3.5/5 ⭐️
Dani and Sawyer are a cruiser couple - as in they live on a boat and sail around the world. Dani is also trying to become a YouTube influencer when one day she disappears. The Internet and police are convinced Sawyer is to blame, especially as new videos keep being released that make him look guilty. Did Sawyer kill Dani or is something else going on?

*Spoilers below*
This was like Gone Girl on the water. Even early on, I was like I bet she is alive. I kept waiting for another huge twist, and while there was maybe one at the end, it didn't feel surprising to me. This was a quick read though. There were a few other things too that threw me off - there is a character named Brendan Weatherby who is called both names interchangeably, by the same character, on the same page, like literally from sentence to sentence. That was just strange and seemed like an accident (there was no explanation or reasoning I could find)? Additionally, the end felt unfinished/abrupt. I was like wait, we are done now?? I think I was waiting for some sort of epilogue. Overall, a decent thriller, but not one that surprised me.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

On The Surface had lots to like with lots of action and twist and turns. It also had lots of unlikable characters who got on my nerves a lot at times including social media influencer Dani.
Set over dual timelines it was engaging and kept me reading to find out what did happen to Dani after she disappeared. A good solid thriller that I am sure will be gobbled up on its release.
Thank you to NetGalley for this early reading copy it was a great read.

Dani and Sawyer are a gorgeous young couple that are “cruisers” currently docked in the Bahamas. They spend their days sailing around the world and Dani shares their adventures on social media. Sawyer doesn’t love that, but it makes Dani happy so he goes along with it. Their life appears perfect … on the surface!
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One morning, after a night of partying with other cruisers, Sawyer wakes up with a killer hangover and no memory of the night before. He realizes Dani is missing.
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Videos start appearing on their social media which make it seem Sawyer was abusive to Dani. This, mixed with other things discovered by the police, make Sawyer their number one suspect.
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The dual timeline gave some glimpses in the past and the dual point of view always tells more of the story! The characters were all perfectly unlikeable. And while I guessed some of the twists, I still loved every minute!

Thanks to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, Rachel McGuire and Crooked Lane books for a gifted ARC.

This one gave me strong vibes of a long ago popular thriller. I won’t mention any names because I don’t want to influence anyone else, but it never left my mind.

Now that we are almost officially in summer in the Northern hemisphere, this is definitely a summer read. A thriller in the water with an unreliable narrator. No spoilers here since one of our narrators was blackout drunk or high at the time of the incident.

Honestly it was the cover of this one that grabbed me. Look at it. But if you are a fan of influencing or boating, then this one will grab you for the story. There is a lot of intrigue with the main characters. One is missing. The other one can’t remember what happened and has the death of his first wife still looming over him.

I had never heard of cruisers so it was enlightening to read about this boating community. I didn’t really like anyone but that is sometimes a plus for me in a thriller. It gives me extra reason to not trust them.

This is a slow burn, almost a drama at times, with a little police procedural thrown in. It’s highly entertaining and I flew through it. Can’t wait to see what these authors come up with next.

On The Surface is a twisted thriller. It's hard to know which characters are trustworthy and which are not when trying to unravel the mystery of Dani's disappearance. I also enjoyed the concept of sailing Youtubers with the intrigue of the events happening on the water with no one around to witness anything. If you're looking for a quick read to devour on the beach, this book is perfect.

This book was interesting and kept me guessing. Multiple times I thought I had it figured out and I was wrong. I’d recommend this book to lovers of thrillers.

Sawyer Stone III and Dani Fox are a young couple cruising the world aboard their sailboat and documenting it for their YouTube channel. While anchored in the Bahamas, Dani goes missing and Sawyer has no memory of what happened. With the cruiser community against him, Sawyer must prove his innocence while trying to figure out exactly what happened to Dani.

If there ever was a couple that deserved each other, it’s this one! Neither Sawyer nor Dani were likable, and I loved to hate them! Reading about the cruiser lifestyle was interesting since I knew nothing about before. Imagine giving up everything and just cruising the world?

I enjoyed this popcorn thriller that totally gave me Gone Girl vibes. The characters were so deplorable, and I didn’t know who I could trust. Although some parts were predictable, I didn’t want to put this book down. My one complaint was the ambiguous ending, but overall, I thought this was the perfect summer thriller that will keep you on your toes.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

✨️ The team at @thrillerbookloversthepulse are reviewing On The Surface and were thinking it's the perfect read to throw in your beach bag this summer 🌴 You'll definitely want to check it out on release!

On The Surface is a slow burn, addictive, drama filled thriller that'll keep you flipping those pages. The setting was amazing, perfect to bring with you to the beach. The descriptions were vivid and easily imaginable in my mind. I liked how it was fleshed out and how it played out.

The characters were highly unlikeable, which in this particular book worked for me. I just loved to hate them. They live for the drama, the secrets and the lies. I liked that I didn't know who I could trust. The multiple POV's gave insight into different characters which I thought added an extra layer. Some twists were maybe a little predictable but truly for me it didn't take away from my enjoyment, the rest made up for it.

This is definitely a highly entertaining thriller. It's fun, it'll keep you hooked and it'll keep you invested in the drama and wanting to know who's telling the truth.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @crookedlanebooks & @rachelmcguire for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well that was a wild sail. I love unreliable narrators and this one had two! The story was well written and the characters were entertaining. I love how the author left the ending. 4.5 stars

To start off, the cover of this books is absolutely gorgeous and I love it!
This book is a dual point of view story about Dani Fox who goes missing from her boyfriend’s boat while sailing in the Bahamas. It has the perfect summer theme!
I really loved the first half of this book. It was fast paced, twisty, and really kept my attention. The second half unfortunately lost me. We find out what happened to Danny and pursuit of justice begins, but there is no real resolution. I was disappointed in how the story just sort of stopped. With that being said, if a second book were to be released that continues the story, I would absolutely grab it to see what happens next!

While this book was well-written and action-packed, I somehow struggled with it. I didn’t get sucked into the story, despite me giving it multiple tries. Despite pushing through and finishing reading it, the open ending just… left a sour aftertaste. I’m sorry, I really wanted to love this one, yet I didn’t.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books, Rachel McGuire and Thriller Loves the Pulse for this ARC!

Just in time for summer, we at the Pulse have been reading the ultimate cruise adventure! Sawyer Stone and Dani Fox, the YouTube couple famously traveling the world on their 42’ boat, have docked in the Bahamas. Their reality show, Sailing with the Foxes, documents their adventures on the water. As they party in the Bahamas, everything looks perfect on the surface. But one night, Dani vanishes and Sawyer has no memory of her leaving. But as her pre recorded videos continue to post, a darker side of her and Sawyer’s relationship is revealed. Bahamas Police Inspector Veronique Knowles has her hands full trying to get to the bottom of things and find Dani.

First of all, I absolutely love the cover of this book! It screams “summer” to me so I was thrilled to get a pretty copy of it for my shelves! I love the whole “reality show” angle - it's quickly becoming a favorite in thrillers I have been reading lately! Getting to see how these seemingly perfect people behaved behind the scenes is deliciously fun! And while these characters were pretty perfect on the surface, they were quite unlikeable when the cameras weren’t rolling! Told from multiple points of view, we get to know these characters and a bit about their pasts as the search is on for Dani. If you enjoy character-driven stories, give this one a try :)

“On the Surface” releases July 9, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Dani Fox is trying to grow her YouTube channel, "Sailing with the Foxes."  She wants to be able to monetize her life at sea with her boyfriend, Sawyer Stone III.  Especially now since his investment in crypto went south.  They have anchored in the Bahamas for a bit.  Partying with other cruisers and exploring, everything is filmed to be edited and uploaded to her channel.  But when Dani goes missing after a party and Sawyer doesn't remember a thing, questions start to arise.  Her scheduled posts are still being uploaded and start to show a darker side of the relationship. 
As Royal Bahamas Police Inspector Veronique Knowles starts to investigate, Dani's disappearance goes viral.  The internet sleuths are running rampant.  They've even discovered secrets from Sawyer's past that make him the prime suspect.  But is he capable of doing what they are saying?

Told in multiple POV, this book was entertaining.  A popcorn thriller full of unlikable characters and lots of drama.  It had a great setting, and the "cruisers" life was definitely interesting.  Unfortunately, it was very predictable, and the ending was a bit abrupt.  I would still recommend this book to someone who dabbles in thrillers and doesn't like them to be too dark.

After seeing and loving this cover, I had to get my hands on it! A timely thriller about influencers and how far they’re willing to go for a like and subscribe. Unfortunately, this book was unoriginal and predictable with a cast of characters who I loathed. The ending was completely open ended, nothing was resolved, which I can admire when done well, but this was done so poorly. The plot was very reminiscent of another popular thriller from years ago. I wanted so much more from this one.

Exotic setting, unusual lead characters -- a couple who spend their life together cruising the seas and recording it all for YouTube -- and a bucketful of surprising twists all make this a genuine page turner. Take it to the beach and you might become so wrapped up in the story that you'll forget to go in the water.

The perfect summer drama read!!! The Bahamian / ocean setting and tropic vibes made me crave the beach. And the drama is excellent!!! Influencers, con artists, cruisers and a police inspector who is on to them all. There were a few unexpected twists which I love. The ending gave indication of how things were wrapping up but it wasn't a perfect closure. I thought that was very fitting for this book. Highly recommend if you're looking for some drama and mystery!

The perfect THRILLER to get your summer started! Once I started reading, I could NOT put it down!

One young cruiser (people that live on boats, traveling the world) with dreams of fame and fortune, create a YouTube channel, hoping to rake in the dough. Dani Fox will do anything to succeed and be noticed, ANYTHING. She and her boyfriend, owner of their boat, Serendipity, both star in Dani’s YouTube channel which has just been monetized. It’s growing but not making any money yet.

One day, after a late night partying with their fellow cruisers, Sawyer wakes up with no memory of getting home nor of anything that happened that night. Unfortunately, Dani is also MIA.

What happened to Dani and why is Sawyer being accused of hurting her?
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I really enjoyed this thrilling and suspenseful book! It held my attention completely and surprised me many times throughout! However, I did not like the ending as it left me wanting more and a definite conclusion.

Readers who enjoy Ruth Ware, Sally Hepworth and Rachel Hawkins will love this one!

A page-turner in the extreme, On the Surface had me and everyone else at Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse hooked right from the start. Between the flipped script plot and the thoroughly unlikeable characters, I was entirely swept away by this craveable popcorn thriller. After all, the satirical slant and fast pace kept my eyes glued to the pages. Even the witty, thought-provoking social media commentary kept me happily enthralled. After all, instead of feeling lectured, it was a bang up job at entertainment.

The plot itself was utterly dripping in twists. With a premise that provided just a stepping off point, after no time at all, it was left quaking in the dust. More than once the direction took a sharp turn, only to reveal an even more stupendous and twisted bearing. From the attention-grabbing prologue to the shock-inducing last page, there wasn’t a moment where my fingers weren’t flying as my eyes hungrily ate up every word.

As for the characters, this book was full of some of the most vile sort, which made for a few deliciously perfect personas that I just loved to hate. Told via multiple POVs in the first-person, the games that were played filled each chapter with a definite sense of foreboding. Adding to the enjoyment was the fact that each of their personalities were perfectly hammered out, giving rise to distinct, clear cut identities that came alive on the page.

The only piece to this binge-worthy tale that slightly missed the mark for me was the finale. Hardly wrapped up with a nice, pretty, little bow, it left me wanting some answers. At the same time, that’s probably more of a me thing than a plot thing, because IYKYK, but I like my conclusions fully spelled out.

All in all, though, while I definitely needed to suspend all disbelief, the writing duo behind this addictive sensation had me in the palms of their hands. To be frank, this book just HAS to grace a screen near me someday soon. After all, I can so easily see it: a gorgeous locale, sexy sail boats, equally gorgeous characters—all on top of one killer plot. What’s not to love? So if you’ve already been hooked by this downright stunning cover, I beg of you to also discover the magic that is inside to boot. Rating of 4.5 stars.

★★★★.5
What makes this book a must-read? The cover, a visual masterpiece, is a window into the story's soul. The cleverly chosen title perfectly captures the dark and twisted tale that lies within. This debut psychological thriller results from a collaboration between Rachel Graham and Lee-Ann McGuire Whitlock, writing under the pen name Rachel McGuire. I'm eagerly awaiting their next project!

Do you like untrustworthy characters? Are psychopaths your cup of tea? How about YouTubers, cyber-sleuths, and life on the open sea? "On the Surface" might be the next read you're looking for!

Sawyer and Dani form a captivating pair at the story's core. The seasoned Sawyer has the expertise to keep the boat operational and manage affairs seamlessly. With her youthful savvy and social media know-how, Dani skillfully navigates the waters of online content creation. She understands how to capitalize on her appeal to generate the necessary funds for their way of life, although she may occasionally overestimate her knowledge.

One question: Is the ending open for interpretation, or can we look forward to a sequel?

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

OntheSurface #RachelMcGuire #NetGalley #Bahamas

I loved this thriller! Such an easy read, it had me wanting more the entire time. I loved the plot and trying to figure out what was going to happen the entire time. So many different twists and turns but they all came back together. The ending did fall a little flat, I’m hoping for a book 2?! If not it still ended decently.