This was my first book by Caitlin Starling and September was the perfect time to remove it from my TBR. Our female MC, Gyre Price, is an amateur climber who lies about her abilities to obtain a climbing contract that could help her escape her planet. When she arrives, it’s to determine that all the help she assumed she’d have is boiled down to one person, Em. Em keeps an eye on her from the surface, but little things about her story don’t add up as they descend. I have climbing experience and Starling did excellent research into all the needed pieces to accurately describe the caving experience. She also enveloped us in a complex world of cave details like flooding and poisonous vegetation. I liked the interplay between Em and Gyre as they accomplish Em’s goal. The ending was a surprise, but I felt like the story could have been a bit shorter with the same result, though that is just my opinion. (3/5 rating)
