Ocean Horror Books That Will Make You Fear the Water
The ocean covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface. Humans have mapped less of it than Mars’s surface. That’s not a wonder; that’s a threat. Somewhere below the bathyal dark, in pressures that would crush a submarine hull, in temperatures barely above freezing, something lives. Probably several somethings. We don’t know what they are. We may never know. Ocean horror books have built entire architectures of dread out of exactly that ignorance, and the writers on this list are among the best at doing it.
The novel is darker and more morally tangled than the film most people know. The shark is still the shark, but Benchley is more interested in what the shark reveals about the humans onshore: the corruption, the cowardice, the way a community will risk lives to protect its summer economy. The creature is the frame; the horror is the people. If you want creature-driven ocean horror with real teeth (sorry), this is still the clearest entry point in the genre.
The most consistently recommended contemporary ocean horror novel, and the recommendation is earned. Grant reimagines mermaids as ambush predators, built for deep water and designed to kill, then strands a research crew with them on a vessel in the Pacific with no extraction window. The creature-feature mechanics are tight, the ensemble cast is well-drawn, and the pacing doesn’t let you breathe. This is the right starting point if you want modern nautical horror with biological teeth. Available in print, on Kindle, and on Audible.
For readers who want their ocean horror meaner, faster, and packed with creature-feature chaos, Cecaelia delivers genetically engineered octopuses, a coastal community in danger, and the kind of escalating disaster that starts with something in the water and keeps getting worse. Set around Vandergeld Island off the New Jersey coast, the novel blends marine horror, science-gone-wrong, and survival thriller elements as an unnaturally intelligent Giant Pacific Octopus escapes containment. Think Jaws with tentacles and a touch of Jurassic Park: isolated beaches, bad decisions, increasingly impossible-to-ignore warning signs, and a predator that is far more intelligent than anyone expected. It’s a strong pick for readers who love modern creature features, ocean horror, and monsters that don’t behave like simple animals.
NETGALLEY BOOK REVIEW: Youthjuice by E.K. Sathue
⭐ Quick Snapshot
- Genre: Horror / Satire
- Format: Audiobook (via NetGalley)
- Published: 2024
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
✨ First Impressions
I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The premise immediately caught my attention: a wellness empire in NYC with a too-good-to-be-true beauty product. I expected satire, but what I got was something darker, stranger, and far more entertaining.
📖 What It’s About (Spoiler-Free)
Sophia works at HEBE, a luxury skincare and wellness company in SoHo. She struggles with childhood trauma and chews her hands until they’re raw—hiding them beneath gloves. When HEBE gifts her their latest product, youthjuice, Sophia tests it on her damaged skin, and the results are nothing short of miraculous.
But perfection comes at a cost. As Sophia digs deeper into HEBE’s pristine facade, she uncovers disturbing truths behind the cream’s effectiveness—and what she finds is both horrifying and hilarious.
🖋️ Writing & Style
Sathue’s writing blends biting satire with grotesque body horror. The pacing keeps you hooked: mundane office culture one moment, a shocking reveal the next. The narration in the audiobook amplified the unsettling, glossy-yet-creepy tone perfectly.
👤 Characters / Key Ideas
- Sophia: a flawed but sympathetic lead—her gloves and anxieties make her feel very real.
- HEBE: less a company than a character itself, with its polished branding hiding depravity.
- Themes: beauty standards, consumerism, and the horror of what we’ll endure for perfection.
💡 Highlights & Favorite Moments
- The opening immediately sets a tone of dread mixed with humor.
- The reveal about Sophia’s lace gloves was one of the most disturbing—and memorable—twists.
- The slow unraveling of youthjuice’s secret kept me both horrified and amused.
🤔 What Could Be Better
The horror is deliciously grotesque, but some readers may find the body horror a little too intense or over the top. If you prefer your satire sharp but subtle, this one doesn’t hold back.
🎯 Final Verdict
Youthjuice is a disgustingly fun mix of satire and horror. It exposes the rot under glossy consumer culture, all while making you laugh, cringe, and squirm. If you like American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada—with a horror twist—this is a must-read (or listen).
📌 Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
💬 Let’s Discuss!
Have you read Youthjuice yet? Did the mix of horror and humor work for you, or was it too grotesque? Let me know what you think in the comments!
BOOK REVIEW: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
⭐ Quick Snapshot
- Genre: Cozy Fantasy
- Pages: 304
- Published: 2022
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
✨ First Impressions
I’d heard so much buzz about Legends & Lattes being a “cozy fantasy” that felt like a warm hug, so I went in expecting something lighthearted and comforting—a break from epic battles and dark quests. The concept of an orc giving up adventuring to start a coffee shop definitely piqued my curiosity.
📖 What It’s About (Spoiler-Free)
Viv, a battle-weary orc, hangs up her sword and decides to open a coffee shop in a city where no one even knows what coffee is. Along the way, she gathers an unlikely group of friends—each with their own quirks—who help bring her dream to life. It’s not about saving kingdoms or fighting monsters, but about building community and finding a new purpose.
🖋️ Writing & Style
The writing is simple, accessible, and deliberately low-stakes. Baldree has a knack for painting warm, cozy settings that make you want to curl up with a latte while you read. That said, the straightforward style sometimes felt a bit too plain, and I occasionally wished for more depth in the descriptions or conflicts.
👤 Characters / Key Ideas
- Viv: A refreshing protagonist—an orc who isn’t out for blood, but for peace and fulfillment.
- Cal, Thimble, and other supporting characters add charm and heart.
- At its core, the book is about reinvention, community, and small joys, which is a nice change of pace from high-stakes fantasy.
💡 Highlights & Favorite Moments
- Watching Viv learn the ups and downs of running a business was surprisingly relatable.
- Thimble’s pastries? Honestly, the descriptions made me crave baked goods.
- The found-family dynamic was sweet, especially how the characters rallied around each other.
🤔 What Could Be Better
While the coziness is the book’s strength, it’s also its weakness at times. The plot moves at a very gentle pace—so gentle that I occasionally found myself wishing for more tension or surprises. Some characters could have used more layers, and the conflicts wrapped up a little too neatly.
🎯 Final Verdict
Legends & Lattes is a charming, low-stakes story that offers a warm escape from darker fantasy tropes. If you’re looking for action, high drama, or complex worldbuilding, this probably won’t hit the mark. But if you want something cozy, comforting, and a little different, it’s worth a try.
📌 Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
💬 Let’s Discuss!
Have you read Legends & Lattes yet? Did you find it cozy and heartwarming, or did you crave a bit more action? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
BOOK REVIEW: Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Cixin Liu
Book Length: 256 pages
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Novella
Goodreads’ Synopsis: The alliance between ants and dinosaurs created a veritable Age of Wonder! But such magnificent industry comes at a price – a price paid first by Earth’s biosphere, and then by all those dependent on it. A satirical fable and ecological warning.
A satirical fable, a political allegory and an ecological warning from the author of The Three-Body Problem. In a sunlit clearing in central Gondwana, on an otherwise ordinary day in the late Cretaceous, the seeds of Earth’s first and greatest civilization were sown in the grisly aftermath of a Tyrannosaurus’ lunch.
Throughout the universe, intelligence is a rare and fragile commodity – a fleeting glimmer in the long night of cosmic history. That Earth should harbour not just one but two intelligent species at the same time, defies the odds. That these species, so unalike – and yet so complementary – should forge an alliance that kindled a civilization defies logic. But time is endless and everything comes to pass eventually…
The alliance between ants and dinosaurs, was of course, based on dentistry. Yet from such humble beginnings came writing, mathematics, computers, fusion, antimatter and even space travel – a veritable Age of Wonder! But such magnificent industry comes at a price – a price paid first by Earth’s biosphere, and then by all those dependent on it.
And yet the Dinosaurs refused to heed the Ants’ warning of impending ecological collapse, leaving the Ant Federation facing a single dilemma: destroy the dinosaurs, destroy a civilization… or perish alongside them?
Read Start Date: March 31, 2024
Read Finish Date: April 5, 2024
My Review: Millions of years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, there were two intelligent species — ants and dinosaurs. One day, as a dinosaur tried unsuccessfully to clean food from his teeth, the ants realized something. They could perform the task and acquire food for the colony simultaneously. Thus, the symbiotic relationship between ants and dinosaurs began, igniting the evolution of the species that would otherwise not have been possible. Ants became not only dentists but also doctors, scribes, etc. The ants would perform any task the dinosaurs could not perform with clumsy, large fingers. The ants acquired knowledge and food in exchange, and both species flourished.
This close cooperation was not without its issues, though, especially when dinosaurs flourished so much that their numbers threatened the Earth’s very existence. I don’t want to give too much away from the plot, so I will just say that I liked the unique idea of an intelligent civilization of ants co-existing and developing technology with dinosaurs. I had no negative feelings about this book and did not mind that the characters were merely ancillary to the story itself. From the synopsis, this book is supposed to be a political allegory, but honestly, I didn’t even notice/pay any attention.
This novella is a quick and easy read. It covers a vast amount of time without getting bogged down in excessive detail — it is different from the Three Body Problem series in that way. So, if you enjoy Cixin Liu’s writing and imagination, I would highly recommend this book.
Other Books by the author I have read:
See my review of The Three-Body Problem here.
See my review of The Dark Forest here.
See my review of Death’s End here.
BOOK REVIEW: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Audiobook Length: 8 hours and 1 minute
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, LGBT
No. of Book in Series: 0
Goodreads’ Synopsis: When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn’t always what we seek.
In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, New York Times bestselling author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.
Viv’s career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned.
Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it.
What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn’t possibly imagine.
Still, adventure isn’t all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.
Read Start Date: April 1, 2024
Read Finish Date: April 8, 2024
My Review: I borrowed this audiobook from the library as it was on top of the “popular” list. I knew nothing about it, nor did I even read the synopsis before reading (as is mostly the case when I check books out this way). The characters are fantasy creatures such as Orcs, Elves, etc., but I felt the author could have easily just transferred the characters to humans, which would have made no difference. I never really felt how each species was different i.e., how their species made them unique or what attributes it gave them (other than being big in Viv’s case) or what the characters looked like.
Essentially, the story is about an Orc who works as a mercenary. She is injured and must convalesce until her mercenary group returns from their next mission. While looking around the town, she finds a bookshop and becomes friends with the owner, Fern, a “Ratkin” (which I assume is some giant rat?). Fern says swear words a lot, which fell flat if it was supposed to lend a funny air to the book.
While this book was imaginative and entertaining to listen to, I struggled to identify what this book was trying to be. It was definitely not your typical fantasy book. I couldn’t help making parallels to the book I read a while back called The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan (see my review here). Bookshops & Bonedust felt more like a feel-good story about saving a struggling bookstore than a fantasy adventure. I should note here, however, that a subplot does involve a necromancer.
Unfortunately, although Goodreads identifies this book as a “romance,” and there is a romance subplot, I didn’t feel it. There was no heat, no fire. I just didn’t feel the connection between Viv and her romantic interest.
In conclusion, my experience with Bookshops & Bonedust was mixed. I recommend this book to readers interested in narratives that blend fantasy elements with everyday life. However, readers seeking intense romance or action-packed adventures may want more from the book. Ultimately, Bookshops & Bonedust offers a charming escape for those who appreciate whimsical storytelling and are open to blended genres.
BOOK REVIEW: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Book Length: 248 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Goodreads’ Synopsis: A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong
Amanda and Clay head to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But with a late-night knock on the door, the spell is broken. Ruth and G. H., an older couple who claim to own the home, have arrived there in a panic. These strangers say that a sudden power outage has swept the city, and – with nowhere else to turn – they have come to the country in search of shelter.
But with the TV and internet down, and no phone service, the facts are unknowable. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple – and vice versa? What has happened back in New York? Is the holiday home, isolated from civilisation, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?
Read Start Date: February 18, 2024
Read Finish Date: March 31, 2024
My Review: I first learned about this novel when I watched the film adaptation on Netflix. The movie was eerie and strange, and I knew I just had to read the book.
The novel begins with Amanda and Clay, a middle-class white couple from Brooklyn, who take their teenage children on a trip to a luxurious rental home in a remote area in the Hamptons (Long Island, New York). However, their vacation takes a dramatic turn when the house’s owners, an older Black couple named Ruth and G. H., unexpectedly return, claiming that there is a blackout in New York City and that it’s not safe to stay there.
In their isolation–no one else around–the families can almost pretend everything is fine. Then a loud, strange noise cracks the windows. The television and cell phone services don’t work, and they are cut off from everything and everyone. If that wasn’t enough, hundreds of deer are migrating. A loud noise rends the air, shattering glass. There is no news. No one knows what is happening. Sprinkled in with this tense situation, the author provides snippets of information about what is occurring in the larger world, known only to the reader, which adds to the suspense.
The book is well written. Some characters are more developed than others, and the adults (especially Amanda and Clay) are each flawed in their own way. Amanda is a bit of a racist, while Clay is a bit of a weakling. They all seem to stick their head in the sand (which can get annoying in a crisis situation). The story moves slowly. Nothing really happens. The tension is drawn out and never comes to a head. This novel has no ending, leaving the reader to guess the fate of the characters.
While I enjoyed it overall, I admit that I was waiting for the more dramatic moments of the movie to take place in the book. They never occurred. Not that it changed my thoughts on the book overall, but a forewarning if you’re like me and have seen the movie already and are thinking of reading the book.
All the above being said, I think that this book would be a perfect choice for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers that explore human behavior under pressure and leave room for interpretation. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, action-packed read, this is not it. But for those who appreciate a slow-burning mystery with a focus on character dynamics, I would definitely recommend it.
NETGALLEY BOOK REVIEW: “My Husband’s Trying to Kill Me!”: A True Story of Money, Marriage, and Murderous Intent by Jim Schutze
Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 25 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Nonfiction, True Crime
Publisher: Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller
Published Date: 2023
Goodreads’ Synopsis: From an award-winning journalist, this “grippingly suspenseful true-crime tale details the foiling of a wealthy Texan’s plot to have his wife murdered”(Publishers Weekly).
To the world, Linda DeSilva’s marriage to Robert Edelman was perfect. He was her college boyfriend turned wealthy and successful husband, and the father of her children. But what friends and family didn’t know was that the Texas real estate tycoon who set her up with a luxurious life in Dallas was also her abuser. When she asked him for a divorce, the violence against her only escalated, until the shocking moment she learned her husband had hired an assassin to take her life.
From acclaimed journalist and author Jim Schutze, “My Husband’s Trying to Kill Me!” is the riveting true-crime account of how Linda DeSilva worked with the FBI to trap her husband before he could act on his murderous intentions—and how the sting operation nearly got her killed instead. A shocking and sensational story of a wife and mother’s escape from the marriage that went from American dream to every woman’s worst nightmare.
Read Start Date: March 23, 2024
Read Finish Date: March 27, 2024
My Review: I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Linda Edelman didn’t know the truth about Robert until he first punched her in the face. A real scum bag, he was only interested in money and winning. He made her life hell when she finally asked for a divorce, using the children as pawns against her. He didn’t care about them — he only cared that he was taking them away from Linda. Unfortunately, there are many abusers out there, but not all of them stoop to hiring a hitman.
Written like a fiction novel, this book spans from the early part of their marriage until Robert is tried and convicted. It is well written, well researched, and it kept my attention. I was eager to keep listening, and was always astonished and disgusted at Robert’s antics.
I would definitely recommend it to true crime fans.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
BOOK REVIEW: Death’s End by Cixin Liu
Book Length: 721 pages
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Aliens
Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past #3
Read Start Date: January 6, 2024
Read Finish Date: March 15, 2024
Goodreads’ Synopsis: With The Three-Body Problem, English-speaking readers got their first chance to experience the multiple-award-winning and bestselling Three-Body Trilogy by China’s most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. Three-Body was released to great acclaim including coverage in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. It was also named a finalist for the Nebula Award, making it the first translated novel to be nominated for a major SF award since Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities in 1976.
Now this epic trilogy concludes with Death’s End. Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations will soon be able to co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But the peace has also made humanity complacent.
Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early 21st century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings with her knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the beginning of the Trisolar Crisis, and her very presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?
My Review: Death’s End, the final book in Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, picks up where the second book, The Dark Forest, left off. Decades after the Wallfacer project exposed humanity’s vulnerabilities to the Trisolaran fleet, a precarious peace reigns. The “Dark Forest” doctrine—every civilization is a hunter in a cosmic jungle—keeps the Trisolarans at bay, but tensions simmer. Earth thrives under a technological boom fueled by Trisolaran knowledge but with the constant threat of invasion looming. But this is only the beginning of the story.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, so I will just say that the novel explores the evolution of human society and technology over thousands of years as humanity confronts the challenges posed by the Trisolarans and other cosmic forces. The narrative spans vast distances and periods, from the distant reaches of space to the inner workings of subatomic particles. Readers encounter different dimensions, space cities, new civilizations, and humanity’s last hope.
This book is an epic saga in and of itself, at over 700 pages. Cheng Xin is a central character introduced in the third novel. She is a scientist from the 21st century who becomes a key figure in humanity’s response to the Trisolaran threat, and not to put it lightly, in humanity’s destiny. Like the other novels in this series, the pacing is somewhat slow and delves into scientific concepts too advanced for this reader. Whether science fiction or humanity’s science future, I cannot say. Nevertheless, I found it intriguing and awe-inspiring and…just wow. This series is phenomenal and should be on everyone’s reading list.
Although I am sad that I have finished this wonderful series, I found 3 other books written by the same author at the library, so my journey is not over yet! Stay tuned for more from Cixin Liu!
Other Books In the Series:
See my review of The Three-Body Problem by clicking here.
See my review of The Dark Forest by clicking here.
NETGALLEY BOOK REVIEW: Crash Course by Julie Whipple
Audiobook Length: 8 hours and 2 minutes
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Nonfiction, Aviation
Publisher: Yamhill Canyon Press
Published Date: 2018
Goodreads’ Synopsis: On a cold winter night, a passenger jet with 189 aboard crash landed, out of fuel, in a suburban neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Ten people died. The pilot was blamed and stripped of his career, and a sweeping transformation of flight-crew training took place that made United Flight 173 (in)famous worldwide as the model for failure and change. That was only the half of it.
Hiding in plain sight for years in an attorney’s file boxes, the forgotten truths of the landmark air disaster reveal much more: an emotional journey tethered to the disgraced pilot and a three-year-old girl who survived the crash and became an unlikely hero for justice and public safety in the dramatic legal battle that followed.
Crash Course, by award-winning journalist Julie Whipple, is the long-overdue, true story of a misunderstood airline tragedy that changed more about our daily lives than most people know. Here is why we’re safer today, how we’re not, and what we can do about it.
Read Start Date: March 16, 2024
Read Finish Date: March 23, 2024
My Review: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I had never heard of this 1978 crash in Portland, Oregon. Luckily, most of the passengers survived, but many suffered lifelong effects such as PTSD. The book discusses what happened and dives into the legal battles that followed. Whipple, the daughter of the lawyer who handled one such lawsuit, focuses mainly on her father’s case, which involved the personal injury lawsuit of a small child injured in the crash. She lost her entire family (parents and two sisters) and was suffering from not only physical injuries but emotional and mental as well.
I thought the book was well-researched and well-written. Although it describes a horrific event, the author doesn’t spend too much time on gory details, which is nice. Even though it was a nonfiction book, I was utterly invested in the outcome of little Lisa’s trial. She suffered so much, and I wanted a good outcome for her. I rejoiced when the jury gave her compensation and was morally outraged by the airline’s callous, reckless behavior.
Overall, this book seems like a good pick for readers who enjoy a mix of true crime, legal drama, and human interest stories, all presented in a well-written and informative way.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
