The author created a strong, creepy atmosphere right away. From page one I was hooked on finding out more about Vera’s mysterious collegiate past and the shadows of Addie’s youth. The college setting was interesting and added a nice creepy dimension to the story. I do wish we had gotten to know the characters better - including Addie - to give them some more depth. The short chapters helped keep the tension up well.

What a phenomenal horror read! This book is an absolute stunner. The plot follows Adria, a young girl about to start college, having been accepted at the University of Arches, where her mom and grandma were also students.

On arrival, Adria gets acquainted with the other legacies, fellow students whose parents were alums as well. They all feel a unique pull towards the Arches, a calling or a premonition. Beneath the idyllic University, horrors unimaginable reside, waiting for them.

Right from the very first chapter, this book sets the tone. This is no joke, the book is seriously creepy, eerie and scary! The initial half of the book is absolutely fantastic. I loved the use of old videos to explore the lore and establish worldbuilding. The symbology is brilliant!

I loved the characters as well. The twins gave me Damon and Stefan vibes more than once, amazing use of pronouns for the Queer character.

The ending felt a little rushed, but set a promising scope for a sequel! Also a little more depth to the friendship amongst the legacies would have probably been better. I absolutely recommend this book for the lovers of everything creepy and eerie!

Dark academia is usually not my jam but Becerra paints a vividly eerie picture that made even this outcast want to go to this college..

…until you start to learn more of what’s actually going on there. Piecing together the puzzle kept this novel moving and had me picking it up to read every chance I got.

I loved the old religion aspects of this story and the unknown history of the land made it that much more sinister. The ending is not ambiguous, there is some closure, but there is enough to leave you questioning what exactly will happen to the FMC in the end and I thought that was interesting. This is a perfect one to read during spooky season!

I was hooked from the beginning of this novel by its premise. Addie's mother Vera went to the fictional Arches University but has been cagey and weird about her time there for Addie's entire life. We see some early backstory moments of Vera spacing out entirely whenever Arches is brought up. Obviously, this just makes Addie want to attend the Arches too, not just for its stellar academic record but to finally understand her mother and uncover some answers. The first half of the book was amazing, perfectly leading the reader into the spooky atmosphere of the university and introducing us to the small group of legacy students. Any type of dark academia setting is always intriguing and the Arches was no exception with its creepy well and endless mysteries.

Unfortunately, I don't think They Watch From Below completely stuck the landing for me. I liked Addie and her friendship with non-legacy students Olga and Daphne more than I cared for her relationships with the other legacy students, except maybe Nick. I would have enjoyed some more time spent building those relationships too, especially since they risk their lives for each other at the end - that level of devotion seemed unearned. Also, I expected some more encounters with the horror entities and lead-ups before the final confrontation. It seemed to me that everything was tidied up a little too fast at the end.

Some specific gripes - how long were those wires? What even was the point of Olga/Daphne in the grand scheme of the book? Why was Addie put in a different dorm than the other legacies in the first place?

So this was hard to rate because I liked the main character, loved the premise and vibes, and think it could have been something great but the main climax was just too rushed and unsatisfying.

This book drew me in immediately with that stunning cover and amazing sounding summary, unfortunately it fell a little flat. I still enjoyed it but I struggled to get into it at the beginning.

This drew me in so immediately at the beginning - a girl returns to the university where her mysterious mother studied. All I needed to hear was university tbh LOL.

Anyway, she gets there and weird things are happening, there's a small tight-knit group of friends and I was TERRIFIED. Things went ever so slightly downhill from there, I was less intrigued once the real mystery was semi-revealed, but I think it will still stick with me a little bit!