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Secrets So Deep
From the bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a darkly atmospheric paranormal thriller about a seventeen-year-old girl returning to an exclusive theater camp to uncover the truth of what really happened there twelve years ago, the night her mother drowned.
Twelve years ago, Avril’s mother drowned at Whisper Cove theater, just off the rocky Connecticut coastline. It was ruled an accident, but Avril’s never been totally convinced. Local legend claims that the women in the waves—ghosts from old whaling stories—called her mother into the ocean with their whispering. Because, as they say at Whisper Cove, what the sea wants, the sea will have.
While Avril doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows there are lots of different ways for places, and people, to be haunted. She’s spent the past twelve years trying to make sense of the strange bits and pieces she does remember from the night she lost her mother. Stars falling into the sea. A blinding light. A tight grip on her wrist. The odd sensation of flying. Now, at seventeen, she’s returning to Whisper Cove for the first time, and she might finally unravel the mystery of what really happened.
As Avril becomes more involved with camp director Willa and her mysterious son Cole, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances seem to shift in the strange fog. Echos of long-past moments bounce off the marsh. And Avril keeps meeting herself—and her dead mother—late at night, at the edge of the ocean.
The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But it will come at a terrible cost.
Twelve years ago, Avril’s mother drowned at Whisper Cove theater, just off the rocky Connecticut coastline. It was ruled an accident, but Avril’s never been totally convinced. Local legend claims that the women in the waves—ghosts from old whaling stories—called her mother into the ocean with their whispering. Because, as they say at Whisper Cove, what the sea wants, the sea will have.
While Avril doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows there are lots of different ways for places, and people, to be haunted. She’s spent the past twelve years trying to make sense of the strange bits and pieces she does remember from the night she lost her mother. Stars falling into the sea. A blinding light. A tight grip on her wrist. The odd sensation of flying. Now, at seventeen, she’s returning to Whisper Cove for the first time, and she might finally unravel the mystery of what really happened.
As Avril becomes more involved with camp director Willa and her mysterious son Cole, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances seem to shift in the strange fog. Echos of long-past moments bounce off the marsh. And Avril keeps meeting herself—and her dead mother—late at night, at the edge of the ocean.
The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But it will come at a terrible cost.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published September 27, 2022
117 people are currently reading
14497 people want to read
About the author
Ginny Myers Sain
4 books1,048 followersGinny Myers Sain lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has spent the past twenty years working closely with teens as a director and acting instructor in a program designed for high school students seriously intent on pursuing a career in the professional theatre. Having grown up in deeply rural America, she is interested in telling stories about resilient kids who come of age in remote settings. Dark and Shallow Lies is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 395 reviews
April 5, 2024
**Many thanks to BookishFirst, Razorbill, and Ginny Myers Sain for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 9.27!**
"I don't admit I came here searching for something. For someone. Or that I've been here before. I don't mean to Connecticut. I mean right here. To this exact spot. And I definitely don't tell them that this is where I died. "
Ginny Myers Sain is BACK with another haunting, visceral, romantic, and atmospheric tale that SWEPT me away like the outgoing tide!
The place is question is Whisper Cove, and Avril is returning for an important reason: well, TWO important reasons, actually. One is to attend a prestigious and impressive musical theater camp run by Willa, who has written VERY popular and important play. But more importantly, it's where her mother drowned 12 years ago, with Avril by her side...and all Avril knows is she was never the same after that.
Despite the unsettling feelings she gets at camp, Avril throws her heart and soul into her acting, making friends and forming an especially tight bond with Willa's son, Cole. The two connect on a level Avril has never experienced before. But the flashes Avril can remember of that horrific day, so many years ago, keep creeping into her mind. She sees figures in the fog at night...including a blonde woman...a FAMILIAR blonde woman.
Is it the spirit of her mother... or could it be a REFLECTION of herself?
This terrifying bit of Long Island Sound has long been 'calling' its victims to the sea with whispers for years. And as the locals warn..What the sea wants? The sea will take. Can Avril piece her memories together and find the answers she so desperately seeks before she too, becomes a permanent resident of the mysterious deep?
If there's one thing that consistently impresses me with Ginny Myers Sain's writing, it is her attention to detail and her FLAWLESS atmosphere. Perhaps it's her almost poetic style, perhaps it's the locations she chooses to use in her stories, or a perfect combination of both. However she gets there, I always feel immersed in her locations, so much so that I feel I can visualize them as though I'd personally been there before. I've never been to Long Island Sound, but you can TRUST that after this book, I would be terrified to ever go there!
I also just get lost in her prose. She is such a THOUGHTFUL writer in terms of her descriptions, and never wastes a word. You will never find long expository passages that are essentially pointless and feel like filler in her books. Normally, choppy writing and short sentences drive me bananas, but Myers Sain has such a way with them that even little sections where the same phrase might be repeated a few times for dramatic effect are not only NOT bothersome, but are actually welcomed. The rhythm of her narrative is lovely, and in this book, was as flowing and mesmerizing as the sea itself.
I loved getting wrapped up in this ghost story, and I also appreciate that Myers Sain does the theater proud. It's no surprise that this is her background, because all of the detail is not only authentic, but reads as a bit of a love note to the community and to acting itself. As a former theater kid myself, I just LOVED Myers Sain leaned into her passion area. There was a fantastic balance between the known present, Avril's memories and recollections of the past, and also the supernatural throughout the book.
My only quibble was that after a while and LOTS of buildup, the mystery itself was pretty thinly veiled and not as multi-faceted as I was hoping it might be. This could be because this is a YA mystery/thriller (with plenty of hints tossed in along the way) although I've read many with a more complex ending. This one sort of trails off after its big reveal and has a somewhat bizarre one paragraph epilogue I could have lived without because it added nothing to the overall story, so it did tamp down my enthusiasm a bit.
Once again, Myers Sain has delivered a terrifying locale, authentic and accessible characters, and sprinkles in just enough mystery to keep me glued to the pages and once AGAIN clamoring for a film adaptation of this fantastic story!
(But okay, given the subject matter of this one, I GUESS I can settle for the stage!) 😉
4 ⭐
Now available in paperback!
"I don't admit I came here searching for something. For someone. Or that I've been here before. I don't mean to Connecticut. I mean right here. To this exact spot. And I definitely don't tell them that this is where I died. "
Ginny Myers Sain is BACK with another haunting, visceral, romantic, and atmospheric tale that SWEPT me away like the outgoing tide!
The place is question is Whisper Cove, and Avril is returning for an important reason: well, TWO important reasons, actually. One is to attend a prestigious and impressive musical theater camp run by Willa, who has written VERY popular and important play. But more importantly, it's where her mother drowned 12 years ago, with Avril by her side...and all Avril knows is she was never the same after that.
Despite the unsettling feelings she gets at camp, Avril throws her heart and soul into her acting, making friends and forming an especially tight bond with Willa's son, Cole. The two connect on a level Avril has never experienced before. But the flashes Avril can remember of that horrific day, so many years ago, keep creeping into her mind. She sees figures in the fog at night...including a blonde woman...a FAMILIAR blonde woman.
Is it the spirit of her mother... or could it be a REFLECTION of herself?
This terrifying bit of Long Island Sound has long been 'calling' its victims to the sea with whispers for years. And as the locals warn..What the sea wants? The sea will take. Can Avril piece her memories together and find the answers she so desperately seeks before she too, becomes a permanent resident of the mysterious deep?
If there's one thing that consistently impresses me with Ginny Myers Sain's writing, it is her attention to detail and her FLAWLESS atmosphere. Perhaps it's her almost poetic style, perhaps it's the locations she chooses to use in her stories, or a perfect combination of both. However she gets there, I always feel immersed in her locations, so much so that I feel I can visualize them as though I'd personally been there before. I've never been to Long Island Sound, but you can TRUST that after this book, I would be terrified to ever go there!
I also just get lost in her prose. She is such a THOUGHTFUL writer in terms of her descriptions, and never wastes a word. You will never find long expository passages that are essentially pointless and feel like filler in her books. Normally, choppy writing and short sentences drive me bananas, but Myers Sain has such a way with them that even little sections where the same phrase might be repeated a few times for dramatic effect are not only NOT bothersome, but are actually welcomed. The rhythm of her narrative is lovely, and in this book, was as flowing and mesmerizing as the sea itself.
I loved getting wrapped up in this ghost story, and I also appreciate that Myers Sain does the theater proud. It's no surprise that this is her background, because all of the detail is not only authentic, but reads as a bit of a love note to the community and to acting itself. As a former theater kid myself, I just LOVED Myers Sain leaned into her passion area. There was a fantastic balance between the known present, Avril's memories and recollections of the past, and also the supernatural throughout the book.
My only quibble was that after a while and LOTS of buildup, the mystery itself was pretty thinly veiled and not as multi-faceted as I was hoping it might be. This could be because this is a YA mystery/thriller (with plenty of hints tossed in along the way) although I've read many with a more complex ending. This one sort of trails off after its big reveal and has a somewhat bizarre one paragraph epilogue I could have lived without because it added nothing to the overall story, so it did tamp down my enthusiasm a bit.
Once again, Myers Sain has delivered a terrifying locale, authentic and accessible characters, and sprinkles in just enough mystery to keep me glued to the pages and once AGAIN clamoring for a film adaptation of this fantastic story!
(But okay, given the subject matter of this one, I GUESS I can settle for the stage!) 😉
4 ⭐
Now available in paperback!
September 23, 2024
Ginny Myers Sain is becoming one of my “most looked forward to” authors. After reading a few of her books, I knew I needed to read Secrets So Deep. The beautiful cover drew me in, and I knew that a fascinating story would exist between the pages.
Avril is going to theater camp – but not for the same reasons. The other campers are going. Avril wants to know exactly what happened when she was at this camp as a child. The last time she was there, her mother was with her. In fact, her mother died at Whisper Cove and Avril wants to find out how that happened.
At first, everyone is a suspect. Willa and her husband – the camp, founders, Cole – their son, the persons in the town and the people that work at the camp. Along the way will make friends, hear first hand what her mother was really like, and she may even discover what really happened the summer her mother drowned.
Avril is going to theater camp – but not for the same reasons. The other campers are going. Avril wants to know exactly what happened when she was at this camp as a child. The last time she was there, her mother was with her. In fact, her mother died at Whisper Cove and Avril wants to find out how that happened.
At first, everyone is a suspect. Willa and her husband – the camp, founders, Cole – their son, the persons in the town and the people that work at the camp. Along the way will make friends, hear first hand what her mother was really like, and she may even discover what really happened the summer her mother drowned.
August 29, 2022
Here comes a review that I just really don't want to write. Dark and Shallow Lies was one of my favorite books of 2021. It was phenomenal and I devoured that book so fast. I had very high hopes for this book, but sadly it just was not for me.
First off, it didn't have the same atmosphere as Dark and Shallow Lies. I felt like I was truly there when I was reading Dark and Shallow Lies, but Secrets So Deep just fell so flat for me. I couldn't picture the location and it didn't make me feel any emotions.
The main character fell very flat for me and so many things happened that were red flags, but no one seemed to care. She was having visions and passing out left and right, but everyone was just okay with that?
I feel like this could have been at least a 3 star read for me if it weren't for the slow pacing. This book either needed more action or less pages because it seemed to take forever to get through. I figured out what was going on very very early on and the twist wasn't a twist for me.
I love the idea of this book, but the book itself just didn't do it for me. Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
First off, it didn't have the same atmosphere as Dark and Shallow Lies. I felt like I was truly there when I was reading Dark and Shallow Lies, but Secrets So Deep just fell so flat for me. I couldn't picture the location and it didn't make me feel any emotions.
The main character fell very flat for me and so many things happened that were red flags, but no one seemed to care. She was having visions and passing out left and right, but everyone was just okay with that?
I feel like this could have been at least a 3 star read for me if it weren't for the slow pacing. This book either needed more action or less pages because it seemed to take forever to get through. I figured out what was going on very very early on and the twist wasn't a twist for me.
I love the idea of this book, but the book itself just didn't do it for me. Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 24, 2022
I really loved Ginny Myers Sain’s first book and I was not disappointed with her second one, Secrets So Deep. I did think it was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed the ride quite a bit. I also really loved the way the story was told, broken up with mysterious half memories and echos even if it did make the pacing a bit slower. I also thought the main characters Avril and Cole could have a bit better developed. Overall it was a beautiful, haunted story. Avril is excited to do an intensive acting workshop with her favorite playwright, Willa Culver. What she hasn’t told anyone is that she has been to this exact place with Willa before, when she was young and she and her mother drown. She doesn’t remember anything before waking up in the hospital and she is hoping she can recover some of her memories by revisiting this place. Her search for answers is a very twisty journey that leads her somewhere she couldn’t have imagined.
January 19, 2023
Set in a theater in a Connecticut coastal town, this novel is a story featuring a group of young adults and theater personnel who are in town for a summer theater camp. The actors come from all over the country, each with dreams, passions, and emotional baggage.
The way that the story is written, is nothing I've come across before. The author's writing style persuades the readers to wonder and decipher whether a scene is real, a part of the play, a dream, a memory, an imagination, or an apparition. It's a character-driven story, thus it progresses oh-so-slowly at times. I got tempted to stop reading a few times, with the intention of reopening the book later on. However, I persevered, and I am glad I did because I absolutely adore how the story wraps up. Mystical and beautiful.
Many thanks for a print copy I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: September 2022.
The way that the story is written, is nothing I've come across before. The author's writing style persuades the readers to wonder and decipher whether a scene is real, a part of the play, a dream, a memory, an imagination, or an apparition. It's a character-driven story, thus it progresses oh-so-slowly at times. I got tempted to stop reading a few times, with the intention of reopening the book later on. However, I persevered, and I am glad I did because I absolutely adore how the story wraps up. Mystical and beautiful.
Many thanks for a print copy I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: September 2022.
May 16, 2024
Did I predict the ending by the 30% mark? Yes
Did I still enjoy the book because I enjoy being correct? Also yes.
Did I still enjoy the book because I enjoy being correct? Also yes.
May 14, 2023
I loved the uniqueness and cleverness of Ginny Myers Sain prior novel, so I knew I had to read Secrets So Deep, and I can tell you the experience I had with this one was just as immersive. YA used to be one of my go-to genres, but I have since then cut way back on them, and it has to be something that REALLY interests me now to get me to read one. Clearly, this is saying something, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this if you want a YA that is both gripping and extraordinarily unique. Some parts were just plain weird (sorry not sorry), but this author has such a beautiful way of writing that nothing was going to stop my enjoyment. Also, the parts that I found weird were important to the story and in no way is weird a bad thing here. The storyline is so vivid, and I was a huge fan of how the fog felt like a character in itself.
Valerie Rose Lohman is the narrator for the audiobook and while her reading pace was probably too slow overall, I really enjoyed listening to her. She was also quite lovely as Avril, so if you asked me if I would recommend listening to the audio I would say yes. I loved that Secrets So Deep has some romance elements going as well as a mystery, and I was completely invested in both of them. It's hard not to root for Avril and with a setting as creepy and ominous as the one that Myers Sain created here, it's also hard not to be on edge the entire time. I really had no idea what to expect from the end, and what happens was a complete surprise to me. I'm sure there are some people out there who will see the major twist coming, but I did not, and I almost got chills at the audacity of it. Myers Sain is one of my top young adult authors now, and I will continue to read everything she puts to the page.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Valerie Rose Lohman is the narrator for the audiobook and while her reading pace was probably too slow overall, I really enjoyed listening to her. She was also quite lovely as Avril, so if you asked me if I would recommend listening to the audio I would say yes. I loved that Secrets So Deep has some romance elements going as well as a mystery, and I was completely invested in both of them. It's hard not to root for Avril and with a setting as creepy and ominous as the one that Myers Sain created here, it's also hard not to be on edge the entire time. I really had no idea what to expect from the end, and what happens was a complete surprise to me. I'm sure there are some people out there who will see the major twist coming, but I did not, and I almost got chills at the audacity of it. Myers Sain is one of my top young adult authors now, and I will continue to read everything she puts to the page.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
January 7, 2024
2.5/5 stars, it just slowed down way too quickly
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbil for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
A year ago I was granted this arc and did not have time to get to it unfortunately during my adjustment period into my first semester of college. This year I wanted to read it and see what I was missing out on but unfortunately, I did not enjoy it. My reading experience started off strong with the audiobook, as I've really enjoyed lately listening to more audiobooks, but over time it just...lost my interest.
The idea of the story was unique, but the writing style didn't give me enough incentive to feel very involved with the characters and the story. There just wasn't enough tension for me to feel like I should care about anything happening and that was the big problem. That was pretty much why it took me so long to finish because I could not bring myself to be excited.
[TW: death of loved ones and parent mentioned, underage drinking, drowning, mental health depiction]
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbil for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
A year ago I was granted this arc and did not have time to get to it unfortunately during my adjustment period into my first semester of college. This year I wanted to read it and see what I was missing out on but unfortunately, I did not enjoy it. My reading experience started off strong with the audiobook, as I've really enjoyed lately listening to more audiobooks, but over time it just...lost my interest.
The idea of the story was unique, but the writing style didn't give me enough incentive to feel very involved with the characters and the story. There just wasn't enough tension for me to feel like I should care about anything happening and that was the big problem. That was pretty much why it took me so long to finish because I could not bring myself to be excited.
[TW: death of loved ones and parent mentioned, underage drinking, drowning, mental health depiction]
March 3, 2023
This book was offensively bad. Offensively stupid.
I figured out the big 11th hour revelation at the 15% mark. I stopped and made note of it. Aside from that, the author has never met a cliche she didn't like. Cliched characters, cliched haunting, cliched metaphors, cliched romance.
If the "theatrical" character addressed people as "my lovelies" one more time, *I* would have hurled myself over that cliff. Because that's a totally normal way that real people speak, right?
On top of all the other crimes against literature here, the book was really overly long. Kill me now.
I figured out the big 11th hour revelation at the 15% mark. I stopped and made note of it. Aside from that, the author has never met a cliche she didn't like. Cliched characters, cliched haunting, cliched metaphors, cliched romance.
If the "theatrical" character addressed people as "my lovelies" one more time, *I* would have hurled myself over that cliff. Because that's a totally normal way that real people speak, right?
On top of all the other crimes against literature here, the book was really overly long. Kill me now.
March 4, 2025
Ein tolles, geheimnisvolles Buch für den Sommer!
Meine Rezension findet ihr auf Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDeJ3...
Update fast 2 Jahre später: Ich denke noch immer SO oft an dieses Buch! Wäre es darum vielleicht doch ein 5-Sterne-Buch? Ich habe jedenfalls so tolle Erinnerungen an das Leseerlebnis!
Meine Rezension findet ihr auf Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDeJ3...
Update fast 2 Jahre später: Ich denke noch immer SO oft an dieses Buch! Wäre es darum vielleicht doch ein 5-Sterne-Buch? Ich habe jedenfalls so tolle Erinnerungen an das Leseerlebnis!
November 23, 2022
I had higher hopes for this, but unfortunately I just didn't connect with it. I thought it was too long, the pacing was slow, and it seemed to circle before getting to the point. I knew who the killer was pretty early on and the clues were obvious. I like trying to guess, but it was a bit too easy.
The paranormal part should have been stronger, instead of a background thing that wasn't fully explained and didn't have much purpose. There's also an insta-love romance, which is sometimes okay but Cole was a boring character so I didn't enjoy it.
I don't want to completely hate on this, so I will say the fog rolling in was creepy and set a good atmosphere for a murder mystery.
The paranormal part should have been stronger, instead of a background thing that wasn't fully explained and didn't have much purpose. There's also an insta-love romance, which is sometimes okay but Cole was a boring character so I didn't enjoy it.
I don't want to completely hate on this, so I will say the fog rolling in was creepy and set a good atmosphere for a murder mystery.
October 16, 2022
I don’t want to write this review, but here we are.
The author’s previous book, Dark and Shallow Lies, blew me away. So I couldn’t wait for Secrets So Deep. Then I read it, and now…
Well, I still enjoyed the storytelling style. But everything else was a disappointment.
A big part of this story is an instalove connection between Avril and Cole, which I didn’t feel. At all. The characters just fell flat for me.
Pacing is slow, dragging on with repetitive content, lots of angst, and ever-present melodrama.
The biggest problem I had was that no one’s reactions were appropriate at any point. Major red flags were dropping everywhere with strange happenings and behavior, yet everyone just shrugged their shoulders and moved on. It was weird, to say the least.
Then again, lots of readers have loved the story, and this is only my opinion.
*I used my BookishFirst points to get a free finished copy.*
The author’s previous book, Dark and Shallow Lies, blew me away. So I couldn’t wait for Secrets So Deep. Then I read it, and now…
Well, I still enjoyed the storytelling style. But everything else was a disappointment.
A big part of this story is an instalove connection between Avril and Cole, which I didn’t feel. At all. The characters just fell flat for me.
Pacing is slow, dragging on with repetitive content, lots of angst, and ever-present melodrama.
The biggest problem I had was that no one’s reactions were appropriate at any point. Major red flags were dropping everywhere with strange happenings and behavior, yet everyone just shrugged their shoulders and moved on. It was weird, to say the least.
Then again, lots of readers have loved the story, and this is only my opinion.
*I used my BookishFirst points to get a free finished copy.*
July 19, 2024
This book was really good and I absolutely loved it!
The mystery aspect was absolutely perfect. This is one of those books that you get lost in and don't even realize your reading. I kept thinking about this book all the time while reading and never felt that I had to force myself to finish. The characters were amazing and I loved them! I loved her boy best friend the most. I also didn't know that there was going to be any romance sub plot in this book but it
made it even better and kept me very interested.
The mystery of her mother was very
good and paced out really well. Nothing was rushed or too slow. I loved the ending and was very shocked and surprised too.
Read if you like:
-YA
- mystery
-thriller
-suspense
-romance
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for sending me
an ARC.
The mystery aspect was absolutely perfect. This is one of those books that you get lost in and don't even realize your reading. I kept thinking about this book all the time while reading and never felt that I had to force myself to finish. The characters were amazing and I loved them! I loved her boy best friend the most. I also didn't know that there was going to be any romance sub plot in this book but it
made it even better and kept me very interested.
The mystery of her mother was very
good and paced out really well. Nothing was rushed or too slow. I loved the ending and was very shocked and surprised too.
Read if you like:
-YA
- mystery
-thriller
-suspense
-romance
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for sending me
an ARC.
April 28, 2022
Wow this book was a wild ride. The title fits perfectly secrets really did run deep!! I love Ginny's writing and absolutely adored Dark and Shallow Lies I will say I had really high hopes that this would be just as good if not better. I found that while I enjoyed it I didn't enjoy it as much as Dark and Shallow Lies.
I really enjoyed the characters. They were all so interesting and complex. I loved Avril's romantic relationship but I really enjoyed her friendships. Especially with Lex I feel like everyone needs a lex in their lives. I think the romance was good, I did think it was kind of insta lovey but progressed slow enough that it felt more natural. Also I loved the overall setting. The setting of a theater summer camp was so fun and added to that classic dangerous summer camp feel. I also appreciated how the book had great strong themes of finding oneself and processing grief.
I really enjoyed the overall mystery and the strange things that kept happening to Avril in Whispering Cove. The fog and strange sounds and visions and nightmares really helped make us the reader wonder what is real what is not real. I do think that the ending happened a bit abruptly and I think it was intentional but I would have loved a more conclusive epilogue. I just wanted to know more. I think this is where the disconnect happened for me I just wanted more it felt like such a big climax and reveal that I had to backtrack and reread the ending to see if I missed something.
Overall this was a good summer read and I do recommend checking it out. Fans of YA mysteries/ psychological thrillers should definitely check this out!
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group/ Razorbill and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the characters. They were all so interesting and complex. I loved Avril's romantic relationship but I really enjoyed her friendships. Especially with Lex I feel like everyone needs a lex in their lives. I think the romance was good, I did think it was kind of insta lovey but progressed slow enough that it felt more natural. Also I loved the overall setting. The setting of a theater summer camp was so fun and added to that classic dangerous summer camp feel. I also appreciated how the book had great strong themes of finding oneself and processing grief.
I really enjoyed the overall mystery and the strange things that kept happening to Avril in Whispering Cove. The fog and strange sounds and visions and nightmares really helped make us the reader wonder what is real what is not real. I do think that the ending happened a bit abruptly and I think it was intentional but I would have loved a more conclusive epilogue. I just wanted to know more. I think this is where the disconnect happened for me I just wanted more it felt like such a big climax and reveal that I had to backtrack and reread the ending to see if I missed something.
Overall this was a good summer read and I do recommend checking it out. Fans of YA mysteries/ psychological thrillers should definitely check this out!
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group/ Razorbill and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2022
There is nothing I enjoy more than having a group of characters that are diverse and complex. It was interesting getting to know Avril and feeling like I was right there with her trying to piece together this mystery. The events that surrounded her and eerie things that happened added to the overall suspense and thrill of this book. It felt not only that it was playing tricks on Avril, but also the reader. It was fun trying to decipher the truths and realities and kept me on my toes.
There were so many twists which made this book one heck of a wild ride. Trying to guess the ending was tricky and impossible. The author did a fantastic job in writing a mystery that was both thrilling and captivating while having you on the edge of your seat. This book is worth checking out for those who love a great mystery with a crazy plot twist. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC
There were so many twists which made this book one heck of a wild ride. Trying to guess the ending was tricky and impossible. The author did a fantastic job in writing a mystery that was both thrilling and captivating while having you on the edge of your seat. This book is worth checking out for those who love a great mystery with a crazy plot twist. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC
May 24, 2024
I’m so sad I didn’t love this book more, because I really liked Ginny Myers Sain’s other two books, Dark and Shallow Lies and One Last Breath - but this one I didn’t think had the same magic. Maybe it’s Second Book Syndrome? It doesn’t have the same supernatural twist that her other books do - it tries to, but it doesn’t really pay off. The characters all felt flat, the dialogue was quite stilted, and the romance was just… cringeworthy, honestly. And all of this really does pain me to say, because I consider myself a real fan of this author!! I’ll definitely read more from them in the future, but this was a bit of a letdown.
August 4, 2024
i really liked this but the epilogue left me so confused
October 23, 2022
dark and shallow lies es uno de mi libros favoritos de la vida así que tenía muchas ganas de leer lo próximo que la autora sacara y la verdad me decepcionó mucho. no solo me di cuenta de todos los plot twist muy temprano en la lectura ((realmente muy muy temprano)), sino que todo fue muy lento, denso y un poco aburrido. lo seguí leyendo esperando que aunque sea los personajes me salvaran un poco la lectura pero no fue así, la verdad es que el libro terminó y yo no conocía a los personajes ni un poquito más que cuando lo empece, quedaron muy planos. y ni siquiera quiero hablar de ese final que parece que quiere darte a entender algo pero que a mí particularmente no me cierra y no llegue a entender del todo. en fín es un libro que no me sorprendio en nada, que me dejó muchisimas preguntas y que seguramente mañana olvide, pero aun asi considero que la autora es una muy buena escritora así que voy a seguir leyendo todo lo que saque esperando que me fascinen como dark and shallow lies me fascino y este sea solo un libro con el que no conecté.
September 18, 2022
Rating: 4⭐️
Thank you to Penguin Teen for gifting me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning: drowning, mention of suicide, arson, hallucinations.
Ginny Meyers Sain has such a way with words, and she has the ability to draw you in within the first chapter with her beautiful, atmospheric prose. This is such an atmosphere-driven story, but it has to be to get the full effect of what Avril is living through during her time at acting camp. Avril returns to Whisper Cove where her mother died twelve years prior, to try to figure out what truly happened that night. All she remembers are the stars falling from the sky, a blinding light, a tight grip on her wrist, and the sense of flying. As she get closer to famous playwright, Willa Culver, and her mysterious son Cole, Avril learns that what the sea wants, the sea gets and it might just be after her.
The characters were interesting. I liked Avril and Cole’s relationship. They understood each other and helped support each other through their struggles. Their chemistry in the play was also fantastic. Lex and Jude were adorable. I felt like Val was an ok character but she didn’t really serve a purpose to the story. A few of the characters didn’t really have much development throughout the story which was kind of sad since it’s a 400 page book.
The mystery aspect was interesting and it kept me guessing the majority of the time. It was hard to figure out what was happening in real time and what was in Avril’s head though. It made it harder to understand some scenes. I was also able to guess the twists well enough in advance so they weren’t that exciting for me once they were revealed.
I do want to mention that the ending was very abrupt. I actually dropped .5 of a star rating because of it. It felt very rushed after the final twist and I felt like we didn’t get enough closure. And then the epilogue was just dumb in my opinion. I originally thought I was missing part of the book because of how abruptly it ended but nope. It was all there.
I would recommend this to someone who is new to atmospheric reads and to YA. I did like the majority of the book but I’m also hesitant to recommend it because it feels unfinished. But that’s just my opinion.
Thank you to Penguin Teen for gifting me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning: drowning, mention of suicide, arson, hallucinations.
Ginny Meyers Sain has such a way with words, and she has the ability to draw you in within the first chapter with her beautiful, atmospheric prose. This is such an atmosphere-driven story, but it has to be to get the full effect of what Avril is living through during her time at acting camp. Avril returns to Whisper Cove where her mother died twelve years prior, to try to figure out what truly happened that night. All she remembers are the stars falling from the sky, a blinding light, a tight grip on her wrist, and the sense of flying. As she get closer to famous playwright, Willa Culver, and her mysterious son Cole, Avril learns that what the sea wants, the sea gets and it might just be after her.
The characters were interesting. I liked Avril and Cole’s relationship. They understood each other and helped support each other through their struggles. Their chemistry in the play was also fantastic. Lex and Jude were adorable. I felt like Val was an ok character but she didn’t really serve a purpose to the story. A few of the characters didn’t really have much development throughout the story which was kind of sad since it’s a 400 page book.
The mystery aspect was interesting and it kept me guessing the majority of the time. It was hard to figure out what was happening in real time and what was in Avril’s head though. It made it harder to understand some scenes. I was also able to guess the twists well enough in advance so they weren’t that exciting for me once they were revealed.
I do want to mention that the ending was very abrupt. I actually dropped .5 of a star rating because of it. It felt very rushed after the final twist and I felt like we didn’t get enough closure. And then the epilogue was just dumb in my opinion. I originally thought I was missing part of the book because of how abruptly it ended but nope. It was all there.
I would recommend this to someone who is new to atmospheric reads and to YA. I did like the majority of the book but I’m also hesitant to recommend it because it feels unfinished. But that’s just my opinion.
April 28, 2022
Wow this book was a wild ride. The title fits perfectly secrets really did run deep!! I love Ginny's writing and absolutely adored Dark and Shallow Lies I will say I had really high hopes that this would be just as good if not better. I found that while I enjoyed it I didn't enjoy it as much as Dark and Shallow Lies.
I really enjoyed the characters. They were all so interesting and complex. I loved Avril's romantic relationship but I really enjoyed her friendships. Especially with Lex I feel like everyone needs a lex in their lives. I think the romance was good, I did think it was kind of insta lovey but progressed slow enough that it felt more natural. Also I loved the overall setting. The setting of a theater summer camp was so fun and added to that classic dangerous summer camp feel. I also appreciated how the book had great strong themes of finding oneself and processing grief.
I really enjoyed the overall mystery and the strange things that kept happening to Avril in Whispering Cove. The fog and strange sounds and visions and nightmares really helped make us the reader wonder what is real what is not real. I do think that the ending happened a bit abruptly and I think it was intentional but I would have loved a more conclusive epilogue. I just wanted to know more. I think this is where the disconnect happened for me I just wanted more it felt like such a big climax and reveal that I had to backtrack and reread the ending to see if I missed something.
Overall this was a good summer read and I do recommend checking it out. Fans of YA mysteries/ psychological thrillers should definitely check this out!
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group/ Razorbill and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the characters. They were all so interesting and complex. I loved Avril's romantic relationship but I really enjoyed her friendships. Especially with Lex I feel like everyone needs a lex in their lives. I think the romance was good, I did think it was kind of insta lovey but progressed slow enough that it felt more natural. Also I loved the overall setting. The setting of a theater summer camp was so fun and added to that classic dangerous summer camp feel. I also appreciated how the book had great strong themes of finding oneself and processing grief.
I really enjoyed the overall mystery and the strange things that kept happening to Avril in Whispering Cove. The fog and strange sounds and visions and nightmares really helped make us the reader wonder what is real what is not real. I do think that the ending happened a bit abruptly and I think it was intentional but I would have loved a more conclusive epilogue. I just wanted to know more. I think this is where the disconnect happened for me I just wanted more it felt like such a big climax and reveal that I had to backtrack and reread the ending to see if I missed something.
Overall this was a good summer read and I do recommend checking it out. Fans of YA mysteries/ psychological thrillers should definitely check this out!
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group/ Razorbill and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 19, 2022
Thank you @razorbillbooks for my advance copy! I was pretty excited for this one!
If you are looking for an atmospheric, immersive fever dream look no further. This book makes me feel the salt of the sea on your lips and the cool coat of fog from the very beginning. The author definitely has a gift for writing and beautiful prose. You feel all of the emotions, tensions and despair oozing off the pages.
The mystery kept the story flowing and I did not really know where it was headed until the very end. I felt the characters were done really well and believable for their age group. I felt for Avril and her desire to find out the truth about a mother she has never known. The friendships were strong (especially Lex and Avril) which I appreciated. Lex may have been my favorite! I also enjoyed the whole camp/theater setting. It just added to the overall mystic. The ending may have just been the best “twist” in the story. I was all prepared for it and the author gets you again! I enjoyed it although felt it could have been a tad shorter!
If you are looking for an atmospheric, immersive fever dream look no further. This book makes me feel the salt of the sea on your lips and the cool coat of fog from the very beginning. The author definitely has a gift for writing and beautiful prose. You feel all of the emotions, tensions and despair oozing off the pages.
The mystery kept the story flowing and I did not really know where it was headed until the very end. I felt the characters were done really well and believable for their age group. I felt for Avril and her desire to find out the truth about a mother she has never known. The friendships were strong (especially Lex and Avril) which I appreciated. Lex may have been my favorite! I also enjoyed the whole camp/theater setting. It just added to the overall mystic. The ending may have just been the best “twist” in the story. I was all prepared for it and the author gets you again! I enjoyed it although felt it could have been a tad shorter!
June 20, 2022
Thank you so much to PRH and Children’s Book Workd for the ARC!!
Secrets So Deep proves Ginny Myers Sain isn’t slowing down with her sophomore novel. The story is lush, cold, and sharp, winding the reader through love and fear and just a whisper of the uncanny to its shocking but somehow inevitable end. Secrets So Deep will sink you to the bottom of Long Island Sound and make you wish you could stay there for the delight of it.
Great for fans of Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, One of Us is Lying, and Gallant (if that seems like a weird combo, just trust me)
Secrets So Deep proves Ginny Myers Sain isn’t slowing down with her sophomore novel. The story is lush, cold, and sharp, winding the reader through love and fear and just a whisper of the uncanny to its shocking but somehow inevitable end. Secrets So Deep will sink you to the bottom of Long Island Sound and make you wish you could stay there for the delight of it.
Great for fans of Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, One of Us is Lying, and Gallant (if that seems like a weird combo, just trust me)
September 25, 2022
Avril Vincent goes back to Whisper Cove to try to make sense of her mother’s drowning 12 years ago. The Cove is eerie, creepy and full of ghosts. This was a very good book and I finished it in a day! Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC!
October 15, 2022
Ginny Myers Sain is becoming an instant buy author for me. She can create an atmosphere and makes you want to know what happened.
I have to admit that I prefer Dark and Shallow Lies more than Secrets so Deep. Still it is a really intriguing read.
I have to admit that I prefer Dark and Shallow Lies more than Secrets so Deep. Still it is a really intriguing read.
August 4, 2023
DNF at 58% the story felt extremely repetitive. I loved the intrigue, the setting. The romance was cute. The mystery is fun and unsettling. However at the point of 58% i felt like we were going around in circles with no new development for the last 10-15%. It made me lose interest.
August 27, 2024
This is essentially a romance novel with a mystery plot in the background. I’m not really a romance novel enthusiast, and I wasn’t going into this expecting a heavy romance plot with the rest in the background so I was pretty disappointed. Nothing on the back really suggested to me that that’s what I’d be reading.
Avril was also not really a great friend to the cast who were supposed to be her friends: Lex, Val, and Jude. Essentially, it was just Cole Cole Cole Cole Cole. There were precious few scenes that did anything to build her relationships with any characters except for Cole and Willa, and of those, there were none with Val or Jude, only Lex.
She pushed her “friends” away and barely ever spoke to them. I know basically nothing about them except that Jude’s been to the camp before, Val has an on and off relationship with a guy we never see, and Lex is a hopeless romantic.
I also didn’t like that there seemed to be a lot of romanticization of self-harm and suicide. Avril burns herself with a lighter. Cole makes these cryptic statements that come across as suicidal ideation. On top of that, there’s this weird codependence between the two of them due to these strange self-harm things. They’re regularly “saving” each other or talking about “saving” each other. This also ends up with the sort of toxic idea that relationships should be built on fixing the other person.
Avril’s relationship with her father is also in effect completely unexplored. All we know is that it’s rocky, but it’s otherwise pretty much untouched because the only relationships the author really cared about were with Cole and Willa.
Multiple plot lines were left unresolved or with highly unsatisfying endings.
Also, I’ve been to an away camp as a kid, and I don’t know where the counselors are or who’s actually watching these kids, but it was very unrealistic. There would be multiple adults to keep an eye on these kids and sleep in the cabins with them to ensure their safety.
The only part I really like was the plot outlined on the back: figuring out what’s happened to her mom. But that felt more like a sideplot to the relationship between Cole and Avril.
Avril was also not really a great friend to the cast who were supposed to be her friends: Lex, Val, and Jude. Essentially, it was just Cole Cole Cole Cole Cole. There were precious few scenes that did anything to build her relationships with any characters except for Cole and Willa, and of those, there were none with Val or Jude, only Lex.
She pushed her “friends” away and barely ever spoke to them. I know basically nothing about them except that Jude’s been to the camp before, Val has an on and off relationship with a guy we never see, and Lex is a hopeless romantic.
I also didn’t like that there seemed to be a lot of romanticization of self-harm and suicide. Avril burns herself with a lighter. Cole makes these cryptic statements that come across as suicidal ideation. On top of that, there’s this weird codependence between the two of them due to these strange self-harm things. They’re regularly “saving” each other or talking about “saving” each other. This also ends up with the sort of toxic idea that relationships should be built on fixing the other person.
Avril’s relationship with her father is also in effect completely unexplored. All we know is that it’s rocky, but it’s otherwise pretty much untouched because the only relationships the author really cared about were with Cole and Willa.
Multiple plot lines were left unresolved or with highly unsatisfying endings.
Also, I’ve been to an away camp as a kid, and I don’t know where the counselors are or who’s actually watching these kids, but it was very unrealistic. There would be multiple adults to keep an eye on these kids and sleep in the cabins with them to ensure their safety.
The only part I really like was the plot outlined on the back: figuring out what’s happened to her mom. But that felt more like a sideplot to the relationship between Cole and Avril.
March 17, 2023
Actual rating: 2.5 / 5
The Details:
Narrated by Valerie Rose Lohman
Unabridged
I love how the dedication had "twin flame" which was a theme in dark shallow lies.
This one took me a little longer to get into than I hoped (and I never truly got there) but I think that was due to the heavy theme of theatre camp which doesn't interest me, and was a recurring theme throughout the novel.
Once we got more into the mystery and ghost story I was more invested in Avril's tale, but despite trying to leave some time between reading this and the authors debut, I couldn't help but compare the two to eachother and I found this one to be lacking in the same light of its predecessor.
Surface level it was enjoyable, an easy listen and I had a vague intrigue towards Avril's story, however I didn't click with her and the narrative soon enough for me to sink wholeheartedly into the prose and due to this, my overall enjoyment suffered greatly.
Pick it up, give it a go & enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
The Details:
Narrated by Valerie Rose Lohman
Unabridged
I love how the dedication had "twin flame" which was a theme in dark shallow lies.
This one took me a little longer to get into than I hoped (and I never truly got there) but I think that was due to the heavy theme of theatre camp which doesn't interest me, and was a recurring theme throughout the novel.
Once we got more into the mystery and ghost story I was more invested in Avril's tale, but despite trying to leave some time between reading this and the authors debut, I couldn't help but compare the two to eachother and I found this one to be lacking in the same light of its predecessor.
Surface level it was enjoyable, an easy listen and I had a vague intrigue towards Avril's story, however I didn't click with her and the narrative soon enough for me to sink wholeheartedly into the prose and due to this, my overall enjoyment suffered greatly.
Pick it up, give it a go & enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
October 20, 2024
I loved the setting at a theater "summer camp" on the Connecticut coast. The fog provides a great mysterious element by making the nights and "ghosts" feel eerier than they are. Some secrets are meant to stay buried to keep the music playing, so to speak, but Avril pushes aside comfort to learn who her mother really was. I admire that courage of hers. Cole, Lex, and Val are all great supporters during a trying time for her with each important in their own ways. Great questions about morality and creativity arise from the ashes of the brisk ending.
March 7, 2024
1.5 stars
Yikes, it felt long! And yet... I don't feel like a huge lot of things happened in-between all the angsty teen feelings.
I do remember hearing "Look at the #/!"&"%¤* stars!" one-hundred-eleven-forty-five million times (!!!) though.
*My artistic interpretation, mind you.
I did like Dark and Shallow Lies a lot. But this book failed to catch me almost entirely.
The characters and their chemistry were weak.
The mystery was - sad to say it - obvious.
The red herrings weren't all that great either, and Avril constantly coming to the wrong conclusions or having next to no inclination to actually question her own ability to remember was tedious.
Sure, she's still basically only a kid, but the adults living around the place for years... Surely they should have worked something out years ago.....?
The setting didn't really win me over either. The fog was kind of creepy. But at the same time...
Was it anything else than creepy? Ehh.... No. It seemed totally harmless eventually.
And that made it pretty "meh" to me.
I either wanted there to be a big supernatural intervention - OR something that could be blamed entirely on the human psyche - as it is known to mess people and minds up, pretty badly. But in the end, I ended up with neither and that felt a bit blasé. Like why where even the unnatural aspects part of the book? They provided flashbacks into the pasts, sort of, but the book wouldn't have changed much without them at all.
Also... There is a real (read: HUGE) problem with having another fictional work featured within a book like this - if that fictive work is supposed to be a real hit and/or wonder. You kind of need to include a story that good to make it believable...
I failed to see how "Midnight Music" was all that great. The dialogue between the teens felt very teensy, YA, and stereotypically "young and blue eyed" somehow.
Not like: "Hey, give me all the heavy drama awards!"
But... What do I know... I just rolled my eyes at some scenes and sighed and waited for something interesting to actually move the plot forward.
Over-all though... The forward motion was rather poor. It felt more like treading water.
One of my bigger issues with this book, aside from the weak characters, were the insta-loves and insta-BFFs and everything else "instant" that happened between these people, thrown together for a few weeks.
None of them actually KNOW each other, even a little bit - and instead of getting to actually know each other, they have this instant love or friend energy that just ... made me totally unconvinced.
There's not even a little bit of hard feelings when Avril gets the main part of the play - and clearly becomes the teacher's pet on top of that. As if that's just how good she is, or something.
I don't know. Reality has never worked out that smoothly as far as I've ever seen.
At least a tinge of competition or hostility from the other actors would have made things more dynamic and believable.
Not that the plot actually is very believable ...
I failed to see how on Earth Avril actually got any acting done when she was having flashbacks and floated away into memories every so often. The fact that a certain someone didn't take her off stage the first thing something happened was the only red flag I needed to crack the mystery wide open, to tell the truth, so the way towards the resolution was loooooong and at times not at all exciting.
Oh, and may I just say: The utter lack of CPR towards the ending made me angry.
Like what the hell, kids...!? Aren't you even going to make a half-arsed attempt at saving a life? What is WRONG with all of you!?? You can be "drowned" for quite a while and then be resuscitated, for the love of Poseidon! How ignorant are all of you!? *pokes the author with a stick*
Ah. Well... Not my best book choice of 2022.
Over and out!
Yikes, it felt long! And yet... I don't feel like a huge lot of things happened in-between all the angsty teen feelings.
I do remember hearing "Look at the #/!"&"%¤* stars!" one-hundred-eleven-forty-five million times (!!!) though.
*My artistic interpretation, mind you.
I did like Dark and Shallow Lies a lot. But this book failed to catch me almost entirely.
The characters and their chemistry were weak.
The mystery was - sad to say it - obvious.
The red herrings weren't all that great either, and Avril constantly coming to the wrong conclusions or having next to no inclination to actually question her own ability to remember was tedious.
Sure, she's still basically only a kid, but the adults living around the place for years... Surely they should have worked something out years ago.....?
The setting didn't really win me over either. The fog was kind of creepy. But at the same time...
Was it anything else than creepy? Ehh.... No. It seemed totally harmless eventually.
And that made it pretty "meh" to me.
I either wanted there to be a big supernatural intervention - OR something that could be blamed entirely on the human psyche - as it is known to mess people and minds up, pretty badly. But in the end, I ended up with neither and that felt a bit blasé. Like why where even the unnatural aspects part of the book? They provided flashbacks into the pasts, sort of, but the book wouldn't have changed much without them at all.
Also... There is a real (read: HUGE) problem with having another fictional work featured within a book like this - if that fictive work is supposed to be a real hit and/or wonder. You kind of need to include a story that good to make it believable...
I failed to see how "Midnight Music" was all that great. The dialogue between the teens felt very teensy, YA, and stereotypically "young and blue eyed" somehow.
Not like: "Hey, give me all the heavy drama awards!"
But... What do I know... I just rolled my eyes at some scenes and sighed and waited for something interesting to actually move the plot forward.
Over-all though... The forward motion was rather poor. It felt more like treading water.
One of my bigger issues with this book, aside from the weak characters, were the insta-loves and insta-BFFs and everything else "instant" that happened between these people, thrown together for a few weeks.
None of them actually KNOW each other, even a little bit - and instead of getting to actually know each other, they have this instant love or friend energy that just ... made me totally unconvinced.
There's not even a little bit of hard feelings when Avril gets the main part of the play - and clearly becomes the teacher's pet on top of that. As if that's just how good she is, or something.
I don't know. Reality has never worked out that smoothly as far as I've ever seen.
At least a tinge of competition or hostility from the other actors would have made things more dynamic and believable.
Not that the plot actually is very believable ...
I failed to see how on Earth Avril actually got any acting done when she was having flashbacks and floated away into memories every so often. The fact that a certain someone didn't take her off stage the first thing something happened was the only red flag I needed to crack the mystery wide open, to tell the truth, so the way towards the resolution was loooooong and at times not at all exciting.
Oh, and may I just say: The utter lack of CPR towards the ending made me angry.
Like what the hell, kids...!? Aren't you even going to make a half-arsed attempt at saving a life? What is WRONG with all of you!?? You can be "drowned" for quite a while and then be resuscitated, for the love of Poseidon! How ignorant are all of you!? *pokes the author with a stick*
Ah. Well... Not my best book choice of 2022.
Over and out!
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