What a ride! While I can’t possibly imagine enjoying this anymore than I did, I wonder if it would have been even more off the charts had I experienced this in the summer at the beach or a pool – it just has those vibes. But even without the real-life added ambiance and me reading this in the dead of winter, this book totally rocks! Matt Serafini created an extremely special and fast-paced novel here and it was exquisitely and perfectly narrated by Sean Duregger. The tone, the pacing, the ACCENTS…!!! Truly spectacular. I will listen to anything Sean Duregger narrates without even knowing the story (and lucky for me I have 4 more lined up on my Audible app!) There was not a single moment I was not fully invested in the story and its characters.
OCEAN GRAVE is full of all the treasure-hunting fortune and glory, action and adventure, fun relationships, and a good old fashioned family deep sea creature. What more can you ask for? Well, there is more. This story takes place in Madagascar and I swear I feel like I was actually there (and, no, I’ve never been so I have nothing to compare it to but that’s not the point, okay?!) And did I say pre-historic sea creature? No? GET IT!
I’ve seen others note it made them feel Indiana Jones vs Jaws/The Meg mashup vibes and I very much would like to echo their sentiments in the best way possible. I could practically hear and feel John Williams music constantly pumping into my soul with every event taking place – the lighthearted, the tense and scary, the fun and adventurous… all of it! I would kill to see some of these death scenes on screen and I found myself imagining the entire setup from camera shots to music buildup more than once.
The final act is *chef’s kiss* just sheer perfection. I don’t know how Serafini thought we as readers deserved all of that but I am so glad he did! For a book that is a non-stop ride of thrills, excitement, and fun, that final act is just on another level.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up – I think there’s fun for everyone! I have so many more thoughts but do not want to spoil a lot of the things I enjoyed that took me by surprise.