The Dark Beneath the Ice

Ugh I hated this. I hate horror stories. I end up freaking out over small sounds afterwards and my imagination makes even non-gory stories into something awful in my head. I think our teens will like it. There was a review somewhere that called it Black Swan meets Carrie which isn't quite right, but it does involve ballet and a malevolent presence throwing knives around or whatever.

The best part for me was the slow blossom friendship-to-more-ship. If you like creepy stories that read like hauntings or possessions, this could be a good choice. But I will reiterate I HATE SCARY STORIES AND ALSO I HATED READING THIS. That's probably an endorsement for our teens at least.

I struggled at first to click with this book, but after a few chapters, I didn't want to put it down. The story kept me guessing. I didn't figure out before the end what the deal was with the "ghost", and that's a plus for me. The characters were well-written and sympathetic.
This book was provided to me free of charge. My review is given voluntarily.

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé The Dark Beneath the Ice is blurbed as Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity, and honestly, I think that’s about accurate. I have to do a full disclaimer I do not often read young adult books and found that the cover really caught my attention that I had to give it a chance, I found the writing style rather poetic and it made it easy to follow. This is one of those spooky stories you should pick up on Halloween. While the blurb is correct in the two-movie comparison it is on a much tamer scale then I expected. Like I stayed in the beginning this was just not my cup of tea. I have recommended it to a few people that have found it enjoyable. Not bad for my first read by this author may show more continue with her work in the future. show less

Actual Rating: 4.25 stars

Oof, what a spooky read. I mean some of the descriptions, the things that were taking place - very eery. Just incredibly well done horror. The final explanation was maybe...not as thorough as I needed it to be? But all in all it was a pretty scary book.

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good ghost story, but this one fell a little flat for me. The writing was descriptive, but didn't really pull me in or spook me. The premise seemed a bit silly, and I was disappointed in the "reveal". I probably would have loved this when I was a teenager, but the added teen lesbian relationship drama didn't really do it for me in this context. The book wasn't bad, and I read it rather quickly, but mostly to find out what was really going on with the main character.

I could not get into this book at all. By the description, I should love this book as paranormal/scary stories are one of my favorite genres but it fell flat for me. I got 23% into The Dark Beneath the Ice before I gave up on the book. Maybe in a few weeks I can revisited the book and try again.