I was really conflicted about this review, as I feel like I need to process this book more.

The book was definitely exciting, and it kept me engaged. As for the characters, however, I found them really difficult to connect with, especially Johnny. Their relationship was oddly co-dependent, and I’m not totally sure how that furthered the story.

As I was getting closer to the end, I thought I understood where the book was going; it started to feel very topical, in that it seemed like a commentary on the fact that the responsibility of saving the world has been placed solely in the hands of children. However, as the book came to a close, I’m not sure that’s what it was saying at all. In fact, I don’t really know what it was saying.

I’m lukewarm on this one. Was it interesting and entertaining? Yes. Was it profound and poignant? Unfortunately, I’m not really sure.

I'm not sure quite what I was expecting from Beneath the Rising but it wasn't what I got, which was a creepy coming of age story that soon morphed into something about the implications of making deals when you don't have all the information.

It's the story of two teenagers, Nick and Johnny, bound together as children by being the lone survivors of a mass shooting and whose relationship from then onwards is completely tangled up with their lives. Nick is struggling to get by, as is his whole family, while Johnny is a child prodigy and responsible for a wide variety of inventions that have effectively helped to change the world. When her latest invention seems to rip apart the barrier between this world and another, Nick ends up on the run with her across a number of countries, in search of a way to close the rift that has opened.

As a plot, the whole concept works well, especially as Nick discovers during their journey together that there's way more going on than he's aware of. He's always thought of Johnny as being brilliant, only to discover that she had made a metaphorical deal with the devil to get that brilliance and is paying for it with her life. While he's in love with Johnny, she doesn't seem to even like him very much, even though again we discover there's much more (from her perspective, at least) to their relationship than that.

Beneath the Rising kept my interest all the way through, though I'm not sure if it really worked for me as a whole - the ending certainly didn't really resolve anything and I'm not sure if it convinced me. I suppose part of the problem was empathising with the two main characters, with both of them being quite self-absorbed even when the world wasn't in jeopardy. So this is probably another one of those books where I'll keep an eye out for more from this author but won't bother re-reading.


Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Beneath The Rising follows Nick and Johnny, childhood best friends who accidentally summon a horrific evil into their plane of existence. With atmospheric writing and vivid world building and monsters, Beneath the Rising is a wild ride from start to finish! Nick and Johnny are very sympathetic and the race against time keeps you on the edge of your seat. This novel is great for fans of Lovecraftian horror, with shades of Stephen King mixed throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mohamed nailed the feeling and ambiance of a book involving the Elder Gods (or Them, as referred to by the protagonists). You never feel completely at ease reading Beneath the Rising, knowing that at any moment an eldritch horror could appear through a rend in the universe. She does a masterful job crafting her characters, each one flawed and yet aspirational, and dumping them right into the horrors that may lurk beyond. The locations in the novel feel fleshed out, pointing to Mohamed's excellent research or well-traveled experiences. There were times that I felt I needed to put down Beneath the Rising to look outside and remember that, as far as we know, there are no Elder Gods slumbering outside our understanding. Perfectly blending a coming-of-age tale with SFF Horror, Beneath the Rising is a great read that will leave you hopeful that everything mentioned is, and will remain, fiction.