Rating: 4.25⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ginny Meyers Sain is so great at immersing the reader fully into the story, making you feel like you’re standing alongside the characters. This murder mystery keeps you guessing the entire time and has insane twists throughout the entire book. Following Tru as she works to uncover the truth about two teenage girls who murdered 20 years prior. She doesn’t know why but she feels as it is her duty to learn the truth.
I really liked the characters in this one and that all of them played big roles throughout the story. I liked the supernatural twist, too. I think it fit well with the story.

Overall this was a fun YA thriller that’s perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus.

This book surprised me. Looking at the GR rating and a couple of reviews I read, I was expecting to have a hard time getting through it. I definitely did not.

The author has a way of writing that lulls the reader into a false sense of security. Everything feels beautiful and romantic despite the fact that there have been murders. Somehow, it is comfortable and lyrical with mystery and suspense woven in.

The ending, however, ripped away that comfort and security. The twists were plentiful, and the emotions and suspense ran high. I was left with some reading whiplash and a small amount of confusion. But, I'm ok with it.

I listened to the audiobook while reading the advanced ebook copy that Netgalley and the publisher kindly granted me in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook made it even more enjoyable,
and the narrator was fantastic!
4.5 stars rounded up to 5⭐️

THIS BOOK WAS SOOOO GOOD!

Sorry for the caps, but that’s how good this book was for me.

I knew I would love it from the beginning because the writing was amazing. I could see so many images playing out in my head as I continued reading along, and I loved it!

That shows me that it’s so easy to follow along with this book and that it’s not a hard book to read.

I’m not spoiling ANYTHING for this book, because this is one of those books where you have to experience everything.

My mind was constantly jumping around, trying to figure out the plot lol.

I loved this book, everyone should read this!

Two murders twenty years ago in Mount Orange, Florida still cast a shadow over some of its residents and visitors. When a girl named Rio shows up in town to try and solve the murders, Tru gets tangled up in the mystery and exploring what relationship she has with Rio. Danger surrounds them as they try to solve, who murdered Celeste and Bailey?

It took me a few chapters to get fully wrapped up in this read. The author does such an amazing job with her descriptions and makes you feel like you're actually there (Think Delia Owens "Where the Crawdads Sing" details). The buildup of the suspense and story progression kept me enticed and captivated the whole time. It didn't disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Multiple mysteries within!

18yo Tru doesn’t know what she wants for her future, not even whether or not she wants to leave her hometown of Mount Orange, Florida. She feels stuck until 18yo Rio shows up in town. Rio is a female diver like Tru and they instantly become friends. They both want to solve the twenty year old cold case murders of Bailey and Celeste , who were teenagers when they were killed. Tru and Rio feel a deep connection to Bailey and Celeste and when they dig into the evidence and ask questions, their lives become endangered.

Likes/dislikes: I love that there’s more than one mystery inside this story. The suspense was great and kept me riveted. Tragic and scary and such a good read.
Mature Content: R for sexual related nudity.
Language: R for 164 swears and 52 f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths
Ethnicity: white

this was crazy and i loved the ending! the more I read, the more I wanted to keep reading so I could figure it out with Tru and Rio! it put me in a thriller mood which I loved!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Incredible! I absolutely loved this one. Such a great book to curl up with. It was hard to pull myself away to do things, but I always looked forward to diving back in. Highly recommend!

While the story had its moments of intrigue and suspense, I found it to be just an okay read overall. The paranormal elements added an interesting twist, but the pacing felt off at times, and some aspects of the plot seemed unnecessary. Nevertheless, I appreciated the author's unique take on the murder mystery genre. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

One Last Breath is a mystery with a slight “supernatural” element surrounding two teens trying to solve a 20 year old local murder. The story is predictable even when it goes a little off the rails but is overall an ok read.

This new release is the perfect summer thriller! One Last Breath takes place in a small town of central Florida near the sparkling crystal clear springs that attract swimmers and free divers. Mount Orange is also infamous for the unsolved murders of two teen girls nearly two decades ago while camping near the springs. As the 20th anniversary approaches, Mount Orange native, Tru and a newcomer to town, Rio, attempt to dig into the unsolved case due their strange connection to the murders of Celeste and Bailey. But as Tru and Rio stumble onto previously undiscovered evidence while free diving at the springs, they start to receive a series of threats on their own lives. As the summer heat rises so does the attraction between Tru and Rio as well as Tru’s local friends’ attempts to get her to stop investigating the cold case.

Sain does a phenomenal job with the setting; I felt like I could feel the heat, humidity, and Tru’s itch to be near the water. I loved the free diving hobby of Tru, Rio, and other locals, as this is a dangerous hobby and the wilderness of the springs added such an eerie setting for the location. Tru and Rio were a great team of amateur sleuths, and their inexplainable connection to the murder victims walked that fine line between the mystical, including shared memories for events they weren’t alive to experience. Sain created SO MANY possible suspects, and the last 40% had plenty of twists, turns, violence, and reveals that held my attention until the conclusion of the story!

I listened to the complimentary PRH audiobook narrated by Sophie Amoss, and her performance captured the youth, vulnerability, and determination of Tru. Her southern accents were well-performed, and her slow and sultry accent for Rio was so convincing! Her narration captured the anxiety, fear, and terror of the girls as they attempted to reveal the identity of the murderer.

A mystery thriller with a paranormal twist? Count me in! I love this authors work and I am always continuing to be sucked into each world they write! This book took me back to their debut novel vibes. I LOVED their debut novel, and this one was also a love!

Tru lives in Mount Orange, FL where it's famous for a twenty year old murder of two teenage girls, Bailey and Celeste. Tru is trying to keep her head above water but always feels like she is searching for something. She always feels more her self when she is able to free dive in local springs. This summer she is feeling more lost, and not ready to head to FSU with her boyfriend in the fall. The mystery of of the murders keeps holding her back from leaving her small town. She feels like she knows more about what happened that night one of the girls died. Things get even more confusing when a new girl named, Rio, rolls into town. Both girls want to find out what really happened to Celeste and Bailey. Sparks fly, things get dangerous and the summer is hotter than ever. Will Tru and Rio be able to figure out the truth in time?

What I enjoyed:
- loved the paranormal aspects! I always love a good thriller with a paranormal twist. This one was done so well too.
- LGBTQI+ representation 💜
- Loved literally all of our teenage characters. Tru's boyfrjend had my heart from the beginning.
- Wow, this was a twisty one! I could not figure it out. Even at the end, I was shocked by the twists.
- fast paced, and well written!

Loved this book! I knocked off a star because of a couple things I was being nitpicky on. But overall, 4 stars out of 5! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 30%
I’m so sad cause this sounded up my alley: searching for a killer but set in spooky nature. And honestly I don’t know if it’s me, because I haven’t enjoyed my last few reads. But a part me stands by my initial impression of this story. So here are the reasons why I ended up DNFing this story:
The premise of this story, the description of it, lists that this is about two girls investigating into their town’s famous unsolved murder and shit happens. That aspect of the story felt like the B Plot. At least during the first 30%. Which is still way too far into a story for the main selling point of the story to be only sprinkled in. Instead, the story focused more time on deep water diving. And that was cool. But I would’ve liked it more if that was sprinkled in and the murders were given their real estate. Or it was about this new girl and how the FMC obviously likes her. But honestly, I was wondering what was the point of the fmc’s boyfriend she opens with? That being the situation didn’t add tension to the story. It felt like a gnat that won’t go away. Also the romance felt insta-lovey. Not for me. Or it was talking about her not applying to college. That detail never added anything or any tension, it just was thrown it so often that it felt like I was being hit over the head.
My other main issue with this story was the lack of personal stakes? I’m not sure if that’s the right way to describe it? But the FMC’s obsession with the case felt creepy? Despite the many many times she told us she’s not those creepy true crime groupies. I wish maybe she was obsessed because she’s convinced her sister was killed in a similar enough manner and if she can uncover the other more popular crime, she’ll find her sister’s killer too. Or go the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder route and have her investigation start off innocent but then suck’s her into the heart of it. I would prefer either of those than the dreams that was bordering on You territory or the “I got a feeling.” They seriously used the feeling card to “justify” anything and everything.
Overall, maybe I would have enjoyed this if I was in a different frame of mind. I kind of doubt it, but maybe these things wouldn’t have bothered me as much to at least read its entirety. But I think this book will different be enjoyed by others because there were some enjoyable moments. Those moments almost convinced me to keep going. But sadly they weren’t enough for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

"....when you think about it, each one of us is our own little ocean..."

One Last Breath by Ginny Myers Sain has landed y'all! I love her thriller meets supernatural writing style with twists and turns you don't see coming. She keeps me on my toes and quite literally swimming in the depths of relatable life situations. After adoring the hell out of Dark and Shallow Lies, I literally shimmied when I was approved for a copy of this release.

It delivers everything I've come to expect from Sain; red herring twists, unique paranormal additions and characters from all walks of life. I really enjoyed the mixture of likeable and unlikable characters. Let's not forget that it mentions my neck of the woods!!!!! Tally, Wakulla Springs and GOOOO NOLESSSSSS!!!!!! Ok, so it's just mentioned... But still!

Sain twists sapphic love, serial killer cold cases, past lives and themes that surround finding your personal happiness even if it doesn't fit the plan others may have for you. Of course this novel has even more than those sprinkled bread crumbs but I can't give it all away.

I cannot wait to see what Sain crafts next. Special thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy! If you're a lover of YA paranormal thrillers, you gotta check out this author!

Ginny Myers Sain is the queen of YA paranormal thrillers! Her third book hits just as hard as her first two, this time with themes of serial killers, reincarnation, and dangerous Floridian landscapes. Trulee has always been fascinated by the unsolved mystery of two teen best friends near her favorite free diving spot. When she meets a new girl in town named Rio, they have an instant connection — and realize they might have known each other before they met in this life. I absolutely love the reincarnation elements, and the mystery was full of twists and turns to the very end. Must-read!!!

I highly enjoyed this supernatural suspenseful murder mystery. It was so good! I was hooked from the start and Vested in Trus story and ylhad to know what happened. I highly recommend this to all thriller lovers! Fast paced and thrilling to the end.
I just reviewed One Last Breath by Ginny Myers Sain. #OneLastBreath #NetGalley
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I really loved this book! And can we talk about the cover?! Stunning!!

One Last Breath took me by surprise in the best way! I loved that there was a supernatural element and I was not expecting that. I feel like it had a lot for everyone. Some romance, some mystery, some paranormal elements.

I suspected everyone at one point 😅 I ultimately ended up being right about the killer, but that didn’t take away from the story at all! I really enjoyed seeing all of the pieces fall into place.

A very thrilling read! I’m a big fan of Natasha Preston and Krystal Sutherland’s books so when I saw this is of a similar vein I was very interested to read it! I also watched a super interesting documentary on free diving, and am a scuba diver myself, so the setting and free diving at Hidden Glen Springs was terrifying and brilliant at the same time. The book follows Tru a local of Mount Orange, FL who wants to know the truth of a decades old murder as well as the murder of her sister. With a paranormal spectre and a new girl named Rio coming into town, Tru has help to uncover the answers she’s destined to find. The free diving aspect gave some thrills and interest to the slow start of the book. When the plot started to pick up I could not put it down. There were lots of twists and an ending a really didn’t see coming! Definitely a slow burn with romance that I wasn’t entirely sold on. The paranormal parts are a nice addition. A good read overall! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

This book is the result of an author who knows how to play mind games. Holy heaven — this was a fantastic, creepy, mind bending read.

Celeste and Bailey were murdered almost 20 years ago. Tru and Rio are alive now, determined to crack the case open and find out what really happened. In true fashion, someone doesn’t like this and the pair end up in what can only be described as their own horror movie plot.

This book was everything I was expecting and more. I love this author’s writing style and the addition of magic so seamlessly to the story.

Thank you to Penguin Young Reader’s Group for the arc!

When I wasn’t reading One Last Breath, I was thinking about One Last Breath. I dove in head first and couldn’t come up for air (pun intended). Thank you Penguin Teen for the egalley.

This book has a mix of love, supernatural, and murder mystery. Tru has always been drawn to the murder of Bailey and Celeste that happened in her town long before she was born. A girl named Rio comes to town and together they set out to find the truth of what happened.

This was an entertaining, suspenseful read that was so different than anything I’ve read lately. I loved everything about the book. The splash of supernatural really made for an interesting storyline. The romance was top tier and the chemistry was so well written. Add that all in with a SERIAL KILLER. So good. Now imagine all this going down in the springs of Florida. Worrying about the serial killer was stressful enough but the close proximity of the large body of water and Tru’s passion for diving had me biting my nails. I was nervous for most of this book 🤣.

The ending was fantastic. While I may have at one point guessed the final twist the author threw so many more at me that I changed my mind ten times. I will be thinking about this book for a while. I keep going back between 4 and 5 stars. So 4.5?

One Last Breath follows Tru is trying who’s to solve the murders of Bailey and Celeste who were killed years ago. Soon she meets a girl name Rio who also wants to solve the murders. They decide to join forces. But has they get closer to the truth someone starts stalking them. And they become convinced that the killer is back in town. If they keep digging into the past will they be the next victims?

I thought this was just an okay mystery / thriller. I felt like some of things in this book were not necessary to the overall plot. But I did want to see what happened in the end of this book. But this was just not the best mystery / thriller book that I have read. It definitely was on the younger side. I did find myself bored at points. But not a bad book at all.