I already wrote a review on another edition. This one was my usual audiobook buddy, which, at this point, is on repeat every month when I have to commute or I'm bored at the office. I've been reading the silm since I was 14, I'm now 37 and still reread all of Tolkien's work every year. But the audiobook narrated by a dy Serkis (all of them, lotr series and the Hobbit as well) are for me the best version. I'm a bit (a lot) of a tolkien nerd so I can only recommend it. Though, I'm perfectly aware that it is not for every reader. It's a heavy and high end kind of writing. Probably easier for peeps who usually read and love the big classics of high fantasy (I mean fantasy not romantasy people 🤣, no judgements though). It's a pure beauty, a chef d'oeuvre of writing and world building.

This book starts strong—really strong. The first two chapters are absolute bangers, quickly establishing the setting and introducing most of the building’s residents. Lionel, our horror-loving maintenance man, is immediately easy to root for.

I found it a good lead (at first) from the start. Mads, his blind neighbour and eventual companion, takes a bit longer to warm up to (I struggled with him to be honest)—he’s intriguing but somewhat easy to read, which makes parts of the plot feel really too predictable and early in the story with that.

The atmosphere is eerie and tightly contained within the apartment building Lionel manages for his aunt. The horror kicks in early, and the pacing keeps things tense and engaging without sacrificing character development and the plot. I like how the story didn’t get bogged down in world-building or info dump—the setting is clear,and it’s action and horror packed enough at first, for the horror ghoul in me to be satisfied.

However, around the 74% mark, the tone shifts dramatically by focusing too abruptly and without enough work, on the romantic part. For me, this is where things started to go rapidly down. The horror elements and plot up to that point were solid—fun, relevant, and genuinely exciting. But the romance felt weird to me and underdeveloped in some way, with graphic scenes that weren’t necessary for the plot, or at least not so much and so detailed (I usually do not mind them if the plot is still going strong) and unfortunately, kind of killed the tone I liked from the beginning. It overshadowed the horror and the plot and veered into exaggerated, almost cartoonish vibes. I kept reading, hoping to reconnect with the energy of the beginning, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find my way back and then it as already the (rushed) end.

This story had so much potential. The first 70% was a thrilling ride with great pacing, atmosphere, and character work and had some interesting witty and comedic horror vibes I love. I just wish the second half had maintained that momentum. Still, if you’re here for the horror, there’s a lot to enjoy before the shift and if you are here for the smut, I guess you won’t be as bothered as I was by the weird shift in the pacing and the tone.

Thanks to netgalley and Boom! Studio for sharing this issue of Creeping Below with me.

The good part is definitely the graphic work. Those dark, gory-ish illustrations are awesome. I loved the vibes and the aesthetic. The extra alternative covers are even better in my opinion.

Now the story, or plot or whatever should have made this an interesting read beyond just the graphic arts, is absent. Zero. Nada. The blurb sounded so cool, so I'm a bit disappointed.

I won't go for the other issues in the future because i didn’t root for the story of the characters (barely any character development) I'll definitely check out the illustrators Credited there, because they are awesome.

My 3 stars are all for the graphic illustration part of this issue.

First of all, I want to thank Maddie for sharing her book with me. I had fun reading your story 😁.

So, this story is intriguing and it kicks right from the first chapter on the creepy and tense atmosphere. Maddie definitely knows how to build tension.

I love the main character, and all the correlation between fear, dreams and past dramatic experiences.

I've been hooked right from the first page, and it's not an easy thing to do.

I really love this story and the lore coming with it. It's well studied and you can literally feel Carter's fear.

The only reason I didn't put the last 1.5 stars, is that the end kind of felt short on me 😅. There is some kind of apotheosis and you can almost touch the last seconds of development and the climax but then I turned the page and I saw 'epilogue'. A really fast and vague one with that. I thought at first I might have missed some pages, but no. I spotted 1 or 2 light plot holes in the middle that I simply for ot about because it didn't has real impact on the story, but seeing the end, maybe it has, a little bit 😅. So yeah it felt a bit short on the resolution for my taste. But the story is great and it's super easy to root for Carter (and to want to kill her ex).