Enjoyable read! This book was packed with action and thrills, but I found myself having a difficult time being hooked. I think maybe if there was a bit more world building and descriptions of the world I would have been more immersed in the story. With that being said, I still enjoyed this story and would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Carissa Broadbent!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Determined to leave the island that has trapped her as the Kinkiller's daughter, Krescent agrees to an underground expedition through darkness and filled with unknown enemies both animal and human. She's wiling to sacrifice whatever she can to be able to start a new life away from the tarnish of her parent's legacy. But will she make it out alive when all the odds seemed stacked against her.
What I did like: the description. I would not have picked this book up if it didn't sound interesting. I loved the idea of the underground adventure. It reminded me a bit of David Estes Dwellers series. And the cover, that is some beautiful art. But after these two things, my love for this title stopped.
I have to say I was not a fan of this book. I really wanted to like it but I felt it was lacking in so many different areas.
First, the world building. This book is fantasy and in any fantasy book, world building is key to hooking someone into reading it. I feel like there was not enough background in this book to build that up for me and make me care. How did her world come into existence? What were the circumstances of the separation of classes? We do get some background on this but just not enough to make me understand why it is important to the story. Krescent has had to take on the legacy of her parents which has kept her in debt and down on her luck. But it's unclear what exactly happened or why that would truly effect her. I definitely got a Hunger Games feel from this one, but it was just a feel. Nothing about the book comes close to how that series progressed.
The action scenes were confusing. When I read a book with this much action, I want to see it in my mind ,but I just could not picture it. This was mostly due to not being able to picture the underground area where this takes place. Also, I wasn't able to really feel the tension these scenes were supposed to help me feel.
The writing style is flat. It didn't help me with connecting to the story or the characters. I was fairly bored the entire time and had to push and scan to get through some parts.
I had no connection with the characters. I know I was supposed to feel some kind of empathy for Krescent, but I just didn't care about her or her horrible life. And the romance between her and Rivan? Nope, wasn't feeling that either. I didn't feel any of the relationships were fleshed out, but especially this one since it was supposed to be of more importance to us.
There are also some plot holes that I just could not get over. All of a sudden Rivan is there? How? She's able to gather all the group's belongings without alerting those on watch? Again, how?
My biggest gripe with this title is I was waiting for something truly mind blowing to happen to make it worth the struggle of reading it and that just never happened for me.
Unfortunately, I took many long breaks to put this book down and read other things hoping I could pick it back up and get into it. But that just didn't happen for me. I ended up speed reading to get a feel for what was happening hoping there would be an area that would peak my interest and the book would come to life for me. But that didn't happen.
Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was the story, maybe it's just not for me. I didn't not have a chance to read this author's other book so I'm not sure if I would like that one better.
I will not be featuring this on my blog at this time.

I liked parts of this book. I think that it is a cool concept, you have Krecent who is fighting to get off the island and escape her family’s history. Her journey is one of self-discovery as she finds out her past is not maybe exactly what she originally thought it was. However, I found myself drifting as a reader. Which I never liked doing. I had to go back and reread a couple of sections because I lost track easily. This is probably a personal issue, but I really took me out of the book at times and made it hard for me to go forward. The end felt a bit rushed. However, it makes sense if this is a one-off book. Overall, it was an okay book, I still think I am trying to decide my true feelings.
Thank you to Sourcebook Fire and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Somewhere in the Deep is a south Asian inspired fantasy. Set on an island where the Collector rules all, Krescent spends her days fitting monsters in the pit to earn enough money to survive. When her chance at escape is ripped from her grasp, she is provided with a choice—go on an expedition deep into the mines in exchange for her freedom, or be enslaved to the Collector. Thrust into a party of strangers and enemies, Kress is tasked with keeping everyone alive as they face the unknown creatures that lay deep in the earth below the sea. But the deeper they venture, the more it feels as though something doesn’t want to let Kress out alive.

I went into this book not realize that there was one previously written in the same universe! I think if I had read Monsters Born and Made first, some of the world building wouldn’t have felt so choppy. I know nothing about south Asian mythology but this book made me want to explore it as the creatures described where not ones I’ve read in any other lore before.

Kress’s character growth throughout the story was well written. Her internal struggles with her past and her desire for a different future were explored in depth, though sometimes a bit repetitively. I appreciated seeing into her frustrations and strengths because of the life she was forced to live. I did not expect this book to contain much, if any, romance but I was pleasantly surprised.

There were a few writing errors that stood out to me. I was confused how they were able to keep track of time underground without sunlight? Their way of timekeeping was never explained. I also felt some scene transitions were incompletely. The plot was sometimes repetitive while they were within the mines, but this didn’t detract from the story for me. The ending felt a bit rushed, but I liked how it was left open for the potential for a sequel.

All in all, the book kept me engaged from start to finish. I was drawn in by the mystery of the monsters and the magic, and stayed for the politics and action.

*thank you Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Somewhere in the Deep is an eerie, almost horror style fantasy in parts, filled with action and danger and set in a South Asia inspired world. Krescent Dune (Kress) is buried under the weight of her parents debt, as well as their legacy. The only hope she has to get free of the island that hates her is to fight vicious monsters that roam the island in an underground fighting pit. But after a fight goes terribly wrong and Kress has no way to pay the latest installment of her debt, she is offered a choice; join an expedition underground to search for lost miners or spend the rest of her life mining the salt flats. With no option but to accept Kress and the team she is sent with start on their treck down to the depths of the Island, but with danger at every turn, and not just from the creatures that call the mines their home, Kress comes to realise that there is more going on here than they were told. Someone doesn't want Kress to leave the mines alive, and she will have to figure out who before she gets swallowed by the dark... or what calls it home.

I think my favourite thing about this book was the setting, and the atmosphere that Berwah creates. An Island, colonized for it's mining potential, with creatures lurking at it's depths. The Island itself almost becomes a character, and as the story progresses you learn more about the history, not just of this Island, but of the whole chain that Kress's Island sits in. The story is a dark one, something that was helped along by the setting, but also the atmosphere. Eerie and intense, there's a constant sense of danger and, alongside the characters, we spend the majority of the book on a knives edge, knowing there is peril is around every corner, never knowing who you can trust. It really adds to the intensity and pace of the book, making it incredibly hard to put down with each chapter almost ending on a mini cliffhanger.

Kress is a really intricate and well built character. She is someone who has spent her life being blamed for the actions of her parents, actions she played no part in. Always on the outskirts of society, the only place she feels safe is with Rivan and his brothers. She tries her best to hide her identity, fighting the in the underground pits to make ends meat and try and pay off the debt her parents left for her. She's a character that asks the questions of what we owe our communities. Her internal battle on whether she should fight for her Island, and for the Miners who have never given her a chance, was brilliantly done, and I truly thought she was a well fleshed out character.

Rivan... I so wanted to love him, but he became the dreaded male character who can't let the female MC head into danger alone so forces himself into the mission, only causing more danger and peril for the MC. He just stressed me out in parts, almost like he didn't believe Kress, who had spent most of her life fighting monsters, couldn't handle her own and because he annoyed me so much, I never felt truly invested in their romance. I also felt like the whole Kress doesn't feel good enough for Rivan/ Rivan trying to show how much her loved her was a little overdone and repetitive in parts. I did love/hate the rest of the characters on the crew though. Miners, fellow beast fighters, each person came with their own skill and purpose and Barwah does a fantastic job of making us question who we could trust.

Overall, I did really enjoy this one and will definitely be picking up the authors first book which is set in the same 'world.' If you like your stories with plenty of action, danger, politics and twists I can't recommend this one enough.

This story is about descending into darkness (in this case, literally under the earth) and returning changed--the main character, Kress, discovers secrets about her past, about her friends, and has to rethink her place in the world. Naturally, since this is a YA novel, a revolution follows!

While I enjoyed a lot of the elements of this book, it does have some common YA characteristics like a deeply simplified/improbable social order and shallow characters (Landers vs. Renters, everyone automatically hating Kress because of her parents, etc.) which I personally have trouble suspending my disbelief for. Her love interest, Rivan, was also not the most well-fleshed out character and I wished we could have seen more depth and nuance in adventuring group that goes with Kress below the earth.

That said, there were lots of exciting monsters, fight scenes, and drama. It was a bit slower paced at points that some YA novels but still fast enough to keep your attention. Overall, it was a solid, fun read.

I love this. I found everything just to be able to hold and capture my attention. It's amazing and just I have nothing negative to say about this book.

A deep and delicious story of men and monsters and the things we will do to save those we love. I loved these characters and the great depths Kress was willing to navigate for herself and those around her. She carried a great burden of guilt that was not hers to own, and even when the truth came to light, she struggled to see her own worth. Riven was fantastic as he did his best not to get in Kress's way but to stand by her side and let her fight and be the warrior she's been forced to become. She might not like her skills, but she doesn't hesitate to protect and defend. I'm excited to see what happens next for this series. The author did a wonderful job with description in the mines and how she pulled me into the story with vast detail and character development that had me on the edge of my seat. There's nothing better than a story like this pulling you out of a six-month reading slump. I read the whole thing from start to finish in a day and I have no regrets.

Vibes: adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I think I should have read Berwah’s other book before reading this because it did seem like I was missing out on context or nods to it? Otherwise, the setting was extremely rich with detail and the chapters are very short! I’d read from Berwah again in the future but something about this left me wanting a bit more.

Based solely on the premise, this seemed like something I'd be really down for. Certainly, there were parts that were enjoyable or interesting. I liked the unique monsters that Kress fights and that live underneath the earth; I liked the themes of overthrowing colonizers and breaking past the sins of your parents; I felt like the first few chapters with the caves were eerie and claustrophobic with the threat of madness looming like a specter in the shadows. One of my problems with this book, though, was that the summary doesn't mention anything of a romance in this book and my god does this romance take up a significant chunk of the book. Like, not even the tags on Goodreads mention the romance element. It's supposed to be a friends-to-lovers romance with Rivan, a miner who takes care of his two brothers and Kress. However, the romance didn't work for me on multiple levels. For starters, Rivan is such an underdeveloped character. He's essentially a ghost; you can see a bit of character here and there, but nothing substantial enough to make me care about him or his relationship with Kress. Secondly, a lot of elements of their relationship were told instead of shown. If you're going to introduce a friends-to-lovers romance, you have to make me believe that they're friends first. Like, these two are apparently ready to sacrifice themselves for one another, but I couldn't really believe it. I feel like some of this could've been remedied by cutting out some of the underground exploration sections and adding more interactions between Kress and Rivan and his brothers. Make me believe that they're essentially a found family.

Which leads me to: the underground exploration. This was far, far too long and repetitive. While the initial exploration bits were interesting and tense, it just kept going on with not enough variance in what was happening to make the tension last. That, and Rivan's inclusion in this exploration pulled away from Kress interacting with the other people on the exploration team so that, by the end, I didn't really believe that there was enough good will between these people and Kress that they'd vouch for her after labeling her as "Kin-killer" all these years.

Finally, the ending battle--the Landers versus the Renters--didn't really feel quite as satisfying as I'd hoped it would. For one, Rivan was there and that boy just sucks any interest or fun out of anything he's involved in. I feel like that final confrontation would have meant a lot more if it were just Kress or, hell, even her teaming up with Yara, to bring the Collector down. Because Rivan, despite having reason to want the Collector gone, didn't feel like he cared about anything outside of Kress. It just seemed like a wasted opportunity and a means for Kress prove herself and her people that she wasn't what her parents were. That she viewed the island and its people as more than a means to an end.

I'm sure there are going to be people that feel much differently than I do. However, I do think that the marketing shouldn't have omitted the fact that there's a huge chunk of the book dedicated to romance. If I'd known, I would've avoided it, but that might be a huge draw for other readers who otherwise would've turned away from the book at the supposed lack of it.

There are three things I know I can count on in a Tanvi Berwah book

1) there are going to be action scenes that leave me both impressed and stressed (so dang stressed)
2) the mc is going to be a lovable underdog just trying to survive in a system that was designed for her to fail
3) absolutely bizarre mystical creatures

Monsters Born and Made is one of my all time favorite books, so naturally I’ve been excited for Something in the Deep and it lived up to every expectation I have.

Kress is really just trying to survive. She’s drowning in debt and there’s really only one option for her to make money: monster fighting in this underground monster fighting ring. She’s one of the best but a serious of unfortunate events results in her going on an expedition deep underground with some strangers, some other fighters that hate her, and her best friend Rivan. There’s a lot that happens underground that I wish I could tell you about but just know that a lot of secrets were buried deep underground.

I loved the little nods back to MBaM, the way that Kress interacts with all of the side characters (especially Rivan). I can’t wait to see what Tanvi has coming next… but no pressure!

I really like how Berwah wrote this book in the same timeline and world as Monsters Born and Made. The references to the races and main character from the other book were a good tie-in and made the story feel connected. It made me look forward to reading another book in the series to see how the storylines cross and hopefully to see these two FMC's join forces.

Overall though, Somewhere in the Deep felt a little slow and the storyline was sort of repetitive from chapter to chapter. They are in a dark area, monsters attack, she won't tell Rivan how she feels. Also, because it as a different island and we were diving deeper - literally and figuratively - into the older forces of their existence, the world building almost felt a little separate from MBAM. I'm not sure I completely follow the First Ones versus New ones and the original peoples.

First off, I want to give a heartfelt thank-you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for letting me have access to the ARC of this book. It is very much appreciated.

I was really excited for this book. The plot sounded amazing, and I was pretty hooked for the first 50% of the story. However, I felt like story took a bit of a monotonous tone as the characters were exploring the caves. There was a predictable rhythm of the characters fighting creatures, barely escaping, and then the group conferring afterwards, typically with them attacking the main character. While the monsters they were fighting were so cool and very creative, the actual action felt repetitive.

As we got further and further into the actual conflict of the story and more lore of the world was revealed, I had a hard time following what was happening. Maybe if I had read the first book, I would have an easier time processing the mythos of this world. It just felt very confusing.

(Also I really enjoyed the romance in the story but I wanted more. Admittedly I was skimming the story for the last 10% because I was struggling to stay engaged, but I felt like they didn’t get a satisfying conclusion and I really wanted one!)

By the end, I was struggling to maintain my interest in the story. I really appreciate the themes the author was tackling in this book about colonialism and oppression, and I really respect the way those themes were explored. I also really admire the creativity of the world and the creatures in it. However, this was a miss for me.

Somewhere in the Deep. I like the beginning and end. The middle brags on. There was a lot of action in the middle but I don’t think it added to the story. I wish there where more stories of the creatures because it brought them to life. I like the romance because it wasn’t a play out trope.
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Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own

Characters = PERFECT, Plot = PERFECT, Setting = PERFECT. When I say this book was AMAZING, I mean i loved it so much and cannot stop thinking about it. I loved this and could not put it down at all. I finished it so fast once I had started it.

This was an enjoyable story that reads quickly. The plot is engaging and the main character is mostly sympathetic. The adventure is developed well and the setting comes alive in the story. However, for me, there was an insufficiency of character development beyond the main character. I understand that some people consider these things as "dry exposition" but I would have liked a bit more backstory to characters other than Krescent. That said, the environments of the gladiator arena and the tunnels as well as the detailing of the creatures of those environments were so vividly drawn that it somewhat made up for the lack of dimension in most of the characters. The narrative was quite fast paced and action was suspenseful enough that I flew through the book (The chapters are fairly short, though, so there are ample pause-points if a reader needed to take a break). I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a n energetic action-adventure with a bit of slow burn (almost back burner) romance and where setting is as much a character as the people in the story.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

4⭐️

Wow, this book took me by surprise. It was not at all what I was expecting and I love it. I hadn't read the first book but these are standalone's to each other that I didn't feel like I missed out.

The characters are good in this book but I think really it's all about the setting and the atmosphere that the writer sets up for us as readers. The majority of the book takes place in an isolated cave where monsters could be around any corner. My goodness the monsters in this book, they were so unique and just straight up, terrifying. I love them. I couldn't wait to see what monster we encountered next.

Revan is just chefs kiss. I don't know how many times he had to tell Krescent in different ways how much he cared for her. I just wanted to shake her sometimes. But I thought the two of them together. We're very sweet and I loved seeing each other interactions.

I will probably go back and read monsters born and made just because I did enjoy this book so much. The only thing holding me back giving this five stars, is that sometimes the pacing was almost too much and too fast. I catch myself having to reread sections to try to understand what was happening in the moment.

I'm really interested see what else this author writes and I really hope that she continues in this world because the monsters in the atmosphere was just chefs kiss!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks fire for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication.

This felt like Percy Jackson for adults. Very fun adventure with good world building. I’d recommend this for fantasy adventure fans. More in depth review coming soon.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah is a fantasy adventure read that takes place in the same world as Monsters Born and Made, which is also a phenomenal book. This is a stand-alone book, however, you do not have to have read MBAM to read this . . . though I do recommend reading both!

The author does an amazing job of creating a vibrant world and discussing unique relationships and conflicts with her characters. Her descriptions of monsters in particular are vivid and distinctive which just makes the story feel even more alive. I also loved how sweet the romance was between our main characters, it really lived up to what I hope to find in a YA book.

Overall, I gave this book four stars because it was exciting, had an unexpected plot, and was well-written. After reading two books in this world, I find myself wanting more. The author has done a great job of sharing her imagination with us and I can’t wait for her next adventure!

"Kress, not even the ocean could have stopped me from finding you."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I think I just found my new YA book obsession. This book is just *chef's kiss*

Somewhere in the Deep is told from the perspective of Kress, a girl who was orphaned at 11 years old when her parents blew up a mine, killing themselves and a lot of other people. She was befriended by Rivan, a miner, and his two brothers, all who know the truth of who she is, but otherwise she tries to keep her identity a secret. Kress fights in the pits to earn silver for survival but also in hopes of earning enough to pay off her debt and escape the island where her past looms over her. She ends up tricked and coerced into going on a mission into the mines to rescue a party from a previous mission that took place months ago, where no one returned. And chaos ensues. Secrets unfold. Blood is spilt.

This book is raw and vicious and heartwrenching, but also swoony and cute. I want to wrap Rivan up in a little package and keep him forever. His love and dedication to Kress is sweet and admirable (even if it is idiotic at times). And Kress. Kress, my girl, Kress. Rivan basically spelled out his feelings for her NUMEROUS times, and yet she was still clueless *facepalm*. How many pages did I read where she were questioning Rivan about his motives? Ten? More? It got annoyingly repetitive. Is she naive? Oblivious? I'd like to think she just has a lot on her plate and doesn't have time to think about romance ATM because she's saving everyone like the badass she is. Regardless, the romance in this was perfect. Their die-hard love for each other was perfect.

I'm not sure if it's the writing or the plot or the characters, or a mashup of all of them combined, but this book was so bingeable. The chapters are short and there is literally action in almost every chapter. The world and the monsters and action scenes were described so beautifully, I could SEE everything I was reading, it felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. At some moments there is so much chaos, so much frenzied energy that is just palpable. Seemingly everyone in their little brigade has secrets, and as the story progresses those secrets are revealed and OH MANNNNN some of them are a doozy. I definitely audibly gasped more than once. The side characters are given a backstory to a varying degree, but I wish we'd gotten a little more on them. Despite that, I love them all. Even Yara, who is supposed to be Kress's enemy of sorts (or at least she hates her), I was literally in tears over her towards the end of this book.

If you like an action-packed book with a really sweet romance, secrets, monsters, and a badass FMC you'll like this book. It gave me major Atlantis: The Lost Empire vibes, so if you enjoyed that you'll like this book too. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!