The Dark Beneath the Ice

I really liked this. The writing is evocative and poetic, the scares are great, and the main character's central issue is strangely relatable considering that this is a horror story.

I was instantly drawn by the comps – Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity and immediately wanted to read the book. I wanted to get the same type of psychological horror we see happen to Natalie Portman's character in Black Swan – that type of dreading we get from having to see the character slowly going down this path where they're not sure what's happening to them. With Paranormal Activity¸ I'm a fan of seeing creepy and disturbing things happening to the characters and sometimes those around them who don't believe them (about the paranormal happenings) at first.

I like Marianne – her personality and her narration. We see enough from her point of view that we root for her from the beginning and like her early on enough. Which is a good thing because I really don't like reading books where I don't like the narrator. She's also an unreliable narrator – though that's more because she's experiencing the strange circumstances happening around her rather than her being unreliable due to her personality.

I liked Ron and her relationship with Marianne. She believed Marianne from the beginning and helped her as much as she could. Their friendship easily melded into a sweet relationship and I really enjoyed that transition.


The first half of the book starts creating the atmosphere and showing the reader odd things that are occur around Marianne. Then it starts to escalate and the action happens more – which is exactly what I like in this genre.

Memory plays a big role in the story and Marianne's understanding of herself and what's happening. I always enjoy reading books where memory loss occurs. And by enjoy, I mean I like to angst over the memory loss, the character having the memory loss and now having to deal with that. And the book adds the paranormal genre and the love for this book grows.

Most of my experience with the paranormal genre comes from movies, so I did compare the storyline and the timeline of this book to paranormal movies. It worked out well and I'm impressed by how well Bérubé channeled the feeling of a horror movie into a book format. I could easily see this as a movie and I think that's a big reason why I liked reading this so much – the easily readability of The Dark Beneath the Ice.
Everything flowed well together and although it did sometimes feel like it dragged in places, the pace picked up nicely the next chapter.

More like 4 and a half. This was completely, utterly “readable”. I mean it. Berube's voice sucked me in from page one, threw me right into the storytelling trance and did not let go until I finished. The pages could not turn fast enough and it's so funny because Berube has a way of teasing you with something (plot point, character development, etc) and then explaining it a page or two later releasing the tension but still retaining the reader's interest. I can't think of anyone else who pulls that off.
There are some definitely chilling moments in the book. Not gross chilling, but turn the lights on and check your room thoroughly when you wake up in the middle of the night chilling. For me the question that had me racing through the book was not the what or the why but the HOW in the hell is Marianne going to escape this?????
I can't wait to read what this author writes next. Even if it's not horror, if it is told in the same voice, I know I'll enjoy it already.

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 continue with her work in the future.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I can't remember the last time I gave a book a 1 star review, but I feel so close to doing it for this book. And I actually got all the way through it, so I feel like that should count for something.

Let's start with the good first:
-> There are parts of this book that feel creepy, especially once we know there is something “possessing” Marianne. Ghost stories and possession just creep me out, but in a good way when I'm looking for them! So, there parts that really interested me.

-> We have some lesbian rep... kinda. It is there, but I have complicated feelings about it which I will bring up later.

-> It is a quick, easy read that I sped through in just a few hours.

-> Ron is AMAZING. She is the saving grace of this book. I disliked when Marianne referred to her as Emo Ron (just rubbed me wrong), but Ron totally puts people in their place when they deserve it. LOVE.

-> I will admit that I wanted to know what it was that was following Marianne around– it is seriously the reason why I continued the book to the end. So, I think it is decently suspenseful/mysterious.

Now, for the parts that disappointed me:
-> First up, there was a point when I almost dropped the book. It 8% in there is a part where Marianne is talking about how since she is invisible, people talk around her without worry– but there is a point where I can't tell anymore if she is repeating what people have said or sharing her own thoughts. It is about a gay classmate that this line comes up:
“And guys like that, what they were into? That was just gross. No offense or anything.”
??????????????
Not okay and then we find out later Marianne is a lesbian, so wtf? So, not cool.
Then comes the part when we are introduced fully to Ron who dresses emo, which I'm cool with, but Marianne judges her for. There is sooooo much judgement in the first 10%.

-> This one feels like a slow start. In the beginning Marianne doesn't know what is going on, therefore we don't know, so the beginning when she isn't sure if she is possessed or haunted or whatever isn't thrilling, just felt like waiting. Then again, I might have just been too eager.

-> I'm so disappointed with the ending. It is better than what I thought it was going to be, but still just shrug. I really really want to talk about my thoughts so I'll be putting it under the spoiler AND YES IT WILL SPOIL THE ENDING AND EXPLAIN WHAT WAS WRONG. I had guessed that the dark entity was a part of Marianne, but I was worried that it was her romantic feels only that she was locking up-- that is what it felt like was going on which irritated me. And this whole thing seems to have started because she was being over the top stupidly emotional and then reigned it back to appease her father, who then left her. I just don't see how your emotions could become a separate entity that could do all that it did. And Ron's mom didn't realize it wasn't technically a ghost??? So, weird... If I have misunderstood the ending please comment and let me know!!

->There is a slight romance angle to this book. I did say I liked the lesbian angle AND I STILL DO, but I really dislike how it got involved in the ending and helped push the ending. It felt like a cop out.


In the end, I think the book is worth 2 stars– perhaps 2.5 or 3 if that whole gay-bashing part wasn't included. Will I recommend this to people? Perhaps to friends so I can find out what they think about it and we can talk about it. Depending on what they say, then maybe???