3.75 stars, rounded down on Pagebound and up on NetGalley to even it out.

I really enjoyed this one, but it had some issues that kept it from earning a full 4 stars.

Prose: It was very well-written in terms of descriptions of the monsters and what they were doing to people, making it easy to visualize everything just enough to keep the fear alive. (Though, I would still love it if there was a special edition with illustrations sprinkled throughout!) It was pretty bland in terms of dialogue, even during pivotal scenes that were otherwise well-constructed. The rest of the writing worked well enough.

Plot: This story was exciting, dreadful, and claustrophobic in the best way. I truly loved learning about the Void's ecology and history through the aspiring-botanist MC's eyes. There were so many creative and compelling ecological/lore concepts that I gobbled right up. I'm excited to discuss theories with people once it's officially released. I'd definitely check out a sequel if one was written. However, there were some major plot elements that didn't make sense to me, mostly regarding characters' decision-making. Either they're stupid 17yos who shouldn't be doing any of this, or they're grown-ass adults who should be doing this much better. This is very common with YA novels, but it felt a bit worse than usual with this one. The ending was excellent though!

Pacing: The pacing was great in the beginning and the end, but the middle felt too rushed. I would have appreciated really taking the time to explore the Void in-depth, partially because I wanted to know more, and partially because the relentless nature of the horrors meant that many scenes didn't hit as hard as they could have. If the story had been about 20% longer, then it might have also eased some of the logistical issues that I had with the plot.

Characters: This was the weakest part of the book for me. Each character had strong motives and interests. However, their personalities, competency, and decision-making skills were very inconsistent. I wasn't invested in any of the relationships either. This ended up working in my favor, because I didn't like where any of the relationships ended up.

I would recommend this to people who are interested in fantasy/scifi ecology, deep lore, and deliciously creative gore. If you like these things and don't mind/enjoy typical YA tropes, then I think that you'll enjoy this even more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for providing this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review! What Feeds Below releases on October 6th, 2026.