Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

As I eagerly await the arrival of my physical copy in November, let's dive into it, shall we?

Prose: It might just be due to the change in subgenre, but the writing style of this book felt less overwrought and less repetitive than DLTFI and Hazelthorn. This largely rescued the lines truly deserving of poeticism from being drowned out in a sea of purple prose (yes, I'm reusing that phrase). Because of that, this is my favorite of CG Drews' novels in terms of prose. Their use of metaphor and imagery truly shined here.

The atmosphere was on-point and the horrors were vividly described, as usual. There was a bit more humor this time, which was amusing and not disruptive.

However, I am BEGGING CG Drews to use more periods and fewer commas. There were so many sentences that weren't given the opportunity to breathe because other sentences were squeezed in with them through the ever-present "and." I recognize that long sentences can be necessary or effective (for example, if you're trying to convey a sense of urgency or scattered thoughts), but this usually wasn't the case. The sentences just went on and on for what felt like no reason. It probably just felt more noticeable because the prose was otherwise more restrained but it was frustrating.

Characters/Relationships: Every member of the supporting cast felt complex, with their own motives and flaws. (I felt like Hazelthorn was by far the weakest book in this regard.) The core conflict of the story felt painfully realistic and nuanced. I can see interpretations on this element varying wildly--not whether it was done well, but who was wrong and who was right and to what extent and what should be done about it.

Jonathan was a very difficult protagonist for me to follow because he reminded me of my younger self in all of the worst ways, and I found myself less charitable towards him because of that. However, I think he was a very effective narrator for this story. His love interest, Scorpion, evoked such intense conflicting emotions, which felt very intentional and effective.

My only real complaint is that the relationship focuses felt unbalanced. I would have appreciated more scenes between Jonathan and Scorpion in the first half so that the development in the second half felt more believable.

Overall, I felt like the individual characters and their relationships were the most engaging among CG Drews' YA novels by far.

Plot/Themes: There was an easier story that CG Drews could have told, but they made it clear that they were not interested in telling that story. Ultimately, I think that made for a better story, even if I didn't "enjoy" it as much as what I had imagined early on. These were the most resonant and effective themes that CG Drews has ever explored in my opinion. I'm still reeling from it, in the best way.

The twists and turns were surprising but well-earned, the mysteries were intriguing, the horrors were horrific, and every scene kept my interest. It was my favorite plot so far, especially since I was so invested in the cast.

However, my mixed emotions about how the ending concludes its exploration of the core themes left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I think this will be more polarizing than their other endings. (To be clear, there are no spoilers here; I'm not implying anything about the tone of the ending, only what the ending communicated to me.)

Overall: If you loved DLTFI and Hazelthorn, then I think you'll love this too. If you've never read CG Drews' other YA novels, then I would actually recommend reading DLTFI first, even though I feel like this is a better novel. If you were disappointed by Hazelthorn's simpler cast, or DLTFI's repetitive plot, or the overwrought style of both, then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one. If you have no familiarity with CG Drews' works, then I still highly recommend this if you a) love queer horror; b) don't mind flowery language; c) are ready to be emotionally challenged.

Scorpion Deep releases on October 27, 2026.

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.

3.74 stars, because I can't quite justify rounding it up to 4 stars, but it came so goddamn close I can taste it.

Plot: Must a story make sense? Is it not enough to subsist off vibes? Well, not quite, but close.

As I was skimming through the forum for the first half of the book, I was surprised by the negativity about the plot. I was, ahem, eating it right up! I absolutely loved this concept of a shelved lady knight bullying a disgraced madwoman into creating a second miracle as a vengeful former princess watched in the shadows, all while a months' long siege threatened to starve them all. I was excited to meet the Saints and analyze how everyone reacted to them and predict what they would do. I wanted to figure out what the bees meant, and how the magic worked, and how they would get out of this mess, and how the relationships would develop. It was all so thrilling!

Around 50%, I started to see what the critics were saying. The potential was incredible, and I liked the themes being explored, but it was very...messy. So many intriguing plot threads were neglected in favor of repetitive scenes. It felt as if the three main characters and the Saints were the only people in this gigantic castle, and they often just ran back and forth to the same locations, rarely making any progress but sometimes being sexy about it. Two major and incredibly relevant potential internal conflicts were deliberately avoided for reasons I cannot fathom. I could not predict the next scene, but that was often disappointing rather than exciting. I understand that they were all, y'know, starving, so they weren't firing on all cylinders, but it was frustrating.

To give you a sense of my wavering investment, 140/205 (~69%, lol) of my bookmarks were from the first 50%.

That said, the vibes were indeed juicy. The Constant Lady and the Saints, hunger vs. starvation, dehumanization and cannibalism, that hole in the wall, the dangers of blind faith, the parallels between certain characters, control and order, bonds and boundaries, so many morbidly fascinating and creatively gruesome scenes, the bits of lore that we got about this nation's religion, the magic system (LOVED whatever the fuck Phosyne kept doing), etc.

I just wish it had all come together better. I would give my left foot to read the story that this could have been if the author had let it cook for another month.

Characters: Must a character have comprehensible motives and development? Is it not enough to subsist off vibes? Well, not quite, but close.

There are three main characters that have their own alternating chapters. Phoysne, the madwoman, was by far my favorite, though her arc got away from me at the end. The way that her mind worked absolutely fascinated me, and I was always eager to get to her next chapter. I loved her serpents and wish we saw more of them. Voyne, the shelved lady knight, was pretty cool, but I felt robbed by how quickly certain developments occurred. Treila was my least favorite character by far. Her motives and priorities shifted with the wind, sometimes seemingly forced by the plot, so I had no investment in her.

In terms of relationships... Phosyne and Treila had potential that felt squandered, especially in one particularly baffling scene (related to my above point about Treila's inscrutable actions). Phoysne and Voyne were the most interesting but didn't quite work for me, and some scenes with them felt unearned given the depth of their interactions. Treila was too inconsistent for me to find her obsession with Voyne appealing. That said, this was a BOUNTY of toxic lesbians, and I couldn't resist looking up fanart before I even finished the book. I might even read some fanfiction tbh.

As for the rest of the cast...we didn't get much of them aside from the Constant Lady and the Loving Saint, the latter of whom I did Not like at all and the former of whom I would have liked to see even more.

Prose: Must a sentence make sense? Is it not enough to subsist off vibes? Well, not quite, but close.

I mostly liked how often the writing itself made me feel like I was in a starvation-induced fog, because it put me in a headspace similar to the characters. That wasn't enough to not be baffled by their actions sometimes, but it made for an immersive and interesting experience. When the fever dream vibes were in full-swing, they mostly worked. The author even mentioned in the Acknowledgements that she often wrote sections/passages out of order, and it shows. That this worked at all is kind of a miracle.

Final Thoughts:

This is the most conflicted I've felt about a book in a long time. I cannot emphasize enough how much I loved the first half, and how convinced I was that this would overthrow a book on My Taste. Alas, it was not quite meant to be, but it came so very close.