The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon @SimonAudio @netgalley #jennifermcmahon #fiction #paranormal

Susanne’s Review:

Atmospheric, Eerie, and Dark.

Bad decisions have unfortunate consequences for all in “The Drowning Kind” by Jennifer McMahon.

The Present:  Jax and her sister Lex have a complicated relationship.  Close when they were young, they are now estranged.  Lex, you see, is manic-depressive and has wreaked havoc in Jax’s life.  One day, Jax gets the worst news and has to fly across the country to Vermont to face the inevitable.  

The Past:  Ethel and Will visit the Brandenburg Springs Hotel with high hopes, to see the Springs, known for its healing powers, something Ethel desperately needs. The Springs however require something in return.  If you take, you must give something back.

When the Brandenburg Springs Hotel burns to the ground a year later, a home is built in its place, which later becomes home to Jax and Lex.

And so it begins.  

Known for its supernatural powers, the ability of the springs and the pools are far-reaching and extremely potent.  Many have been impacted and secrets lie deep within.

Supernatural, creepy and wild, “The Drowning Kind” gave me a feeling of agitation throughout.  Though I wanted to love this novel, it was an extremely slow burn that didn’t quite click with me until the very end.  Admittedly, I listened to the audiobook of this and didn’t like one of the narrators and that may be one of the reasons why I didn’t exactly mesh with the storyline.

This was another buddy listen with Kaceey.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for the alc.  

Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Insta.

Kaceey’s Review:

Once again I find myself sitting quietly on outlier island. 

I had been reading so many fabulous five-star reviews for this book I knew I have to jump on board too. Having a serious case of FOMO and all.

But here I am again, left wondering what all the excitement was about.🤷🏻‍♀️

Jax and Lexie were sisters who went to their grandmother’s home every summer. The large estate was perfect to play in and then of course there was the pool. The only rule…never swim at night. There is a history to that pool and as the book progresses we are privy to what happened here.  

Told in two timelines:

Now– with Jax returning to the estate following the death of her sister.  

1929 – as we learn the history of the estate. 

Unfortunately, I had trouble connecting with both timelines.  

I listened to the audio version and though the past did hold my interest a bit more as it had a bit of an eerie quality to it, I found the narrator for this portion of the book to be somewhat distracting. 

There are so many five-star reviews out there for this book so please take a look at those before making a decision.  

A buddy 🎧 with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Audio.