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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
"Lost doesn't mean gone"
I received this as a free e-arc on NetGalley, as I was lucky enough to be on the street team of This Raging Sea. Thank you to Holiday House, De Elizabeth, and NetGalley.
I feel like I've lived thirty lives since I started this book, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. I think this is a book that perfectly suited to the age range being marketed too, in YA, but also has crossover appeal. If this book was instead being marketed as NA, as much of this novel involved navigating the liminal post-teenhood space where you're no longer a kid but aren't quite an adult, I think that would work perfectly as well.
I really can't say much about this book without spoiling it, but the pacing and the twists and turns of the plot were brilliant. I was very impressed by De Elizabeth's grip on narrative and structure in such an unorthodox plotline. Her strong command of tone and emotion were definitely the highlights of her writing. I genuinely cringed at the body horror in this book. Her prose occasionally dipped into self-indulgence, but frankly I don't think a plain writing style would have served this book. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
This is impressively layered and nuanced for a first run at a novel, full of rich imagery and characters that the author isn't afraid to make them seem unlikable, though they remained sympathetic. Our two main characters, Briar and Finn are messy and lovable in equal measure, and I cannot believe that De Elizabeth got me invested in a romance about two blonde people. The bi4bi aspect of their relationship is a notable aspect of the marketing, and I'm happy to report its prevalence in the book. I love that De Elizabeth managed to include both a grand romance between the m/f couple, but also how their own respective sexualities influence their characters and dynamics with other people.
Reading this book really took me back to the glory days of the supernatural / paranormal television shows. The melancholic atmosphere, propulsive plot, and sheer teenage dramatics were such fun components of this book. This book felt like walking through an abandoned theme park at night, dark, surreal, nostalgic, romantic and wistful, against a backdrop of unease and decay. Full of heart, love, missed connections and second chances, This Raging Sea stands out in a beautiful way.
This Raging Sea is currently available for preorder, and will be out September 23 2025.
I received this as a free e-arc on NetGalley, as I was lucky enough to be on the street team of This Raging Sea. Thank you to Holiday House, De Elizabeth, and NetGalley.
I feel like I've lived thirty lives since I started this book, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. I think this is a book that perfectly suited to the age range being marketed too, in YA, but also has crossover appeal. If this book was instead being marketed as NA, as much of this novel involved navigating the liminal post-teenhood space where you're no longer a kid but aren't quite an adult, I think that would work perfectly as well.
I really can't say much about this book without spoiling it, but the pacing and the twists and turns of the plot were brilliant. I was very impressed by De Elizabeth's grip on narrative and structure in such an unorthodox plotline. Her strong command of tone and emotion were definitely the highlights of her writing. I genuinely cringed at the body horror in this book. Her prose occasionally dipped into self-indulgence, but frankly I don't think a plain writing style would have served this book. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
This is impressively layered and nuanced for a first run at a novel, full of rich imagery and characters that the author isn't afraid to make them seem unlikable, though they remained sympathetic. Our two main characters, Briar and Finn are messy and lovable in equal measure, and I cannot believe that De Elizabeth got me invested in a romance about two blonde people. The bi4bi aspect of their relationship is a notable aspect of the marketing, and I'm happy to report its prevalence in the book. I love that De Elizabeth managed to include both a grand romance between the m/f couple, but also how their own respective sexualities influence their characters and dynamics with other people.
Reading this book really took me back to the glory days of the supernatural / paranormal television shows. The melancholic atmosphere, propulsive plot, and sheer teenage dramatics were such fun components of this book. This book felt like walking through an abandoned theme park at night, dark, surreal, nostalgic, romantic and wistful, against a backdrop of unease and decay. Full of heart, love, missed connections and second chances, This Raging Sea stands out in a beautiful way.
This Raging Sea is currently available for preorder, and will be out September 23 2025.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Within 6 hours of getting my hands on this book, I had started crying on page four (and never fully stopped), full-body-sobbed through the last thirty pages, and then needed 2-3 business days to recover enough to write this review. I was looking through some of my highlights and started crying again. This book is so incredibly beautiful and just hits so hard.
This Raging Sea is lyrical, haunting, and devastating. Set in a coastal New England town the summer after high school graduation, Briar is preparing for her friends to leave her as they go off to school and she stays behind in the town where her twin brother died. But when Finn leaves in a different way- lost in time- she must figure out how to save him with the help of her friends and enemies.
Going into it, I'd been prepared for Briar and Finn's relationship to devastate me, but I wasn't prepared for the power of the other relationships in this book. Right away, the reader isn't just introduced to Briar and Finn, but to their four person friend group on the verge of dispersing, and while the romantic focus is huge, the friendship with Kai and Astrid is just as important. The found family aspect, and the ways it's described and acknowledged, is incredible. And that isn't even touching on the complicated history and relationship between Briar and Morgan.
I also wasn't prepared for the emotional devastation that is Briar Winters. Perfect and anxious and angry, the focus of her family and her high school and her town, but also alone- but also never alone because of the voice in her head and the figure in her reflection- and, of course, her friends. I don't know that I've ever loved and immediately connected to a YA (or maybe any?) protagonist more.
Highlighting and centering the power of stories, songs, and other art forms is one of my favorite tropes but This Raging Sea romanticizes math in a way that I never would have expected to work for me the way that it did. The math and chaos theory and magic systems are all complex but simple and power the story forward and back in a really seamless and beautiful way.
And on top of all of this, the actual reading experience itself is gorgeous as well- the typesetting and chapter headings/illustrations are stunning!
This Raging Sea is easily one of my favorite books of all time and I need everyone to go read it! I will never stop thinking about this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC- all thoughts my own!
This Raging Sea is lyrical, haunting, and devastating. Set in a coastal New England town the summer after high school graduation, Briar is preparing for her friends to leave her as they go off to school and she stays behind in the town where her twin brother died. But when Finn leaves in a different way- lost in time- she must figure out how to save him with the help of her friends and enemies.
Going into it, I'd been prepared for Briar and Finn's relationship to devastate me, but I wasn't prepared for the power of the other relationships in this book. Right away, the reader isn't just introduced to Briar and Finn, but to their four person friend group on the verge of dispersing, and while the romantic focus is huge, the friendship with Kai and Astrid is just as important. The found family aspect, and the ways it's described and acknowledged, is incredible. And that isn't even touching on the complicated history and relationship between Briar and Morgan.
I also wasn't prepared for the emotional devastation that is Briar Winters. Perfect and anxious and angry, the focus of her family and her high school and her town, but also alone- but also never alone because of the voice in her head and the figure in her reflection- and, of course, her friends. I don't know that I've ever loved and immediately connected to a YA (or maybe any?) protagonist more.
Highlighting and centering the power of stories, songs, and other art forms is one of my favorite tropes but This Raging Sea romanticizes math in a way that I never would have expected to work for me the way that it did. The math and chaos theory and magic systems are all complex but simple and power the story forward and back in a really seamless and beautiful way.
And on top of all of this, the actual reading experience itself is gorgeous as well- the typesetting and chapter headings/illustrations are stunning!
This Raging Sea is easily one of my favorite books of all time and I need everyone to go read it! I will never stop thinking about this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC- all thoughts my own!
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes