I enjoyed this book but there was definitely room for improvement. I thought the first half of the book was great. However, after that I really feel like parts could have been edited as I felt it got too predictable. It ended well and wasn’t too bad but pacing was an issue for me.

Krescent Dune lives a rough life. She fights monsters in an arena for money, slaying majestic beasts for the pleasure of others. Her employer, Badger, gives her an opportunity to leave this life behind--embark on a mining journey to find some lost miners, and all of her debts will be forgiven. Despite the trauma and fear she has in regard to the deep caves below the city, the prospect of leaving her miserable life on the island is too good to refuse...

I did not know that 'Somewhere in the Deep' was a sequel before requesting a galley, so I will leave my comments about the world building out of this review, since any awkwardness about how the information was dealt was probably done for someone who read the first book earlier and needed a refresher. Despite being a sequel, the story and characters aren't connected to the first one, so the previous book isn't necessary to understand what's happening here.

As for the book itself... I'm mixed about it. On one hand, I loved the idea of a cave-diving survival story. Caves are both amazing and terrifying, and I think this book does a great job of exploring that feeling. Unfortunately, the cave chapters get a bit... repetitive. Kress doesn't trust her party. A monster appears. They kill or run away from the monster. Kress thinks about her parents or Rivan's brothers.

Kress and Rivan's relationship is another thing that felt more annoying than cute to me. I was hoping for Kress to learn to get along with the strangers that she's traveling with, but instead her frustratingly obvious crush follows the party because he's worried about her. I'm not the target audience here, and I've rarely enjoyed romance in any novels, but I found myself growing more annoyed with both characters than wanting them to be interacting with each other. Especially when the other miners seemed like interesting characters, and I would have loved to learn more about them than Rivan.

I can't say much else without spoiler warnings, but it's still a fine book, just one that wasn't what I wanted. I think it would have been scarier if there was more 'emptiness' in the cave rather than random encounters every few steps, but I also think 'horror' wasn't the main objective. I'll always give a thumbs up for a casual reveal of a character being trans, though.

While the first 20% was actually interesting and enjoyable, it went downhill for me after that.

In this book you follow Krescent, a fierce and just female "slayer" of beasts. A bit similar to the witcher but without magic at hand. Most of the monsters mentioned in this book, remind of larger insects of some kind and Krescent knows the weak spots of most of them.

First she fights them in order to pay of her debts in some sort of underground fighting pit. At some point she makes the mistake of accepting a deceiving deal by the organiser and has no other choice than to go on a dangerous journey with the Collector, basically the ruler of the land who forces them to mine zargunine. And if she lives after this journey, she is free to go. No more slavery or debts by and with the Landers.

The book is written in first person, which I typically would prefer as it's easier to put myself in the main character shoes and really live through them rather than read about them. But in this case, I simply couldn't connect to Kress or any of the other characters, which doesn't help to "care" for their journey.

The atmosphere of the book is good though, the story has interesting elements and basically everything I would have loved, but somehow I struggled to read this 'till the end. I try to do my very best for ARCs though and really argument everything I didn't like and I think for Somewhere In The Deep it came down to the writing style of the author, not her creative mind. Who doesn't love a just fighter, an unexplored cave with monsters and secrets, betrayal and a hint of friends becoming a little bit more.. 😉

As for the writing; sometimes things were left hanging, perhaps too soon or too un-emotional after a big 'stressful' event, at other times it went on like a summary with words like "and then" several times. It kinda disconnected me from the adventure. I also found it very difficult to envision certain sceneries.

So the writing style, the impossibility to connect with the characters and imagining of the story in mind. Along with the experience just being a struggle to read - I am really sad to have to give it this score.

I really enjoyed Monsters Born And Made so was keen to read this sequel set on a very different island. We still get a gung ho heroine in Kress but the society she lives in felt very different. These people are poor and terribly exploited by outsiders and felt more like slaves than workers . Kress is vilified, hated even due to events that truly were not her fault so is desperate to leave. She kind of gets manipulated into going into the mines to help mount a rescue attempt but down below live creatures straight out of your wildest nightmares and not everyone will return !
This was very, very different to what I expected with a claustrophobic environment pushing down on the characters as they stumble quite literally around in the dark ! There are agendas here that surprised with characters being far from what they pretend. There's almost romance as Kress and Rivan clearly have a strong connection although truthfully it's not shown particularly well at times. The ending was a huge surprise and felt quite timely although obviously my lips are sealed.
I have a tiny gripe though in that Rivan has a "brother" and trust me blink and you miss the only real clue to their gender so that felt superfluous and added absolutely zero to the plot. I do want diversity in books but not something seemingly thrown in just to be there. All that being said I enjoyed reading this and already look forward to discovering what happens next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this eBook!!!! This is a really good book for people looking for a fighter FMC. It's got all of the monsters, ancient lore, and world ending possible threats. Not to mention Overlords who need to be reminded that they deserve nothing. Pick this up for your local anarchist in training.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy. All opinions and views are my own.

I enjoyed Somewhere in the Deep as much as I enjoyed Monsters Born and Made. I like the depth of this world that Tanvi Berwah has built; it has a very Lovecraftian feel, especially during the underground scenes, dealing with psychosis and the power of fear and oppression on then mind in the dark, not to mention these giant, ancient monsters and their grotesque descriptions. Berwah really builds a scene well and I did enjoy it. I did feel like the underground scenes dragged, mostly due to the extended inner monologue from Kress. I think they could be edited down a bit to move the story along. Meeting the Shadepeople was a total trip and admittedly a mite confusing when they explained the gods well but Berwah cleared that up when Kress comes face to face with a First One. That’s mostly why this book became a three star. It just dragged in the middle and I had to put the ARC down and take a break.

I did find the twist at the end very exciting and appreciated it to the fullest. Kress is a strong character and not over-ridden by her feelings for Rican. I liked the action focus rather than an in-depth romance, it does help the story and the romance takes a nice backseat. I can’t wait for Koral and Kress to meet and have their fates intertwine as they face the potential human anihilation at the hands of ancient beings.

Somewhere in the Deep is a very interesting book. I really liked Kress and the descent into the caves. The other was able to portray the claustrophobia and tensions between the group very well. I was invested the entire time and I believed the romance as well, even if Rivan makes some really boneheaded decisions. I enjoyed Kress as a character. For the most part, I felt like she was well written and complex, with her motivations often at odds with each other, causing believable issues she has to work through.

However, there were a few things that held it back. A minor note, but the ruling class is called “Landers” and everyone else is called “Renters,” which, for a fantastical dystopia, is maybe too on the nose. There were times when the internal voice of Kress worked really well (dealing with being in the caves and the darkness, obviously would be extremely mentally taxing and ends up with Kress having trouble keeping herself steady), but there were other times where it was just too much and was often repetitive, especially during times when important events were happening. Finally, there were sometimes when the writing was just a little too vague and I couldn’t accurately picture the world. This most often happened with the dystopia elements. There also was one time at the very end where I wasn’t sure why something had exactly happened.

Overall, I really liked it. I would definitely check out other books by this author, especially set in this world.

Welcome to a world of monsters, cave dwellers, angry gods, and magic. Kress is a seventeen-year-old girl, living in the shadow of her dead parent's betrayal of their community. In order to get by, she's become her island's most notorious monster fighter in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes wrong, she's expelled from the arena and loses her only means of surviving.

While trying to find an alternate means of survival, Kress is offed a deal. Lead a rescue mission into the mines and all her debt will be erased. However, as the party travels deeper underground, it becomes clear that her parent's betrayal was not what it seems and the island's history is darker and more dangerous than anyone knew.

This book far exceeded my expectations. I read Monsters Born and Made and, while I enjoyed it, the book felt lacking in a lot of ways. This was definitely not the case with Somewhere in the Deep. The book kept me engaged and guessing the entire way through. I'm excited to see where this series leads and how the author ties the books together.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which is available January 9,2024.

Let me preface this by saying I freaking love this author. They write the most compelling fantasy books. And the south Asian inspired ness? Chef’s kiss!

17 yr old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents debt and ruinous legacy that they left behind. The only way for her to earn money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an under ground fighting pit.

That right there is what sold me to request this arc. Sounds great right?

But after a fight goes wrong she’s banned from the pits and now hopeless. But she is offered a deal in exchange for the erasure of her debt she just join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep with in the mining camps under the island.

So begins the shenanigans. Someone is out to make sure she doesn’t leave the lines alive.

The mystery of this book was top notch. I was curled up under my blanket unable to function because I had to know what was going to happen next. I loved these words in this book. I highly recommend

After not being crazy about this author's previous book I decided to go ahead and give this one a try hoping that her writing has improved with time. I was intrigued by the synopsis. The world building was great. However, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. This book had a lot of potential but just fell flat for me. It's probably me and this author's writing style just isn't for me.

Somewhere In The Deep. A thrilling, fresh new action adventure, rife with fantastical beasts and resilient characters.
This being my first look into this world (I wasn't aware there was a previous book in the same world!) I found it interesting, sharp and tough, and that characteristic transferred to it's inhabitants. Some of the cultural aspects seemed a bit flat, and the politics seemed a bit rote at times, but overall the theme and feel of the world was easy to see.
Now I'm not one to shy away from a bit of gore, and since this book is about a pit fighter, we got plenty. I was a little exasperated with the incredible recovery time and boundless strength and stamina of the characters, though. One minute someone's arm is described as 'being shredded like ribbons', and the next they're waving guns around, fighting off baddies, and generally continuing to be invincible. I... found that hard to believe. Also not a huge fan of magic/fantasy that revolves around blood and appeasement, and it usually gets used in very unpleasent/unclean ways. Whenever I see a book focusing on it, I tend to shy away and no longer feel like continuing, no matter how much I've enjoyed it up until then.
My favourite aspect was the deep cave creatures, for sure. A perfect blend of mystical, terrifying, and gross.
Perfect for anyone who's a fan of creative and creepy monsters, fighting and biting, unrealised romance, and outcast heroes.

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. I was just getting out of my little mermaid phase and this brought it back. It was a fun read and fun to be spending time in this kind of world.

Will definitely recommend this to my middle schoolers!!!

Ok first I loved the premise of this book. Fighters protecting monsters and fighting pits it was very sci-fi but also seemed dystopian and I love both of those genres. I loved entering this new world and all the descriptions of the “monsters” and the people

Had to DNF at 40%,

While the writing was okay, I felt no connection to the characters to want to follow them through the rest of the book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC of Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have read it and give feedback.

This has been my favourite ARC so far. I’m not exaggerating when I say I loved every minute of it!

It’s a fairly simple story: Krescent Dune is a fighter in the fighting pits, forced to kill monsters, hated by her own people. When something goes wrong, she gets the opportunity to make it up to her employer — go deep into the mines with a rescue party. Down there, another dark world awaits, and it forces her to rethink about the history of her own people and why she’s so hated in the first place.

The writing was nice and fluid, the ideas were really fun and kept me engaged, and the characters were decent. Krescent is a standard fantasy “fighter” character, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The cover is gorgeous, and the ARC I received had no issues with formatting. If Goodreads and Netgalley had .5 stars, I would give this a 4.5. As it is now, I've rounded it down to 4.

This is a very short review compared to my other ARC reviews, but what can I say? The book was that enjoyable. I would buy this, recommend it to people I know, and I’ll happily read anything Tanvi Berwah publishes. I’ve seen she has another book set in the same world, so that will be added to my to-read list! While I generally dislike sequels when I feel a book is good enough as a standalone, I would love to see some short stories and novellas set in this world.

Thank you, Tanvi Berwah, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for your hard work!

This is a book full of emotion, monsters, and mystery. Diving into it there, I'd fighting and killing of monsters in an arena, the powerful and hungry ruling over the weak and meak, and the unknown. There are things going on that no one understands and stories passed down generations that hols truths: truths that will change the world.

Reading this book it did take me a moment to truly get into it. It was slow in the beginning but picked up the pace the further along the more I got into it.

Following the main character, her life has so many hardships, her being accused of things her parents did and branded. Paying debts that may never be paid and eventually given a job that would change everything only to be betrayed. The end is coming, and there isn't much time left to stop it. What's she to do? That's for you to find out.

This book started pretty strong for me, but I admit that I got a little lost around the time they started to turn back to the entrance. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I ended the book wondering which of the monsters I was to be cheering for. While I'm glad they got the outcome they did, I was just a bit confused on the lead up to get there.

From the first chapter, Somewhere in the Deep made me want to continue reading. The world was well built and the title character was someone you cared about. There are many YA female led books that make the lead strong and too independent or strong and too emotional, but Tani created a character that was strong yet vulnerable. The supporting characters were well fleshed out and we appreciated the motley crew. The Collector and his grand daughter were a bit heavy handed in the end, but it was a good twist we suspected, but didn't fully get until it was shown. The old gods and first ones was a good nod to The Eternals, but there needs to be a bit more world building in that respect to make it more understandable to the reader. The vision chapter was a little confusing and the thrown in character of the warrior/chariot racer was a bit distracting to the island we had the whole book take place on. I understood this may be a first in a series, but we aren't as worried as we should be of that character from the two times she was mentioned. All in all, loved the book and kept sneaking off to read it. Can't wait to see if this becomes a series.

Thank you to Tanvi Berwah, Sourcebooks Fire. and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review-- all opinions are my own.

"Somewhere in the Deep" is a fast-paced and heart-racing adventure fantasy story that follows the main character, Krescent Dune, into the dark and deadly depths of the earth in search of something long hidden and a chance at freedom from the hard life she lives on Kar Atish. This book was a really enjoyable read. The setting and plot is very fast-paced so there are a lot things that happen very quickly which was really enjoyable. I didn't have any moments where I felt that it was dragging along which can happen sometimes with some adventure stories. The action moments are paired well with moments of dialogue and discovery between characters that help the story move along nicely. Berwah does a really great job of world-building, monster creation, and storytelling. For most of this book, I genuinely felt that I was walking alongside the main character because of just how detailed the writing was. Also, the monsters were genuinely designed and described so well. It was a lot of fun imagining how they looked like in my mind from the descriptions. Throughout the book, I was rooting for the main character and the people on Kar Atish to survive and rise up against the people who have had them working and living in horrible conditions. Overall, a really nice read!! I also did not know that there is another book set in the same world that the author mentions in this book a couple of times, but after finding out I want to read it as well! Overall, a very good book!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I really enjoyed Somewhere in the Deep, it was a really unique story, and I loved the South Asian flavors that were folded in. I believe this was written even better than Monsters Born and Made, more developed and I really connected with the characters. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.