On the Island of Kar Atish the lower class must carve out a living for themselves either mining for a substance called zargunine that the upper class, the Landers will pay them for or they can fight against wild creatures from the deep in the pits.  After the death of her parents, Krescent Dune chose to fight in the pits in order to raise money to get off the island faster.  Kress is paying the price for a mistake that her parents made years ago.  Kress has quickly risen as a top fighter in the pits making her a target for her boss.  She receives an offer too good to refuse, protection for a rescue mission in the mines that will pay enough for Kress to get off the island.  However, the mission quickly becomes more than anyone could have thought, Kress' best friend Rivan shows up and becomes poisoned by an unknown beast, the mines reveal a secret history of the island and new and dangerous creatures keep appearing as the mines meet the ocean. 

Somewhere in the Deep is an exciting Young Adult fantasy thriller.  This book is set in the same world as Monsters Born and Made, but you do not need to read the books in any order.  I was brought into the story immediately as Kress fought in the pits under the name Dark Dancer.  Kress is wizened and hardened for her age, but wants desperately to live a simpler life.  Through Kress' eyes the writing brought the island to life. Kar Atish is a harsh landscape that has been colonized and created two distinct classes.  I could imagine the many different animals the Kress came across on the beach as well as the zargunine filled mines that have been carved out long ago.  The pace was kept at a good pace with the many dangers below ground and Kress' impressive fighting skills. More than just fighting, Somewhere in the Deep reveals Kress' true identity, not just the child of the Kinkillers, but a caring person who fiercely protects their own and loves those around her as well as her home. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Like a cross between the Descent and Throne of glass. This book has it all. Betrayal, romance, intrigue, myths... I cant wait to read more from Berwah!

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. This book took me a little while to get into but once I was there it was a great book, I really enjoyed reading it, very intriguing, very interesting plot and characters. Like I said the beginning was a bit hard for me to get into but I thought I would push through that and I am so glad that I did. 4 stars

A superb follow-up to Monsters Born and Made! I loved how Berwah expanded her world with the introduction of the island of Kar Atish. While the people of Sollonia are indentured fishermen, the people of Kar Atish are miners. Each island so far seems to be known for a particular trait, similar to the twelve districts of the Hunger Games.

Through these stories, Berwah explores themes of colonialism, rebellion, and family. Although I wish the world-building was a bit more fleshed out, I thought the characters were well written and the mythology was further developed.

Berwah’s South Asian-inspired fantasy series is sure to appeal to many readers. I’m excited to learn more about the Islands of Ophir in future books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Though this book didn't thrill me personally, there are definitely readers who will enjoy it! The pacing reminded me a bit of a video game or a tabletop RPG campaign, with action scenes and character beats interspersed in a way that I found frustrating, but I think readers who are more accustomed to the pacing of games will find the rhythm of it more satisfying. I wish the lore and worldbuilding had been a little more explained, but this book will satisfy readers who are ravenous for quest-y, monster-filled action.

Krescent’s biggest mistake was staying alive in the pit. But now she will pay for it by ending up a slave to her debt because she wouldn’t give in. So, when the offer comes to do one very dangerous job but have her debt wiped clean she takes it. But her body guard job into the depths of the mines to possibly rescue some miners that went into the depths before, however, the job becomes even harder when Krescent finds her boyfriend down there and he is hurt. But it soon becomes clear someone doesn’t want this rescue party to come out alive.
This is a fast paced, action packed, very suspenseful young adult book. I love every adrenaline filled moment. The characters are wonderful and I love Krescent’s bond with the three boys. I love that the scrappy little girl is the best fighter. This book is filled with just about anything and it is a wonderful book.

This is a great book! It is set in the same world as Monsters Born and Made but you don't have to read it before this one. The cruelty in it was a bit much for me, but the story itself is creative and unique.

It is fast paced, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Tanvi Berwah is fast becoming a favourite of mine, with the rich descriptions and detailed world building.

A genuinely good and exciting book, definitely recommend it to fans of fantasy.

Apologies for my late review, I've been in autistic burnout and am starting to catch up with my to-do list. Wow, just wow. It started off a bit slow, but then picked up fast and I couldn't stop reading it. I look forward to reading more by Tanvi Berwah.

Full of monsters, danger, and mystery, this book was hard to put down! Kress is an outcast on her island and is fighting (literally) for her freedom when an opportunity to get what she wants most is presented to her - with a catch of course, she has to go deep underground to protect the rescue party venturing into the mines on an expedition that only a handful of people have returned from before. Out of options, Kress agrees to face the dark and dangerous mines and we follow her journey through the labyrinthine tunnels with a ragtag party of miners she has to protect. It was certainly never going to be easy! Kress is a total badass and an experienced fighter but she’s out of her element on this trip and we watch her battle different creatures which I definitely wouldn’t want to encounter in real life. There are some unexpected twists along the way which added to the excitement of the story and had me hooked! The ending was a little unbelievable but otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely read again.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

What an incredible fast-paced and heart-racing fantasy. I can't believe that this is listed as a YA. Somewhere in the Deep follows main character, Krescent Dune, into the deadly depths of the earth in search of freedom. Set in the previous world the author has created in Monster Born and Made, however we are given a deeper and more expanded look. While it's probably not necessary, reading the Monsters Born and Made series will make this a better feel while on your reading journey. Berwah has created such realistic and immaculately put together world and the creation of the monsters is flawless. I highly recommend this one for any fans of loosely based mythologies, darker YA fantasy themes and intense and diverse characters.

The read does come with a few trigger warnings such as:
- suicidal ideation
- animal cruelty
- anxiety disorder

For a full list you can see the authors notes.
Thank you to Tanvi Berwah, Sourcebooks Fire. and NetGalley for providing the advanced copy for review. Somewhere in the Deep is set for release on January 9th, 2024.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the review copy of this book!

Wow! This book hooked me right away and I absolutely devoured it. I found the concept unique and enjoyed the character development and interactions.

The mines were described so vividly that there were times where I felt as if I was down below with them.

I did find I had to reread a few passages to make sure I had understood when the "history" of everything was explained, but that was more to make sure that I myself had a good handle on the information, than how it was written.

I have enjoyed reading this novel, especially the first part. The author manages to captivate readers in the opening pages with the cruelty and darkness of the world Kress lives in. The battles with the monsters and the prevailing mystery throughout the novel are its most powerful elements because the reader is always eager to see what new creatures will appear.

For those who want to know, there is romance in this book, but it's very subtle. Perhaps I would have liked to see more sparks between the protagonists; even at the end, I wanted more, and I think this story could have lent itself to several interesting and passionate scenes *winks*.

I must admit that the ending was not what I expected , although everything suggests there will be another book. The pace was a bit slow after the first half but, ironically, I felt like all the intricacies of the plot were being unraveled and explained too quickly. There's a lot of lore in this novel, which I loved, but it's true that I was left somewhat confused and disappointed because a part of me would have preferred the author to take a different path regarding the island's origins. Still, Somewhere in the Deep is a read I recommend giving a chance.

Here's a quote a liked: "You survive in the cruelest places because you must. You go on because that is what life demands."

I enjoyed this book but there was definitely room for improvement. I thought the first half of the book was great. However, after that I really feel like parts could have been edited as I felt it got too predictable. It ended well and wasn’t too bad but pacing was an issue for me.

Krescent Dune lives a rough life. She fights monsters in an arena for money, slaying majestic beasts for the pleasure of others. Her employer, Badger, gives her an opportunity to leave this life behind--embark on a mining journey to find some lost miners, and all of her debts will be forgiven. Despite the trauma and fear she has in regard to the deep caves below the city, the prospect of leaving her miserable life on the island is too good to refuse...

I did not know that 'Somewhere in the Deep' was a sequel before requesting a galley, so I will leave my comments about the world building out of this review, since any awkwardness about how the information was dealt was probably done for someone who read the first book earlier and needed a refresher. Despite being a sequel, the story and characters aren't connected to the first one, so the previous book isn't necessary to understand what's happening here.

As for the book itself... I'm mixed about it. On one hand, I loved the idea of a cave-diving survival story. Caves are both amazing and terrifying, and I think this book does a great job of exploring that feeling. Unfortunately, the cave chapters get a bit... repetitive. Kress doesn't trust her party. A monster appears. They kill or run away from the monster. Kress thinks about her parents or Rivan's brothers.

Kress and Rivan's relationship is another thing that felt more annoying than cute to me. I was hoping for Kress to learn to get along with the strangers that she's traveling with, but instead her frustratingly obvious crush follows the party because he's worried about her. I'm not the target audience here, and I've rarely enjoyed romance in any novels, but I found myself growing more annoyed with both characters than wanting them to be interacting with each other. Especially when the other miners seemed like interesting characters, and I would have loved to learn more about them than Rivan.

I can't say much else without spoiler warnings, but it's still a fine book, just one that wasn't what I wanted. I think it would have been scarier if there was more 'emptiness' in the cave rather than random encounters every few steps, but I also think 'horror' wasn't the main objective. I'll always give a thumbs up for a casual reveal of a character being trans, though.

While the first 20% was actually interesting and enjoyable, it went downhill for me after that.

In this book you follow Krescent, a fierce and just female "slayer" of beasts. A bit similar to the witcher but without magic at hand. Most of the monsters mentioned in this book, remind of larger insects of some kind and Krescent knows the weak spots of most of them.

First she fights them in order to pay of her debts in some sort of underground fighting pit. At some point she makes the mistake of accepting a deceiving deal by the organiser and has no other choice than to go on a dangerous journey with the Collector, basically the ruler of the land who forces them to mine zargunine. And if she lives after this journey, she is free to go. No more slavery or debts by and with the Landers.

The book is written in first person, which I typically would prefer as it's easier to put myself in the main character shoes and really live through them rather than read about them. But in this case, I simply couldn't connect to Kress or any of the other characters, which doesn't help to "care" for their journey.

The atmosphere of the book is good though, the story has interesting elements and basically everything I would have loved, but somehow I struggled to read this 'till the end. I try to do my very best for ARCs though and really argument everything I didn't like and I think for Somewhere In The Deep it came down to the writing style of the author, not her creative mind. Who doesn't love a just fighter, an unexplored cave with monsters and secrets, betrayal and a hint of friends becoming a little bit more.. 😉

As for the writing; sometimes things were left hanging, perhaps too soon or too un-emotional after a big 'stressful' event, at other times it went on like a summary with words like "and then" several times. It kinda disconnected me from the adventure. I also found it very difficult to envision certain sceneries.

So the writing style, the impossibility to connect with the characters and imagining of the story in mind. Along with the experience just being a struggle to read - I am really sad to have to give it this score.

I really enjoyed Monsters Born And Made so was keen to read this sequel set on a very different island. We still get a gung ho heroine in Kress but the society she lives in felt very different. These people are poor and terribly exploited by outsiders and felt more like slaves than workers . Kress is vilified, hated even due to events that truly were not her fault so is desperate to leave. She kind of gets manipulated into going into the mines to help mount a rescue attempt but down below live creatures straight out of your wildest nightmares and not everyone will return !
This was very, very different to what I expected with a claustrophobic environment pushing down on the characters as they stumble quite literally around in the dark ! There are agendas here that surprised with characters being far from what they pretend. There's almost romance as Kress and Rivan clearly have a strong connection although truthfully it's not shown particularly well at times. The ending was a huge surprise and felt quite timely although obviously my lips are sealed.
I have a tiny gripe though in that Rivan has a "brother" and trust me blink and you miss the only real clue to their gender so that felt superfluous and added absolutely zero to the plot. I do want diversity in books but not something seemingly thrown in just to be there. All that being said I enjoyed reading this and already look forward to discovering what happens next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this eBook!!!! This is a really good book for people looking for a fighter FMC. It's got all of the monsters, ancient lore, and world ending possible threats. Not to mention Overlords who need to be reminded that they deserve nothing. Pick this up for your local anarchist in training.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy. All opinions and views are my own.

I enjoyed Somewhere in the Deep as much as I enjoyed Monsters Born and Made. I like the depth of this world that Tanvi Berwah has built; it has a very Lovecraftian feel, especially during the underground scenes, dealing with psychosis and the power of fear and oppression on then mind in the dark, not to mention these giant, ancient monsters and their grotesque descriptions. Berwah really builds a scene well and I did enjoy it. I did feel like the underground scenes dragged, mostly due to the extended inner monologue from Kress. I think they could be edited down a bit to move the story along. Meeting the Shadepeople was a total trip and admittedly a mite confusing when they explained the gods well but Berwah cleared that up when Kress comes face to face with a First One. That’s mostly why this book became a three star. It just dragged in the middle and I had to put the ARC down and take a break.

I did find the twist at the end very exciting and appreciated it to the fullest. Kress is a strong character and not over-ridden by her feelings for Rican. I liked the action focus rather than an in-depth romance, it does help the story and the romance takes a nice backseat. I can’t wait for Koral and Kress to meet and have their fates intertwine as they face the potential human anihilation at the hands of ancient beings.

Somewhere in the Deep is a very interesting book. I really liked Kress and the descent into the caves. The other was able to portray the claustrophobia and tensions between the group very well. I was invested the entire time and I believed the romance as well, even if Rivan makes some really boneheaded decisions. I enjoyed Kress as a character. For the most part, I felt like she was well written and complex, with her motivations often at odds with each other, causing believable issues she has to work through.

However, there were a few things that held it back. A minor note, but the ruling class is called “Landers” and everyone else is called “Renters,” which, for a fantastical dystopia, is maybe too on the nose. There were times when the internal voice of Kress worked really well (dealing with being in the caves and the darkness, obviously would be extremely mentally taxing and ends up with Kress having trouble keeping herself steady), but there were other times where it was just too much and was often repetitive, especially during times when important events were happening. Finally, there were sometimes when the writing was just a little too vague and I couldn’t accurately picture the world. This most often happened with the dystopia elements. There also was one time at the very end where I wasn’t sure why something had exactly happened.

Overall, I really liked it. I would definitely check out other books by this author, especially set in this world.

Welcome to a world of monsters, cave dwellers, angry gods, and magic. Kress is a seventeen-year-old girl, living in the shadow of her dead parent's betrayal of their community. In order to get by, she's become her island's most notorious monster fighter in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes wrong, she's expelled from the arena and loses her only means of surviving.

While trying to find an alternate means of survival, Kress is offed a deal. Lead a rescue mission into the mines and all her debt will be erased. However, as the party travels deeper underground, it becomes clear that her parent's betrayal was not what it seems and the island's history is darker and more dangerous than anyone knew.

This book far exceeded my expectations. I read Monsters Born and Made and, while I enjoyed it, the book felt lacking in a lot of ways. This was definitely not the case with Somewhere in the Deep. The book kept me engaged and guessing the entire way through. I'm excited to see where this series leads and how the author ties the books together.