November 2022 group read #2 From Below by Darcy Coates

[Badseedgirl]

I have completed this read and it was SO GOOD! Who wouldn't enjoy a book about (view spoiler)[ intelligent, ocean zombies (hide spoiler)]. My review can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lindsay]

I'm on chapter 12. I always knew scuba diving wasn't for me - but now I'm extra sure of that. It's so tense! Honestly this book could be them calculating their dive statistics and I'd be just as scared 😂

[Michael]

Started reading last night. Now at Chapter 8 (page 53).This had my attention from the beginning. Coates has a nice easy style to her writing and knows how to build atmosphere.

[Latasha]

I’m not finishing this one. It’s not working for me. Gonna read the spoilers so I know what’s going on.

[Kimberly]

Latasha wrote: "I’m not finishing this one. It’s not working for me. Gonna read the spoilers so I know what’s going on."

My experience was so mixed with this one! There were elements I loved, and (view spoiler)[parts that were so redundant/too technical that it just took me out of the "horror" of it all. (hide spoiler)]

That's why I love reading about everyone else's thoughts on it--the different perspectives!!

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚]

Hi everyone I’m on page 88 and it’s a slow build up for me I keep thinking where the author will take the story but so far it’s good.

[Marie]

I am starting this one tonight! :)

[Marie]

11% into the story.

Thoughts so far:

(view spoiler)[I like how Darcy Coates can just pulls you into a storyline - I like all the characters so far - straight forward story telling. I am already worried about one of the characters though - wondering if Aiden is going to wimp out once they start exploring the ship - he was already green around the gills (pun intended) before jumping in.

I liked how the story went back into the past with giving a brief synopsis of what happened.

So far I am enjoying it. (hide spoiler)]

Will give out more thoughts as I continue through the book. :)

[Michael]

Now at Chapter 21, page 158. Just finished the chapters related to the first dive and the aftermath. Loved them, as well as the flashback chapters to scenes from 1928 prior to the sinking of the Arcadia. Coates really builds the creepiness into every scene, and I'm starting to worry about these characters. Had to come up for a breather, but I'm ready for Dive #2.

[Badseedgirl]

I just loved that (Huge ending spoiler contained) (view spoiler)[ Ms. Coates was able to create a book with so much creepiness and tension, but there almost no blood and all the characters made it out alive without me feeling like the author twisted the story to make it a happy ending. Even though everyone made it out alive, I did not feel like I was robbed of anything by the ending. (hide spoiler)] It takes an author of some talent to be able to pull that off.

[Madeline]

Just started this book today! Really loving it so far, feeling like I can really see and understand each of the characters. Already filling with dread as they just started the first dive. The suspense is strong with this one

[Bookworm]

Oh this book was awesome!!! I finished a few days ago and I've been thinking about it since. I saw someone on here mention that this reminded them of Dead Silence and I couldn't agree more! Both were dark, isolated, and floating!!! Very good read and the narrator did I good job. I ended up reading listening to it because I didn't want to put it down!

[Marie]

28% into the story:

Thoughts so far:

(view spoiler)[My goodness - I was hyperventilating while reading this book - lol - along with feeling everything the characters were feeling. I had a bad feeling about Roy wanting to open that one door and look in which turned out to be the dining room - but the surprise was when they came across the dead body floating at them - I would have been wanting to get out of there too.

It is interesting how they had only seen one body so far but maybe there are more in some watery graves further down in the ship.

The flow and pace of the story is really good - Darcy Coates has always been an amazing author - her stories have always been atmospheric. (hide spoiler)]

[Michael]

At Page 280, Chapter 37.
Just finished reading about the second dive. The creep factor is turned up and this is getting intense. Even weirder is the strange happenings on the ship in 1928.

[Marie]

55% into the book

(view spoiler)[Vanna has me worried - I think she might be a ghost of some kind as she just is spooky to me. Cove seems to be the only one that is level headed of the crew. Roy is kind of a rebel as he wants to do things on his own without getting permission first - Aiden is kind of wimpy but he is more of a follower than a leader - he just follows commands and Hestie seems kind of level headed but she seems be just a follower too. (hide spoiler)]

The claustrophobic feeling permeates itself through this book as I feel at times that I am holding my breath waiting for something to happen.

Going to read some more tonight. :)

[Marie]

78% into the book.

(view spoiler)[Wow! This book is super nuts and I have been breath hitching a lot with this book! The ghosts have come alive and they are not happy one bit with the team intruding in their watery graves! (hide spoiler)]

[Mia]

Just finished Direwood and now I’m going to pick up this one! It’s thankfully in Kindle Unlimited so I’m very excited. Glad to have a community to discuss with!

[Michael]

Nov. 14: At Page 350, Chapter 48, 75% complete. That third dive is nerve-wracking. Those explorers must feel like they've entered the gauntlet from hell and are running for their lives.

[Lindsay]

I’m just about to start chapter 44. It’s actually a bit nerve wracking to read this while home alone 😅

[Marie]

Michael wrote: "Nov. 14: At Page 350, Chapter 48, 75% complete. That third dive is nerve-wracking. Those explorers must feel like they've entered the gauntlet from hell and are running for their lives."

Most of this book is feeling that way even from the reader side of the fence. :) I have never had so much anxiety while reading a book before. :)

[Marie]

Lindsay wrote: "I’m just about to start chapter 44. It’s actually a bit nerve wracking to read this while home alone 😅"

This whole book is nerve wracking! The tension and anxiety is crazy wild while reading this story. :)

[Marie]

93% into the book.

(view spoiler)[Dang! I was about to have a heart attack in the third dive as so much happened with the ghosts and the crew that it was crazy nuts!

I have made it to the final dive and it is not looking good for my anxiety. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Michael]

I finished this morning. Whew!
My final notes . . . .
Nov. 15: As some things are better left unexplained and are often even scarier that way, I found the ending to be very satisfactory - especially the final resolution. Those last two dives are edge-of-your-seat. I won't forget those images for a long time.

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚]

Hellos !
These weeks have been crazy but I am still reading this book! I’m still on the first dive but so far this book is good ! I do like the back and forth from past to present day

[Michael]

Here's my review, mostly spoiler free . . . . .

.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Marie]

I finally finished this book and loved it! Darcy Coates just has a way of keeping the reader wrapped within her mind and not letting them go till the last page! Still need to write my review, but it might be a bit. :)

[Mia]

I’m 71% done with it! This part of the book is insanely nerve wracking, especially considering the fact that they are literally trapped in what I would consider one of my worst nightmares. I’m sad I have to finish the rest most likely tomorrow, but I’m excited to see how Coates ends it! I will definitely be reading more of her works.

[Lindsay]

I finished it last night... whew. That was quite a read. It didn't feel like over 400 pages at all, it flew by.
It looks like quite a few of this author's books are on kindle unlimited so I guess I know what I'll be reading next. Her pacing and the way she writes dread was very, very good.

[destiny ♡]

Lindsay wrote: "I finished it last night... whew. That was quite a read. It didn't feel like over 400 pages at all, it flew by.
It looks like quite a few of this author's books are on kindle unlimited so I guess ..."

Just a heads up, I'm subscribed to her email newsletter and on December 1st, she is removing her books from KU for a limited trial (I think she said she may put them back in a year, but her newsletter recipients voted pretty heavily in favor of her branching out so that more libraries could stock her ebooks!). She said anything you "borrow" before the end of November will stay on your device until you return it though, so you might wanna borrow a few now while you can! 😊

[Ashley]

destiny ♡ wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I finished it last night... whew. That was quite a read. It didn't feel like over 400 pages at all, it flew by.
It looks like quite a few of this author's books are on kindle unlim..."

ty so much for the heads up, i've only read about half of them so I went and took out the other half I handed yet gotten to.

[Zain]

I’ve just started reading this book and I am now on chapter 7. I’m not sure how I feel about this book, yet. 🤔

[Phil]

I started it last night and getting close to the end; third dive! I really like the two-prong story line-- what was going on during the final days of the ship and the modern exploration.

[Trustno1]

Finished and I must say this is one of my favorite reads this year. I read one book of Darcy Coates before and was rather bored as it seemed very bland and fast-written to me, but this one was SO SO much better. Sure I may be a little biased as I absolutely love underwater exploration, but all in all this had all the things I want: A mystery, exploration, slow creeps but not afraid to move past that kind of subtlety.

[Lindsay]

destiny ♡ wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I finished it last night... whew. That was quite a read. It didn't feel like over 400 pages at all, it flew by.
It looks like quite a few of this author's books are on kindle unlim..."

Ooooh thanks for the info! I'll load a few on there now to have.

[Giovanni]

finished.
not my favorite. the third dive is very good, bit the first part of the book was too slow for me

[Phil]

Interesting Giovanni! I really liked the first two dives and thought it went downhill from there.

[LTJ]

Jumping into this one tonight right after I'm done with work, I can't wait :-)

[Netanella]

This is still on my radar to read this month. It may be early December, but I'm right there with you, LTJ!

[LTJ]

@Netanella: BOOM! Makes sense to me and yeah, I'm lucky to be off the next two days to finish this as if I had to work, I'd also have pushed it to early December. This got a lot of great reviews!

[LTJ]

So far, about to hit 40%, I love the alternating style of writing to fill in the gaps and all. It's definitely a slow-burn kind of read but I'm loving the crazy underwater atmosphere. Coates is great at setting up some awesome immersion while reading!

[Ryan]

Finished this last night. I'm with those who feel this started out promising, then gradually fizzled a bit. The writing was overall quite solid, though the characters felt a bit cookie-cutter and the dialogue was forgettable mostly.

The atomospherics surrounding the dive and the slow buildup (descent?) were what pulled me in initially; I found the premise very creepy, as the notion of exploring a ghost ship at profound depths is inherently spooky on many levels.

My issue was that, (view spoiler)[as the unraveling of the mystery element became apparent, it rather stole a fair amount of the spooky 'heft' from the premise, rendering it a bit 'zombie comic book' for me (not a fan of the zombie thing). (hide spoiler)]

Regardless, it was entertaining for the first 2/3, and genuinely creepy at times, and I'm a pretty tough nut to crack when it comes to horror.