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.

Someone joked online somewhere that this book could be summarized with two words: “Florida Man”. I really don’t think they were too far off the mark, because this book felt like a Florida Man meme in long fiction format.

I’d love to say I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t. It was too long, had poor pacing, and didn’t have a compelling story (in my opinion). I never connected with the story or felt engaged with it. It felt ridiculous but not in the way I felt was okay to make fun of; simultaneously it also felt too heavy to take seriously. It felt weighed down by its own perceived cleverness.

I respect that a lot of people loved this book, but I just couldn’t get on board with it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Due to this review’s three star or lower rating it will not be appearing on my social media. Thank you.

File Under: LGBTQ Fiction/Paranormal Horror/Psychological Thriller/Sapphic Romance/Serial Killers/YA Fiction/YA Fantasy/YA Thriller

Tru lives in a town that still mourns the death of two teenage girls years ago. Her way to escape is to dive in the springs around her town. But then Rio comes to town determined to finally solve the mystery of what happened to Celeste and Bailey.

This had a bit of a slow start for me but once Rio came into town and paired up with Tru to solve the murders of Celeste and Bailey, then it picked up.

This one had a paranormal twist to it that was very different. I would not describe paranormal as a genre I gravitate towards but this was very interesting and well done.

If you’re a fan of YA suspense, you’ll enjoy this one.

Genre: YA Paranormal Mystery

Synopsis:
The 20 year old unsolved murder in a small Florida town resurfaces when teens girls think the killer has returned.

I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narration. This book was a good murder mystery set in the lakes of Florida. It had twists and turns and will keep you guessing who the killer is. There was a little bit of a sapphic romance mixed in, but not the main focus. It touches on the paranormal too in a ghostly way. The main character is a free diver and I enjoyed learning about it.
This is the second book I have read by this author and really enjoy her writing!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy & PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook! 🐊

Thank you so much to PenguinTeen for sending me the Netgalley widget for One Last Breath. This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the digital ARC I received from PenguinTeen.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

One Last Breath is a stunning YA Thriller that marries small town murder mystery with the supernatural in a spellbinding tale that feels completely real. Tru is a fresh outta high school teen who is preparing to head off to Florida State with her longtime boyfriend in the fall, the future that seemed almost predetermined for her from birth. But this summer quickly becomes unlike any other. Her town, Mount Orange, has been haunted by a case of unsolved killings of two woman from twenty years ago. And it seems the ghosts of those women haunt Tru. When a stranger rolls into town dead set on solving the murders, Tru joins her in digging into the past while also finding herself inexplicably pulled towards this newcomer who also appears to have some kind of other wordly connection to the two murdered women.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

MY THOUGHTS:

This was an great story! This is my first time reading Ginny Myers Sain's works and now I need to go check out her backlist!
Whenever I read a thriller/mystery, I'm absolutely one of those who tries to figure out the mystery before the characters does. Sometimes I'm able to figure out, but this time, noooope. It absolutely was one of those reveals that made me go OOOOOOOOOOOOOH and realize all the little details the author dropped and I totally missed because I was too absorbed into the story. I loved it.

Ginny Myer Sain's writing is easy to follow and fun to read. I enjoyed the slow burn style of storytelling for a thriller. It added to the creep factor, which kept me turning the page. The level of atmosphere and just the right amount of description drew me deeply into Tru's world. I felt like I was in Florida, dealing with the muggy humid heat. I could feel the thrill of diving deep into the freshwater springs, the cool water on my skin, the ache of my lungs. This level of immersion allowed for the slow burn style of storytelling to work excellently for me.

As a character, Tru is incredibly relevant—for both teens, new adults, and even adults my age. Her struggle with choosing what she wants to do with her life while also worrying about letting down those important to her is a universal theme that can connect with so many people. While this story is about finding the truth of the 20 year old murders, but its also a story of learning to take the reigns of your life into your own hands and finding the path that is yours. I absolutely loved it. Relevant and incredibly well thought out.

This is a fantastic read for those who loves YA, small town murders, supernatural elements, bi representation, and coming of age summer vibes. I absolutely recommend this book!

I am bummed that I didn’t like this book. The premise sounded so good, but this story just fell flat for me. The mystery was pretty interesting in the beginning, but I guessed who the killer was early on in the story. I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters and I just didn’t care what happened to any of them by end of the book. There was a heavy focus on the main character’s romantic relationships and I couldn’t care less about that stuff. There were some supernatural elements which I loved and I wish there were more of those moments in the story.

If you enjoy young adult mystery thrillers, you might like this book, but this book was not for me.

Perfect for those of us who like....
- haunted small towns
- True Crime/Thrillers
- Dash of supernatural
- Summer vibes
- Sapphic love stories

This small town focused story follows Tru during her last summer before starting adulthood and going to college. Did I mention this is Florida so everything trapped by the humidity. You can feel this as you read along. Tru is obsessed with the murder of two girls and develops feelings for Rio while digging into the mystery.

Ginny Myers Sain's latest work, One Last Breath, was a fantastic read. I am definitely outside the age range for this book, but I've firmly become a believer that reading YA is for everyone. You just have to live within the confines of this genre. I love the feeling of reading a story that throws my mindset back to my trying times as a teen. Plus, sometimes you just want to see what the kiddos are up to now a days.

I was overwhelmed in the best way by the diving scenes in this book. They were my favorite parts.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I had such a great time with this book. I suspected who the killer was through the whole story but the twists kept talking me out of it. It was still the person that I thought it was but still was a surprise. Loved the whole reincarnation storyline. Great quick read.

This one took me a little bit to get into it, but once I got really into the story I had a hard time putting it down. I’ve read this author’s previous works and I really enjoy the way she blends just the hint of the magical into realistic stories. She does an excellent job with bringing characters to life. Trulee has always been fascinated with the deaths of two best friends Bailey and Celeste before she was even born. The murders were never solved and the town hasn’t fully moved on. When Rio comes to town Trulee is instantly attracted and she doesn’t know why, but when she finds out Rio is also trying to find out what happened to Bailey and Celeste she can’t help but join in. But it’s clear that someone isn’t happy they are looking for the answers and they find themselves being hunted. I gave this one 4.5 stars rounded up because the second half of the book was impossible to put down.