Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC of this title

This is probably closer to a 3.5. I really enjoyed this story. I felt like the middle portion dragged a bit, and I found myself losing interest at points. I loved the underwater setting though. I absolutely adore books that take place primarily in the ocean. I think it adds so much ominous atmosphere. I liked the idea of this cave that they found. I do think this could have been a little more effective as a short story or novella. I thought the ending was kind of perfect. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this story.

This was such a fun, unique and interesting debut novel from Reiss! I really have come to just love the genre of sea/water based mystery/horror novels. Although this wasn’t exactly down the lane of horror, there were supernatural elements of the story and some well written body horror parts. I enjoyed our MC a lot and really liked all the members of the “Salt Squad”. The author was very successful with the descriptions and setting of this book; I felt like I could vividly picture the scenes she was describing. The duel mystery plot was also very fun and I liked that the author included flashbacks to enrich the story and provide context to the dynamics that different group members had! I liked the ending but I would have liked the author to have leaned fully into the supernatural elements so for me this was close to a 5 star read but just fell a little short! Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the story a lot and I would definitely recommend this one for how fun and unique it was!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Out of Air” will be published May 13, 2025.

I really enjoyed the horror elements of this book. The creepy transformation and the claustrophobic feeling in the underwater scenes are some of my favorite things in horror. I do wish there had been a bit more focus on Gabe and Phoebe's monstrous transformations and a little less on the treasure hunting drama, but it was still a fast paced read that kept me invested, and I liked the sort-of happy ending, sort-of-not happy ending.

Book: Out of Air
Author: Rachel Reiss
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC. I went back and forth on the rating for this one. I couldn’t decide between a three and four-star rating. This was a solid read, but I would not call it a new favourite. There were certain elements of the book that I really enjoyed and others not so much.

In this one, we follow a group of friends who are on their last dive before they all go their separate ways. Phoebe “Phibs” Ray has always felt most at home beneath the waves. Six months ago, a thrilling dive with her closest friends led to the discovery of ancient gold coins, which rocketed them into viral fame. As they prepare for their final summer together after high school, the group heads to a remote Australian island to dive one last time. During a dive on a local reef, Phibs uncovers an extraordinary underwater sea cave, rumoured to hold a lost treasure. However, when she and her best friend Gabe resurface, something is terribly wrong. Strange, unhealing wounds begin to form on their skin, and whispers—dark and unsettling—start echoing in their minds. They realise something has attached itself to them, something ancient and sinister, altering them from within. Soon, a group of treasure hunters arrives, desperate to uncover the cave's secrets and willing to hold Phibs and her friends ransom to get the location. As the tension builds, Phibs is pushed to extreme measures to protect her friends. Along the way, she uncovers a horrifying truth: the most terrifying creature in the ocean might just be her.

This one is a very tricky one to rate. I enjoyed the mix of horror, the unknown, and the friendships. I have read very few books centred around diving, so that was a nice change of pace. We have a group of friends who are on their last big dive before they all go their separate ways. It is the summer after senior year, and things are getting to change. The group decides to have one final adventure together. After all, it has to be better than what happened the summer before.

Phibs is not like the rest of her friends, who are super rich and have amazing lives. She has been abandoned by her parents, and the only person who ever cared about her, her grandma, is fading away. She needs this and needs it to go smoothly. I enjoyed this set-up. However, there are a lot of issues with this. We have super-rich teenagers who are out of touch with reality. While Phibs, who is telling the story, does not have money, there were times that I did find her to be a bit much. She worries about her grandma and has given up her university scholarship. However, she still goes on this trip. Yet, we are told time and time again that she is worrying about her grandma. I get that she wants to have fun, but it doesn’t fit with what we have been told about her character. Also, I felt like her friend group did not have enough time to develop their voices and stand out. They all blended into one. I wish the characters had been a bit more developed.

However, things have greatly changed since last summer. Last summer, the group found some treasure and has been put into the limelight. They have a large online following and have made a name for themselves. They decide to go to this remote island and have one final adventure. Of course, one of their parents will pay for everyone. Phibs knows it is because of her because she does not have the money to come. It’s supposed to be fun and exciting. That is, until they find the cave.

Now, this is where body horror comes into play. Strange things start to happen to a couple of the characters’ bodies. They are sick, and injuries are starting to appear on their skin. They don’t know why or how, but they were all okay until the cave came into the picture. One of the other girls asks them questions about the cave, and they don’t know why. It doesn’t help that she will not tell them everything that is going on.

This, once again, is a great set-up. We have a cave that we don’t know anything about it and strange things are happening. This could have driven the plot home, but it didn’t. Instead, it felt underdeveloped and lacking. Many other plot points like this could have taken the book to the next level, but instead, ended up being underdeveloped and underwritten. As a result, the complexity of this story was lost in the mix.

Overall, this is not a bad book. I did have fun with it, but it needed more development to drive the point home.

This book comes out on May 13, 2025.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/orxM6Fz-oeU

I really enjoyed this story! The novel is out of the genres that I usually read, but it sounds like an interesting premise and I decided to give it a try. By the third chapter I was hooked and super invested in the story! Interesting plotlines throughout and just the right mix of real diving-world info to feel like I was learning as I read.

Phoebe is a diver with an extraordinary ability to find things. A strange sense comes over her and when she follows it, she may find treasure or danger. When diving in Australia with her friends, Phoebe discovers a strange cave. When her friend Gabe follows her in, they have no idea what they’re about to uncover. As the group of friends deal with the strange effects from the cave, they will need to decide how much they trust each other.

Thank you to Rachel Reiss, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I have mixed feelings about this book. It started out so good. It gripped me right from the start. However, the last few chapters just lost me.

The book is about a group of friends who love diving. The main focus is on Phoebe who lives with her grandma who has Alzheimer’s. Phoebe knows absolutely nothing about her parents or really her childhood. This particular fact is important to the plot. She suffers with strong separation anxiety and fears being abandoned. When visiting a dive shop for a job interview. She encounters Gabe the owners son. From there Phoebe and Gabe are great friends and form a close bond.. Not long after she meets the rest of Gabe’s friends and goes on different diving adventures with them. One day while diving in a cave. Phoebe discovers something will change her life forever. That’s not an exaggeration either. That’s all I can say without spoiling the plot.


This book had friendship, found family, adventure, creepy imagery, endless marine life facts, friends to lovers, romance, and interesting plot twists. One thing I will mention because I’ve never experienced this while reading. If you’re familiar with the show Monsters Inside Me. It gave off that vibe and made me physically shudder. Which I’ve read dark and scary stuff but that genuinely freaked me out. I would recommend this if you love the ocean and suspense. However, I found the ending rather rushed. Nothing really made sense in my opinion. While the end wasn’t my favorite I still enjoyed the story overall.

Phoebe is a diver with an extraordinary ability to find things. A strange sense comes over her and when she follows it, she may find treasure or danger. When diving in Australia with her friends, Phoebe discovers a strange cave. When her friend Gabe follows her in, they have no idea what they’re about to uncover. As the group of friends deal with the strange effects from the cave, they will need to decide how much they trust each other.

Out of Air is a fast-paced adventure below the waves. One of my favorite parts was the beautiful and deadly descriptions of the ocean life that lurks beneath the waves. The descriptions of Australia are stunning and provide an excellent setting for this ocean adventure. Readers should be aware there is a bit of body horror, as Phoebe and Gabe deal with the effects of the cave. This book definitely gave me chills (in a good way!) and made me feel like I’d taken a dive beneath the waves myself. Rachel Reiss is clearly a diver and has a deep love for the ocean. I’m looking forward to seeing what she writes next!

Thank you to Rachel Reiss, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Haunting, immersive and transformative! The deeper they dove, the darker things became.

I think the cover for Out of Air is absolutely stunning—so attractive and striking—and I love how it reflects the story so perfectly. It is eerie and bold, just like what lies beneath the surface of this book.

I am always drawn to underwater stories, especially when they drift into darker, stranger territory and this one grabbed me from the start. Phoebe, or “Phibs,” is at home in the sea, but when she and her friends discover a mysterious underwater cave off a remote Australian island, things take a chilling turn. There is this steady, creeping dread that builds so beautifully as she and her friend Gabe start changing in terrifying ways and I was completely hooked.

The transformation aspect was done so well, both physically and emotionally, and I loved how it tangled with the theme of identity and power. There is treasure and danger and tension, but also a strong, heartfelt look at friendship and what we are willing to become to protect the ones we love.

And the setting? Utterly vivid. I could picture the reef, the cave, the rising panic when things began to unravel. It felt like the ocean itself was a character and not always a kind one.

Out of Air is sharp, strange and unforgettable.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This one is perfect for readers who love their YA horror soaked in saltwater and secrets.

"Never forget what the ocean is capable of. If you forget, it will come for you, too."

Phoebe loves the water. She's a pro on her high school swim team and loves to dive and snorkel. So a summer job in the keys at a dive shop is the perfect spot for her. But it's not just a job - she meets 4 amazing friends who have the same love of the water, of diving, of adventure. But a trip to Australia as their last hoorah before the end of senior year and heading off to college, they forgot just how strong the ocean is.

This was such an atmospheric story. It felt claustrophobic and scary. The ocean is dark and vast - can we ever really know what all is down there? When Phoebe spots a crack in the wall, you can almost feel the horror story rise up. You want to shake your head and yell "Don't go in there." That ominous feeling of suspense is well placed on every page. As things spun wildly out of control, my jaw dropped. Creepy, horrific, and absolutely mesmerizing - I was glued to the page from the start. A fantastic horror filled read of things that are easy to picture and fear. I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

2.5⭐️

I went into this expecting to be terrified because I hate the ocean. Seriously, the ocean doesn't want us there and we have no reason to be there. But for being a book about possibly becoming a monster after scuba-diving, this was kind of a let down. The Salt Squad as a group sounded interesting, but as the story went on and the secrets began to add up I questioned if they were even friends in the first place. I also found it wild that the group had so many earth shattering secrets and that they all kept them considering how tense the group seemed to be at all times.

Out of Air falls into the normal YA trope where the adults notice nothing which was also wild to me. What do you mean that these high school kids are going deep sea diving by themselves without an adult on the ship? What do you mean that one of them is legitimately growing gills and no one panics? What do you mean the adult with alzheimer's helped them hide a crime? There was just so much that this book was asking me to look past that just made it not work for me at all.

Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC to me!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I have some issues with this one, but regardless I still had a good time with it. My problem stems with the characters and their flaws, but what I truly held on for was the sci-fi twist and the body horror. I saw someone draw a comparison with Annihilation and I think that is a good description of that facet of the story. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads for release. 3.5 stars

Novel Concept: 5/5
Novel Execution: 3/5

Title: 3/5
Characterization: 3/5
Voice: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Theme: 2/5
Prose: 5/5

Does this pass the Bechdel Test: Yes

I love water as a theme. I love someone going in the water and not coming out the same. This book seems like it would be my vibe and as much as I tried to love it I am so sad to say that this book is just okay at it's best, and bizarrely doesn't make sense at its worst.

**Title**
The title references the plot point that drives the tension, the main characters quite literally running out of air and being forced to breath in the air from an air pocket in an underwater cave. It's a title that works for a suspense thriller but I don't know--the doesn't feel particularly groundbreaking. I feel like a lot of books in this genre could be called "Out of Air."

**Characterization**
I want to say the characterization is strong but sometimes these characters act obtuse for no reason or go full bizarre for one scene and it's not taken that seriously. And you would think I'm being mean because this book has madness as a theme but I am not talking about the characters who go mad. The scene with throwing the camera over the side of the boat? That's a friendship ending moment. You do not fuck with someone's expensive shit like that. And maybe that was commentary on the rich but there aren't any real consequences for this action, esp since Phibes ends up thinking Lani was right for doing it.

Will spends one scene trying to seduce Phibes and the scene was so confusing like why can't she move? How is that fake seduction whatever not a friendship ending moment? Why are we so chill about it?

Will and Gabe fighting on the beach though? That's peak sibling.

Voice
I think Phibes voice is fairly strong and she's an entertaining enough narrator. She's a fairly safe narrator in terms of reliability up until the end of the novel where we're doing a gymnastics routine to explain how the photo got posted by her. It's really unclear because she didn't remember and then she remembered when she took a photo of the fish and her excuse is...mid. More on that in theme.

Plot
Wow is this plot a bit of a mess. Granted, I still had a fun time and there were points where I was glued to the book so desperate to know what happened next. But taking off the Book Colored Glasses and thinking critically about the plot, it really is a book about nothing.

I love eldritch horror. I love Water + Eldritch Horror. This ain't it, chief. I'm sorry but it's not. Like we have old cave, eldritch air that is turning people aquatic but it's a little underwhelming when the solution to the plot is "we go back to the cave for the third time in a row." Like I want to go somewhere interesting and have weird and interesting things happen. All that happens to Phibes and Gabe is that they get sick and then can communicate with deadly animals and that evolution WAS COOL but it doesn't feel like we're progressing somewhere when we're always just going back to the cave. I kind of wish that someone had died so we could see what happened when someone didn't go to the cave. I just wanted things to develop more in terms of lore and we are just as clueless as the beginning as we were at the end.

And I'm not asking for direct and explicit lore. Our Wives Under The Sea does a really good job at showing the slow devolution of one of the main characters until she is returned to the sea. The story was dynamic because we were going new places with the progression of the Eldritch horror.

Also, the random treasure hunters at the island was a hard buy in. I know the book set up treasure hunters and so it's not like I don't believe that treasure hunters would show up, it's just that all the tension seemed wrapped up in the sheriff and I think the sheriff should have been at the island and have the father reveal there. I just didn't feel much about the treasure hunters, especially since they were such a late villain to the story. Especially since half of them just get arrested off screen and we keep moving the plot forward.

I think the tension in the flashback scenes is fine without the attach by the sheriff. I don't think there needs to be a direct consequence to the coin getting sold because the real consequences is that Phibes and Will are mad at each other, and that's the first splinter in this friend group. It already felt like there was consequences. And by God, all of that anger for it not to matter because it was Gabe? Yikes. Very yikes. Will and Phibes realistically would NEVER talk to each other ever again.

Theme
Sometimes it feels like everyone wants to recreate James from Silent Hill 2 knowing he killed his wife without telling the player until the very end. But it worked in Silent Hill, and it doesn't work in Out of Air. One of the plot points is that a photo gets posted when it shouldn't have, and that ultimately attracts the treasure hunters to the island. And it's this big deal and Phibes last chapter confession is that she realized she posted the photo and just forgot? Or maybe the sea made her do it? I don't know. It was just something that was acknowledged and pushed to the side and it was just confusing. Phibes ultimately says she finally feels like she belongs somewhere which is a WILD TAKE considering she deliberately disobeyed directions, brought in treasure hunters that kidnapped them, killed two people, all for her to be like "Ends justify the means and I belong and no one will ever know the truth."

Guys I think Phibes might be the bad guy in the story. She becomes 100% unlikeable in the very last chapter.

At the end of the day I don't know what the book was about. We don't really go much into the Eldritch horror and Phibes ends up being low-key the worst at the last chapter of the book. What does she "belong" to?

Prose
I think the asynchronous timeline is fine but underwhelming. We could synchronize this timeline and lose nothing. It feels like it was a distraction more than a feature, because a lot of plot happens in the past and I think we should have just told this book in two parts. The expedition with the coin and the expedition with the cave. The devolution of Will and Phibes relationship would have been a good midpoint tension.

Continuing on with my recent run of excellent thriller ARCs, Out of Air by Rachel Reiss is an amalgamation of some of my favourite things—the ocean and transformative body horror. As someone deeply obsessed with all things water, I knew immediately when I read the synopsis that this story was going to be right up my alley.
Deep sea diving, mysterious caves, sexual tension, and curses? I couldn’t have asked for a more intriguing premise, but beyond all of that what really shocked me was the intensely gripping narration. I was so enthralled with being inside Phoebe’s head that the actual page count seemed to fly by as I fell deeper and deeper into her psyche; revelling in her insecurities and motivations so that the events of the novel felt even more poignant as they played out.
The reason why I think Reiss’ writing style works as well as it does, is because Phoebe’s inner monologue is written to be observational as opposed to expository. This avoids those large chunks of info dumping that can break immersion, and pull a reader out of a narrator’s spell. This combined with the seamless back and forth in the timeline which is used to display the history and relationship dynamic between the core group of friends, perfectly establishes every character as three-dimensional and forces the reader to be emotionally invested very early on in the narrative. As a result the isolationism, fear, and sense of becoming “other,” feels grounded in reality even when the actual plot is so surreal and fantastical.
Overall, I loved this. It is everything I could have asked for out of a horror/thriller novel—visceral, emotionally engaging, unsettling, and perfectly paced. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for something suspenseful and mysterious.

To me this book was just okay. I didn't really care about any of the characters and it didn't feel as though the "shock factor" of the book went far enough. The conclusion also felt too easy. It took me a long time to get through this and it was kinda underwhelming.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had a great time reading this one. As the weather gets hotter in my neck of the woods (central Florida), I find myself drawn to books set in warm climates or ocean themed. This one hit the specific itch I had for bingeable ocean horror/thriller. Plus, its YA so it felt very easy to read, reminiscent of a summer vacation (but scarier!).

I really loved the mix of a classic YA "last summer before college" adventure with the creepiness of the ocean and tense secrets. There is also a bit of body horror and a mysterious, almost eldritch horror element that I really enjoyed. Out of Air felt very atmospheric and I enjoyed the jumps between the past and present timelines. Overall, solid YA horror that is best read by a body of water or at least ocean sounds playing in the background.

*Out of Air* had a premise I was excited about, with treasure hunters mixed into something dangerous, but I struggled to really get into it. Even though the setup was intriguing, the story never fully hooked me. It was a decent read overall, just not something I would probably choose again. I can see how others might enjoy it more than I did.

🤿 M Y S T E R I O U S M O N D A Y review 🤿 featuring “Out of Air” by Rachel Reiss!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

The Salt Squad is a group of friends who share a deep bond for scuba diving and have become influencers who share their diving adventures with their followers. 6 months ago, they became social media famous for finding ancient gold coins on one of their dives. Now they are hooked on finding treasure in the depths of the ocean … but they have no idea what the ocean is capable of.

The squad decides to go on one last adventure all together before everyone parts ways for college. They go to a remote island in Australia and find a mysterious cave unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. Barely escaping getting out of the caves alive, once the group resurfaces strange things start happening to them that can’t be explained.

I don’t read many YA books but I really enjoyed this underwater thriller that has elements of horror, romance and even the supernatural. The ocean itself plays such an important (and threatening) character in this story. What lies underneath the surface is unknown and full of buried secrets. The caves are suffocating and claustrophobic and the anxiety builds with every breath. Think Outerbanks, Into the Blue and Fool’s Gold vibes, but more thrilling, chilling and haunting 🏴‍☠️

Thank you kindly to @rachelreisswrites @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases on May 13, 2025!

“The sea doesn’t give two shits. The ocean’s a ruthless beast. It doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, pretty or ugly as sin. When it strikes —not if, but when — it’ll rip everything away in a heartbeat”.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

LMAO! Well, this YA certainly held me in the palm of its hand. I wasn't sure if I would call this a sci-fi( supernatural) or not. That's the genre that came to my mind the most. Reminded me of Annihilation a bit. Again, I am just trying to find some way to explain this book. Then again, other reviewers are calling this a mystery thriller. So, maybe I am the one adrift at sea?

A group of high school graduates who are spending their last summer before college, enjoying what they love the most-scuba diving and searching the ocean's floor. They stumble upon a few things they shouldn't and get in a heck of a lot of trouble. The chapters alternate from the present to several months before, and it is soon evident that the past and present will collide.

So, I did like this even if some of the characters grated on my nerves, and I questioned how well teenagers could scuba dive without any supervision. The ending certainly still has me thinking, and it's been over a week since I finished.


Love that book cover.



Expected Publication 13/05/25
Goodreads Review 28/04/25

DNF at 19%

I realize I'm likely not the intended audience for this one. I couldn't get over how a group of 18 year olds have enough dive experience in the two year timeline she gave to be able to dive by themselves. No more experienced/older divers on the trip to the middle of nowhere because "our rich parents trust us and MCs grandmother won't remember anyway."

The disrespect for the dangers of the ocean and adults just gave me the ick.

Then there's some kind of romance subplot that feels forced.

Overall just wasn't for me.