A review by bookcheshirecat
Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Razorbill for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review! The quotes are taken from the Arc and are subject to changes! 

Lying in the Deep was such a fun Thriller! I immediately loved the setup. The story follows Jade, who takes part in Campus on Board (a Semester at Sea-like program where students study on a ship and explore multiple countries), but is shocked when her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend show up as well. I used to be obsessed with these Semester at Sea videos, so the setting really worked for me! Jade is one of the poorer students, so she has to budget and share a tiny cabin with two other roommates. Meanwhile, her ex-best friend Lainey, whose father is a wealthy pharma CEO, can lounge around in her suite. Jade's determined to not let her ruin this incredible experience she worked for, but when a murder happens on board, Jade has to find the killer before she becomes the prime suspect! 

“Are you kidding? They're probably going to kick me off the ship tomorrow.” "Mm ... I really doubt they'll make you walk the blank. That only happens in the movies. Or on pirate ships." 

The settings and vibes of the story were off the charts. Like I said, I was really into the Semester at Sea/Cruise Ship setting and loved seeing Jade explore the different countries they docked at. The ominous atmosphere also slowly built over time. We find out in the very beginning of the book that Jade stumbles into Lainey's room which looks like a crime scene, so something terrible has happened to her. The story starts much earlier at embarkation and we slowly figure out how it got to the point where Lainey was attacked. Jade isn't the only person who has a bone to pick with Lainey and I loved seeing the tension build on board. Lainey has been painting Jade as an obsessed stalker, so she's dealing with a bad reputation from the start. There were so many moments when I saw how Jade was getting deeper into trouble and looking suspicious! The second half of the book is wild and while I guessed some of the twists, I loved how it played out! 

“Yet I couldn't help but think it. That spoiled, selfish brat got exactly what she deserved.” 
I also loved the complicated dynamic between Lainey and Jade. They used to be best friends with Lainey always being generous as she had more money than Jade. However, out of the blue, Jade's boyfriend dumps her and gets together with Lainey, who now wants nothing to do with her. Jade is furious and embarrassed about how she's being played. The cruise was her dream and it looks like Lainey showed up just to badmouth and blame her, even though she cut her off without a reason. Jade can't help but remember the Lainey she used to know, but any hope of reconciliation seems to be lost. I loved her complicated feelings toward her ex-best friend, their dynamic definitely was one of the most intriguing parts of the story. I felt Jade's hurt and how the betrayal reminds her of her toxic, neglectful mother she desperately escaped. 

I have to admit that I didn't really care about the romance in this book. Silas was obviously a dirtbag even though Jade was a bit too lenient with him at times. I also didn't really like Felix, who she used to make Silas jealous and get him to finally talk. I felt like he started out negging her (aka insulting and criticising her to get a reaction), so my first impression was that he's a jerk.
[one good example is how Jade complains about her toxic mother and Felix is like 'Well at least you have parents, mine are dead'. It was so manipulative and dismissive of Jade's problems.]
Parts of his behavior made sense later, but it was hard to see why Jade liked him so much at times.
[We later find out that he lied to her about almost everything and interfered with her investigation, which is why I thought he was dismissive at times. It's a huge betrayal and though Jade is apprehensive, she wants to give him another chance.]

“Why are you so desperate for a reason?” "Because the alternative is that the two people I loved betrayed me for absolutely no reason." 
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