*****Publishing September 5, 2023*****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you need a book that will keep you guessing, then you need to read this book!

A billionaire father, Richard, a stepmother and 5th wife, Serena, Ted and John, Richard’s sons are all aboard Richard’s Mega Yacht to cross one of the deadliest bodies of water near Catalina Island. Ted and John, along with their wives, are all vying for the succession of their father’s company. A surprise guest throws them all for a loop. How more scandalous and adventurous can you get? Which brother will ultimately win their father’s heart to take over the business? Will it be smooth sailing? Is it what it seems?

This book just draws you from the beginning as each chapter is from a different perspective. With all the twists and turns, this book is so hard to put down. The drama will keep the pages turning! Wow, such a great book! Definitely one to add to your TBR list!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, I was provided an ARC of Beneath the Surface by Kaira Rouda via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that I was really looking forward to - a family entirely made up of unlikeable people with a heap of secrets sounded right up my alley. Oh how wrong I was! I found the writing to be very simplistic and that the entire story was a case of tell not show. The members of this dysfunctional family immature, entitled, self-obsessed, and would kill their nearest & dearest just to get ahead. I love stories with unlikeable characters, but they’ve got to have some depth to them to make me care. These characters are one-dimensional and the dialogue is wooden, and I was disappointed that the boat didn’t capsize, taking them all out.

Well, I'm not entirely sure what the plot of this book was. About 50% through is when I realized nothing had happened and I didn't connect with a single character. By 100% through.... I still didn't connect with a single character and nothing happened.

I had held out hope it was a slow burn but, every character was frustrating or annoying and the one big twist was breezed right over in a single.parahraph.

I loved Rouda's other books but, this one wasn't it for me.

Wow! What a book full of lies and cheating and extraordinary wealth and just all around bad people! I loved every minute of this juicy juicy read.

Kaira Rouda never disappoints with her books that have you racing through them! If you like Succession then this book is for you!!!

If you’ve read my reviews previously, you know I can’t get enough of books where rich people have secrets and huge problems. Like mega-yacht huge. While this one was a slowwwww burn, and not too many people died, the secrets and problems did NOT disappoint.

By slow burn, I really do mean slow. The first 50? 60? percent of the book was just a handful of couples on dad’s new yacht rehashing whether they believed they’d be dear old dad’s heir apparent to the corporate greed…I mean boardroom of the billion-dollar company. They all had major secrets, even from their spouses. None of them were good people. Not even close. Then dad revealed a secret of his own…and it was more of the same. Closed-door whining and internal monologues.

Then there was a huge storm, and the yacht had problems, so they went to play golf. The action picked up and it was nonstop secrets being revealed until the bitter end. I loved it.

I would rate this as more of a domestic suspense than a thriller.

I was held hostage by this book, equal parts repugnant because the characters were absolutely horrible and obsessed with finding out what the actual succession plan was. I found the dialogue somewhat robotic and weird at times which made it a little cringey but it didn’t detract too much from the overall story.

If you’re a fan of the show Succession, this is basically it but in book form.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for a copy of Beneath the Surface in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

An aging billionaire invites his two sons on a weekend trip on his mega-yacht. From the beginning there are surprises for both the sons and their wives that they didn't see coming. Both sons are trying to show their father that they should be the heir apparent to his fortune and business empire, but when their sister shows up unexpectedly, things take a turn and the stakes are even higher for everyone out on the water.

I didn't love this book. The dialogue was very stilted and it made it hard for me to stay immersed in the story. It seemed to bounce around a lot with not a lot of purpose, and I questioned why certain scenes were included. The characters weren't as well-developed as I would have liked, and the plot was tired much of the time. Overall, this book was a disappointment.

I just finished reading "Beneath the Surface" and I have to say, it was quite the page-turner. The book follows the drama-filled lives of a dysfunctional family, and I found myself completely engrossed in their story. It's like watching a soap opera, but with even more scandal and intrigue. Thanks for the advance review copy.

Richard Kingsley had invited his children and their spouses to join him and his wife on their yacht for a weekend trip. The children along with their spouses each decide to take the opportunity to convince Richard that they are the right person to run the family's company. Kaira Rouda delivers again! “Beneath the Surface” was a wild ride from start to finish. It is very reminiscent of the HBO show “Succession”. If you love a good family drama, you will like this book. Rouda definitely has a talent for portraying well written, but extremely unlikeable characters. The only character that I somewhat liked was Paige. The behavior between the siblings was very immature and I loved every single moment of their mind games. This book was extremely fast-paced with a slow build of intensity. It took a while before anything was revealed, but when the secrets were revealed, OMG!! I guessed at some but there were just so many. I absolutely loved how it all played out. I liked that the story switches perspectives each chapter, moving between each family member. It allows the reader to get information from all sides and to get to know the characters on a deeper level. I can't wait to see what will happen in Part 2 of the Kingsley series! Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and author Kaira Rouda for this advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts.

I loved this book. I love this author. This was a brilliant creepy summer read. I was completely immersed in the story and literally couldn't put it down. Five stars xx

For fans of Succession, this novel is a must read. It keeps you on your toes, with several twists and turns and characters you love to hate.

Billionaire Richard Kinsley invites his family on board his my large yacht as an opportunity to see who should succeed him as CEO of Kinsley Enterprises. Sounds like a fun trip if the sibling didn’t all hate each other. They only came on the trip to Catalina because they didn’t know the other siblings were invited. All of them believe they are the one who deserves to be the next CEO and endeavor to spend the weekend in rough seas proving they are right to their father. Richard has a few surprises up his sleeve that will make it hard for some of them to be considered.

All of these characters have very little redeeming qualities. The three children: Ted, John and Sibley, would do anything to win their father’s favor. Their wives and significant other will stop at nothing to aid in their quest. But their father has pitted them against each other for so long they are truly power hungry and spoiled. That includes Richard’s very young wife Serena who also believes she should be able to run the business since she is pregnant with his child.

I enjoyed the train wreck on board the yacht, if nothing else to see what they each had up their sleeve. I believed the best person won in the end and look forward to the continuation of Kinsley novels.

What a great premise for a mystery - a dysfunctional family with greedy offspring on a luxurious yacht with their controlling, billionaire father and his 5th wife for an overnight trip on stormy seas! Why are they all together? Well, their aging father has planned the succession as a contest. One of his children will ‘win’ his empire.

Recommended by many in my Bookstagram feed, this book intrigued me and I was excited to discover a new-to-me author.

I loved having a back seat to the manipulation and conniving behaviour of these adults. At times, I knew more than they did and that added to my enjoyment. The despicable characters were outrageous and I found myself chuckling and gasping at their behaviour. The late ‘arrival’ added to the suspense and kicked my inner sleuth into action.

However, I struggled with the flow and I think it was because I was continually reading different points of view from each of the family. I got a bit frustrated with the repetition that often happens with this style of presentation. I can’t compare this to any of her backlist because this is my introduction. I also struggled with the extra-long lead to the ‘thrill’ - the declaration of the winner - and as a result, I kept putting the book down. Curiosity had me picking it up again because I wanted to see which child ‘won’ his fortune.

This is book one of a new series ‘The Kingsleys’ and I’m certain we haven’t seen all that’s below the surface…yet.

If family drama, unlikeable characters who ditch their morals and exhibit despicable behaviour, and a slow, suspenseful ‘cruise’ to the finish are what you look for in a good book, this one’s for you.

I was gifted this copy by Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Family suspense with some thriller elements. The Kingsley family is sailing to Catalina for a weekend trip most of them are estranged and are only going on the trip to find out who will be taking over the family business. Everyone has their own agenda and has secrets to hide and of course their are some unexpected guests. This was a quick read with multiple points of view and I was surprised by the way things came together in the end. This was a solid three star book would recommend but won't necessarily stick with me. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love a thriller where people are stuck in one location & this is the perfect summer spot, stuck on a yacht. Add in petty family members & a billion dollar legacy & it gets interesting very quick. Every character has their secrets & motivations, so it’s really enjoyable that the chapters are from each of their point of views. You get to know them better & their opinion of situations. No one’s really the hero of the piece, they’re all unlikable for different reasons, so you get to guiltily enjoy what happens. As the secrets are revealed & everyone gets desperate, I found myself ripping through the pages. There’s also a really satisfying ending. I can easily recommend this book, it’s definitely my favourite by this author so far!

I think this is my favorite Kaira Rouda book that I’ve read so far.
I just loved to hate all the Kingsleys! One was more awful than the next. It’s amazing to have a family that could be so horrible to one another and as people in general.
This one kept me guessing and intrigued. I had a lot of different predictions but in the end I was stumped and I truly did not see some of the things that happened coming. Kudos to Kaira on that.
Goodreads suggests that this may be a series and I simply can’t wait to see what this rotten family will get up to next.

I give this book 5 stars! Kaira Rouda is an amazing author. This book has it all. Lies, deception, greed, and revenge. I felt like I was on the voyage with the characters. After the weekend is over there will be one winner. I thought I knew who it would be but I was wrong! You definitely want to read this one!

This is a story about family binds

If you like family dramas, buckle in! Beneath the Surface delivers a more suspenseful murdery version of something like Succession (which I LOVED). With its fun, salacious plot, terrible characters, and a dark exploration of power dynamics, it’s a perfect vacation read… & no spoilers, but it totally stuck the landing which is hard to do in a book with this many characters!

Thank you so much @netgalley , Thomas & Mercer & @kairarouda for the eArc! #beneaththesurface is out on Sept 5th!

This book was amazing. It was a page turner and you could not wait to see what was going to happen next when the whole family was out at sea. The book was full of drama, lies, and marriage problems. I can't recommend this book enough, The family had money but still had lots of behind the scenes problems.

This one unfortunately did not wow me! It was kind of cheesy and I just had a hard time getting into it and connecting to any of the characters.