The Cove / Claire Rose / Book Review

THE COVE

Lindsay Weinberg might not know what she wants in this life, but she does know one thing: boarding school isn't it. In fact, she's been kicked out of yet another prep school just now (which, well, took them long enough). Usually this means a few sweet months of freedom in NYC before the new semester starts at whatever boarding school her parents convince to admit her next, but this time, when the driver comes to pick her up, he doesn't head back to the city like she planned. He's taking her up the coast instead.

Marbury, Maine is a small town. Like, really small. Cold, isolated, just a blip on deserted coastline. And just outside of Marbury is her estranged Uncle Levi's remote farmhouse, the place Lindsay's been invited to this summer to "straighten her out." But Uncle Levi isn't around when she arrives. His zealously evangelical new wife is there instead, running a reform camp for troubled teens. Manual labor. No cell phones. No phones at all. And absolutely no way out.

Which is bad. Real bad. And that's before Lindsay meets the creepy twins. Phin and Cass live on an island off the coast, connected by a causeway to the farm when the tide is low. Living a somehow more remote existence than the one Lindsay's getting used to, they're a little... odd. But they're nice enough to invite Lindsay and her cohort out to a party on the island. An unforgettable party.

THOUGHTS

This is the type of book that makes me wary, because the concept could be so good if executed well. And in YA, a horror plot like this is... so rarely executed well. So I went into this one with some trepidation. I've been let down before. But Claire Rose knows how to do a creepy island cult story! This book pulls it off. The right amount of gore, eldritch horror, insular community scares... It has it all, and I was so pleased!

PROS

Great Twists	Everything about this plot feels off. Everything is a red herring. And it all just works so well, especially with a character like Lindsay who has so little agency in a situation like this. She's stuck, more or less, confined to the rules of a society that has pushed her into this troubled teen camp. And every red flag is something she can't ignore, but also something she just can't do anything about. It's a horrifying situation that gets more dire with each turn we take. The twists are great, but of course, no spoilers!
Grisly Gore	This isn't a gory book by any means, but like any good horror, it does have its moments. While it isn't nearly as intense or descriptive as an adult horror book would be, this book doesn't hold back for its YA market. Bloody, oozy, sacrificial: these pages are splattered with just the right amount of viscera. It escalates as the plot goes on in just the right way, too -- perfectly executed!
Coastal Creepy	The atmosphere of this book is perfect. We're really remote, far off the beaten path (and far outside of the nearest "town" as well). Circling gulls, crashing waves, rolling fog that could be hiding any number of horrors (or leading you astray, right into danger). The siren lights of the cult island, the rocky causeway that isn't always there, the creepy twins and their ethereal good looks... Everything serves to make this book perfectly creepy, from the bloody sacrifices to the mundane little details of life near the sea.

CONS

If there was one thing lacking from this book, I would say it is a sense of desperation. Sure, Lindsay wants out of here. But she does from day 1, before things take a turn. And as each successive incident grows more dire, there really isn't a sense of urgency undergirding these characters. They're slow to react, willing to take steps back, and happy to wait until morning more than a time or two. If it's because there are no other options, sure, that's one thing... but even that doesn't seem to play a great part in this. We're just playing into the hands of the cult, even when I don't know that these characters would do that.	Reaction Time
This book hints at the eldritch, and I love that. But there are times when it moves beyond a hint, and I wasn't as crazy about that. I think adding that supernatural element (as more than just cultish lore) didn't add to the plot. I think the plot was doing enough without it, so making something a touch more concrete actually made it lose some of the mystique. Did it ruin this reading experience? Absolutely not. But I don't know that we needed this.	More Than A Nod
Sure, horror fans are thrown a bone right at the end of this book, a way to make this book end on the sour note that good horror should. And I appreciate that. But even with that not-quite-so-resolved end note, everything here just felt too... clean? It felt like it resolved so nicely, with the consequences of the plot rather minimal (though not, you know, nonexistent). I'm just not used to horror ending so happy, so I don't know that the ending of this book will work for horror fans (or, you know, budding horror fans getting their first taste in YA).	Too Clean

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Fans of A24's film Midsommar will like this seaside cult. Those who enjoyed Courtney Gould's What the Woods Took will like this troubled-teen-rehab-gone-wrong horror.

Details Publisher: Wednesday Books Date: May 5, 2026 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.