn out with retellings, however this is incredibly unique and I love how the author laced mythology with her modern horror debut.

It also left a lot of breadcrumbs that made me think, "Oh I know where this is going" and I'm delighted to say that the story continuously blindsided me and left me guessing whether or not I was possibly as unhinged as Liv. Either way, the story was believable in the sense that something was obviously and incredibly wrong, or maybe Liv was just very, very sick. I couldn't decide most of the time, and when I thought I was leaning one way, the story effectively kept pulling me the other way.

Spoiler free remark about the ending, however - I think it will leave a lot of people wanting, but I commend the author for ending as she did, because I appreciate when an ending isn't "safe".

Thank you so much for the ARC opportunity and I'll definitely be looking out for future books by Amy!