“Seven years ago, two children tried to swim nearly a mile through rough seas to reach the shore. Only one child made it.”

What an incredible debut novel, oh my goodness! There was sapphic goodness, Greek mythology, and all set on the Australian coast. This is definitely a new favourite and I need everyone to read it! This book follows the story of Ari, who lost her best friend Alex to the sea when she was a child and has blamed herself for what happened that day ever since. One day when Ari is bitten by a snake and starts losing her own life, the summoner sent to guide her to the afterlife suddenly decides to defy the rules of life & death in order to save Ari’s life. Because That summoner? She’s Alex, who has been escorting souls to the underworld for 7 years. But this causes a great imbalance between the mortal world and the underworld, and dark things start happening around Ari’s small town. Now the two girls must figure out how to stop these things from happening and keep Alex from being drawn back to the underworld.

I was so invested in this story omg. From the first chapter I was hooked (that first chapter is one of the best I’ve ever read). The world building was incredible, the characters stole my heart, and the romance made me swoon. Also, the inclusion of some Greek mythology with a twist was wonderful. This author SURE CAN WRITE! This book also deals with some tougher themes in a beautiful way, such as grief and survivor’s guilt, so it definitely made me cry.

As you can tell, I loved this book! The story was touching, atmospheric, and super duper gay. I really can’t recommend this one enough!

TW: Animal/pet death

*Thank you to Netgalley and Interlude Press for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*