Awesome as usual from Rebecca Thorne! Different to the Tomes and Tea series but still as enjoyable! Would highly recommend!

4.5 stars

I have read Rebecca's book Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, and whilst it may not have been my cup of tea (pun very much intended), I could still appreciate and recognise that she is a good storyteller. And so, even though it wasn't my sort of book, I still wanted to see what she would do next. And this was definitely more my thing, which is weird as I'm not usually a sci-fi fan with novels.

She has done such a good job at world building and character creation, they're all so vivid and lifelike and familiar. You could understand this undercurrent of fear, of claustrophobia, of impending doom, and it makes you slightly uncomfortable but you end up willing them on.

Some of the chapters were a little long for my liking, but that's because I'm a fan of short snappy chapters, so that's definitely a personal choice.

I tried to read other books at the same time but I kept getting distracted, desperate to return to this. It is so good. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it, and when I was reading it, I was loving it.

It's got everything. There's romance and fighting and monsters and death and blood and heads rolling (literally), it 's so fast paced and exciting.

I read another review that described this as "lesbians fight zombies on the Titanic", and quite frankly, whilst that may be a bit simplistic, it is totally correct.

I was really hoping this would be the start of a series and it is! Whic his great as I want more and more of it.

This is why, just because I might not be the reader for one book, I don't completely rule that author out or ignore their other books, because this was so good, and I would never have discovered it if I'd given up after Treason...

There are a lot of trigger warnings. I'm not always a fan because they do spoil the story a certain amount. But with the amount of trigger warnings in this, and the type that they are, I think it's needed. If you want to go in blind then please stop reading now, but if you want to know what the trigger warnings are, then they are below.

**SPOILERS**

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Trigger warnings include: extreme violence, gore, blood, vomiting, near-death experiences, character death, dismemberment, decapitation, drowning, explicit sex, sudden spread of disease, loss of physical autonomy, PTSD, anxiety, manipulation, gun violence, hallucinations, war, thalassophobia.

Having enjoyed Rebecca Thorne's recent cosy sapphic romantasies (reviewed on The Fantasy Hive), I was interested in this very different genre turn for her into sci-fi/horror. I'm more than happy to say that it absolutely worked, and 'This Gilded Abyss' now sits as my firm favourite of her books!

Protagonist Nix is a charmingly grumpy soldier, skilled at what she does within a system that seems determined to keep her down after her past relationship with Subarch Kessandra, the gorgeous, talented and inevitably Most Popular Royal in the city. Alas for them (but good for the plot!), both end up in close proximity as Nix is to guard Kess on a mission into the depths of the ocean to discover exactly what's going on in the mines that keep their society running.

The world-building in this book is exemplary, with any exposition being conveyed naturally in conversation rather than as uncomfortable info-dumps. I found myself entirely clear as to the structure of this society, their history, religion and dependence on the mysterious substance that empowers virtually everything - including body modifications.

The tension is also brilliant, as we speed down into the high-pressure darkness of the underwater mines in a plush but still claustrophobic submersible. And then a virus breaks out. We're now in '28 Fathoms Later'.

Rebecca Thorne does not shy away from the necessarily graphic aspects of this story, and as the mystery turns into horror we face directly into the action. Whether it be hand-to-hand fights or 'off-screen' screams, I was never in any doubt as to just how bad this situation was becoming, and the stakes just seemed to escalate as the ship nears the mines themselves, with no way to know what our heroines will find - if they survive to disembark.

Every character is well-drawn, and I was genuinely distraught when certain much-loved friends were caught in the crossfire. Secrets are brought into the light, loyalties tested and I did find myself wishing at one point that Nix could catch a break for a quick nap!

Intense, thrilling and with a compelling romance subplot that never detracts from the action, I finished this in two days (because Life). I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel - huge thanks to the author for such a brilliant ride/fall!

Thank you so much Tor for the ARC.
As a superfan of the Tomes and Tea series, I knew I wanted to read more from this author, when this one came up I had to read it! I knew it wasn't going to be a cosy story, but I knew it was going to be a good one, and I wasn't disappointed.
Nix, our Sargent is just about recovered from heartbreak and grief after a deployment to the underwater city of Fall that saw her lose her best friend and being ghosted by her royal lover Kassandra.
Until, Kassandra waltz back into her life with a new assignment, a new visit to Fall and it all comes crashing down.
Honestly, this book is fast paced, the twists and turns will give you whiplash, the banter is excellent and the sapphic slow burn romance is really satisfying.
I cannot wait to learn more about this world and the lore and get even more immersed! I am hooked!