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seawarrior's review against another edition
5.0
From Below is a bone-chilling and original horror novel with organic scares. I've always been fascinated by scuba-diving and underwater worlds, but Coates used our innate fears of drowning and being stranded in the sea against readers, frightening even me, who doesn't have a natural-born fear of water. The book was gripping the whole way through, and the switches between timelines and characters were the perfect length to hold suspense. I was thoroughly entertained by this haunting story and highly recommend it for other horror readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
megj23's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
aliensmileyface's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Blood
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Super creepy. Hated it and loved it at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
polarbearisla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
So good. So terrifying and yet what an adventure! The tension developed gradually yet not painfully. The way the horror was written was so impressive. So scary and the characters were so real and lovable. Amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
the_books_music_life's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
From Below is set around a crew of underwater divers who explore a famously unsolved shipwreck that was recently found, as well as try to uncover the mystery of what actually happened.
The duel timeline was a key piece of this book it added so much to the story that I think the reader would have been lost without. We get the see the original crew in the days preceding the wreak. The duel timeline also adds even more questions onto the mystery while answering some questions we have in the present.
I did have a little trouble following all the different POV's as it doesn't differentiate who is narrating be it the characters in the past or present. Almost all the characters where well fleshed out and had depth to them. They all had pasts and we get to learn a little about a few of the characters pasts and how it relates to the story.
I still have a ton of questions and I really thought the story would go a certain way multiple times but it didn't and it surprised me. I'm glad the story didn't go in the way I was thinking as it would have been cliché and overdone.
The aspect of the secrets the Arcadia has hidden is wonderfully thought out and you can just tell how much research went into this book.
I did have issue with some of the characters choices and I felt the book was a little longer than it needed to be. But, overall the book was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely.
The duel timeline was a key piece of this book it added so much to the story that I think the reader would have been lost without. We get the see the original crew in the days preceding the wreak. The duel timeline also adds even more questions onto the mystery while answering some questions we have in the present.
I did have a little trouble following all the different POV's as it doesn't differentiate who is narrating be it the characters in the past or present. Almost all the characters where well fleshed out and had depth to them. They all had pasts and we get to learn a little about a few of the characters pasts and how it relates to the story.
I still have a ton of questions and I really thought the story would go a certain way multiple times but it didn't and it surprised me. I'm glad the story didn't go in the way I was thinking as it would have been cliché and overdone.
The aspect of the secrets the Arcadia has hidden is wonderfully thought out and you can just tell how much research went into this book.
I did have issue with some of the characters choices and I felt the book was a little longer than it needed to be. But, overall the book was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
shipwreck,taylor_turton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
• Book Review •
This books was phenomenal! I read it so fast. I could barely put it down. It’s kind of like when you watch a movie that is set underwater, you have to hold your breath and certain moments. I have never come across a book that made me feel like I was gasping… because it was set underwater and included intense moments.
I am a huge fan of disasters and in particular the titanic. So picking up this book was a no brainer. I enjoyed the plot - it was quite layered and had an interesting ending.
I enjoyed the characters, there were not too many and they were all quite diverse.
Would not in a hundred million years do anything these characters have done in this book - there is just no way 👻
🌊 What should my next Darcy Coates book be? 🌊
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Suicide
dogearedbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So I realized claustrophobic horror is defintly something that scares me silly. Not the fear of being in enclosed places but more the idea of being trapped somewhere. Unable to escape.
300 feet under the surface with your oxygen strapped to your back INSIDE something you might not be able to get put of, ya that is terrifing. Throw in a haunted ship and you get a very atmospheric spooky ride.
It flashes between past (the week up to the Ships sinking) and present (the crew diving the wreckage). This makes sense because seeing what the Arcadia crew went through is necessary for understanding the ship, but it made the book pretty long. It felt a little too long for me as well as not a satisfying ending (at least not satisfying for me).
300 feet under the surface with your oxygen strapped to your back INSIDE something you might not be able to get put of, ya that is terrifing. Throw in a haunted ship and you get a very atmospheric spooky ride.
It flashes between past (the week up to the Ships sinking) and present (the crew diving the wreckage). This makes sense because seeing what the Arcadia crew went through is necessary for understanding the ship, but it made the book pretty long. It felt a little too long for me as well as not a satisfying ending (at least not satisfying for me).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Self harm, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
ionicbondie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Self harm and Murder
easyqueenie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Suicide