I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was in June! In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith. Thank you to Delacorte Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
When Liv lands an all-expenses-paid opportunity to study aboard luxury cruise ship The Eos for a semester, she can’t believe her luck. Especially since it will offer her the chance to spend time with Will, her ex–best friend, who’s barely spoken to her since the night their friendship changed forever.
But as soon as she steps on board, Liv realizes just how far in over her head she is. With Will, with the rest of the Seamester students—including the brittle and beautiful Constantine, who may be hiding his own ties to The Eos—and most of all, with the Sirens, three glamorous and mysterious influencers who seem to have the run of the ship.
Liv quickly discovers that the only reason she was invited to join the trip is because another girl disappeared shortly after enrolling—and no one seems to know what happened to her. When further disappearances rock the ship and strange creatures begin haunting Liv’s dreams, she wonders: Is The Eos hiding a dark secret in its watery depths?
The truth will come at a price . . . only, how much is Liv willing to pay?
Publication Date: 27th June
TW: sickness/quarantine, body horror, drug use, parental neglect, stabbing
My Thoughts:
Those We Drown was a brilliant, atmospheric thriller with some intriguing and unexpected elements.
I was fully on board from the very first page, with Goldsmith having me on her hook the entire time. The entire setting was that combination of decadent extravagance and luxury, contrasted starkly with the rising tide of blood. From the very start, you are set off-kilter and feel uneasy. Goldsmith keeps the waves rocking and ground shaking, never allowing for a moment of true rest.
I will admit since watching the underrated and darkly hilarious Wreck on BBC Three earlier this year, I have been obsessed with crime narratives set on ships and this really hit the spot for me. It had that same thread of social commentary, particularly around privilege and how much the powerful will sacrifice to keep their status. Goldsmith weaves this in with fascinating developments that I did not see coming. This is a well-structured mystery, with tight plotting and pacing. The twists and turns are excellent and keep making you question everything you have seen before. Even the ending feels like another sting in the tale.
Liv starts as a meek, shy scholarship girl who is keenly aware (and constantly reminded) of how this is not an environment that accepts her. Watching her growth and development over the course of the book was an absolute highlight for me. As a very character driven reader, she was an excellent pathfinder to follow as we attempted to charter these murky waters. There is something so uncanny about that continued denial of calamity unfolding around you, amplified by that social exclusion. Goldsmith plays with artfully, creating a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere that heightens the central mystery.
Those We Drown is a creative and interesting YA mystery that elevates one of my current thriller setting obsessions to new heights.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald. Thank you to Stevie Hopwood at Penguin Random Children’s UK for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting. Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her. Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core. But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell.
Publication Date: 20th July
TW: manipulation, emotional abuse, sexual assault, rape, gaslighting, death, war, famine (they are listed at the beginning of the book)
My Thoughts:
Girl, Goddess, Queen is probably one of my favourite YA Greek mythology retellings. The writing is incredibly captivating and the characters well-developed and intriguing, but above all this is a book with heart, soul and a real depth in its explorations of familial relationships, trauma and identity. Of course, there is a dash of romance that will set your heart aflame too. However, this is definitively Persephone’s story and I am so glad Fitzgerald gives her so much agency and ability to finally control her own narrative.
For me, this was such an empowering narrative centred around addressing one’s trauma and taking back control of your story. It is a book brimming over with female rage. Her evolution from Kore to Persephone and realisation of her own agency & potential is one that really cut deep for me. It is heavy reading at times, so please check trigger warnings before reading. On that, it was also nice to see trigger warnings included at the beginning of the book; publishers, please can we normalise this and series recaps? I also particularly enjoyed how Fitzgerald portrayed the relationship between Persephone and Dementer for its nuance, changing dynamics and sensitive depiction of different forms of abuse. It very much is entangled with intergenerational trauma, heightened by the oppressive power structures of this world.
This was such a fierce, funny and fresh Hades and Persephone retelling. I absolutely loved the casual bi representation, the sparky dialogue and those heated moments with the tension off the charts. The romance here is genuinely one of my favourites. I mean the tension is palpable and I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers dynamic. Fitzgerald really works to address some of the more problematic elements of the original myth and reworks them through a more progressive, modern lens that faces them head on.
Girl, Goddess, Queen does the impossible and brings something entirely new to YA mythological retellings. This is an angry, chaotic book that is also filled with so much love and happiness. Bea Fitzgerald is one to keep watching.
Finally, I’d like to delve into How to Die Famous by Benjamin Dean. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
London-born Abel has landed the role of a lifetime for an upcoming blockbuster. On the face of it he’s Hollywood’s latest teen star, but below the surface he’s an undercover journalist on a mission to expose the ‘squeaky clean’ entertainment industry and the part they played in his brother’s ‘accidental’ death.
As Abel steps into the spotlight alongside fellow actors Lucky, Ryan and Ella, he soon discovers that beneath the glittering surface of fame and riches lies a darker world of secrecy, scandal and murder. Nobody is who they seem when the cameras are off, and everybody has something to hide. But who’s next in line to die famous?
Publication Date: 20th July
TW: murder, death, violence, stalking, racism, homophobia, kidnapping, sexism, sexual harassment, gaslighting, manipulation, addiction, grief
My Thoughts:
Between How to Die Famous and The King is Dead, Benjamin Dean has established himself as the one to watch for YA contemporary narratives with glitz, glamour, backstabbing and plenty of blood. Yet again, this is a tense and twisty peek behind the velvet curtain of privilege and power to expose its underbelly of exploitation and pretence.
Dean excels in writing such complicated, yet charismatic characters. I fell in love with everyone here so quickly and loved seeing how they moved from their pigeonholed stereotypes as celebrities. They have all been moulded to fit those archetypes, but humans are so much more nuanced than that. One of my favourite things here was seeing the contrast between the constructed reality of fame and the messy authenticity beneath. It is all about optics and aesthetics. The resulting power imbalance was fascinating and gut-churning at the same time. I also have to shout out the representation here. Basically, I was not expecting the book to be as queer as it was and that made me so happy. Dean has proven that representation is something key to his writing. For me, that makes you an instant favourite in my heart.
The actual storyline is scandalous, salacious and sinister. Dean rips aspects from the headlines and presumably some of his own experience to concoct a story that slides under your skin. This is a story that does not let up. There are so many fantastic twists, including a jaw-dropping sting in the tale that I did not see coming. The very first chapter ensures that you will not be going anywhere. From there, the stakes only rise higher and the acts get more and more despicable. I was racing through the pages, caught up in this tumultuous storm. That invasion of privacy and lack of identity, aside from the one prescribed to you, is sickening and because you are aware of the reality, it makes it that much more horrifying.
How to Die Famous is a breakout star of summer YA releases and cements Dean as an instant-buy author for me.
A Short Book Lover 
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