London Shah

I'm reading all the positive reviews and am confused. The writing and the world-building are nothing special, though here is where I say I didn't finish it, so it could get better (the whole idea of living underwater after high tides have submerged the world is pretty cool). I was VERY disappointed the race only lasted about 3 pages, when I was expecting that to be the majority of the book (and come on: such a deadly and high stakes race and you can't stretch it out and let us live it??).

After the disappointment of the race, I just didn't feel any connection to the characters that made me want to keep reading.

(Is the dog litter-box trained? Is there a designated pooping area? Does she just pee and poop wherever and whenever she wants and Leyla has to clean it up?)… (mehr)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I really wanted to like The Light at the Bottom of the World, but ughhh. I thought it had an interesting premise and the cover was intriguing (plus I love books that take place underwater), but the main character was impossible to like. Additionally, the pacing was slow and the secondary characters were dull. I DNFd the audiobook after two(ish) hours, because I felt like the story hadn't really gone anywhere (although the author did go into GREAT detail about Leyla's daily life). I wanted to know more about what happened before, and how the world started living in the ocean's depths. It seems like that would be something that's really hard to pull off, so I would have appreciated more information regarding their living conditions, but the setting was skimmed over and only briefly explained.

We quickly learn that Leyla's father has been arrested and she doesn't know why. She's been making inquiries and keeps getting ignored, and I hated how little we actually knew about her and her family. I thought her grandfather sounded interesting, but his interactions were brief and not at all enlightening. However, I do feel like she should have moved in with him when her father was taken away, since she's still a child and shouldn't be trying to "make it" on her own.

Basically, Leyla was a terrible protagonist. She wasn't likable, her actions rarely made sense, and my breakfast had more personality than she did. She's 16 and thinks she can take care of herself, which is ridiculous. People are dying from some sort of sickness (something that has to do with a lack of sunlight, or was related to them no longer being aboveground), yet this girl thinks she has everything under control. There are literal robot terrorists hunting humans, buildings collapsing from the pressure they're constantly under (how they were still standing and functioning is a mystery to me), but she thinks she can do everything alone (or at least with her rich friends just giving her everything she needs). The book and the main character were both constantly stating how dangerous the world was, which made her carefree attitude all the more exasperating. She also contradicted herself all the time, and everything seemed to happen exactly how she wanted it to.

I think the pacing suffered from too many unnecessary details, and the story suffered from ridiculous characters who behaved unrealistically. I wanted to like this book - truly - but too much eye-rolling is bad for your health. (★★☆☆☆)

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