Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

REVIEW BY PROFESSIONAL FREEDIVER

One Last Breath by Ginny Meyers Sain offers a metaphysical twist on the traditional murder mystery. The plot will leave you turning the pages. In this novel, we follow the main character Trulee, who is ironically surrounded by liars, and keeping some secrets herself. This book accomplished exactly what murder mysteries set out to do: leaving the reader wondering: Who did it?

In some regards, the prose in this book was strong. In other regards, it was weak. There were so many sentence fragments, that in my stylistic opinion, should've just been commas and extensions of the previous sentence.

That being said, I do admire Sain for her remarkable set of place. This is truly a Florida book, so kudos to her for achieving that aspect which she set out to achieve. However, the freediving in this books falls short.

I regret to inform readers that this book is full of freediving falsehoods. DO NOT DO WHAT THESE DIVERS DO. I must admit there is a certain irony to a book which offers a surface-level look into freediving. I wanted to go deeper, and I am guessing other readers share the same sentiment. If they don't share that sentiment, it is because they're new to freediving and don't see the potential that I see. This book could have been so much better with a little effort from the author.

The author clearly did not do enough research into freediving. First, freedivers are clear on communication. In this book, signaling is all wrong. No freediver worth their salt would ever give a thumbs up on the surface. That is really bad and clearly under researched. Also, we do our breath ups in the water, not standing next to it. That's just not how the sport works.

Everything about the buddy system in this book is wrong. You tell your buddy how deep you expect to go, and often they offer to meet you on the way up. That never happened, it was all, I am going down to see how far I can go. Nobody dives like that. In some scenes, the dive buddy didn't even have their face in the water while they acting as the safety. Now that is totally and completely bad research and bad writing.

Also, she did no research at all into freediving equipment. Nobody uses dive computers or depth guages. In the book there's markings in the spring that signify depth and it's like no. People use computers. Typically, for a training session, divers set a line. There are no lines in this book, which really doesn't make any sense. Also, no characters use wetsuits at all. As a freediver who has been in the springs of Florida, these people would need wetsuits to achieve any sort of relaxation underwater. Snorkels are also not mentioned at all, which goes back into my previous point about the safety buddy sitting on the rocks while their buddy is pushing 80 feet.

Also, these characters defy the laws of phsyics by looking up at the surface under several atmospheres of pressure. If that was real, the blood vessels in their throats would rupture and they'd be out of the water for a month minumim. Sain has clearly never heard of a squeeze, or never bothered to understand the sport she tried to write a book about. Also small details, like the feeling after a blackout, were not accurate. The most cringe part was the main character went to 140 feet deep without a mouthfill. I wish I could do that too!!!!!!!! The characters only equalize once in the entire book.

I had really high hopes when I saw this book was about freediving, but it fell short in almost every way.

The one thing she got freediving right was the emotion of it. She did accurately describe the zen feeling, the motivation many people feel for diving, and their connection to water. However, I couldn't help but feeling like she read the wikipedia page about freediving and that's it, especially when she namedrops the Bajou. That felt incredibly out of place. It felt like she should have showed us something real rather than using that example. It felt totally unrealistic.

I do suggest that if the author continues to write about freediving she should either do additional reaearch, take a professional class, or consult an expert. I am available, and have been used as a freediving accuracy reader for books such as Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru.

I must say, I really did like the twists in this book and still think it is worth a read.

Lastly, this book has a truly stunning cover.

📖 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕓𝕪 𝔾𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕪 𝕄𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕚𝕟

“𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵.
𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦.”

Trulee lives in Mount Orange, Florida where the murder of two best friends took place 20 years ago. The town has now become a tourist attraction where podcasters and crime junkies come to fulfill their morbid curiosity with solving the murders. Trulee has just graduated high school and is looking at the rest of her life mapped out by what everyone expects from her. She has an amazing boyfriend but something still doesn’t feel right. All her life she’s dreamed of the murders and she can’t stop feeling connected to them somehow. As a local free diver, Tru only feels at peace when she’s deep in Hidden Glen Well. One day she meets a girl named Rio, and a dark mystery begins to unfold.

This story had me captivated from the very first line. The whole book is rich with such vivid imagery, I felt like I was a part of the mystery and had full body chills most of the time! I was kept guessing until the very last chapter as to what was going on and who the murderer was. Through all the crazy things going on, we have Trulee coming into herself as a young woman and figuring out how to tell the world who she wants to be.

The way Tru describes free diving is fascinating, and I loved the way she is able to let go all of her worries at the bottom of the spring.

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯."

Just like with Dark and Shallow Lies there is certainly a hint of something supernatural going on! 👻

I would recommend this novel to all fellow suspense readers! It’s a story of loss, grief, coming of age, and solving a cold case all at once.

🚪I would consider this a closed door romance, with pretty much only kissing on page.

Tropes:
🫶🏼 Young Adult
👻 Suspense/Mystery
⭐️ Coming of Age
🌈 LGBT
🌻 Small Town

Thank you to Bookish First, NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my ARC and eARC so that I could share this honest review. One Last Breath will be published in March 2024, you won’t want to miss this one, Ginny outdid herself this time! 🩶

The New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies delivers another chilling supernatural thriller filled with murder, romance, and a decades-long mystery that haunts a small Florida town.

This was really good. I loved the characters and the plot twists and thought the atmosphere was very well done.

So basically this town in Florida had this cold case about these two girls that got killed and it’s been going on for years they would have crime investigators come people who are podcast journalist who wanted to know more about the case weird people come visit and then this is one girl that her sister also died by the killer as well so she’s like the main character of the story. I liked the relationship with her and her boyfriend East it was sad what happened to him while reading I feel like half the time all they talked about was like the killer and and the girls what they were missing and they were just obsessing over it for like half the book , so I give this book 3 stars just because it was all right. The book was good to kind of point fingers on who you thought thought was the killer because the killer basically came back in was starting his killing again there were so many different people that I thought it would be, but it wasn’t and I always thought it was who I thought it was gonna be in the beginning, and I actually kind of got it right in a way I think the book had a massive twist towards the end you find out it’s somebody and somebody else basically , so it was a pretty good read. Thanks for letting me read this arc.

Ginny Myers Sains books are always the perfect blend of supernatural thrillers. After absolutely loving Dark and Shallow Lies, I jumped at the chance to read her new book.

One Last Breath follows two girls, Tru and Rio, as they try to solve a 20 year old mystery in Tru’s town. The girls feel a deep connection in their bones to the victims, Bailey and Celeste.

The one thing I love about Ginny Myers Sains books are that the setting of the books come alive just as much as the characters and help really immerse you in the story.

One Last Breath was right on track to be a 5 ⭐️ read until one twist at the end that I didn’t love. I still gave it 4.5 ⭐️..The story wrapped up a little too quickly at the end but it’s definitely a story I’m going to be thinking about for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"One Last Breath" by Ginny Myers Sain is an enthralling supernatural thriller set in the quaint town of Mount Orange, Florida, renowned for its cerulean freshwater springs and haunted by an unsolved cold case dating back decades—the murders of best friends Bailey and Celeste.

Tru, the protagonist, has always lived under the shadow of these gruesome murders, compounded by the loss of her own sister. As she prepares to embark on her journey to FSU with her boyfriend, the weight of the unsolved crimes and personal tragedies engulfs her thoughts. The darkness begins to lift only when she immerses herself in the mysterious Hidden Glen Springs.

The entrance of Rio, a enigmatic girl on a mission to uncover the truth behind Bailey and Celeste's murders, propels Tru into a thrilling pursuit of solving the longstanding mystery. Tru is drawn not only to Rio but also to the challenge of unraveling the truth. As the summer heat intensifies, so does the connection between Tru and Rio, intertwined with their otherworldly link to Bailey and Celeste.

However, their quest takes a perilous turn when a mysterious stalker emerges. Convinced that the killer has returned to town, Tru and Rio must confront the past. The stakes are high, and as they delve deeper, the fear looms that this time, it might be their blood staining the springs red.

Ginny Myers Sain skillfully weaves a narrative filled with murder, romance, and a paranormal twist. The atmospheric backdrop of Mount Orange heightens the suspense, and the lingering mysteries contribute to a compelling plot. The novel delves into themes of loss, obsession, and the interplay between the supernatural and the mundane.

"One Last Breath" assures readers a gripping journey through a town haunted by its dark history, making it particularly appealing to those who relish supernatural mysteries with a hint of romance. The amalgamation of suspense, paranormal elements, and the quest for justice renders it a captivating addition to the young adult thriller genre.

"One Last Breath" by Ginny Myers Sain is a gripping supernatural thriller that unfolds in the small town of Mount Orange, Florida. Famed for its cerulean freshwater springs and haunted by a decades-old cold case, the story revolves around the unsolved murders of best friends Bailey and Celeste.

Tru, the protagonist, has always lived in the shadow of these gruesome murders, compounded by the death of her own sister. As she prepares to head to FSU with her boyfriend, the weight of the unsolved crimes and her personal losses consumes her thoughts. The darkness is only pierced when she immerses herself in the Hidden Glen Springs.

The arrival of Rio, a mysterious girl determined to unravel the truth behind Bailey and Celeste's murders, pulls Tru into the thrilling pursuit of solving the long-standing mystery. Tru can't resist the attraction not only to Rio but also to the challenge of uncovering the truth. As the summer heat rises, so does the connection between Tru and Rio, intertwined with their otherworldly link to Bailey and Celeste.

However, their quest for answers takes a dangerous turn when someone starts stalking them. Convinced that the killer is back in town, Tru and Rio must confront the past. The stakes are high, and as they dig deeper, they fear that this time, it could be their blood that turns the springs red.

Ginny Myers Sain weaves a tale filled with murder, romance, and a paranormal twist. The atmospheric setting of Mount Orange adds to the suspense, and the unresolved mysteries create an engaging plot. The novel explores themes of loss, obsession, and the interplay between the supernatural and the everyday.

"One Last Breath" promises readers a thrilling ride through a town haunted by its dark history, and it's likely to appeal to those who enjoy supernatural mysteries with a touch of romance. The blend of suspense, paranormal elements, and the quest for justice makes it a compelling addition to the young adult thriller genre.

* Thank you NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

One Last Breath is a swampy, thriller-mystery about a decades-old murder and the ripple effect it had on their small community. Tru has been obsessed with the murder as long as she can remember, and when a mysterious new girl appears, just as invested, they dive in (pun intended) together.

I think this will be my last Ginny Myers Sain book. I read Dark and Shallow Lies, and I didn't love it. I tried reading Secrets So Deep twice, and DNF'd both times. It took me a week to finish One Last Breath because as much as I am interested in GMS's plots, I cannot connect to her characters.

In One Last Breath, Trulee, our MC, was nearly impossible to like. Her brain was just... empty. She never seemed to have any meaningful reflections and was always ignoring everything bad around her. She'd find a clue in the murder mystery, and instead of investigating more, or talking to someone about what was going on, she'd go home to heat up a frozen meal and watch TV. I didn't understand her motives the entire story, and she jumped from suspect to suspect so quickly I got whiplash.

I didn't mind the romance. I had some issues with the way it played out on the page, but I didn't mind the love interest, and I think that was mostly because she wasn't incredibly fleshed out. She had a lot of interest backstory, but because of my inability to connect with Trulee, and Trulee's inability to think meaningfully, I was just meh about the entire thing.

I do always like GMS's plots, and I will say that One Last Breath had a very interesting plotline. If you don't mind somewhat annoying MC's, I'd actually recommend this book for the plot alone.

She has done it again! I absolutely loved Dark and Shallow Lies, and One Last Breath was an equally fantastic read. I really loved the characters, and the supernatural aspect to the story, which kept it fresh and unique.

3.2⭐
I remember when I first seen this book, back when it was announced, and the cover drew me in. And then I started it. Let me tell you any book that starts with murder(dream, nightmare, or real life), I expect it to be a great book. Don't get me wrong, ONE LAST BREATH was creepy: the unsolved murders, the Well, the watched feeling, etc. But, it wasn't everything I had thought it would be. I don't know why. I mean, don't get me wrong, the writing, the imagery, and the description was great(I feel like the plot was lost in ways because it didn't focus on the murders as much as I would have liked). It's just, ONE LAST BREATH started like it was going to be a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat paranormal thriller, but it wasn't until like page 80 when I felt like it was(I know this is paranormal and ghosts, but I was expecting a dead body with that reaction instead of a sliced up tent.) The only reason I made it that far was because I wanted to know who the murderer was. After that page 80-100 mark, ONE LAST BREATH became a fast-paced read that kept me intrigued until the end. And the reincarnation bit was wild.

What I Liked About It:
*the author's ability to tell a story
*unsolved murders
*the twists and turns
*the paranormal vibe

A unsolved murder of two girls years ago is reopened when one girl who is obsessed with the case begins seeing the ghost of one of the dead girls... and the new girl in town just happens to catch her attention as well as she might be the person to help her solve the case... that is, if the killer doesn't kill them. In Mount Orange, Florida, they are famous for two things: the beautiful freshwater springs perfect for free divers and the gruesome cold case murder of two best friends, Bailey and Celeste that occurred twenty years ago. The case was never solved and now twenty years after the murder Trulee "True" is obsessed with the murders. Tru wants to solve it, she feels connected to the case, and when a strange new girl named Rio comes into town also hellbent on solving the case, the two realize they have a connection that might be deeper than they could ever imagine. Rio is not only the perfect person to help her solve the case, there also happens to be the fact that Tru might also be falling for her. Yet the more they dig into the case the more the girls are realizing that the killer might be someone from town, someone who knows they are looking and will kill them if they get too close. This one was an odd one, it mixes mystery with a dash of sapphic romance and supernatural elements. It's definitely an interesting mystery read but the overall conclusion is what threw me off a bit. I was really intrigued by the mystery and the book starts really interesting. It's the ending that just kind of throws you off a bit. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a unique sapphic murder mystery read!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Ugh, the way I am obsessed with her writing! I live in Florida, too, and the way she perfectly captures our sticky, hot summers in a horror setting is unmatched. This time I did guess who it was pretty early on, HOWEVER, I did go back and forth for quite a while after other evidence was provided and was suspicious of other characters. The other twists in this had me literally gasping out loud, jaw-dropping in surprise and I couldn't get enough. I also really enjoyed the turn this took in regards to True and Rio (IYKYK) and was pleasantly surprised- you don't normally see that kind of twist anymore. I would say I liked this better than Secrets So Deep but not as much as the magical Dark and Shallow Lies. I would highly recommend if you like to be on the edge of your seat, or if you love a good old fashioned murder mystery with some paranormal activity thrown in.

The unsolved deaths of two teenage girls still plagues this Florida town twenty years later. Eighteen year old Trulee feels a strong pull to the case, and she longs to find answers to their deaths as well as the unrelated death of his own sister a handful of years ago.

Spending her summer free diving, spending time with her longtime boyfriend, and working at the newspaper, she yearns to uncover the truth. When Rio rolls into town, evidently searching for answers of her own on the two girls’ deaths, Tru is immediately pulled into her orbit. There is something about her that Tru can’t ignore.

Together, the two of them seek to unlock secrets long since buried and finally uncover what really happened, but there is someone watching them. It’s clear they are not safe, but Trulee and Rio will stop at nothing to solve this case, finding other gruesome and otherworldly truths along the way.

I found the storytelling and the setup of this story so intriguing. The characters all had strong voices and the pacing was on point. It was the romance that had me dropping this book from five to four stars. It just felt forced and left me feeling heartbreak for the one party who loses out in the situation.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

One Last Breath was quite the original and unique story as it follows to girls who embody the past lives of two serial killer victims. Rio and Trulee are drawn together by fate in the small Florida town of Mount Orange. Twenty years ago Bailey and Celeste are brutally murdered by a killer while camping at Hidden Glen Springs. The town is haunted by the past and it just might happen that Trulee and Rio are haunted by it too. The girls bond over free diving in the springs which I absolutely loved. There was always really cool imagery for the Hidden Glen Springs parts and I loved that. Throughout the book Trulee and Rio experience some strange things that connect them to the dead girls and they're determined to uncover the truth, even while they're being stalked by the killer himself. This book does a really good job intertwining the supernatural and murder and I think fans of Ginny Myers Sain will love this one!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for letting me read this early.

So it’s no secret I adore Ginny Myers Sain’s books. She’s my favorite YA thriller author. Her books always suprise me no matter how many times I think I know what’s going to happen, and One Last Breath was no different. the writing was fast paced and I loved all of the characters. I could not put this down and I’m eagerly anticipating this to release!