DNF
1.5 stars

I was super excited for this but it was just so boring. I stopped reading after around 100 pages because nothing was happening. I was so excited to read about a story set in a beautiful paradisiac island. I wanted a story filled with mysteries, twists and turns, and ocean adventures, but this book was not that. I'll keep this review short: There's little action, and the action that there is only happens towards the end of the book. This book should've been way shorter for what it was.

Deep Water was a fair enough time-killer, albeit an entirely basic, tepid read that fails to live up to the promises of the publisher's jacket copy. I'm a fan of desert island thrillers/horror (I'm at a total loss as to how the publisher's marketing team felt this was even remotely comparable to Scott Smith's The Ruins, by the way), and Emma Bamford tries to go the psychological thriller route, but it all falls a bit flat.

Newlyweds abandon civilization for the high seas and a life of sailing (sign me up!), and chart a course for a paradisiacal island and befriend a few other ex-pats who anchor there between monsoon season. They're followed by the mysterious Vitor and Theresa, and what follows is a test of Virginie and Jake's young marriage. Will she sleep with Vitor? Is Vitor really a drug dealer? Will Jake stop being pigheaded and let somebody help him fix their boat's busted engine?

The narrative is driven by choices and questions, but...not much really happens. Bamford does a terrific job of making life at sea into a grand adventure, and Amarante certainly feels like paradise. Unfortunately, there's never really any sense of threat or momentum until like 80% through. The book's synopsis boasts of the islands secrets but, much like every other aspect of Bamford's story, once revealed it's just more of a nothingburger.

My advice? Skip Deep Water and check out Dead Calm with Sam Neil, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane, or give Richard Laymon's Island a read instead.

Jake and Virginie are a newlywed couple. Before settling down they decide to sell all their possessions, purchase a boat, refurbishes it and set sail on a year long adventure. It’s obvious that this couple is totally naive with regards to boating. They rename the boat which any boating enthusiast knows is bad luck. The young husband Jake is afraid of the water and does not swim! Seriously who in their right mind would take a year long voyage, on a boat and is afraid to get into the water? They stop at a port to get supplies and hear of a pristine island that is 5 days away. The island has no amenities and no cell services and they must live off of their supplies, the sea, the island coconuts. They meet a couple Vitor and Theresa that decides to also head out to the island and of course they are not the happy couple that they pretend to be. I didn’t like any of the characters and actually came to dislike Jake who is not the evil villain in the story. I found this to be much too unrealistic for my taste.

Many of us dream of getting away from it all, selling everything, and sailing around the world, so the premise of this book was captivating.

Deep Water fell flat given the promising synopsis of the book. When a Royal Malaysian Navy vessel receives a mayday message, the captain orders they rush to a yacht adrift in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Captain Danial Tengku orders his ship to rush to its aid. On board the yacht is a British couple: a horribly injured man, Jake, and his traumatized wife, Virginie, who breathlessly confesses, “It’s all my fault. I killed them.”

Through flashbacks, Virginie tells a harrowing tale about when happened after she and her new husband invested their life savings to buy a beat-up yacht and live off the grid on a remote, exotic island far from the reaches of civilization. When they arrive, they are stunned by the unspoiled beaches and tropical waters, but disappointed that several other boaters have moored in the bay. What they’d hoped would be the adventure of a lifetime turns into a nightmare.

The naval captain must decide how much of Virginie’s story is true.

Deep Water reminded me of Lord of the Flies, you know, that torturous book too many of us had to read in school. I supplemented the eBook with audio, and although I didn’t notice the flaws while listening, they lept off the pages as soon as I started reading. The intricate plot was certainly intriguing, and the author did a fine job developing her characters and building drama, but I found the writing to be sophomoric. She left too many massive holes in the story that I’d hoped she'd fill by the conclusion, but she left them gaping. The reviews on this novel are all over the place… me, I’ll give it 3 stars.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this novel. The opinions are my own.

story doesn’t feel finished

Spoiler!!!

It may sound petty, but I don’t like it when authors make the storyline be assumed instead coming out and saying it. What happened with Teresa and Roly? Did Gus survive? Did the sketchy guys kill Vitor?? Too many questions!! I feel unfinished. Good read regardless, although I can absolutely not even come close to understanding how someone can have such an ego to let pride come so close to killing both themselves and the person they love. And she was such a weak woman to let him. Either way, glad they ended up happy with kids. Really happy Stella is being rescued.

When I started reading Deep Water earlier this year I had not long returned from my first sailing experience, so I was excited to dive into a thriller set in such a remote, tropical location. Having said that, you don’t have to have spent time on a boat in order to follow along and enjoy Bamford’s novel. I found the cast of characters unique, and their descriptions realistic. She did an amazing job getting into the mind of the protagonist, and I felt myself getting pulled into the dynamics of the central relationship between Virginie and Jake, which was quickly put to the test. I’ve always been curious about the types of people who quit their jobs and leave everything behind to set off on an adventure in the wild. The setting projected its own sense of isolation and inherent danger, which I loved, especially in one particular scene where Virginie stumbles across the ruins of a settlement set on shore Amarante. The pace of the novel is definitely on the slower side, not for readers who seek pulse-pounding action, or edge-of-your-seat suspense.

The scene I keep going back to is the opening which reveals Jake, Virginie’s boyfriend, unconscious from a head trauma, while Virginie is too shocked to explain what happened. That initial incident kept me turning the pages, curious to find out what happened and why. When it was finally revealed, the change in POV made an interesting twist. Overall this was a successful debut and I’m excited to see what she publishes next.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a slow-burn, tropical setting and have an interest in sailing/boat life. It’s the perfect beach read!

This book is a snooze. I'm sorry, but don't start with something exciting (a captain finding a woman with her husband on an abandoned yacht, saying "It's all my fault. I killed them") and then follow it with a boring story.

Virginie and Jake (he was super annoying) sell everything buy a small yacht, and sail to Amarante to live a simple few months. The other people on the island create trouble... about 50% in. And the trouble that's created is still boring.

This was a fun, quick read with interesting characters. Jake and Virginie, newly married, decide to begin their new life sailing from Malaysia to a remote island, Amarante. They hook up with two other couples while on the island along with a single man and his dog. It's a beautiful island with a charm neither Jake or Virginie could have imagined. However, because they are very far from anything (humans and resources), there are "Island Rules", which include everyone pitching in to retrieve firewood and food. And there is one restricted area where fishing is prohibited. After a couple weeks, everyone has become better acquainted, but there's also tension brewing. After Jake and Virginie's boat engine fails, compromising their water supply, Jake is consumed with resolving the problem even though he doesn't have the tools to fix it, and he stubbornly refuses everyone's help. Meanwhile, Virginie tries to do his share of the chores along with her own but the others resent Jake's lack of effort and his attitude. Virginie finally convinces Jake to stop working on the engine just long enough to go catch some fish. But after hours of no luck, Virginie decides to check out the "no fishing" zone and soon they're pulling in one fish after another. Everyone is relieved that Jake has finally made a contribution and they celebrate with drinks and a delicious fish dinner. But when tongues loosen after too much alcohol, angry words are shouted and accusations made. The following morning, someone dies and suddenly the island isn't a paradise anymore. I'm not giving away spoilers so you'll have to read the book to learn the rest. I enjoyed all the detail given regarding the geography and history of the island. I really felt like I was on the boat with Jake and Virginie and what a great sailing adventure it was!