This was such an adventurous and thrilling fantasy book. I couldn't put this down. I thought that the storytelling was phenomenal and the world building was super intriguing. I gave it a 4 star rating and I cant wait to read more by the author.

3.5 stars!

I thought the plot of this book moved very fast, the world felt unique, and there was a lot of action, but unfortunately I didn't feel gripped by any of the characters. I wasn't really attached to anyone, nor did I really care about their relationships with each other. I also was taken a little off guard by the ending because I felt like it was rushed and everything was just too easy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book just didn't hit the mark for me. Although the description drew me in, it didn't quite hold my attention as much as I'd like. I also didn't know it was connected to another one of her books prior to reading.

**2.5 Stars**
I was super excited for this book, it sounded exciting and different and I was totally down for the adventure I expected. And while this was a different kind of adventure story, I was not into the book basically at all. I could not get behind the MC, she was prickly and very unlikable, also she cried and whined a lot for a super tough monster fighter. There was also a friends to lovers romance going on in the background- one the MC did not even notice was happening until like 80% into the book. I spent most of the book frustrated and wanting to shake the MC, which did not lead to a fun reading experience.

I think other people might really like this book and the very cool/ dangerous monster creatures as well as the rebellious hierarchy vibe of the world, it just was not for me. On the plus side, this is a standalone so there is a solid ending.

**On a side note, I do not recommend the audiobook, the narrator was kind of awful and read the book very choppy and almost like a robot. I had to speed the narration up to 2.5x to be able to tolerate the audio- but it was still a rough listen.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel really COULD have been good, it just fell very short. The world building on this novel was horrible, I could not ever really visualize it except at times when the character spoke about the chain of islands....but then I just saw Hawaii in my mind. The novel talks about mining, but then all these crazy looking underwater creatures. A group of the characters are going into the mine to find something and all I keep seeing in my head is DIVING in water, but they are in caves instead....it was just very hard to stay connected and visualize as I felt like this was all over the place.

The novel was VERY slow in the beginning, however, when it started to pick up more I was already so detached from the characters and could not visualize anything so I just did not care any longer. I only finished this book to finish the book....otherwise, I likely would have tossed it aside some time ago. I'm not sure if this is the author's debut novel or not, some serious editing help is required.

Amazing amazing amazing! I will most certainly checking out this author's blacklist of books. It makes me so happy to see authors of colour in fantasy literature spaces. I was pleased to know this is also south asian inspired fantasy which we sorely need more of in this genre. There is so much untapped south asian fantasy and folklore waiting to be utilized and revamped for traditional storytelling. I hope Tanvi gets to make her mark in that space.

This book is perfect for lovers of strong fmc, monster fighting, friends to lovers and commentary on society and class. Thank you so much Sourcebooks Fire for the eArc!

I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. Such a surprise and the twists!! Very fun. I’m not sure if I have the audience to recommend this to but I’m sure someone else will love it even more

This one had potential for me to screen it for a top YA books list, but after requesting it, the Goodreads reviews dropped below 4 stars & that is one of our criteria.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.

“Somewhere in the Deep” by Tanvi Berwah is the action-packed sequel to “Monsters Born and Made” but takes place on a different island with a new cast of characters. I believe the timeline for this book picks up right after Monsters, but this sequel could be read as a standalone.

The story follows 17-year-old Krescent who has been fighting monsters in a death-match pit since her parents died six years ago to make a living for herself. She lives with a childhood friend named Rivan and his two younger brothers while she tries to scrape together enough money to pay her debts and leave the island.

When a pit match goes wrong and Krescent is banned from fighting, she’s offered an enticing but deadly deal: accompany a rescue party to retrieve survivors from deep inside the mine caves in exchange for a great sum of money, having all her debts cleared, and the freedom to leave the island. The monsters lurking inside the mines are sure to be worse than any creatures she’s faced in the pit, but her sharp reflexes and keen skills give her a strong edge over anyone else. Desperate to leave the island for good, she accepts the offer and becomes the party’s bodyguard for the mission.

I could not put the book down once Krescent entered the mines! The characters in the rescue party were all so diverse and shifty that I was never sure who to trust. The author skillfully describes the action scenes so well that I could picture exactly what was going on in those dark caves…and let’s just say that if I was watching this book as a movie, I would have had my eyes covered for a majority of it! The saving grace for me was Rivan. The unexpected romance that takes place was really lovely – and much needed in such a dark tale!

I did take away one star from this book, because the climax of the story was confusing to follow. So much was going on that I felt lost and desperately needed the author to slow down and give me more information. However, I much preferred the ending of this book to Monsters since there was more closure.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to teens and young adults who enjoyed “The Hunger Games” but with a monster twist.

This book was really interesting. As in "....interestingggg". Usually, I don't lean toward solely fantasy books but I thought this one sounded really good and decided to try it out. To my surprise, there was quite a bit of romance in it which I loved. However, the synopsis said nothing about a love interest which I thought was weird. I get not really wanting to focus on the romance but it was such a big part of the book that I felt like it should've been included in the synopsis.

What really brought the rating down for me was that there was virtually no world-building. A new place on their island would be brought up and talked about for half a sentence and then the author moved on. It was really hard to grasp what was going on, where the fight scenes were, and just what the island even looked like because it wasn't talked about at all. At some points, it was really hard to follow along because nothing was explained.

Overall, I thought the book was okay. if you can overlook the fact that there's no world-building, this would be a really good book for you.

This story takes place in the same world as Berwah's "Monsters Born and Made," but can be read as a standalone. This book follows Krescent Dune, a character who is forced to contend with the consequences of her parents' choices. The only way to escape their legacy and her island prison is to battle monsters in the fighting pits, in order to earn enough money to leave. Desperate, Krescent agrees to a deal to that would erase her debts...if she can survive the mission she has agreed to join, in the abandoned mining caves below.

This book has dark themes and strong social commentary, particularly in response to colonialism. The tense atmosphere kept me turning pages, as the stakes were consistently elevated throughout. I almost could have done with more of the monsters, a deeper exploration of the terrifying underground, but I enjoyed what is on the page, and I enjoyed Krescent as a main character very much!

Sadly DNFing this around 50%. I just cannot bring myself to care about the characters; there are too many, and none have depth or have adequately made me invested in them. The whole premise of people hating Krescent because of her parents makes no sense. Also, it took me far too long to figure out if it was a MMC or FMC or what. I needed a clear pronoun use (even if it was they or otherwise!!) earlier. Sadly this one is a miss for me. 3 stars for fairness since I didn't finish it. As always I'm grateful for the chance to read an advance copy.

This seemed right up my area of interest for light younger reads but this one I DNF. I don’t think I’m the right audience and it just didn’t feel engaging. I kept really trying to keep reading and get into it but it wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I received an ARC of Somewhere in the Deep from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Somewhere in the Deep is a book that didn't stick out to me. While the premise was promising and the beginning started well, the plot and expedition dragged on from its repetitiveness and confusing descriptions, when and if there were descriptions. The world-building was interesting yet extremely confusing, and the characters themselves didn't particularly stand out. It was, overall, just kind of meh.

I did enjoy the monsters that the author created. I thought they were fascinating and would have loved seeing more of them. In fact, I was expecting to see more of them, considering Kress was brought along on the expedition specifically to hunt monsters. But we honestly didn't see that many, and when we did, it felt like the plot would have preferred to move on, so the encounters were pretty short.

The expedition itself was lackluster. It was extremely repetitive, which makes sense to an extent since there's only so much you can do in a cave. But it would have been nice to have gotten more descriptions of what they were seeing, doing, talking about, anything other than walking. There was so much character development that could have happened that didn't. I really didn't care about the side characters because we weren't told anything about them. They barely talk about themselves, and Kress doesn't know them, so there was no way for me to form an attachment to any of them.

Somewhere in the Deep was not a bad book. I did enjoy it to an extent. I just think there was so much more that could have been done that would have made the book that much better. It was an exciting story, but it's not one that I would return to, or that will stick with me, unfortunately.

2.75 stars This review took a while as I had to go back and read the first book by Berwah to understand some references in the story. It was well written and action packed but with how small of a novel it lacked some buildup to the foreshadowing that was littered in the story. I will be looking forward to more by Berwah and the world they made.

After a series of personal misfortunes leaves seventeen year old Krescent destitute and desperate, she takes on the roll of bodyguard for a hunting party on a dangerous rescue mission. But as they descend deeper in deeper, things become more fraught with peril than Krescent could ever have imagined.

This is a fantasy with a grip like a kraken! Be prepared to be grabbed and dragged down into the shadowy depths until you drown in this pulse pounding action fantasy. Magic, monsters, and teen angst all collide down in the depths as Krescent tries her best to simply make it out alive. The characters and atmosphere were a true delight, and coupled with the action, made for an enjoyable, quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

This was an entertaining read. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much I did.

I’ve said this a couple of times already, but I’ll say it again either way, don’t let the teen and YA tags scare you away.

This book was still easy to read, and I had no problem getting sucked into the story.

You should definitely read this.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As much as I enjoyed the story, I was expecting more monsters. There seemed to be so much emphasis on there being these monsters but there didn't appear enough for them to truly make an impact on me.

There also was a lot more focus describing the mission underground and I didn't really enjoy that. It just seemed like the journey was being described step by step and it made for a slow, boring read.

I did appreciate the spooky atmosphere though. 2.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read an early copy of SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP in exchange for my honest review.

I had the opportunity to also read an early copy of Tanvi Berwah's debut of MONSTERS BORN AND MADE prior to its release, and I was so pleasantly surprised by that one that I jumped on the chance to request her second novel that is set in the same world.

The premise of the book caught my attention immediately. Our protagonist, Kress, is essentially a pit fighter who competes in this gladiator style area against giant and terrifying sea monsters. But when something goes wrong during one of her matches, she becomes widely hated and, as a penance, is subjugated to a dangerous expedition to discover what happened to some missing minors. As dangerous as this is, this benefits Kress because if she succeeds, she gains her freedom off of her island home. And at this point, this girl has nothing to lose.

As we follow her story, we learn that Kress' family name comes with a lot baggage, as well as some bad history with some of her fellow crew members on this expedition. Kress is also wrestling with her growing feelings for her best friend, Rivan, who came after her on this journey. The farther we journey into the depths, the higher the stakes rise and more secrets get uncovered.

I wish I enjoyed SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP as much as I did MONSTERS BORN AND MADE, but unfortunately a lot of things fell short for me. I thought many of the characters and the relationships/connections to each other were underdeveloped or rushed. And as well as Berwah is with writing a vibrant setting, some parts of the writing felt really clunky and it would pull me out of the story. Ultimately, I was left wanting more.

I enjoyed this standalone set in the same world as Monsters Born and Made. It was full of action and magic. I liked the characters, they were well written. It was a solid YA fantasy and I look forward to reading more books from this author!