I really, really wanted to like this book but ultimately just couldn't get into it. I loved the lively writing style and I really enjoyed the main character, but the way the main dynamic was set up felt extremely unevenly written- I didn't really understand why the two of them were friends and waiting to introduce the way they met meant that I felt like I was coming into the story in the middle, rather than the beginning. This translated to most of the rest of the story- I felt like I was bouncing off the plot rather than getting immersed in it and ultimately, that really affected my ability to enjoy and follow the story.

Loved this book! It took me a little bit to get into it as it was a bit all over the place for the first chapter but then the story centered on the relationship between Johnny and Nick and how they were such a close pair for all the differences of money race and upbringing they had, and it got better and better the story has a wonderfully Lovecraft type theme but with a more relaxed modern feel the characters really get under your skin and you want to carry on reading to see how it all works out,

This review contains spoilers.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I always love reading books that feature Elder Gods and eldritch horror.

The characters were really engaging. By the end of the book I felt like I knew and understood them both. At first I was annoyed with one character knowing everything about everything, but this made more sense and was explained as the plot progressed. And the plot progressed very quickly, almost at break-neck speed. If anything, this is where the issue lies with the book. There was no breathing room. But the author was consistent, at least. By the end of the book the main characters felt completely run down and beyond exhausted, just like I felt as a reader.

With the plot moving from place to place and thing to thing so quickly, the final 'battle' seemed pretty lackluster. While I sort of have a problem with this, I'm also okay with it. This didn't turn out to be a story about fighting eldritch horror, but about overcoming the real horror of what humanity is capable of. This was something I didn't expect from this book at all. We never quite see that horror come to fruition with the main characters (only a taste with side characters), but I get the feeling it's probably just on the horizon, with one character completely cutting ties. Speaking of cutting ties, I really appreciate that the author acknowledges that just because you can save someone from themselves, that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself to do so.

There are two stories here. One is the story of two longtime BFFs separated by class, race, and genius, now teetering on the cusp of adulthood and wondering how to reconcile their vastly different places in the world with an enduring friendship that might be blossoming into something more. The other is a tale of cosmic horror, of the hidden magical secrets of this world and the worlds beyond. If you'd asked me before picking this up which I'd prefer I'd have picked the latter without blinking; eldritch horror is the best of all horrors, and anyone claiming otherwise is a liar. But to my surprise, it was the story of Johnny and Nick---she a white world-famous child prodigy who has quite literally changed the world, and he the very brown working-class son of Guyanese immigrants, working at a grocery store and wondering about his future---that had me reading on.

Johnny and Nick have been BFFs since early childhood, when both were taken hostage during a terrorist attack and ended up getting shot with a single bullet, then remaining friends ever after, despite living in two very different worlds. Their relationship sits the heart of this story, and the author achieves a rapport between the two that took definite skill. Their relationship---he, unsure of his place in the world and very unsure of his place in her world, she keeping more secrets than anyone too young to drive ever should---pops off the page, with dialogue that feels fresh and real. I kind of found myself wishing I was reading a story about them facing something other than eldritch horrors, and that's pretty insane for me, cause usually I'm the person yelling that the book needs to stop with the interpersonal crap and get back to the eldritch horrors. (And oh, that ending . . .)

The main issue here is that the story really needed time to breathe. A lot more time. Once our main antagonist enters the story (and to be frank, that entity seemed less 'eldritch horror' and more 'video game villain') we're sent off on a worldwide adventure that feels oddly rushed and insubstantial. The story veers wildly from place to place, plot point to plot point, with our characters getting hit with quests and revelations and infodumps and new scenery. . . and nothing really has enough time to gel. Too often the worldbuilding felt unfinished, with Johnny giving infodumps in the place of plot development.

Overall, this had a lot of potential, and the author manages some really great rhythms between her two protagonists. But it needed to be longer than it was, with more care given to the worldbuilding.

I was really conflicted about this review, as I feel like I need to process this book more.

The book was definitely exciting, and it kept me engaged. As for the characters, however, I found them really difficult to connect with, especially Johnny. Their relationship was oddly co-dependent, and I’m not totally sure how that furthered the story.

As I was getting closer to the end, I thought I understood where the book was going; it started to feel very topical, in that it seemed like a commentary on the fact that the responsibility of saving the world has been placed solely in the hands of children. However, as the book came to a close, I’m not sure that’s what it was saying at all. In fact, I don’t really know what it was saying.

I’m lukewarm on this one. Was it interesting and entertaining? Yes. Was it profound and poignant? Unfortunately, I’m not really sure.

I'm not sure quite what I was expecting from Beneath the Rising but it wasn't what I got, which was a creepy coming of age story that soon morphed into something about the implications of making deals when you don't have all the information.

It's the story of two teenagers, Nick and Johnny, bound together as children by being the lone survivors of a mass shooting and whose relationship from then onwards is completely tangled up with their lives. Nick is struggling to get by, as is his whole family, while Johnny is a child prodigy and responsible for a wide variety of inventions that have effectively helped to change the world. When her latest invention seems to rip apart the barrier between this world and another, Nick ends up on the run with her across a number of countries, in search of a way to close the rift that has opened.

As a plot, the whole concept works well, especially as Nick discovers during their journey together that there's way more going on than he's aware of. He's always thought of Johnny as being brilliant, only to discover that she had made a metaphorical deal with the devil to get that brilliance and is paying for it with her life. While he's in love with Johnny, she doesn't seem to even like him very much, even though again we discover there's much more (from her perspective, at least) to their relationship than that.

Beneath the Rising kept my interest all the way through, though I'm not sure if it really worked for me as a whole - the ending certainly didn't really resolve anything and I'm not sure if it convinced me. I suppose part of the problem was empathising with the two main characters, with both of them being quite self-absorbed even when the world wasn't in jeopardy. So this is probably another one of those books where I'll keep an eye out for more from this author but won't bother re-reading.


Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Beneath The Rising follows Nick and Johnny, childhood best friends who accidentally summon a horrific evil into their plane of existence. With atmospheric writing and vivid world building and monsters, Beneath the Rising is a wild ride from start to finish! Nick and Johnny are very sympathetic and the race against time keeps you on the edge of your seat. This novel is great for fans of Lovecraftian horror, with shades of Stephen King mixed throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mohamed nailed the feeling and ambiance of a book involving the Elder Gods (or Them, as referred to by the protagonists). You never feel completely at ease reading Beneath the Rising, knowing that at any moment an eldritch horror could appear through a rend in the universe. She does a masterful job crafting her characters, each one flawed and yet aspirational, and dumping them right into the horrors that may lurk beyond. The locations in the novel feel fleshed out, pointing to Mohamed's excellent research or well-traveled experiences. There were times that I felt I needed to put down Beneath the Rising to look outside and remember that, as far as we know, there are no Elder Gods slumbering outside our understanding. Perfectly blending a coming-of-age tale with SFF Horror, Beneath the Rising is a great read that will leave you hopeful that everything mentioned is, and will remain, fiction.