What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

The darkness isn't empty. It's hungry.

At the edge of the City of the Void, a massive chasm extends miles into the earth, its treacherous terrain overrun with vicious monsters and carnivorous plants. For orphaned best friends Petra and Jade, guiding treasure-seeking tourists down into the Void is the only way to earn enough to pull themselves up out of the slums for good.

Petra prefers to play it safe and take jobs only in the Void's upper levels, where the dangers are better understood, while Jade wants to risk a descent to the deepest and most mysterious Sixth Layer. Because the deeper they go, the better the payout, and the sooner their dreams can become reality. Their friendship is Petra's whole world, and Jade's approval means everything--so Petra agrees to do it Jade's way.

When their job goes wrong and Jade is lost in the Void, Petra must plunge deeper than she's ever dared to save her friend. But she doesn't know the truth of the Void . . . or what really waits for her in its depths.

How I heard about it

Every now and again, I browse through Netgalley titles to see if anything catches my eye. I don't review a lot of books anymore, having learned my lesson years ago after requesting way too many that I couldn't keep up with, but I do want to be approved for the books I really care about.

But how can anyone look at this incredible cover and not want to read it? It seemed perfect for my April-May horror kick. I've gotten very into botanical horror the past few years.

The Story

Petra and her best friend, Jade, are orphaned cave divers who survive by guiding tourists into the Void: a giant underground chasm with six layers, each more dangerous than the one before. Thriller seekers and treasure hunters follow cave diving guides to take them safely (or, as safely as possible) through the Void.

While Petra and Jade have only been to the top two layers, a golden opportunity presents itself that they can't resist. It would give them the chance to escape their risky lives of cave diving and allow Petra to open up her dream clinic.

Of course, the high-risk job goes horribly wrong, and Jade gets trapped in the Void. Petra reaches out to a childhood friend, Flint, to help her rescue Jade. Flint has his own reasons for going into the Void, which Petra dismisses as superstitious nonsense.

What I liked

The world-building was excellent. I really enjoyed the monsters, the concept of the Void, and the premise of the book was so promising. The descriptions of the world were also well done. Schlote-Bonne has quite the imagination! I loved the sensory details and the utter grossness of the Void. The world itself was truly terrifying and disgusting.

Something I enjoyed a lot was the notes at the beginning of each chapter. They were usually interview notes or journal entries by Void survivors over the years, which gave the world a sense of depth and history.

I also liked the very end of the book. Very horror, but I loved it.

What I didn't like

Where I believe the story fell short is character development. None of the characters, even Petra, the main character and narrator, had depth to them. The dialogue was clunky and unbelievable. It was such that the final twist at the end didn't have the impact it should have.

On the note of characters, their actions were quite unbelievable. For how much Petra was described as one of the best and most careful cave divers, she made an awful lot of amateur mistakes throughout the book. It was quite irritating. Her turnaround at the end didn't make sense to me, especially after not seeing any progression in her development that would explain it.

The dialogue was clunky and cliché, and the author knew it. There were these out-of-place self-aware comments within the text that detracted from the reading experience.

Overall

The story had a lot of potential that ultimately fell short, in my opinion. It would have benefited from some more character development and line editing.

I commend Schlote-Bonne for her imaginative scope and the original world she created.

Who would like this: fans of botanical and body horror, C.G. Drews, claustrophobia, monsters