A unique novel with a real focus on character and atmosphere. It’s literary, emotionally evocative, heavy at times, and strong work.

DNF - I adored the prologue of this book. Alone, it promised a stunning story. Unfortunately, I did not find myself enjoying this book. I struggled to connect with the way the writing seemed to want to do everything without really touching on the essence of what could have been there. I found the story tedious to follow & it truly felt as though the promising prologue went out the window.

This book seemed to try to be a lot of things at once - true crime, family drama, and some existential ramblings mixed in made for a disjointed and difficult to follow storyline. Multiple scenes seemed to not entirely make sense in the flow of the writing (I found myself skimming back a few pages to make sure I didn't miss anything). I'm not sure how it made it through stages of editing.

The initial 10% of the book was super promising. The rabbit holes the "plot" went down after that were superfluous, sometimes brutal, and disconnected.

Thank you Net Galley & University of Iowa Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

So, this book is about Marta. She didn't mean to kill her husband, but he ends up dead in a lake. She's sad and gets into the occult, and everyone around her gets involved in the mess. Then there's Peter, a guy investigating Marta's husband's death. He's dealing with his own problems and becomes obsessed with Marta. They meet, and things get even crazier.

This book is like a mix of different types of stories. It's about sad stuff and love, and it makes you think about relationships. The main guy, Peter, is kind of boring. He's like a character named Holden Caulfield, but not as good. It's pretty unique, so I can't really compare it to anything else.

There are parts in this book that didn't make sense to me. I had to go back and read some parts again because the changes were sudden and confusing.

I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It's like it needs someone to fix the story to make it all fit together. From the beginning to the end, you'll wonder how things got so messed up.

There are too many things that don't make sense. I had questions that didn't get answered. The story goes off in different directions that don't matter. I liked where the story was going, but then there were two awful scenes where animals suffer and die. It's really unnecessary and upsetting. The world is already tough, and we don't need more of that in books.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Yikes, no I don't jive with animal cruelty in books or movies. I may be a wimp, but I can't handle it.

I rarely do this, but I'm going to have to DNF this one at 18%. I don't quite get what's going on with the writing, because it seems like the sentences are neverending and a lot of stuff just doesn't make any sense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book. I really struggled with the writing. A few times I stopped reading and thought "was all that just one sentence". The book seemed to jump around a bit and was confusing. I ended up reading a few reviews to see if it was just me who was struggling. I hate not finishing books and wanted to keep reading if it was going to get better. I did read that there was some animal cruelty coming up soon so I made the decision to stop reading.

Firstly, thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this novel.

Sadly this was a DNF read for me, making the call to put it down at 65%.

I enjoyed the concept of this book, it sounded fun and had potential. I just REALLY struggled to engage.

It takes a lot for me to DNF a book but The Diver did it. The style of continual text and lack of structuring only added to this. The confronting animal cruelty scenes also seemed quite unnecessary and abrupt? This may very well have been the authors intention but the scenes sat strangely in comparison to the rest of the novel’s tone.

Overall, this book has potential—just needs another edit in my opinion.

Review also on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/114568706

*This was a DNF for me.*

I really, really loved where this book was going. I’m crushed that there had to be not only one, but TWO scenes of animal cruelty that ended in both animals dying very horrible deaths. The world is mean and brutal enough as it is, why is this necessary? It’s not anymore.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this title.

The writing of this book is awful. The sentences have so many commas. They’re so long, hard to follow, and frustrating to read. I DNFed at 10% because it’s so bad. If you love commas, this is the book for you.