Hi book was unique. It was a unique twist on an underwater society where they weren't mermaids are sirens. I enjoyed the dystopian aspect in the almost save the world five between the main girl in the main guy. I found the shop at the end to be something that I wanted more, but I also found that it left me hanging on what was gonna happen. I think this was a good young adult romance. It also had a great story line between the characters that is good for all ages.

This book gave me Silo meets Maze Runner vibes. I liked the idea of the plot, but not the actual writing itself. It felt too messy. It was hard to follow because it was all over the place.

I really like the concept of this book, but the writing style did me in. It was awkward to read and I felt like I was all over the place when reading it.

The concept of the glass dome in which the characters reminded me of the arena of the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire. I enjoyed the cameos of marine life creatures. Most futuristic dystopian books are set place on land in some form of our world. However, setting the book in an underwater dome was super interesting and unique idea that I haven’t seen done before. The plot was intriguing but not fully grasping. I enjoyed the different POVs. However, the book would have been much easier to follow if it was written in first person.

Overall, this was a decent YA dystopian book. As YA dystopian books really peaked in the 2010s, it’s nice read a unique take that isn’t a remake of the old classics.

An underwater YA dystopian novel that includes some Divergent and Maze Runner elements, but with its own unique storyline. The world-building is imaginative and hopefully will be expanded in any sequels. Some of the characters could use some more dynamics, but most are likeable at the very least. There are some quirky ones, but these supporting characters are central to the story and I applaud the author for including non typical mainstream characters. There's some surprises near the end that will pull readers back for the next book in this series. Love the cover art!

I hate to be negative, but this was pretty painful. While the concept was very interesting, the execution was sadly lacking in all ways. The plot was hard to follow, nothing made sense and jumped around a lot, the timeline was random and the characters were not well developed. Overall I did not enjoy this story even while I finished the book (it's a problem I have even when I dislike the book I have to finish) and I will not be continuing on. I think the story did have some potential if maybe well edited or you know completely rewritten.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

I read this one to audition it for my high school library, and I really enjoyed it! I definitely think there is an audience for this amongst my students that love survival students! Adding to my to-buy list :)

So this book.. it was really nice. It made me think about this tv serie called Under the Dome, except this is a dome underwater.

The story is about Ryler and Anna (and their friends and family). They live in Deep Blue and are taught that they live underwater because there is no possibility to live on the land due to toxic air. When strange things start to happen both Anna and Ryler start question things. As one thing leads to another, they find out more and more things that just don’t add up. They confide in each other, even though some major obstacles, and find more people who will work with them to uncover the truth. Will they find out what’s real and what’s not?

This book had a very exciting ending, so I’m really excited to read the next part in this serie! 🤩 I thought the story was very intriguing and original and it really sucked me in. I would definitely recommend reading this.

I read this book as an ARC via NetGalley. So a shout out to @netgalley and the author @mel_horev_author for making it possible to read this already, thank you so much! The book has been released (you can’t read this word normally anymore after you have read the book 😇) at the end of April this year, so you should be able to get your copy right away! 📖

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This will be a very honest review....this book had so much potential and the synopsis makes it sound really good, however, from the beginning it was not good. The author seemed to have so many ideas and kept bouncing around and did not entirely come together. I have so many unanswered questions like how damn big is this dome?!?! The author keeps describing these almost vast areas which would work for a science fiction novel with the dome set on a space craft, not under water where there is supposedly immense amounts of water pressure. Then, this dome is supposed to be DEEP underwater, hence the name, yet there are parts in the novel where they talk about seeing the sun rays through the top of the water....wait, what? Then we have oceanic issues, they talk about seeing barracudas in the water and then potentially freezing to death in the water....except, barracudas ONLY live in tropical waters near coral reefs. The deep water dome couldn't be in a coral reef because then it would not be deep. And if it was, those waters would not be on the brink of making someone get hypothermia so....what? So much of this damn novel does not make sense and then the ending! Oh my gosh, first predictable with some of the things that occurred in the last ten or so chapters. But then the real last few chapters, how do they know how to swim when they never learned in the dome? How do they run so well or know how to survive, use guns and all these other things when they have none of the above in the "deep water" dome?!?!?! So many illogical inconsistencies that just made this not enjoyable at all to the end, which was a relief when I did finally reach the end. And this is a trilogy. One I will NOT be continuing. Better luck with the next series Melanie Bokstad Horev....

The novel is set in a future where Earth becomes uninhabitable and people have retreated to live deep in the oceans to protect themselves from the toxic surface.

You get introduced to a cast of characters who are going through personal trials. Ryler loses his grandmother Marna who was his support. Anna is living with guilt and physical pain. They both get caught up in the intrigue surrounding Marna's death which leads them to find out the truth of their world.

This is a good start to a series.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the advance reader copy and this is my honest review.

This book was a good read but unfortunately I felt that it just didn’t pull me in like books usually do.
I felt at times I struggled to keep my attention on what was going on in the book and lost where I was.
The writing style felt a little off and just didn’t have that perfect flow.
I did enjoy the characters we met in the book and I enjoyed the romance. I did feel that they lacked some depth to them as a whole.
I felt that the last third of the book was were most of the action took place but the book did have plenty of twists and turns throughout.

I feel that the premise of the story is there but it needs a little more editing to make it great.

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley and the Publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book. It had all the makings of something I would ordinarily get lost in.
It has a fantastic concept that melds end of days with alien colonisation and the ever present mystery of the ocean. Sci-fi/Dystopian dream!

However I found the protagonists to be quite naive and their interactions painful to read. I understand they are young but it took away from the book overall.
It also felt quite clunky in places.

That being said, I think this will be a favourite for readers on the younger spectrum of the YA range.

This one could have been amazing. But the flow of the story just fell short of that. The start was well done, the middle was kind of meh, and the ending was so rushed that it just didn't work at all. I wished that this one would have worked harder to flow better. As I think this could be up there with Divergent, The Maze Runner, and The Hunger Games. I hope that it gets its due in the future. Because this could be one really good story. Also I would also say that it needs raised to higher ya. Or completely switched to middle grade.

Deep is a story that takes traditional characters and flips them. Ryler is the grandson of President Marna, but doesn't act the way a family member of power and status acts. He's not showy, more withdrawn, fixes mechanical things for the community as a whole versus for just himself, and he's weepy. As in cries, a whole lot. Not your typical hero status guy. Anna is a brilliant girl who works in computers and runs reports for the President on tracking the statistical data observations of the toxic world outside to see if it's livable for humans. It isn't. Not yet anyway. Because they live in a dome under the water, their entire world is held within this dome. Until they pass. Then, the community comes together to watch the 'releasing' where they put their loved ones in the escape chamber that leads to...the great deep ocean. This is not only how they 'bury their dead' so to speak, but is also used as a criminal punishment for wrongdoing. Which happens to members of Ryler's family. First, his dad Grant is punished for 'the incident', which you find out in some time exactly what that is, and Ryler is grieving the loss of his dad for the better of a year. His grandmother Marna passes, is released, and Ryler's mother takes over the position of President. And then things turn out not to be what they seem, and a deep mystery unfolds as Ryler and Anna take off in different directions to figure out what exactly is going on. This part plays out well enough to create a pull to keep reading to the end of the chapter. What I like is the change of the typical character roles that unfold, and how creative Melanie has been in developing them. What I have the hardest time with, though, is what feels like a very unrealistic, rushed, forced feeling of the characters themselves when they interact with others. A love square, I get, if it's done well, but in this particular case, I'm not buying the romance. BUT, to be fair, I really did overlook this part as I was more interested in trying to figure out who was behind the events unfolding as the pages turned. All in all, I will still plan on reading the rest of the series, as Melanie's story does pull you in and take you on a journey.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

(Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I really liked the concept of this book, but it just wasn’t as good as it could have been.

The writing style was bland, a bit fan-ficcy and quite rigid and stiff which made it awkward to read. The plot was also a bit all over the place. Nothing is explained too well and there is a lot of telling, not showing. There were also a couple of plot errors and parts that made no sense. For example, Ryler would tell his friend something and then later in the book tell him the same thing again as if he had never told him before.

I also had no idea what the main conflict or ‘villain’ was which just made the whole plot seem confusing as I wasn’t ever sure why characters were doing certain things. As for the characters, they weren’t anything special. There was no depth to anyone and none of the friendships had any substance. The romance also felt so forced and there was no chemistry between the characters.

As the book is so short, I don’t think there was enough time to really build the plot, world-building and characters so it all just fell flat.

Loved this book. Was a quick and easy read. Friends to lovers my favorite trope. Kept me interested from the very start. Suspenseful and great twist at the end. I like that the male main character is sensitive, you don't see that often in books. Can't wait to read the next book and find out what happens. Loved all the characters and storyline. I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was out of my comfort zone. But I am really happy I read it. Overall really good story and I would suggest.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book that was published 4/24/23. I’m looking forward to the sequel coming out later this year.
3.75⭐️
Tyler and Anna have lived their whole lives under water after their ancestors retreated below the surface because of humankind killing the Earth. Now, over a hundred years later, they are the last remaining colony underwater and have to figure out the water seeping in issue before their infrastructure is destroyed. There is a murderer loose and trying to get certain individuals in power instead. Ryler, Anna, and Red must keep a low profile while trying to connect the dots and figure out which adults they can trust. With Anna in trouble, they must do the unthinkable to save her from certain death.

***spoilers below****


This dystopian concept was refreshing of a post apocalyptic world. Despite the problem being displayed right away, it was kind of slow paced as we are introduced to each character. The love interest, Anna, was kind of just thrown in as “love of my life” and then a chapter later (what it felt like) we get introduced to a woman around the age of Ryler’s mom that he “has a connection with.” Ryler is later found kissing the older woman and again it doesn’t feel connected with the love interests. The problem solving to break out Anna only works if they know where they are popping up in the ocean. Like they could pop up middle of the ocean and be screwed that way. Very convenient they popped up by land and that they could swim. Also, yeah injecting the bodies to allow oxygen flow whatever, but the outright pressure on the released bodies would simply crush them…

Deep
The Deep Blue Colony #1
YA, Dystopian
Melanie Bokstad Horev
⭐️⭐️

I love a good dystopian book so when I saw the synopsis for this one, I had to request it immediately.

Unfortunately though, it just wasn't for me. I tried reading this book 4 times but had to keep leaving it and eventually I decided to DNF it at around the 25%.

The premise itself has potential but I felt like the delivery just wasn't quite there. Whenever I tried to read it, I was left even more confused than before. The author tried to make the plot mysterious and to keep the reader guessing but it just made things very vague. Things were hinted at and then never explained.

The pacing was slow and so it felt like everything was dragging and didn't really get anywhere.

I wasn't a fan of the romance/the love square. It felt forced and unnatural because the characters didn't have the necessary chemistry, which is a shame. The characters also seem a bit immature with their choices and actions, especially Ryler.

I think with some more world building, more character development and some changes to the pacing/the plot, this would be a good book, but as it is, it's not for me.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*