Under the Surface by Diana Urban

e-Audio, 10:37:23
Narrated by: Rebecca Soler & Max Meyers
Release Date: August 13, 2024
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: August 11-13, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a copy of this e-audio from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Injury’/Injury Detail, Death, Murder, Blood, Gun Violence, Medical Trauma, Death of a Parent
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Full Cast Audio, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Set Outside the US, Thriller, YA

    An epic survival-thriller about four teens who get lost in the Paris catacombs for days—a gripping and propulsive story of love, danger, betrayal, and hope… even when all seems lost.
      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.
      From award-winning author and rising YA star Diana Urban comes a twisty tale of four teens lost in the dark beneath the City of Light and the race to find them.

*MY THOUGHTS*

So obviously I was going to read this right? After that gaming thriller from Urban I knew I had to get my hands on this one too. There was so much I expected from this, and tho I didn’t get all of it, there was so much more in there that I did get!

Ok so I know that last sentence was a little like “What?” Let me explain. In Urban’s gaming book there was something happening every page turn. This one wasn’t exactly like that. I think with the one being outside the catacombs it was less crazy than I was expecting. The thrilling part of this is also just being lost in the catacombs. The lost part was crazy scary because I am claustrophobic. Ain’t no way I’d be able to stay sane. I would have lost it. And then as things go on it showed that there was so much more to it than we thought. I did like that this thriller was more scary thriller vs thriller where someone is killed and they’re trying to find the murderer.

I also really liked the ending to this one. It didn’t feel too abrupt and it had a clear ending. Or at least I hope its the end. Because Lordt the adults in this book do not need anymore book time. Because literally all of them were terrible lol How do you go on a class trip with some teens, lose some, and then just not have any sense or urgency lol And the police? Yeahhhh no comment. But it was still a fun time.

The setting of this was so cool tho. I have always wanted to go to Paris just to visit the Catacombs. Weird? Probably, but Idc. This is why I’ve been waiting on this book for so long. I want to visit there so bad! And the way Urban described this one, with them taking bones out of the wall to use as weapons?! Oh yeah, I could see myself doing this in a situation like this one. But just everything, the way it’s a big ass maze, the fact that the walls are bones, and just the whole creepy ass vibes. It was so cool!

This was so much fun! Not in the way I was expecting, but fun nonetheless. Urban is showing us her range and I am living for it. This was a cool, creepy book and I hope y’all pick this one up! Definitely a break from the norm!

Overall, I give this