A review by alannashelfhelp
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was unnecessarily long-winded. I wanted to love the premise but the execution and overdone exposition was a siren lullaby. Too many (flat) characters and the third person narration left little room for mystery or tension. 

I truly think this could’ve been magnificent if it was about 40% shorter with an ending that wasn’t rushed. The book composition was 70% setup, 25% action, with the last 5% split equally between the ending and the acknowledgements section (not an exaggeration). We got a season 8 Game of Thrones situation over here.

Olivia was such an intriguing character and there was some interesting commentary on ableism without feeling too token-y, I just wished she would have focused on a core cast instead of anyone and everyone the story encountered. I’ll read the sparknotes if any other books come out in a series.