I was excited to receive this book and the premise was very intriguing.

I think it needed a little more TW/CW for readers, a lot of what I read I am not a fan of in a book. Rape, explicit violence, sex & human trafficking, etc.

So, world building is a big thing for me. Especially with fantasy books. and the world building here was excellently done! I really enjoyed reading about Lal Din's world. It did take some time to learn the different gods, zaats, cultures, etc, but I did enjoy it.

I struggled with the pacing with The Descent of the Drowned, and I will give it a solid 3 stars

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me, I really wanted to love and enjoy the book but it wasn't making much sense, but I got a little bored. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early, however I give it 2 stars

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I really wanted to love it but it wasn't making much sense to me even by the middle of it. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early, however.

The setting in this book is something so unique and I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the use of mythology and this world. The characters were great and I enjoyed getting to know them.

The story unfolds rather slowly in the beginning due to the well-researched and rich worldbuilding but surely picks up later on. The writing was enthralling. It's filled with beautiful phrases that confront you with harsh truths. The use of foreign words also made the book feel unique.

Unfortunately I was not pulled into this story after the first few chapters, as such I did not continue reading.

I encourage anyone to pick it up - it may be the kind of story YOU would enjoy!

Oh my god, this was a torture. It is so slow and the plot is almost nonexistent and I was so bored while reading it. I couldn't even finish it, I will admit. Also, it was way darker than I expected it to be.

2 otherworldly stars

DNF 75%
The cover and compelling title of this book is what initially drew me in. Unfortunately, 75% in and I still had no idea how the title or cover art had anything to do with the plot. The characters are compelling and have a nice arc throughout the book. Roma is part of the lower caste and was raised as a vessel of a goddess. She did not choose this life and wishes to escape. Leviathan is the bastard son of a high member of society. He is now a feared and deadly soldier who kills in the name of his father while also trying to keep his relationship with his mother's persecuted clan. Roma and Leviathan must decide whether they can team up to find themselves, their freedom, and save humankind.

What I really liked about this book was how different it was from the beginning. Many young-adult novels can seem formulaic, and while this novel does follow some of the same themes, they were carried out in a way that was different than the average YA novel. The characters were interesting, multi-dimensional, and fun to read. I appreciated how much world-building the author did in creating a world much different than our own.

What confused me and took me out of the book was the vocabulary. There were so many new words that I had to constantly look up, it made reading it difficult. I do not mind looking up words I do not know, but the sheer amount was slightly overwhelming. While wonderful, the world building seemed to be too constant. 50% through the book and the author was still using long descriptors for a world I think was pretty well established at that point. Roma's trauma and how it caused her other struggles were sometimes inconsistent. In some cases she would react to an event in a way that did not seem consistent with her character and her actions previously throughout the book. Overall it felt like being dropped in the middle of a book series rather than reading a first book.

This book is heavy with some dark concepts. Please check the trigger warnings at the start of the book before getting into it. I strongly suggest this book been made a NA as it's deals with some hard topics.

I loved this book so much. It told me ages to get in to it as the first 40% is world building, once the main plot kicked off I was hooked Ana’s writing had me in awe. She had some really stunning quotes I will carry with me. The characters were amazing,

This book was so unlike anything I've ever read! The world-building was incredible, with all the different languages and different lives shown. The diversity in this novel was great, as well as the issues shown. The characters were also amazing and incredibly memorable. My favourite thing has to be the writing style. It was so beautiful and lyrical. Despite some parts that were slow, the plot was pretty interesting and addictive.

The Descent of the Drowned was a surprise for me. Going into it, I expected a more fantasy-driven story of gods and monsters, and while it is that, it is considerably darker than I originally anticipated. It should probably have trigger warnings for suicide, rape, and abuse among others, and I don't know that I would characterize it as Teen/YA. I would definitely hesitate before giving it to a teen. That is not to say that teens and young adults shouldn't read this, but make sure they are ready for it.

Additionally, it took me about a quarter of the book to really get into it. I found the characters to be really engaging and they had a wonderful depth and humanity to them. I was thrown in the beginning a little by trying to sort out unfamiliar terms and the relationships between people based on the cultural conventions I was previously unfamiliar with. The appendix with some explanations at the end of the book was extremely helpful (though I wish it had been at the beginning, since I didn't know it was there for quite a while). Once I had educated myself a little more and gotten into it, I didn't have any more trouble following, and was fully immersed in the world.

I love books that are realistic, but blend an element of magic or the paranormal seamlessly into it. This book did that beautifully. I loved how each character grew and changed, and how the story became more and more complex and mythological as it went. I also loved how seamlessly the cultural mythology was blended into everything. I highly recommend this book and eagerly await more from Ana Lal Din.

A dark and immersive novel inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology with well developed characters.

The story starts out relatively slow with an in depth discovery of the world and introduction to the harsh environment the characters live in. An information-heavy start where you can definitely use the extensive glossary that is included. The way you get immersed in the story gives you an interesting new view into a culture you might not yet be familiar with.

I definitely recommend taking a look at the content warnings before diving into this novel.

This was a DNF for me, but I just think it may have been a wrong genre, wrong time type of deal. I do own the physical copy so I will be attempting another go at it just not at this time. But from what I read, the worldbuilding was very interesting and the characters were engaging. So hopefully second times a charm :)

With a Middle Eastern feel this story takes us on a journey of dark discovery. With some adult themes that will possibly be triggering for some we see our main characters go through some issues. There are themes of abuse, but also courage and survival. Found myself caring for the characters and wanting them to come through whilst enjoying the beautiful writing style.

Wow! I was really pleasantly surprised by this book. I will admit that I did find it a little slow in the beginning but I think that can be attributed to the book being very character driven. It was definitely more deep, raw, and darker than I had originally expected but I absolutely loved it. This definitely got me more interested in this type of mythology.

I love fantasy novels that incorporate known mythology and tradition. However, I struggled to keep up with the world-building in The Descent of the Drowned. While I like to think myself familiar with most cultures/traditions/and mythology the author seemed to assume I would know Arabian mythology and didn't need to go into much detail. I loved the premise of this story and was immediately drawn to the synopsis, I felt somewhat disappointed by the end. I needed more but can't quite put my finger on it. I enjoyed the pace and found the topics covered to be universal - everyone could relate to one of the themes or characters. Having said that, I would like to see the characters grow and learn from their trauma and history rather than dwelling in it. I think there is a lot of potential to see this series grow and develop.

This was way darker than I expected it to be, but that didn't stop me from really liking this one! I will admit that there is not much plot here: a big chunk of the book I was wondering where we were going. It is very character driven, which I don't mind but some people might find it too slow for that reason.

Really liked it all in all

While this story did have its drawbacks, such as a very long buildup to the major climax and action of the story, it was a strong debut. This is a raw fantasy world that holds nothing back, and I was surprised and intrigued by the intensity of the themes in the book. The world is fleshed out and well-described. The story started to pick up near the end, with a cliffhanger ending that left me wanting more!

What got me into reading this book was the Arabian Mythology, I've never read something like this before and the beginning was difficult for me because I don't know anything when it comes to the indo-Persian culture, but then I look for information and that was better.

This book isn't a light book, if you are looking for that kind of book this isn't for you, but if you want to read a book that shows you how cruel humans can be, you should give it a try.

Was a slow-burn romance, for me not to say that has no romance at all, but the chemistry and tension are there. Was a good start for this series, I liked the world-building and enjoy the plot, the characters were interesting to read and get to know through all their journey.


Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC

I find it hard when I don’t instantly click with a story but I powered through and although the premise of this story sounded fascinating I just could get on with it.

I loved the premise of this cultural inspirations but as a new comer to this particular culture I was just confused, the world building is also quite hard to follow which I find for me personally to enjoy a book I need a solid visual from the descriptions.
I feel like I probably won’t pick up the next book but I wish the author my best with the next projects.
Thank you for the opportunity to read early.