Review: The Undertow of Evelyn Graymore by Matteo Franco

October 26, 2026

Synopsis:

Evelyn Graymore is dead—murdered by one of Seattle’s most powerful men. Dumped into the waters of Washington’s Puget Sound, lost to the undertow of corruption, but instead of sinking into the abyss, Evie is reborn as a siren. She makes a bargain with Layne Murrows, an enigmatic man made of shadows who seemed to rise from darkness itself.

With nothing left to lose, Evie takes the offer of cursed power for the chance at revenge on Preston Willows, the man who murdered her. Armed with a deadly glamour, a voice that bends will, and the power to control water itself—Evie isn’t just a monster of the deep now, she’s a weapon. But everything comes with a cost, and the bargain’s rules are ironclad. She must feed on the darkness that festers in men’s hearts or die.

The catch? She can never fall in love, or the curse will slowly chip away at her lover’s mind and body, inevitably drowning them from the inside out. A small price to pay and not much of a concern for Evie—until she meets Ethan Ward, a paralegal who works right alongside Preston. Now, Evie must decide between the mortal who makes her feel like a human again, stoking the embers of forbidden love, and the enticing monster who created her.

Review:

Evelyn tries to take her of her sick father by running their small business. Outside of that, she doesn’t have much to look out for on a daily basis. Preston advances escalate when she find herself dead, being given a chance for revenge. But nothing comes for free and the gift comes with a curse and the need to kill. And falling in love is no longer an option.

I instantly liked Evelyn. She is a strong person, trying to make the best of a bad situation and her learning that her father died after coming back to life was heartbreaking. Everything she had to live for was taking away from her and the person offering her to take revenge doesn’t seem to have her best intentions at heart. Her struggles to find her place in this new environment and accepting that she cannot control what was happening was a pain for realisation.
And then there is Ethan, a person with the best intentions at heart and actually a descent human being. When him and Evelyn meet, these two lost souls connected instantly. And when it became clear that it would put both of them in a dangerous situation, I was eager to learn how they would get out of it.

That felt like a refreshing and a lightly different approach and I enjoyed it a lot. It focussed on the two main characters and their strong bond, while everything else was mainly mentioned on a surface level. I was entertained and want to know how the story continues.

🌙 Recension: The Undertow of Evelyn Graymore (Hearts of the Drowned #1) by Matteo Franco
📚 Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Siren
📅 Release Date: October 20, 2026
📱 Read as: Kindle
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle+
💸 I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 368
⭐️ 4/5