Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Lying in the Deep

3. 75 stars
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TW: Murder, Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Suicide, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual content
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In Diana Urban's Lying in the Deep readers are faced with a person's worst fear, being trapped on a ship with a murderer. In this YA retelling of Death on the Nile, we follow Jade as she embarks on her COB (Campus on Board) journey in hopes of getting away from her ex-boyfriend, Silas, and her ex-best friend, Lainey after a betrayal has led them together. I really enjoyed the isolation plot and felt it really added to the story, we are quickly introduced to our main "cast" of characters and at first it might be harder to follow along with, but thanks to them being picked off one by one it made it easier to follow along.

Having not known that this was a Death on the Nile retelling I wasn't able to guess the ending, but I have read some mention that to them it was obvious following the original story! I felt like the book dragged on at a few points (often with repetitive plot points that could have been edited out), and really enjoyed how the book picked up in the last 75% and ended with a plot twist!

This book is filled with DRAMA, something I needed at the time but could understand to some readers how it could come off. If you're looking for a fast-paced YA with loads of drama, this one is for you!

Content Warnings

bekah1210's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

cde10's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

trippyotter's review

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm such a sucker for adaptations, and this one exceeds all expectations!

Though the story is inspired by Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie), all the modern twists and turns in the plot take it to another level.

I can't wait to see what Diana writes next!

Content Warnings

reading_under_covers's review

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2.0

After her best friend steals her boyfriend, Jade is more than ready to set sail on the Campus on Board ship where she’ll be studying and traveling for four months. However, when her backstabbing friend and ex show up, things take a turn for the worse as students start dropping like flies.

LYING IN THE DEEP by Diana Urban is a twisty, locked-room, destination thriller with a wide cast of characters.

I find it hard to review this one because I really enjoyed the first quarter of this book - it had everything I love in a YA thriller, and was just an overall fun time!

But things took a nosedive starting with the way the characters behaved and were portrayed. They’re meant to be college-aged, but are extremely immature and naive, which both annoyed me and made me question a million of their actions.

On that point, I love when characters go all armchair detective on me, but our main girl, Jade, seemed to go a little over the top and had me scratching my head at where any of her sense of logic was coming from.

The twist was fun, until it also felt a bit outlandish and forced…

I’m definitely an outlier here, but if you pick this one up, prepare for a wild ride either way.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin, and Razorbill for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: May 2

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