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.

Synopsis:
This book tells a story of a billionaire's family going on a weekend getaway that's expected to be all about laughing, drinks, fun and family bonding,
But can it really? ..... when there's inheritance on the line ?

My Thoughts
This is a great book, Intriguing plot full of lies, truth, backstabbing, and plot twists,
Fast paced chapters that get you hooked from beginning to the end
I also loved that we got every characters POV which allowed us to understand the characters deeper..

On the other side,
I think this story deserved more, it felt rushed and denied of certain expressions or emotions, although the characters were introduced as powerful, they all came off as weak and scaredy-cats, it had too much of tell and less of the show aspect especially when expressing anger or sadness
The plot twists would have been shocking but the characters didn't manage to express them in a way that would convey thrilling emotions to me.

Conclusion:
I'd recommend this one to any dreamer who wishes to go a billionaire's Yacht for weekend getaway
Can't promise it would be pretty though

This books gets only a 2 star and although is wasn't it for me, I do look forward to reading Kaira's other books which I've seen a lot of

Thanks Net galley for giving a free eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This review will be published in my bookstagram @elatedwithbooks some time in the near future.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this advance copy.

What a brilliant book! It’s like succession on a yacht. You hate everyone but you love them at the same time. The blurb describes the book perfectly and I don’t want to spoil anything else.
seriously read this, you won’t be disappointed.
I can’t wait for book 2!

Set in the OC (which I love - sucker for a book based where I live), its Jackie Collins-esque with drama, twists, turns and epilogue, I'm hankering for a sequel and more books like this from Kaira Rouda!

This book was so well paced that it had me gripping my seat the entire read in anticipation. The conflict between the siblings and Serena created an action packed story behind Richard naming his successor. As is the rule in most family dramas, appearances are everything. I'm interested to see what becomes of the Kingsley family and the company's new president in book 2!

A book about the 1%ers. This book was enjoyable enough to read and finish. I did find almost all the characters unlikable and at times one dimensional. The pace was a slow for a thriller and felt repetitive at times. The skeletons in the closets weren’t that shocking. Didn’t feel there was much of a twist either that most thrillers offer. I did want to finish it to see who King Kingsley picked. I will read the next one as I’d like to see what happens with the successor of the company.

I just finished reading "Beneath the Surface" by Kaira Rouda. Many thanks to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The novel centers around a very rich family which includes the patriarch, his fifth wife, and his three children: John Ted and Sibley. John is the oldest who has been faithful to his Dad his whole kife. Ted is the middle child who is handsome and. social but harbours many secrets, especially from his wife. And Sibley...well she is a hot mess. She relies on her father for money and is quite demanding and petulant in my opinion.
They are invited on a three day cruise aboard their Dad (Richard) luxurious yacht, where the future of the family company will be revealed. They siblings are expecting that Richard will choose an heir to his company.
All the siblings have nothing but comtempt for each other and it is clearly visible in the story. Add to the fold the much younger fifth wife Serena, and it promises to be a very eventful trip.
What I liked about the story is that it was fast paced and slowly byt steadily revealed he characters, their secrets, and their true selves. Besides Sibley, who was transparent from the start, both brothers had intriguing secrets and equally intriguing relationships with their wives. But noone like each other, the Richard wasn't exactly father of the year material. I also liked that there weren't alot of extra characters. Each character served a purpose to the big reveal....and I liked who Richard chose as his heir to the family company.
What I didn't like was that Blair (Ted's wife) was portrayed as weak in some cases and almost stupid to accept her husband's feeble excuses when she asked him to explain himself. I also didn't like that at the end, these spoiled rich snooty children and their Dad, really got away with very bad behaviour. There was really no actual consequences for their choices. I am under the impression that this book is the beginning of a series, so maybe it will happen in the next book....Who knows but I definately will be reading Kaira Rouda's next book if this is. a series. She had created enough compelling characters and storylines that make me want to know what happens to this spoiled rich family of entitled superficial people.
Happy Reading.

A rich billionaire pits their kids against each other for control of the empire when he sets sail on a yacht with the family. What could go wrong? Everyone in the family hates each other. Richard the patriarch and his 5th wife Serena hood court. John is the oldest som jumps at everything his father says and is not a winner in his wife’s eyes. Ted is the youngest son who is currently not working for the the family company and his wife Paige is almost an empty nester. Sublet is the only daughter is the black sheep. I really enjoyed the book and its layers of family drama. I am a huge Kaira fan and this did not disappoint!