Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Walker Books for the digital ARC, it hasn’t affected my honest review.

Release date: 9th Oct 2025 (UK)

TW: body horror, abuse, child death, drug addiction, panic attacks, grief

Loch Creek is a picture perfect, coastal tourist town in New England that heavily embraces its connection to the Salem witch trials- but for eighteen year old Briar Winters, it’s nothing but a trap. She’s convinced she’ll die there like her twin brother did thirteen years ago in a tragic drowning accident. All of her friends are planning to scatter once college begins, even the boy Briar has loved for years, Finn Adler. On their last night together at a carnival, Finn vanishes and it’s like he never existed. There’s only one person who can help her: the town “witch” Morgan, Briar’s biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret. As Briar uncovers the dark history of Loch Creek, she discovers that Finn isn’t just missing- he’s lost in time, having tried to protect Briar from the entity that killed her brother a decade ago. Neither of them are safe, and if they want to find each other before Briar is taken as a sacrifice, they have to face terrifying truths about their relationship, reality and their pasts.

‘This Raging Sea’ is a dark, time twisting debut YA novel with complex main characters, a literal timeless romance and a haunting atmosphere from the first page. I’ve been excited to read this book since I read the synopsis, knowing I’d love it, and I was so excited that I did. The magic system is so original- it’s physics based and genuinely unlike anything I’ve read. Briar is deeply traumatised by what happened to her and the terrifying figure haunting her ever since she lost her brother. I found her chapters to be really impactful and powerful as she searches for Finn. He matters more than anything to her and you can feel it in absolutely every scene, the moments where she realizes he’s gone are devastating. I really liked how her relationship with their other friends changes and develops without Finn there, it’s a brilliant version of found family I couldn’t stop reading. The character of Finn is so powerfully written, he’s very different to Briar and I loved the chapters we got from his perspective. The body horror, the atmosphere and the tension of ‘This Raging Sea’ were perfectly paced and genuinely scary in places. This is my favourite kind of YA, which is unafraid to go to dark and raw places while still balancing everything out really well. One aspect of De Elizabeth’s writing that I really loved is how she handles sexuality- both Briar and Finn are bisexual, and though they love each other deeply, they have emotionally charged scenes with different characters- and the confusing, consuming way that grief can define a person after a loss. An excellent debut novel and definitely one I’ll be going back to in the future!

THIS RAGING SEA is a wonderously dark and delirious debut, a horror romance with forgotten truths, witches, time, and the sea. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to a lot of the things it promises, falling into the trap of telling rather than showing.

Elizabeth has a gorgeous writing style, with lovely swirling prose that perfectly encapsulates her setting. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere, tense and beautiful. While THIS RAGING SEA is marketed as fantasy, the recurring gore and dark atmosphere renders it closer to horror. It often felt undecided, and instead of being genre-bending,
it just felt like a jumble of horror, fantasy, and YA romance elements, none of which were well utilised. The plot is completely predictable, and the hopeful ending felt out of place with the previous trauma.

The characters are interesting enough. There is a pointed effort to have a diverse cast, which I appreciated. While the characters all interact with each other convincingly, I struggled to believe their friendship. We are told what these characters like, but these passions never come to fruition in their dialogue or actions, and thus, their friendship seems newly formed rather than them being childhood friends. Likewise, there is little reference to past events other than in flashbacks, making their friendship feel unrealistic.

I also found it difficult to believe Blair’s backstory and her consequent feelings towards it. I wish there was more recurring and past tension between her and her family considering what an important role they play. Instead, they feel more like stilted objects, only serving to reach a plot point rather than truly affecting the characters.

Similarly, the romance felt shallow. The story begins with tension between Blair and Finn, who have kissed but have since fallen apart, with Finn disappearing shortly after. This means that we don’t see much of Blair and Finn actually interacting, and are simply told about how much they love each other. We are meant to believe Blair and Finn are fated in every way. Yes, Blair acts to save Finn, but she also literally kisses another girl while he is gone?? Yet she and Morgan have way more chemistry than Blair and Finn.

The worldbuilding is subpar. I was promised a physics-based magic system, but instead I was given element witches? I was also under the impression that this would be historical, so I got whiplash when I realised it was contemporary. There are some throwaway lines about energy but that’s it for the physics. Again, there is an issue of being told that Finn loves physics, that the world is based on physics, and this never actually affecting the plot other than cutesy vibes. A fantasy-esque romantic deity is shoved in as the antagonist, and rather than being Darkling hot, he is simply there??

Despite this, the writing was lovely and I enjoyed reading the book. It was a superb debut with gorgeous writing, and I look forward to reading whatever De Elizabeth writes next.

2.5 rounded up to 3

This one wasn't for me, I think. The plot was interesting, and there were some twists that did keep me reading long enough to finish, but there were also times where I completely lost interest. I did like the spooky summer vibes and the sea horror aspect, though I would have liked this to be a little more fleshed out.

My main gripe with this book is the romance, and I think the structure as it is couldn't really have worked. The problem is, the main romance is between our main character Briar, and Finn who disappears at the start of the book. They already have feelings for each other, and go through an awkward time after kissing once but not really talking about it, and we get this set up at the start, but after this they spend the rest of the book apart. While Briar tries to find him, she also spends time with Morgan, and there seemed to be a romance developing between them, which I did enjoy, but then that never really goes anywhere and suddenly it's back to Finn and apparently <spoiler> they were soulmates of a type so rare that they were the very special sacrifice needed to bring back a banished monster</spoiler> which I didn't think the book really managed to show, so I wasn't convinced, and at this point I really lost interest in the book.

The main characters felt a bit unbelievably over the top at first, but they did grow on me, Morgan especially, and I would have preferred a romance with her as we actually spend time building up her and Briar going from hating each other to working together. I thought Morgan calling Briar Pom-Poms (she's a cheerleader) was cute.

Another detail I found a bit annoying is the MC who looks exactly like a very distant ancestor trope. I can accept this in movies/shows so they can reuse an actor, but here it just made no sense, and genetics don't work like that.

Overall, I think this was a great concept, but the execution didn't work for me

3.75 ⭐️

I quite enjoyed this book. I thought the way it was written with not only differing POV’s but its playing with time added to the storytelling. It kept me engaged throughout however the reason for it being slightly lower in my rating is that the ending left me a little meh. It was an ok ending but didn’t have a big impact on me.

This was an absolutely fascinating dark fantasy, and I loved that it felt actually suitable to be marketed to a YA audience! I particularly enjoyed Briar's POV and the character flaws were written with spectacular detail and really fleshed out the novel. This is my first read by De Elizabeth but I will definitely be keeping out an eye for their work in the future.

Not to quote Arcane but ‘in all timelines, all possibilities, only you’ feels rather fitting.

Oh boy was I not expecting half the things this book gave us — in the best way. If it weren’t for the fact netgalley only let me read this on the netgalley shelf so I had to read it on my ipad, burning my retinas, I would have devoured this book in one sitting.
It’s original whilst also feeling oddly familiar with time slips and magic and generational curses and cruel gods of the sea. It’s very character driven, which I love, and did a great job at unpacking grief and feeling lost in life—trying to come to term with things that happened in your own past (and… future???). It will shock you, it will make you smile and it will make you cry. I finished this book with a tear in my eye after scraping my jaw from the floor.

I think my only major critique would be I would have liked a little more closure with Morgan’s character. I think her motives and characterisation could have been made a little more clear because I really enjoyed her character, was just left feeling like something was missing.

Also I just want to note on the brilliant bisexual rep!!! I’m happy more and more books are showing bi rep so casually!

I really enjoyed this story, and I can’t wait until it comes out so I can reread it without hurting my eyes haha. (Yes this is my dig at netgalley/ the publisher for providing me with a final print pdf file instead of a properly readable e-arc)

This book is definitely going to be a hit among teenagers. It has everything they love in it: mystery, romance and horror. The dual perspective is done really well, helping us get into the depth of the protagonists' thoughts and feelings.

I was surprised to find that it had a different cover. With the content of the book, I think that cover might be more suitable for the target audience.

I’m not entirely sure how to effectively convey how this book made me feel in words.

I CRIED. MULTIPLE TIMES.

Eighteen-year-old Briar Winters dreads her nineteenth birthday. She knows that soon after, her friends including her best friend who she’s loved since childhood, Finn, will move away to their new lives at college. She’s also convinced that after everyone leaves, she’ll die in their little town of Loch Creek. But when Finn vanishes the day after a wrought evening at the carnival, Briar will do anything to find him. And as she chases after the shadows of hints he’s left her, she uncovers thirteen year old secrets with her at the epicentre of them all.

This Raging Sea is full of heart and soul, layered characters that are so lifelike that it hurts, and poetic writing that is both lush and purposeful. Each chapter is propulsive and the book was compulsively readable to a point where I had to physically set my copy aside to focus on my daily tasks.

The writing is gorgeous. As a writer myself, I read with a critical eye and I can say that without a doubt De’s writing style is absolutely gorgeous, every word seems deliberate without sacrificing the cadence and rhythm the story needs. I can really appreciate how difficult it is to write a story about a romance that transcends time and space and somehow De manages whilst also balancing a complex examination of bone-deep griefs, sexual identity, mystery, magic and horror elements.

This is a book with sharp edges, the characters shown at their most emotionally raw moments. But in that charged atmosphere there is also a sense of healing and catharsis as you follow the main characters. I recommend it to anyone who loves haunting, all-encompassing romances and spooky mysteries.

This Raging Sea is such a masterpiece. I’m so in awe.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Give me more! This was one of my most anticipated releases and it did not disappoint!
The eldritch horrors were in my comprehension and was exactly what I expected.

This book slowly swept me away into it’s dark world and emotional story in such a way that I simply didn’t want it to end. The writing is beautiful and really brought the seaside town to life. I really enjoyed the mystery and secrets in this story and the history had me completely immersed in the plot.
One of my favorite aspects of the book were the characters and how real and complex they were. I loved the dynamic between Briar and Finn and all the characters formed such a wholesome friend group. The concept of time interwoven through the book had me hooked in and is unlike anything I’ve read before. The twists and turns were expertly crafted, and looking back, the foreshadowing was done especially well. Overall, this was an incredibly thought provoking and addicting read with the perfect kind of atmosphere that is both magical and eerie.
Thank you Walker Books and Netgalley for this arc💕