From Below

As someone who has a fear of water and who loves a good fright I was ecstatic to read this one. From the very beginning I was gripped by anyone that wants to dive 300 ft under the sea. Once you get the mysterious sinking of a ship nearly 100 years ago, and the promise of some spooky things happening that only Darcy Coates can do, I was smitten from the first chapter.

This book switches between time periods; present day and the final days of the Arcadia's voyage. This did great in building the mystery. And let's just say it did a great job of also building the weird. During the present day you get the perspective from multiple people but there's no rhyme or reason on who you're going to get or when. This made how the story unfolded gripping and kept the mysterious aspect of it. In the past tense you see it from mostly one perspective but get another perspective occasionally. I think this allowed for an already hectic and confusing plot to stay within the realm of understanding.

The plot was a slow burn in my opinion. There were times that I just wanted to skip chapters to get to the juicy parts but those chapters were important to the overall story. And I love Darcy Coates' writing style that I never felt bored reading necessarily. Just impatient. Once the action started happening it happened. Sitting in my bed reading before going to sleep I'd catch myself holding my breath, tensing my muscles, breathing heavy, and even a bit of sea sickness. There were so many parts that I could just FEEL what was being described. Sometimes I'd feel like I can finally relax only for the next heart palpitating scenario to unfold. This lead me to read way past my bedtime but it was worth it.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. It has the action and thrill with the creepy elements that Darcy is known for.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/10 This is one of those instances where the premise and set up are so good but the story is the weakest point. Darcy Coates has a talent for setting up very suspenseful scenes and creating a pretty entertaining world. But she tends to struggle with character development, and that's the biggest fault of this book. I wants to know more about these characters. And I wanted to feel more for them in their struggles.

Also. I found the ending a tad underwhelming but that could be just a personal issue on what I wanted with its set up. Theirs some loose ends that could've done better with extra chapters.