Somehow even worse pacing than the first one. Also, what the fuck? What am I supposed to walk away from this with? Is it a happy ending or a terrible ending? And where’s the next book?? I’m so confused

I’m honestly so sad to rate this book so low. I had such high hopes for this series, but it just fell so flat for me. Without giving any spoilers, The Life Below ended up being unsatisfying and uninteresting. The events of the novel felt rushed and only seemed to really get interesting at the end. So many questions were left unanswered and I don’t believe there will be a third to this series. I’m especially disappointed because I had such interest in the story. The premise is fascinating and I know Alexandra Monir put an incredible effort into the research, which is absolutely commendable. But overall, I’d probably give The Life Below 1.5/5 stars. I had a more difficult time connecting to the characters in The Life Below than with them in The Final Six and the major events that happened in the novel were underwhelming for me. Because of that disconnect to the characters, it didn’t really evoke a response in me. Of course these opinions are of my own and many people have read the series and enjoyed it. I just found that I was disappointed and was expecting more out of it.

This series can't end like this! I need a 3rd book. I need something like The 100. Something completely full with aliens with a dash of humans in the mix. And I need justice!

A very generous 2.5

3.5. It was good - really interesting storyline and concept. I read through it pretty quickly (after a reading slump, so that's good!). The last few chapters seemed to blur together too quickly. I felt like I couldn't quite keep up, and ended up re-reading a lot of parts. The last chapter and epilogue were really confusing, but maybe that means another book is coming?? Overall, pretty good, but not great. Would read the next book if another one was released.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club and HarperTeen for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication. This book has me seriously obsessed with science fiction novels now. I usually have a hard time with them because I feel like I can’t understand all of the science involved in it – most of the time anyway – and sure there may have been some parts of this novel that are still over my head… but man this book really was amazing. This book takes place after the first one obviously, and wow there were some things that happened in here that I was not expecting. It actually makes me want to revisit both of these novels to get back into the story and see what I missed the first time around. The concept of the Final Six competition and the aftermath of everything that happened in the first novel really gets fleshed out in this one. The more that we follow Naomi and Leo in their separate journeys was great honestly. I actually like that we got to still see Leo on Earth in the aftermath because of all the controversy that ended up going on with the previous group of astronauts, and everything that happened with the Final Six competition. This book just blew me away in the best way. Kind of also makes me wish that we were already living in their future because maybe things would be way more interesting than they are now.

I’m honestly so sad to rate this book so low. I had such high hopes for this series, but it just fell so flat for me. Without giving any spoilers, The Life Below ended up being unsatisfying and uninteresting. The events of the novel felt rushed and only seemed to really get interesting at the end. So many questions were left unanswered and I don’t believe there will be a third to this series. I’m especially disappointed because I had such interest in the story. The premise is fascinating and I know Alexandra Monir put an incredible effort into the research, which is absolutely commendable. But overall, I’d probably give The Life Below 1.5/5 stars. I had a more difficult time connecting to the characters in The Life Below than with them in The Final Six and the major events that happened in the novel were underwhelming for me. Because of that disconnect to the characters, it didn’t really evoke a response in me. Of course these opinions are of my own and many people have read the series and enjoyed it. I just found that I was disappointed and was expecting more out of it.

This series can't end like this! I need a 3rd book. I need something like The 100. Something completely full with aliens with a dash of humans in the mix. And I need justice!