Review: Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

Title: Lying in the Deep

Author: Diana Urban

Genre: YA, mystery thriller

Publication date: May 2nd 2023

Published by: Razorbill

Source: eARC for review from publisher via Netgalley

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Synopsis: A juicy mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set on a Semester at Sea-inspired cruise ship, with a diverse cast of delightfully suspicious characters who’ll leave you guessing with every jaw-dropping twist.

After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Jade couldn't be more ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—11 countries in 4 months, all from the luxurious Campus on Board ship—and to wedge an entire globe between her and the people who broke her heart.

But when Jade discovers the backstabbing couple are also setting sail, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends begin to drop like flies, Jade and her new crush must race to clear her name and find the killer they’re trapped at sea with... before anyone else winds up in body bags.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

I was really looking forward to this book because it sounded very Suite Life on Deck, but you know, with murder. Lol. But I don't know... I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

I think the thing that put me off the most was all the secondhand embarrassment I got from the actions of the main character. I don't often get secondhand embarrassment from books... sometimes it will happen when I read a contemporary romance, but it's never been this bad! The way Jade kept following around her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, trying to talk to Silas, and getting rejected and humiliated...

And I don't know why it got me so much in this book! Jade kept making one bad decision after another, and it was just a mess... one I didn't enjoy. I usually like a good trainwreck of a situation, but Jade's decisions made me cringe more often than not, and I was not enjoying myself.

I also didn't really love any of the characters, which also fed into me not liking this book as much as I thought I would. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with them, I just didn't really connect with any of them. I did like Felix for the most part—I thought his concern for Jade was very sweet.

But the story and mystery... I think I liked the premise more than the execution.

The action didn't really get started until about the 45% mark of the book. Before that, it was just Jade obsessing over Silas and Lainey, which I was not a fan of. But I'll give the book this: I did not guess who the killer was until the reveal, which is always great. But the set up of it all... idk, I wasn’t a fan. And I wasn’t a fan of a certain someone keeping secrets. Idk why. It almost felt like a betrayal, even though it wasn’t really? I think it’s the miscommunication trope at play, a trope I am not a fan of. And even though the killer was a prick for sure, I'm not certain everything that happened to them, especially at the end, they deserved. It was crazy! And while I usually like crazy, this was not it.

All that being said, I didn't dislike the book. I liked the premise, as I mentioned, and I also enjoyed the setting on a cruise ship plus the different countries the characters visited. I liked the romance for the most part, but honestly, by the end, I just wanted to be done with this book. It had good potential, but in the end, this book was not for me.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊