Review of 'Those We Drown'

An unfortunate read, Those We Drown had such a promising premise but failed to deliver a worthwhile plot.

Terrible Character

I’m not going to mince words here. I hated this book. More correctly, I hated Liv. Liv gets the chance of a lifetime to join an all-expenses paid opportunity to study aboard a luxury cruise ship. She got this opportunity because the girl initially in her spot disappeared.

Those We Drown had a gripping and eerie introduction, but the moment Liv enters the cruise, she becomes immediately – and unbelievably – agitated. Her childhood best friend and a group of other teenagers join her on the cruise.

Liv’s friend goes “missing” in the middle of the night. The excuse is that he got sick, presumably first food poisoning, and then he progressively got worse. For some reason, Liv instantly believes something nefarious is going on.

This I could understand. But honestly, her friend was such a massive prick to her and wholly unlikable that I couldn’t muster up the energy to care about what happened to him. Which was probably why I was so incredibly irritated by Liv’s immediate sense of hysteria.

Liv would honestly be the first person to die in a horror movie. She’s that stupid. Liv is on a cruise ship; she makes scene after scene. She panics easily. I would have been more understanding if she hadn’t brought so much attention to herself while she investigated the strange occurrences on the ship.

Liv is just part of the problem here. Most of the characters are wholly unlikable and lack chemistry with one another.

Poor Storytelling

While the story’s biggest problem is the poor characterization, the other biggest problem is the structure and storytelling.

Those We Drown had so many promising moments. Unfortunately, they each fell flat. I say that because Goldsmith first can’t decide which lore to stick to, Roman or Greek, in building up the sirens and the sinister workings on the boat. Each time Goldsmith introduces a new element into the story, she does nothing with it.

I wanted to scream half the time I was reading this book. I would get excited and think, “Yes, something creepy,” but nothing comes of it. Goldsmith has this annoying habit of raising questions for the reader but never following through with the mystery. What is going on with this temple? The song? The artwork on the cruise? These are just a few of the questions.

Goldsmith also offers no closure to anything. I can understand not wanting to provide closure for the ending. It adds to the atmosphere that she was trying to build. But for everything else? There are loose notes throughout the story that are just frustrating.

Final Thoughts

Ugh, Those We Drown was such a disappointment. I wanted so much more. Usually, I can deal with unlikable MCs, provided the story is captivating enough. But unfortunately, I wish I had added this book to my DNF pile.

• Writing Quality : 0/10
• Character Development : 0/10
• "Couldn't Put It Down"-ness : 0/10
• Intellectual Depth: 0/10
• Originality: 0/10
• Overall Rating: 0 out of 5.

Like this review?

Don’t forget to follow Cyn’s Workshop on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads | LinkedIn to stay tuned for future reviews.

About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny