First off I absolutely loved the narrator
Now, for the book, each chapter would alternate between the present and the past sometimes it was hard to keep the storyline straight. But towards the end, the storylines weaved together very nicely. I do wish it was longer, though I wish that we knew what happened to Caleb and Phoebe did they eventually recover or did their powers continue to get stronger and they turn into something else? It did seem that they were going to be turned into something else, but I would’ve liked more on that. I do wish we actually knew what happens to Phoebe’s mother. It would’ve been nice for Phoebe to find evidence of her mother either passing were also turning into a sea creature of sorts.
Overall, it was very good very unique

Eh, no. This tries to be too many things at once and ends up failing.

The beginning truly had me hooked but the poor pacing, excessive plot threads and lack of suspense made this thriller shudder and die. The character is an outcast of her own making, she makes people out to be enemies in her head constantly and it’s exhausting.

Anyway, I got really excited about this because cave diving is one of the most terrifying things I can think of - but alas, the only thing scary about this book was how bad it was.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! And I thought the narrator, Gail Shalan, was perfect for this book.

Phoebe “Phibs” Ray is never more at home than when she’s underwater. On a dive six months ago, she and her four closest friends discovered a handful of ancient gold coins, rocketing them into social media fame. Now, their final summer together after high school, they’re taking one last trip to a distant Australian island to do what they love most – scuba dive. While diving a local reef, Phibs discovers a spectacular underwater sea cave, rumored to be a lost cave with a buried treasure. But when Phibs and her best friend Gabe surface from the cave, they notice that they're undergoing strange changes. Oozing gashes that don’t heal. Haunting whispers in their heads... Something has latched onto them, lurking beneath their skin, transforming them from the inside out.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery of this book and I think others will enjoy the characters, and the darkness this book delivers.

that was strange. I dont do well with time jumps back and forth so I'm sure that's just a me issue. i didn't enjoy that part. it was very nice descriptive wise but it was just weird storyline wise. there were like a million storylines and I didn't know what was what at some points. supernatural? super no.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Rachel Reiss for granting me early access to the audiobook Out of Air by Rachel Reiss.

The best way to describe this book is Outer Banks meets The Deep by Nick Cutter—so if body horror isn’t your thing, consider jumping ship now.

The ocean itself felt like the true main character of this novel. Every aspect of the story and plot revolves around it, and the vivid, mesmerizing descriptions completely immersed me. As someone who’s terrified of the ocean, I found myself strangely longing for experiences I would typically avoid like the plague.

While I never fully connected with the main cast, I did appreciate the depth of their relationships and the bond they shared. What I loved most was the contrast between the carefree summer adventure/drama trope and the creeping eldritch horror elements. I only wish the latter had been explored in more detail. That might just be my personal bias toward horror—I wanted more insight into what was happening and a heavier dose of gore.

I have a soft spot for horror/suspense novels set underwater, and Out of Air was no exception. Overall, I’d rate it a solid 3.5/5.

3⭐️

In regards of overall enjoyment, it's middle of the road for me. I didn't dislike it but it also not what I thought it would be either. I thought it was going to be bit scarier and thrilling than what actually turned out to be.

It's a really fast paced read, like super fast. The beginning was a bit chaotic as it just drops you right into it. Diving and right into the cave. Then you have scary moment where the characters think they may die from a lack of oxygen. This happens all within the first 5 - 10% of the book.

From there is where the book then starts focusing on the relationships and some of the weird things happening to the two characters that found the cave. However it seems so backseat of the story. The heart of the story is the main character feeling as she is being left behind by her friends going to college. Then focusing on her romantic feeling towards Gabe. This was basically the whole book.

The ending was pretty decent and made me go ooohh as a reader. Made me rethink some of the characters actions. I really appreciated that aspect.

The audio book is well done, the narrator does a good job with showing inflection of her voice and making tense moments feel tense.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced listener copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

4.5 rounded up, I really enjoyed this story and especially in audio format. Just the right blend of thriller and speculative young adult horror.

Phoebe, nicknamed "Phibs", is enjoying one last summer with her four best friends on a remote island in Australia before they all split for new adventures after high school. The five of them have made a name for themselves on social media through sharing their diving adventures, most notably skyrocketing to a new level of fame after they discovered ancient gold coins on a dive six months prior.

The "Salt Squad" is on a dive when Phibs discovers the entrance to an underwater cave rumored to be the home of shipwrecked treasure, which she and twins Will and Gabe choose to explore. Phibs and Gabe share a moment in an air pocket of the cave - a moment that seems to have a greater effect outside of the cave than they imagined. Inexplicable gashes that won't heal, soft whispers that are haunting their waking hours, indicating something latched onto them down in that cave. Treasure hunters determined to find the cave arrive on the island, forcing the Salt Squad into unspeakable danger, but it turns out the most dangerous thing might be right there among them.

This story had me enraptured from start to finish, and I felt like there was never a calm moment except for the air pocket! I actually really enjoyed the story having flashbacks and giving us bits and pieces each time because the anticipation never stopped building and I was eager to know what happened. The strength of the Salt Squad's friendship through all the hardships they faced made me love this book even more because it gave me something to root for! I am also obsessed with the ending and how I have my own interpretation of what the cave actually did to Phibs and Gabe. Also huge props to the narrator Gail Shalan because she had me so ANXIOUS every time something stressful or dangerous was happening in the book. I felt like I was living the scene and freaking out!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for the ALC via NetGalley!

DNF
I liked the dive details and the treasure hunting with weird body transformations premise is fantastic.
This book simply wasn't what I expected. The description sounds like a suspenseful adventure with some horror, but immediately the FMC is focused on her crush.
For me, it's too heavy on flashbacks. The first bit of suspense was interrupted by her prolonged memory of how she met her crush and his hotness. I wondered if it was a miscategorized romance. The angst and many life problems didn't interest me.
Some of my favorite 2024 books were YA. Unfortunately, Out of Air isn't a fit for me. No doubt it will entertain its target audience.
The narrator was fine and the sound production is excellent, so I rounded it up to 3 stars. I wish the author all the best with her debut.
Thanks for the ALC for consideration. These are solely my own opinions.

I was hoping that Out of Air would be similar to From Below by Darcy Coates, this seemed like the perfect set up for the kind of isolation/trapped horror that I've been enjoying.

This was not and if I'd gone in expecting how much of the plot would be focused on the romantic feelings between the main character Phoebe (Phibs) and Gabe...I think (I had a really hard time telling Gabe and Will apart, they were interchangeable unless Will was being particularly snarky or Gabe was crushing on Phoebe) then I might have been less disappointed. I wish that the story had chosen to either focus on Phoebe's mother or on the romance, rather than both. By the end of the book it seemed like there were so many moving parts and it couldn't seem to decide what to focus on or resolve. It had really great potential, it just didn't quite make it.

This wasn't really suitably scary enough to really be horror to me, the "scariest" moment being with the tiger shark and that was more thriller than horror. A lot of the tense moments were tense because Phoebe would start to panic in a way that seemed out of place for someone that was supposed to be such an experienced diver.

I was surprised by who had kept the coin *SPOILER ALERT* I was sure that it was Lonnie since Phoebe had made a specific comment about karma coming back on who had kept it and thought that was alluding to Lonnie losing her fingers.

I also really didn't care for the narration. Gail Shalan was a fine narrator for most of it, but I didn't like the the overly dramatic reading of some of the tenser scenes.

Content warning for trypophobia! It's not a common tag, but it is something I try and avoid and it had enough of a moment to warrant the warning.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!