The perfect mix of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and weird fiction that stressed me out but in the best way. This is the second book following the first book “The Between” and while I enjoyed the first book, I think this one was even better and brought so much more depth to the world we are being immersed in as readers

I wanted to enjoy this sequel but my rating landed in the middle. On the plus side: the worldbuilding and backstory dive deeper, and the character connections (especially Supriya and Corinne, and Julie’s arc) were really solid and satisfying .

On the other side: the book felt dense and overwhelming sometimes, so much going on made it hard to keep up at times.

I didn’t know what to think at first but after sitting with it. I loved it. The Garden of Before (The Between) by Ryan Leslie is pure nightmare fuel in the best way. This book is surreal, eerie, and totally messes with your head. It’s like stepping into a dream that slowly turns into a horror movie—lush gardens, strange creatures, and this creeping sense that reality is breaking apart. The atmosphere? Chef’s kiss. If you love dark fantasy that feels poetic and terrifying all at once, you need this in your life.

I was checking NetGalley when the cover of The Garden of Before popped up and I thought, "awww, it looks like The Between." Then I read the author’s name and instantly clicked Request. I enjoyed the first book so much. It’s the perfect blend of horror meets RPG nerds in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

The Garden of Beforewas a satisfying sequel (and honestly, a satisfying conclusion if this ends up being the final book in the series). I thought the pacing and writing were stronger than in the first book, but I think I still liked The Between a bit more, mostly because of the wow factor of discovering it was a game, and learning about the roles and structure behind it all.

If I have to offer any criticism,which is very subjective, it’s that the book felt a bit dense. There was so much going on that I had to read slowly, and even then I sometimes felt like I wasn’t keeping up. But that’s definitely more of a “me” thing. I also felt a bit lost in the first chapter, since it follows two new characters in the past, and it’s not until the end of it that you really understand why Zee and Lark are being introduced.

The two highlights of this book for me were getting to learn more about the game, and getting to spend more time with the characters. I loved Supriya, the one-legged Valkyrie, in the first book, and I was really excited to keep following her story as the gardistaro as she shifts between herself and her role. I also really liked following Corinne and Julie. That twist with what Julie becomes? I did not see it coming, and it was so fun to read and figure out how it tied into her role in The Between. The girls-support-girls moment when Julie commands Supriya/the gardistaro to return Corinne to her world was also really sweet.

That being said, I still struggle with Jay. He reminds me of Mat from The Wheel of Time and how the dagger corrupts him to the point where you can’t trust him. Sooo I’m always suspicious of Jay. I find Paul a little boring. There, I said it.

I love how Leslie writes. This story is so creative and I’m completely in love with the world. I also really enjoyed learning more about the malespero and what she does. And I appreciate that Leslie gives depth to the characters by including difficult topics, but does so in a way that never feels distasteful (like Corinne’s anorexia or the time Julie forced Paul).

I still have questions about the other worlds/areas the Between leads to, but I’m very happy with how things ended for the characters.

I enjoyed this sequel/prequel to the Between. It really went into a lot of the Betweens backstory and tied it all together, it also explored the characters a lot more. I really enjoyed it . Thanks for ARC from Netgalley and Ryan Leslie.

Quick very high level summary.
Paul has been playing the In Between computer game obsessively, Corinne and Supriya are missing, Jay is still wandering the real In Between and now his wife Julie is gone. Then Paul receives a message that they are all back in the In Between.

My Take.
I enjoyed this book more then the first. This book starts off running and does not let up. I liked the first book do not get me wrong but this book was so much more interesting to me. It gave us more information about the ideas behind the worlds and provided more world development and “world history” or “background” information. We learned more about the characters and watched their development as they traveled the In Between. I found myself much more invested in this installment then I was in the first. Over well an exciting fast paced read.

The Between is one of my favourite books - it has such a great premise and world building with just the right amount of humour - but I didn't enjoy this sequel. It felt like it was written by a completely different author.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.