Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book! I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did, but Rachel Reiss’ Out of Air was a fantastically suspenseful read. I’m not a diver, but my partner and their family are all certified, so I’ve heard a lot of horror stories of how bad it can get. This certainly qualified!

Phoebe’s situation with her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s hit particularly close to home, since my own grandma is dealing with the same thing, but I can’t imagine being the primary caregiver in that situation. All of the stress that Phoebe’s under is compounded by her worries about her grandmother while she’s on the trip with the Salt Squad. The glimpses of her that we saw were so interesting, and I’m glad Phoebe had such a cool person to hope raise her.

I wasn’t too surprised by the plot twists, but I don’t think the story suffered for it when the reason WHY certain things happened were more important. The horror elements were super well executed, and I was on the edge of my seat wondering just how the transformation was going to progress.

I’ll definitely be looking out for more books by this author!

Woohoo!!! Out of Air is a chilling, gripping, intense, eerie, and thrilling page turner! I did not want to put this book down and was sad when it ended. I was completely enthralled in the plot, glued to the pages, and loving every single page of this book! I loved the tension, the creepiness, the underwater world, the characters, the mysteries, and the horrors that awaited the divers deep in the ocean!

I was swept away by the author’s wonderful and descriptive writing. I felt as if I were right in the mist of the action as a silent observer; or shall I say diver. I also loved the friendship group that the five teens formed. There was a socio-economic divide, but they banded together through their love of the ocean, diving, and exploring.

The ocean is vast, deep, dark, wonderous, mysterious, and intriguing. But as the diving group learned, the ocean can also be creepy, horrific, unforgiving, and dangerous. I felt for both Gabe and Phibs and what happened to them after they emerged from the underwater cave they discovered.

This book has a little bit of everything - formed family, a sense of community, romance, friendship, family bonds, mystery, and romance. I loved how all of these blended together in Out of Air. I also enjoyed how this book was told through the present day and through glimpses into the past.

In case my review does not say it enough, I loved this book!

Atmospheric, chilling, horrific, and wonderfully written!

First off, I would like to thank St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC. This book will be published on May 13, 2025.

Boy did this book have me on the edge of my seat! Phoebe "Phibs" Ray lives on an island in Key West where she befriends a local group of divers and they form "The Salt Squad". With their newly famed media attention from finding some ancient gold coins, they get the chance to go diving on an island off of Australia. Here, they find an underwater cave and the drama commences. I won't go too deep into detail or I'll spoil the fun. :)

I was drawn to reading this book because of the "Wilder Girls" meets "Outer Banks" reference. I definitely see the connection to these two books/shows and would even throw in a VERY MINOR hint of "The Thirteenth Year" original movie from Disney Channel. This book is classified as YA, but as a woman in my 30s, I found that I really enjoyed it. I have dived in the great barrier reef myself and was really able to relate to the high you get from while underwater. I found myself googling lots of sea life creatures as the book has a wonderful descriptive narrative.

The book is a single POV, has a hint of romance, danger, and lots of treasure hunting fun. Because these characters have just graduated high school, you definitely get a sense of Phibs trying to figure out where she belongs. The ocean calls to her and she feels like most of her family has left her and that her friends will eventually leave her too.

Overall, I thought this book was fun and a change of pace from what I normally read. The ending was well rounded and answered a few of the lingering questions I had. The cover is BEAUTIFUL and I felt like it accurately shows what was described in the book. I would say this book was a success for the debut author, Rachel Reiss.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

this book was so out of my wheelhouse & i loved it! i’ve never read anything that centers around the ocean let alone a creepy, fast paced thriller! this friend group definitely reminded me of the outer banks, & the lore was insane! reason number 5,000 why the ocean is terrifying & i will be admiring from afar! 🌊🪼

thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC!

⭐⭐⭐

It was a fun little read if you have nothing to do and want your mind to be busy this book was nice, I liked the potential it had in the beginning it was quick paced but not rushed. I was however disappointed towards the middle because it started to become rushed, and I felt like there should have been more time to describe the problems at hand and more backstory for the plot. I did like the chemistry that our 2 main characters had it added a nice tone to the story. All in all, I felt like the writing had more potential and all we were reading was just the surface of it. Which was disappointing because I really did want to rate it higher and I wanted to like the book more, this was my 1st book of Rachel Reiss I did enjoy her writing and the way her imagery transitioned you to the story was very good .

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review 😊Stay blessed everyone !

the beginning was so promising but it all went downhill pretty quickly for me :( the fmc is kinda whiny all the time and I get it considering her situation but still. I liked their little group in the beginning but as the story went on they had so many secrets and I‘m not sure if I would even call them friends tbh. It all felt too easy, like of course this one person is connected to them in that way and of course they find stuff without even looking for it. The atmosphere of the story, the setting and every dive was very eerie which I enjoyed but the plot was kinda all over the place.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I thought this book would have a spooky/thriller vibe and it did not. In fact, it had so much going on that it didn’t really have any concrete vibes at all. The writing style itself has so much potential but all potential was wasted on this story and the characters. I wanted to DNF but didn’t solely because it was like a train wreck and I wanted to see what happened.

This was a decent book! It was way more YA than I thought it would be, so that took away from the book for me. I didn’t like the drama and just unrealistic things that happen, so that made it less enjoyable

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This book was sooooo good. I read it in less than 24 hours. A FANTASTIC debut from Rachel Reiss. You can can she had knowledge of scuba diving. The description of this book being like Outer Banks and Wilder Girls was spot on! A perfect YA, minimal swearing, intriguing plot, side teen romance, and a dash of fantasy. I loved it and am screaming from the rooftops for people to read this.

I received this book as an ebook ARC from NetGalley, and I'm thrilled to have read it!

While I was originally thrown by the flashbacks and multiple timestamps that were shown throughout the first third of the book, things slowly started coming together, building up to a whirlpool of a climax and never quite letting go. The aspect of found family, the inherent sense of loyalty, and the love that the "Salt Squad" have between them feels real, not shoehorned or too perfect, but a steady compare and contrast project between caring too much for each other and trying to be selfish at the same time.

The mystery and thriller portions of this book are unexplained in some of the best ways, and Reiss does an excellent job of portraying the joy, wonder, awe, and fear of scuba and cave diving, especially with real-life tragedies that have haunted some of the most beautiful places on earth. The war between beauty and calm and raging waves is balanced well, and it kept me hooked and ready to keep reading to find out what I could.

Overall, Out of Air was a very good book, which (for me) only missed out on 5 stars because the timelines (especially at the beginning) were rather confusing. Things definitely made more sense at the end, I just wish they'd made that much sense more toward the beginning!

Title: Our of Air by Rachel Reiss
Genre: YA Thriller
Pub Date: May 13, 2025
📖 304 pages

The deeper you go, the darker you fall.

Scuba Diving
Treasure Hunters
Underwater Caves
Flashbacks/Dual Timelines

This ended up being an intriguing mix of YA fantasy and thriller, with a smidge of horror. The pacing was a little slow, but I still enjoyed the couple of twists and the lore aspect. This was a great debut novel and I look forward to reading the Reiss's work in the future!

Thank you so much, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for the digital review copy

Out of Air by Rachel Reiss is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that had my anxiety spiking with every page! Following Phibs and her friends on a final summer dive to an isolated Australian island, the story quickly descends into a gripping nightmare when they uncover a mysterious underwater cave. The eerie transformations, sinister whispers, and relentless treasure hunters create an atmosphere of palpable tension that never lets up. With vivid descriptions and escalating stakes, Reiss masterfully captures the terrifying allure of the ocean’s depths while exploring themes of loyalty and survival.

Thanks NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

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

This book is outside my normal wheelhouse but something about the description and the cover just drew me in and I am glad I branched out and read this YA thriller / creepy psychological horror book. It just sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down since there was always another twist I needed to figure out and a new oh my god moment. The story follows Phoebe and her friends who are dealing with the fallout of an incident from 6 months ago while enjoying a last summer trip diving in Australia before they all go their own ways after high school. As the story is told in the present with chapters flashing back to the previous incident allowing it to unfold in the same time the current timeline does. I can’t say anymore because I don’t want to risk a spoiler but trust me if this book sounds even slightly interesting to you then you should pick it up, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

An interesting read where a group of divers go to Australia for a last trip before they all go off to college. The group is already fragile and breaking apart and a mysterious cave that has magical powers affects two of the group. And they have no idea why they are starting to change physically and mentally. Not my favorite, but a quick read.

3.5 stars

I loved the premise of the book, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.
The diving aspect was very interesting to me as someone who has no experience in that area, and I could feel the tension and urgency when the characters were diving and trying not to run out of air. However, I feel that the atmosphere was disrupted by the chapters set in the past and could have been used to explore the events of the present in more depth. The pacing was also very quick, which didn't allow me to connect to the characters and story as much as I would have liked. Some of their decisions and actions were also quite frustrating to me, so I would have liked more insight into the other members of the Salt Squad.

Unfortunately, I ended up feeling unsatisfied with the ending. I was confused by some of the details (one non-spoilery example: what was under their skin, causing the changes? and what's the endgame of the 'transformation'). I just didn't like the outcome in general, to be honest.

Despite all this, I see potential, and this is a debut novel, so I'm interested in what the author writes in the future.

What a dive! Reiss' debut novel is an exciting mix of friendship, adventure, and serendipity. It gave off strong Outer Banks vibes, with a tight-knit group of friends chasing their passions of diving together, and the thrill of hidden treasure, history, and treasure hunters. The story’s vibrant details and emotional depth were immersive, and the vivid descriptions of ocean life made me want to go diving myself. There’s also a twist of oceanic horror that adds an intriguing layer. I loved the overall atmosphere of the book and am definitely interested in reading future novels by Reiss! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I struggled with how to categorize this one except that it was YA in some forms. There was fantasy and horror and even some romance. A debut that was a mashup of emotions while I flipped the pages trying to figure out what I had picked up.

It’s the story of 5 friends: 3 girls and 2 fraternal brothers. The odd (wo) man out is the only one who isn’t coupled in some way… the girls being in a relationship and the boys being twins. But Phoebe finds a kinship to them as they’re all drawn to the ocean… a magnetic pull between them and the vast horror that is calling them and could kill in them in the same breath.

There’s mystery over what happened to Phoebe’s mom. The bizarre transformation happening to Gabe and her. And the treasure hunters that find a space in the dark swells of this book.

And to be honest I don’t even know what I think except that my fear of the power of the ocean that both calms me when I stare at it… and frightens me when I step in it… had me binging this one.

A thriller fantasy of sorts. Unique in some ways and YA in tone, it’s one for readers who like this type of a mash up.

Also, I’m never going in the ocean again😂 it is literally all my fears in one book. Esp the box jellyfish that I had no idea about but made me google if they were in fact real.

I’m gonna chalk it up to an escapist book. I liked it because it felt fresh. So curious on where this debut author will go next.

Thank you @dial for the gifted copy!
3.75 ⭐️

First of all, thank you for the ARC!

It's my first time reading about divers, and it's so atmospheric!

Five friends, an underwater cave, treasure, and an unexplainable illness
•1 pov
•Love and friendship
•Secrets
•The underwater world

I was intrigued from beginning to end, and I wish it had more content. The book felt like a short story, but I still enjoyed reading it.

Everything is described as if I were underwater myself. Even though I'm afraid of swimming, diving movies are among my favorites, so after reading the synopsis, I eagerly picked it up.

It’s somewhat reminiscent of "Outer Banks," with a group of teens, problems, secrets, and treasure, but it's not fair to compare or expect an exact match.

Now I want more books like this!

For the idea, a huge plus!

📷🌊🪙🪼

*4.5 stars*

Out of Air is a fun YA ocean horror adventure! I am always down for ocean horror, so I was intrigued by this book's premise; and it delivered on the creepy. I think this one is best jumped into with as few spoilers as possible, so I won't say much about the plot other than it is very well written; it does start as more of a slow burn, but in a good way that allows the horror to develop. I would recommend Out of Air to fans of Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith, Under the Surface by Diana Urban, or any readers who enjoy YA ocean horror, body horror, or survival stories.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the arc! All thoughts & opinions stated in the review are my own.