Under the Surface by Diana Urban Book Review
Under the Surface by Diana Urban is a young adult thriller that takes place beneath Paris in the catacombs. This story follows a group of teens on a field trip when four of themselves find themselves lost in the Paris catacombs.
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Under the Surface
Author: Diana Urban
Narrator: Rebecca Soler & Max Meyers
Pub. Date: August 13, 2024
Genre: YA Thriller
Pages: 10 hours 37 minutes / 368 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Spice: none
Content Warnings: dead bodies, swearing, death, murder, & gore
Synopsis:
Ruby is terrified to cave to her feelings for Sean and risk him crushing her heart.
Sean is pumped to spend a week with Ruby in Paris on their senior class trip, and he’ll wait however long until she’s ready to take things further.
But when Ruby’s best friend sneaks out the first night to meet a mysterious French boy, Ruby goes after her with two classmates, but caves to another temptation: attending mystery boy’s exclusive party in the Paris catacombs, the intricate web of tunnels beneath the city, home to six million long-dead Parisians. Only they never reach the party.
Underground, as something sinister chases them, they get lost in the endless maze of bones, uncovering dark secrets about the catacombs…..and each other. And if they can’t find a way out, they’ll die in the dark beneath the City of Light.
Aboveground, Sean races to find the girl he loves as a media frenzy over the four missing teens begins.
Book Review
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and Penguin Teen for the ARC and finished copy of Under the Surface by Diana Urban. All opinions are my own.
Under the Surface is not something I would typically read because I tend to avoid most thrillers. However, the synopsis really intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did!
Thoughts
This book sucked me in from the very beginning. I loved how the author used dual points of view to tell the story because it really added to the tension. Ruby’s point of view was filled with not only the issues surrounding the four students trapped in the catacombs, but she was also dealing with friendships and her feelings towards Sean. In Sean’s point of view, I loved getting to see how much he cared for Ruby as well as how he was able to put clues together and get past his need to follow rules in order to try to find Ruby.
The author did a great job describing the catacombs so that I was able to easily picture them as I listened to the story. They felt so lifelike, and the descriptions added to the intensity of the book.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Rebecca Soler (one of my favorite audiobook narrators) and Max Meyers (a new to me narrator). This format of the book was excellent! The narrators really added to the pacing and emotions of the story. I’d definitely recommend this format!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you usually read thrillers or not. Since it’s a young adult thriller, the gore and creepiness is there without being too much for someone like me that gets scared easily. It also would be great for teens that are interested in this genre because it’s age appropriate and deals with some of the social issues that they might be facing.
Where to Read & Purchase
You can purchase a copy of this book at the following retailers:
Bookshop.org (supports independent book stores) [affiliate]
Libro.fm (audiobooks that support independent book stores) [affiliate]
→ get a free audiobook when you start a membership
Chirp (get 30% off your first purchase with code: JESS30)
Amazon [affiliate]
Books a Million (BAM) [affiliate]
AbeBooks [affiliate]
Have you read Under the Surface or any other books by Diana Urban?
I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment down below.
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