I just didn’t click the way I’d hoped with this, but there was nothing horrible about it! I just didn’t get the serious tension that I was hoping for from a horror/thriller vibe. 

I wish the reveal had been spread out more, because I found what was going on really interesting and wish it had been played with a bit more.

Fractured Tied is the creepy and actual definition of eerie that wets the pallet for every YA thriller fan. In my opinion, the book has not been getting the attention that it so richly deserves. It is very beautifully written and the characters and monster are very original. If you are looking for a solid fantasy with a brilliant main character and a great supporting cast of “friends” then you should pick this series up and give it a try.

4.5 STARS


In case you've forgotten how deep and dangerous the ocean can be, Fractured Tide is here to remind you.


When I started Fractured Tide, I wanted so badly for it to truly be a thriller. Last month, All the Pretty Things let me down in that department, and my approach to this book was wary as a result. Was it going to be a boring plot with the thriller label slapped on top? Was it actually going to thrill, and surprise the hell out of me!

Thankfully, it lived up to expectations. When Sia's latest wreck diving excursion goes wrong, it goes wrong in all the worst ways. There's something in the water, something violent, and it strands her on a deserted island with only her little brother and a couple of teenage strangers for company. There's no sign of her capable mother, there are plenty of hints about the beast in the sea, and rescue seems far distant, if not impossible.

And that's before things start getting even stranger.


This book is full of almosts in the most delightful way.


I think it's important to have almosts in a thriller. The main character is almost right. The antagonist is almost what's expected. And the solution is almost in sight. Yet almost isn't exact, and that gap between impression and reality gets to be unsettling not only for the characters, but for the reader. Coming so close to understanding the true scope of the dangers at hands is worse than total understanding. That element of the unknown hovers over your shoulder, lurking only in your peripheral vision. It sneaks out of the way when you look at it head on, and makes you afraid to trust that things are what they appear to be on the surface.

Really, I'm delighted that this thriller was actually a thriller. It's dangerous and uncertain, and I couldn't be sure what was going to happen next even though I had my suspicions. Plus, it does an outstanding job of introducing bits and pieces of uncanny valleyesque content, enough that no one can ever quite get comfortable. Sometimes those elements struck me as ultimately outlandish or didn't have enough explanation for my tastes, resulting in a 4.5 star rating instead of a rounded 5 star, but it's something of a small complaint next to the solid structure of the rest of the book.


"Look fear in the face, and when you do, you make fear small."


Fractured Tide's best feature, though, is Sia. Her POV forms the bulk of the book, in the shape of letters to her father. She records as much of her time on the island as possible, along with the tragic events that stranded her there, and every entry drips with determination. Even though Sia is trapped in a situation nearly impossible to survive, she doesn't throw in the towel. Her brother is stranded with her, as are two other teenagers relying on her survival know-how to make it just another day. People are depending on her for their lives, and she does her best to rise to the occasion.

Really, it was refreshing to read about a heroine who's so clearly afraid of what's ahead, but refuses to give in. She may not know how to fix the entire situation, but she keeps pushing forward.

Even more delightful to me, though, was her relationship with her brother. I'm a known sap for stories centering siblings, and while this isn't wholly centering Sia and Felix, he's the main reason she tries so hard. He's only seven, and washing up on an island after a sea creature attacked the boat he was on has to be traumatic. But his big sister loves him and wants to protect him. They have each other, despite all the danger, and it makes me soft.

Not only that, but I appreciated Sia's interactions with the other two teens on the island. They joined forces in the name of survival, but that doesn't mean it was all hunky dory. Stuck together for the foreseeable future, they cooperate and clash in equal measure, teetering dangerously close to Lord of the Flies territory now and again without ever feeling unbelievable or overblown for the drama.


If you want mysteries of the sea and uncanny danger, Fractured Tide might be for you!


I truly had fun with this book. With only a couple minor complaints, it went above and beyond initial expectations, making a great, gripping read. After smashing through it in one sitting, I can absolutely recommend it. Plus, it's almost here! Publication is on schedule, and you can expect to see it available for sale starting on May 5th!

And I'm beginning to think it might be worth reading again, just to parse out the foreshadowing. It would be par for the course with this one... 👀


CW: smoking, violence (including gun violence), gore, graphic injury, loss of a loved one, underage drinking, suicidal ideation

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 1:30 PM EST on 4/29/20.]

Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review. 

Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz is an immersive YA thriller that will have you feeling anxious and claustrophobic throughout. Adding to that fear is the isolation and mystery of the deep ocean that Lutz does a brilliant job of making you feel. Fractured Tide is written in journal entry format which allows the story to unfold naturally and smoothly. We follow Sia, a teenage dive instructor who finds herself in an impossible situation after a bizarre boating accident on her family charter. Sia is a very relatable, strong female protagonist. You immediately feel for her situation and find yourself wondering how you would react in the same situation. 

Leslie Lutz weaves an extremely intricate tale full of danger, excitement, intrigue, and.....sea monsters! Add in family drama and teenage angst and you get a truly unique thriller/horror. 
Fractured Tide was a fast paced enjoyable read. The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of twists and turns. This book gave me Lost and Into the Drowning Deep vibes. It will appeal to fans of horror and science fiction alike.  

I love how Lutz mixes in diving, horror, and science to keep events moving at a good pace. It was a bit of a slow burn at times once we get on the island, but there is enough action and suspense throughout to keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat. Published by Blink, this gem set to release on May 5th, and is available for pre-order from all major booksellers. I give Fractured Tide 4 out of 5 gems. I cannot wait for this story to be out in the wild for all to read! Happy Reading!

I usually don't read thrillers, but the premise of Fractured Tide caught my interest, so I thought I'd check it out. The tone of the book was the first thing I noticed when I started reading. "Eerie" is in the description, and it's the perfect term to describe the feeling throughout out the whole book. I felt on the edge of my seat while simultaneously also having the urge to duck into my blanket to escape the stress the characters are experiencing.

The plot and twists unfold at a tensely slow pace, and each character is unreliable to the point I was suspecting everyone until the last minute. I found most of the characters unlikeable, yet complicated enough that I was still invested. I'm a huge lover of the "stranded on a desert island" trope and this was a great twist on it.

The publishers of Fractured Tide have done well to compare this book to the TV show Lost - the story starts strong but fails to live up to the scenario it created.
We start on a routine dive gone wrong and escalate into a sci-fi island adventure. The framing of this story, through journal entries to Sia's father, is a device I generally dislike - it came together in the end, but it was a roundabout way to acheive that part of the plot. I think this story offers something original in the YA book space, sci-fi based in the present day, family struggles based in reality, and ocean monsters.
Was it a fun read? Yes, to a point, but it left more questions unanswered than I would've liked.
Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with a copy for review.

Fractured Tide is an eerie thriller about a young woman, Sia, who is an experienced diver. After a tour goes fatally wrong, she winds up stranded on an island where things get steadily worse... 

This book started really well, with a fast pace and plenty of action. It got a little dull around the middle, but the tension started to build again towards the end. 

The vibe on the Island was so creepy! There were tonnes of edge-of-your-seat moments and nail biting twists and I really loved not knowing what might be coming next! 

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

Wow, this book was a wild ride! Definitely reminiscent of the TV show Lost.  Lots of twists and turns until the very end.  Sia was a wonderful character and the story is told through her journal entries to her dad in prison.  This book had me so invested I stayed up past midnight two nights in a row to finish it! Definitely recommend.

With Lost and Stranger Things being the comp titles (and two of my fav shows) for this book, I was soooo hoping to not be disappointed - and I absolutely wasn't.  The comps are perfect descriptions.

Creepy, bizarre, mind-bending - all are apt descriptions of the island Sia finds herself stranded on.  Honestly, I'd be afraid to close my eyes at night.  This book held my attention from page one, and I probably could have finished it in one sitting.  Pacing is brisk and tense - I couldn't wait to see what happened next.  

Characterization is another strong point, from the MC to supporting characters - flawed, layered, and relatable.  I loved that Sia was a diver, and it's obvious the author did her research on the subject.  I tried diving several years ago, but I was too claustrophobic - so I really felt the tension when Sia was caught up dangerous underwater situations.

Although completely riveted by this book, I dreaded the ending because I was sure to be disappointed by some weak excuse for what was happening.  But I wasn't at all, and that made my sci-fi loving heart so happy.

Fractured Tide is a fantastic blend of thriller, sci-fi, and horror and fans of any of those genres are in for a treat.  With such an amazing debut novel, this is an author to watch.    

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one of those that when I finished I kind of wanted to immediately reread it again.

It's creepy and a fabulous tale of survival told by Side in journal entries to her father.

I don't want to say much more because spoilers are real in this one!

The writing is vivid and keeps up a great air of tension.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout this claustrophobic thriller that had notes of LOST and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The story is told in an interesting first person/epistolary style that almost feels like second person at times, and only serves to enhance the tension and character growth. Excellent writing with settings so real you can feel them breathe and characters so genuinely flawed you can’t help but root for them. Fantastic debut!

This book has everything you could want in an adventure story ... diving, sea monsters, weird time loops, and more! Sia is an avid diver who's been diving three times a day for god knows how long. She helps her mom run a dive charter, leading tourist divers on dives in the Florida Keys. But then it all goes wrong. First, she loses a diver. Then her boat and another boat get stranded at sea, engines mysteriously refusing to start. And then the attack comes. Something in the sea, pulling people off of the boat. Sia ends up stranded on a deserted island with three other people, the only apparent survivors. But they've got more than food and water to worry about. That thing in the sea is still hunting them, and the jungle - curiously devoid of life - seems to be watching them. And is it just your imagination, or is that the exact same group of birds doing the exact same things they did a few hours ago?

I absolutely loved this book. It's told through a series of journal entries that Sia writes to her father. I rather enjoyed this approach, because it gives you a look inside Sia's head and all the things going through it as this drama unfolds. The plotting was fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns along the way. Lutz did an excellent job of making this island feel creepy as hell, so I was write there with Sia when she was afraid of the creepy jungle or literally anything else about this island. And throughout all of this incredible action, you get Sia's family history seamlessly interwoven through the story. Sia also talks to her father throughout the book in a heartbreakingly honest manner - she's blunt, heartfelt, and pulls absolutely no punches. I was also thrilled to see that Lutz got the diving parts right. I'm also an avid diver (not quite as avid as Sia), and Hollywood almost never gets it right. Lutz did. I loved her descriptions of diving, the way that it makes you feel free and peaceful and weightless.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blink for an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own.

Fractured Tide, a young adult/science fiction book, was a solid 4.5 stars. 
The book centers around main character Sia, a teenage girl that helps her mother take tourists out for scuba dive tours to help make ends meet. After a disastrous dive tour-Sia finds herself washed up on a deserted island along with a few survivors and though alive, things are about to get much worse. After being on the island for a short time, the group begins to realize that this is no ordinary island. 
Fractured Tide was an enjoyable and fast paced book. The characters are well-developed and the book is full of twists and turns. The description of the island was incredibly creepy and I agree with some of the other reviewers that stated that it reminded them of the book Annihilation (by VanderMeer), though a much younger adult version. Highly recommended to fans of horror, young adult and science fiction books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my God! A claustrophobic island theme with lots of mysteries! Do you hear the alarm bells? Something coming like Lost’s ominous intro, Cast Away and Gilligan’s Island’s suspicious, intriguing plot! And of course Island of Doctor Moreau kind of science fiction elements are ready to be served! Didn’t I still sale this pitch to you? I’m already sold because this is a great, exciting, exhilarating page turner and I had great time with this action packed, unique installment! 

This is another promising YA thriller and MC is Sia, working with her mom at scuba dive tours for tourists. But after one dive goes terribly wrong and being attacked by a mysterious creature, the boat she’s on sinks and she finds herself in a deserted island with a few more survivors.  There is no sign from the rescue team and a monster is still out there, with humongous appetite, ready to attack!

And of course the island is not an ordinary place they are trapped. Something between Lost and Wicker Man and a little “Lord of Flies” vibes start to blink on the pages!

The story is told by Sia’s diary she’s written for her father in prison and as we move in the heart throbbing, mysterious story, we also learn more about her family history. I was really curious what the connection was between Sia’s past and island. But wait for it! You got to be patient to get your answer!

Overall: Exciting, surprising, twisty and entertaining ride.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Blink for sharing this action packed ARC in exchange my honest review, put a brilliant author on my radar!

Leslie Lutz has launched a brilliant debut, complete with a tight plot, rippling tension and a wonderful cast of compelling characters. Lutz's expert diving knowledge brings to life young Tasia Gianopoulos' terrifying journey-both beneath and above the ocean surface-making the unbelievable believable and giving us a strong protagonist we instantly want to root for. This intense, YA thriller will have you quickly flipping the pages right up until to its wonderfully satisfying conclusion.

'Lost meets Stranger Things in this eerie, immersive YA thriller, thrusting seventeen-year-old Sia into a reality where the waters in front of her and the jungle behind her are as dangerous as the survivors alongside her.'

Lost and Stranger Things in the same book? Count me in!

I was hooked and fully entrenched in the story from the word go. The atmosphere of the island was extremely appealing lending to the strangeness and building intrigue. 
The story was written really well hooking the reader in. The tight plot, the pacing, the twists, the atmosphere and the well written characters just added on to make Fractured Tide an immensely readable book.

I raced through the book and couldn't put it down. Totally satisfied with this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fractured Tide is the first novel by Leslie Lutz. Billed as Lost meets Stranger Things and you have a great intro into this Young Adult story.

Sia, the main protagonist, is seventeen and forced by her mother to help her run dive charters off the coast of Florida. Forced maybe too strong a word to use as Sia has a passion for diving. In the underwater world, she loves the freedom it gives her. The thing she misses is being ‘normal’. Her mother home schools her, so she misses out on events that most teenagers take for granted, homecoming, dances and having friends.

One day though when they’re taking ten people out to dive on a newly discovered wreck, things go wrong. A diver in Sia’s party dies starting a chain of events that… well you’ll have to read to find out.

Trying not to give too many spoilers out here, but there’s a mystery to solve, a romance, family anxiety and upheaval, as well as a monster hunting them.

All in all, this is a great read for a teenager. It’s fast pace, full of excitement and danger. It doesn’t suffer from any blank spots where the action drops. The story is well thought out. I’d give it five stars except maybe the characters are a little two-dimensional. However, the plot combined with the tension the author builds up more than make up for that small point.

Thank you so much to Blink for providing me with a copy of Fractured Tide, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!



Sia has been helping her mother run dives for holiday makers since her father went to jail, but when one goes horribly wrong, Sia finds herself washed up on a strange island, and hunted by a terrible sea monster.  As thoughts of rescue turn to desperate plans for survival, the small group of survivors start to suspect something is not quite right with the island. While plagued by strange dreams and visions, they need to find a way to hunt for food and water, without becoming the prey themselves.

I am a huge fan of books that involve deadly sea creatures (which probably accounts for me never actually going in to the sea) so I was really excited to receive an E-ARC of Fractured Tide!  I was hooked on this story from the very first page and couldn't put it down. The twists and strangeness surrounding the island were mysterious and creepy enough to have me desperate to find out exactly what was going on.  Told as a diary letter Sia is writing to her father in prison, Fractured Tide managed to give us both the present story unfolding, while unveiling plenty about Sia's family life in the past.  I must admit, I was still left a little confused at the end about how the last scenes played out, but I enjoyed the atmosphere and gripping story so much that I was ok with that.  

I'd definitely recommend this one for fans of the TV show Lost or lovers of underwater thrillers!

Shipwrecked teens are stranded on a remote island which really does have a mind of its own

Billed as ‘Lost meets Stranger Things’ Leslie Karen Lutz’s YA debut Fractured Tide is probably more of the former rather than the latter.  The other way round might have been a better fit for 2020 as I’m unsure how many teenagers are aware of Lost these days, Umbrella Academy is the type of current TV drama which might have caught the teen eye, rather than a show which concluded a decade ago. Out of interest, I mentioned Lost to my TV savvy fourteen-year-old and received a blank stare for a response. 

The action kicks off with Sia on a scuba-diving trip; her mother owns a boat and together they entertain tourist on day excursions. Whilst on a dive around a popular ship-wreck site, events take a turn for the worse when an inexperienced diver runs into trouble after Sia loses sight of him whilst they are exploring the wreck. Shockingly, he loses his life and the teenager is certain she saw weird, unexplained, coloured lights in the water which might have distracted him whilst underwater. Unperturbed, later the same day the boat heads out to sea once again, this time with a large group of teenagers and quickly gets into more trouble. Initially Sia and her mother think they are being stalked by a shark, but quickly realise this is something much nastier lurking in the water which quickly claims its first victim.

From that point on, which is still quite early in the novel, expect the unexpected. Monsters, time-travel, Bermuda Triangle style shenanigans, weird sinkholes, time repeating itself and all sorts of outlandish stuff are thrown into a convoluted mix. I’m not going to go into any details about any of this part of Fractured Tide, just don’t expect it to make much sense, as it is as much X-Files as thriller. Ultimately though, it was still entertaining and in continuing with the comparisons with that famous show Lost, it made little sense either!  

Fractured Tide has an odd narrative style which some readers might find both frustrating and a tension killer. The whole story is told in the first person, present tense, by seventeen-year-old Sia in the form of journal entries written for her absent father. Where she found the time to write all this stuff is anybody’s guess. At certain points there are high octane action sequences and they are punctuated with “Dad” moments at the end of the sentence and the reader is constantly returned to this rather pedestrian narrative.  

As the book is seen entirely from Sia’s point of view most teenage readers should find her to be a likable and engaging character. However, because of the first-person point of view most of the other characters faded into the background and did not have much to do. Fellow teenager Ben gets more page-time than most, but still does not do very much, and pops up more than most because Sia has a crush on him, repeatedly dreams of kissing him. As Sia has a lot of swimming and diving experience the others look at her for leadership as events continue to get more outlandish and she holds things together admirably in the face of adult leadership. Her mother appears in patches and she also has to watch out for her little brother Felix.  

Fractured Tide might have had a broader YA appeal if there had been more than one POV. Ben is underutilised and there is a lack of strong male teen characters in current YA horror fiction and this novel is one of many in which girls run the show. Boys often struggle with female ‘voices’ and although the story is unisex, they may grow tired of Sia’s mooning over Ben and other girly musings which are threaded throughout the story. However, when the action gets grittier Sia is more than capable of handling the action with the boys, which was good to see. 

Some of the reveals were handled very nicely and Fractured Tide keeps the reader guessing until the bitter end, which is no surprise as the story is wild. Even if you pick a few holes in the outlandish plot it was still very good fun. Much of its eventual success may depend on how teen readers take to the voice of Sia, as she controls the narrative, but overall it was an entertaining genre-bending mix of horror, science fiction and suspense.

What a wild ride! Fractured Tide follows Sia as she navigates survival on a deserted island with other survivors and tries to unravel the mystery of what exactly is in the water with them....With sympathetic characters, a thrilling plot, and an engaging writing style, this book is perfect for not only fans of shows like Lost, but YA fiction. This is a perfect summer beach read!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.