If you enjoy a good YA thriller/horror novel then this is the book for you! It's heart-pounding and had my mind bending in so many different directions! And Catacombs just make everything that much more creepy haha

This is a wonderful adventure story with great visual descriptions and plenty of conflicts. From man vs self, man vs man, man vs cult,, man vs the elements, there’s a lot going on to keep tensions high.

Any student who likes action and adventure would enjoy this book!

Believe me when I say that YOU NEED TO PICK UP Under The Surface! I started reading it after dinner and did not stop until I physically could not keep my eyes open any longer THEN woke up early so I could finish it! There’s something for everyone: action, adventure, mystery & romance (although I could have done without the romance. They could have made Sean her brother & it would have had the same emotional resonance for me.) Everyone should be prepared for me to be recommending this to them for a while.

4..5 stars
Teens getting lost in the Paris catacombs? Say no more! I knew I needed this one but had no idea how much I’d love it. This filled all my spooky and adventurous needs.

Ruby is visiting Paris with her friends and school for their senior class trip. One night, they break the rules and escape the hotel to go to a local party. The party is secretly in the catacombs and seems to be exactly what their Paris dreams are made of. However, they never make it to the party. Through a series of events, they get lost. Lost with all the dead, their bones and all the dark secrets kept in the miles and miles of tunnels underneath the city.

“You’re not going to die. You’re a badass bitch. And once we get through this, we’ll be one step closer to home.”

This one had me on the edge of my seat. The Paris catacombs themselves are fascinating but having the teens lost and experiencing life-threatening situations made it even more fun. I loved the dark secrets, the reveals and the many twists and turns this one took. I highly recommend this to YA lovers who love dark mysteries and lots of excitement!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the copies!

The book releases August 13, 2024.

Well Diana has done it again with another on the edge ya thriller!

Ruby and Sean are friends that like each other but don’t know how to tell each other. They are in a class trip to Paris, and Sean thinks no better time than now being in the city of love. But when Ruby’s best friend Val sneaks out to meet some French boys, she takes it upon herself to follow and keep them safe. What they didn’t expect is what horrors lie in wait in the catacombs under Paris itself. Something sinister that chases them in the labyrinth of mazes Paris’s catacombs hold. Can Sean save Ruby in time?!

This book is what nightmares could happen in a foreign city on a class trip. Diana’s writing style always keeps me glued to figure out the clues. It definitely has the action to keep you hooked and the characters weren’t too unlikable.. definitely relatable. Ruby and Sean go through growths and challenges in the story.

So if you like the creep factor and really any Diana books, then check this one out!

This book took me on a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end.
Ruby and her class are visiting Paris, and the only thing she can think of is visiting the Catacombs.. The place that runs beneath the streets of Paris that houses many of its dead. When an opportunity for her to visit she couldn't turn it down. She ends up down there with her best friend Val, ex-best friend Selena, another girl Chloe, and the boy showing them around Jacob.

The first page opens with Ruby running for her life in the depths of the Catacombs, I knew this was going to suck me in, and it did. When Ruby finds herself in the Catacombs with the others things begin to go wrong almost from the first moment. There are weird screams, horrible smells, and the sense of being watched. The kids are in danger, and once they get turned around all bets of them finding their way out unscathed drop to zero.
I loved all the twists and turns this story took, Secrets within the group are uncovered, and not all of them are going to make it out alive.

I loved Ruby's POV along with Sean who knows before anyone else that something is wrong when Ruby and the others don't come down for breakfast at the hotel. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book, and I couldn't put it down!

What a ride! This book was an absolute thrill ride. I barely breathed awaiting the fates of Ruby, Selena, Val, and Olivia who are led away from their class trip to Paris into the Catacombs by a stranger with the promise of a secret party only to find themselves trapped under the surface and hiding from masked killers. The second POV of Sean, who knows something is wrong and will do anything to find Ruby, was a nice reprieve from the terror inside Ruby's head. Definitely don't make other plans while reading this book because you will want to drop everything to finish it.

This book it very young adult - you get teen drama, partying and sneaking out. I really enjoyed the setting of Paris catacombs and the story definitely takes you on a crazy roller-coaster ride. Out of all characters Sean was my favorite one. He was smart and very determine to find his friend Ruby.
Overall this was a good read with great intensity and a pace that never slows down. Quick and enjoyable.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and the author for a free copy of ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was EVERYTHING I was expecting and so much more.

Diana Urban promises a thrilling, heart pounding story about a girl lost in the catacombs, and a boy desperate to save her. And boy, does she deliver.

Ruby, Olivia, Val, and Selena find themselves taking a trip somewhere that isn’t on any tourist maps or teacher itineraries — the sealed off parts of the catacombs. How did they get there? Val, the friend who does crazy things for the thrill of it, meets Julien. And from there, it all goes down…

Literally.

This book was quick-paced, uncomfortable, and impossible to put down. I was desperate to know what happened next and what was really going on in those catacombs. Who can you trust? Are they going down or up? Is that noise just paranoia or something else?

5 stars for one of my favorite reads this year.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This was such a fun time and I know teens looking for atmospheric thrillers will flock to this. It has something for all types of readers, whether it be intrigue, romance, even some spookiness. People with an Paris Olympics hangover will want to gobble this up.

Under the Surface by Diana Urban, 354 pages. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group), 2024. $18.
Language: R (144 swears, 10 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
On the best senior trip ever to Paris, Ruby is determined to take advantage of the opportunity to film travel content videos—and to not get sent home on day one. But Val sneaks out, and Ruby has to get her back, which leads to an unplanned trip to the catacombs under the city. An unplanned trip that quickly takes a wrong turn.
Ruby’s story took some dark turns that I wasn’t expecting, ramping up from a curfew breaking adventure to a serious life-or-death situation. On the surface of this story are lessons about consequences, friendship, and learning to give voice to “I’m sorry” and “I love you;” but Urban also puts in a plug about awareness in our real world about the thousands of people who go missing every year.
Ruby, Sean, Val, and Olivia are White; Julien is French; and Selena is implied Hispanic. Also, Selena and Aliyah are part of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, illegal activity, kissing, mentions of drugs and human trafficking, partial nudity, and scary elements. The violence rating is for knife and gun use, blood and gore, corpses, assault, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

What was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime becomes an utter nightmare in Diana Urban’s Under the Surface. Ruby was so excited for her school trip to Paris. Her dream is to travel and build her YouTube travel channel and this trip is her first chance to prove to herself and her dad she can do it. She also thinks there might be a chance for romance with her friend Sean. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. They’ve barely been there half a day when Ruby’s roommate sneaks off to go to a party with a French boy she’s only just met. Ruby, along with two others, end up going after her to bring her back, the possibility of exploring the Paris catacombs is too much to resist. Of course excitement turns to terror as they not only get lost underground in the catacombs but realize they are being hunted. This is a really fun thriller, and though there a romance angle, with Sean above ground trying to discover what has happened to his four classmates, it’s a subplot with the majority of the action taking place underground. I’d like to thank PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Under the Surface.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RS47NVY9GNUQA/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was so good!! I’ve loved all of Diana’s books so I’ve been looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint! I honestly don’t know anything about the Paris catacombs but now I want to learn everything about them. This was thrilling, emotional, terrifying, and really kept me at the edge of my seat! Also, can I just say that I do not understand why anyone would ever go anywhere with someone they don’t know but I really don’t understand why you would go somewhere underground AND in a foreign country with someone you don’t know… like you’re just asking to get murdered 🤷🏻‍♀️

My only thing was that I would’ve like a little more at the end but besides that this book was truly a wild ride and I really enjoyed it! Also, this is another one that I think would be great adapted for screen!

** Thank you so much to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! These thoughts are entirely my own.**

This book was so good! I read about 80% of it in less than a day. The characters were super engaging and interesting to read about, and the plot and twists had my jaw dropped multiple times. It was a double-POV book (Ruby and Sean have POVs), which was really cool and well-done, but I do wish Sean had a little bit more. This book was also pretty clean, which was awesome! The writing style was really great, and this book had me hooked! I would definitely recommend reading it!

Okay new fear unlocked. I always thought the Paris catacombs would both be interesting and frightening to explore, and this one focuses on a group of teens who get lost in the inaccessible/illegal parts of the catacombs, and constantly have to escape death. They are led by a Parisian who initially was taking them to a party in the catacombs, but they got lost along the way, and encountered a possible cult. Also are the skulls coming to life? The skeletons? It could be just the darkness playing tricks…or maybe something more sinister.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this story and it didn’t disappoint! It’s definitely YA, but the suspense is just as good as adult. You do have to get through the teenage bickering though. It’s very high school and very fitting for the genre and age for the girls. I liked that there was an “above the surface” plot as well, with Sean, who loves Ruby, doing anything he can to find her and making sure that the police are doing their job when they keep brushing off the issue as them being runaways.

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio

This is a fun and quick YA thriller that you can totally binge in one sitting.

Ruby & Sean are high school seniors on a French class trip visiting the City of Light. After meeting a stranger who promises a fun party in the catacombs Ruby and her girl friends get lost underground. Sean tries to put together the clues to figure out where she is to save her and finally confess his long harbored feelings for her.

The tension builds nicely in the catacombs while the girls tackle trying to survive and dealing with past dramas and fights within their group. Secrets and betrayals come to light as the girls fight for their lives with the help of Julien who they're not sure if they can or cannot trust. This is very reminiscent of the horror movie The Descent but told in a YA format.

I loved how this author created a cast of characters who you were never sure if you could trust or not while putting these girls in an environment where they're forced to trust one another. It's an incredible way of telling a thriller/horror in a claustrophobic environment where these girls cannot hide from their problems both being lost underground and with each other.

Meanwhile Sean is working tirelessly aboveground to try to find the girl he loves while being met with adults who don't believe him and take his theories seriously.

This is a solid read and kept me entertained from start to finish. I appreciated how the author wasn't scared to lean into the horror genre and the horrors of the catacombs with the girls not coming back unscathed.

Highly recommend this book, perfect for the upcoming spooky season!

Thanks so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the ARC

This was my first Diana Urban book, but it definitely won't be my last! I was a big fan of her writing in Under the Surface.

The book was fast-paced and easy to follow. I finished the book in just a few sittings. The ending tied up the story pretty nicely in the last 50 pages or so, but did come off just a bit rushed. I wasn't a huge fan of the fade to black ending.

Overall, the book was an engaging read and was exactly what I expected out of a YA thriller, in the best possible way!

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun and such a nice break from the fantasy I'd been reading. I love a story you can get lost in and this is exactly what this did! Diana simply never misses.

Prepare to stay up all night - both because you must keep reading and because you’re afraid to go to sleep! This YA thriller / mystery was such a cool premise centering around teens lost in the Paris catacombs. There plenty of twists and turns, with some predictable and a few shocking. Very fun read, quick read!! Definitely made me want to learn more about the catacombs history and what’s really going on down there…

Teens on a class trip lost in the Paris Catacombs - talk about atmospheric! You'll feel like you are there. Count me way in! Adventure, horror, romance, and adventure! It pulls you on quickly, and I read it during the Olympics, which makes it extra special. Highly Recommended! Great characters, dual POV, YA Horror. It's got the goods!