Scan barcode
A review by paragraphsandpages
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
4.0
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected! It also definitely benefited from being a standalone, and not trying to drag out the story further (and it was also just so nice to read a decent fantasy standalone!)
I was hooked on the characters fairly quickly because I loved how they were introduced. The first chapter is from someone else's POV, and we meet these characters (accused of crimes that'll end in death) just as that person does. Right away, we get a fairly clear picture of who each of these characters are, from their personalities to their role within their group. It also served to hook me into the story right away, because we're left wondering how they got in this position, and why most of them are oddly chill with it. The characters only become stronger as the book goes on in my opinion too, as we learn their flaws and depths. They're diverse both in personality and identity, and I felt like each character actively contributed to the story and had their own role to play. None of them were there simply to raise up one or two characters, and the book could've just as easily been told from any one of their perspectives. In the end, I ended up loving them all for different reasons as well. Newt was the soft cinnamon roll of the group, but he was far from helpless himself. Alys was the smart logical one, but had her own fears and anxieties that she was working hard to manage. Cassa was the self-proclaimed leader of the group, brash and entirely reliant on the rest of the group to keep her wild plans from failing constantly. Evander was the comedic relief yet so much more, as we learn about the depths of his relationship with his sister and his need to keep everyone safe and happy. Then there was Vesper, the one with constantly shifting allegiances (at least according to the people around her), who was just trying her best to do what she thought was good. Everyone had such depth, even some side characters (like the Chancellor), and I loved their endings, as they were fitting (yet also extremely heartbreaking).
I also liked the world that the book was set in. The entire city runs on prophecies and the powers of a few (rooks to read/steal/shift memories, seers to tell the distant future/give prophecies, sentients to read faces (and memories on those faces), and diviners to tell the near future), and while the powers weren't necessarily unique, the way they were utilized in the story was. The book dealt a lot with memory and people's perception of it, and what happens when certain memories are shared or misplaced, and it led to many moments where characters lose moments here and there, and it dramatically shifts their actions directly afterward. It led to some really interesting moments, and it worked really well alongside the plot!
The plot was also well-done, as it gave enough space for build-up as well as resolution, which can very often be an issue in stand-alones. We got multiple chapters at the end of the book for loose ends to be tied up (not all of them, but enough that the story feels cloesd), leaving readers with a decent sense of closure. Not only was the pacing well-done, but the story itself was too. There were some predictable moments, but even then the characters did not react to certain information predictably. There were also constantly shifting allegiances, not within the group but with who the group trusted and believed, and it kept both the characters, and the reader, on edge. While I still think the characters are the strongest aspect of the book, the plot definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment. I also really liked that the author chose to end the story the way she did, with the sacrifice that was involved, rather than the characters miraculously saving the world and everything suddenly being okay after. There was loss and still room to grow, and things are far from okay in this world, but we can still see a path to a better future.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read other books by this author!
I was hooked on the characters fairly quickly because I loved how they were introduced. The first chapter is from someone else's POV, and we meet these characters (accused of crimes that'll end in death) just as that person does. Right away, we get a fairly clear picture of who each of these characters are, from their personalities to their role within their group. It also served to hook me into the story right away, because we're left wondering how they got in this position, and why most of them are oddly chill with it. The characters only become stronger as the book goes on in my opinion too, as we learn their flaws and depths. They're diverse both in personality and identity, and I felt like each character actively contributed to the story and had their own role to play. None of them were there simply to raise up one or two characters, and the book could've just as easily been told from any one of their perspectives. In the end, I ended up loving them all for different reasons as well. Newt was the soft cinnamon roll of the group, but he was far from helpless himself. Alys was the smart logical one, but had her own fears and anxieties that she was working hard to manage. Cassa was the self-proclaimed leader of the group, brash and entirely reliant on the rest of the group to keep her wild plans from failing constantly. Evander was the comedic relief yet so much more, as we learn about the depths of his relationship with his sister and his need to keep everyone safe and happy. Then there was Vesper, the one with constantly shifting allegiances (at least according to the people around her), who was just trying her best to do what she thought was good. Everyone had such depth, even some side characters (like the Chancellor), and I loved their endings, as they were fitting (yet also extremely heartbreaking).
I also liked the world that the book was set in. The entire city runs on prophecies and the powers of a few (rooks to read/steal/shift memories, seers to tell the distant future/give prophecies, sentients to read faces (and memories on those faces), and diviners to tell the near future), and while the powers weren't necessarily unique, the way they were utilized in the story was. The book dealt a lot with memory and people's perception of it, and what happens when certain memories are shared or misplaced, and it led to many moments where characters lose moments here and there, and it dramatically shifts their actions directly afterward. It led to some really interesting moments, and it worked really well alongside the plot!
The plot was also well-done, as it gave enough space for build-up as well as resolution, which can very often be an issue in stand-alones. We got multiple chapters at the end of the book for loose ends to be tied up (not all of them, but enough that the story feels cloesd), leaving readers with a decent sense of closure. Not only was the pacing well-done, but the story itself was too. There were some predictable moments, but even then the characters did not react to certain information predictably. There were also constantly shifting allegiances, not within the group but with who the group trusted and believed, and it kept both the characters, and the reader, on edge. While I still think the characters are the strongest aspect of the book, the plot definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment. I also really liked that the author chose to end the story the way she did, with the sacrifice that was involved, rather than the characters miraculously saving the world and everything suddenly being okay after. There was loss and still room to grow, and things are far from okay in this world, but we can still see a path to a better future.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read other books by this author!