A review by akacya
The Beasts We Bury by D.L. Taylor

3.0

2025 reads: 31/300

2025 tbr: 13/111

i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. this did not affect my rating.

content warnings: animal death, child abuse (forced to train as soldiers, punishment resulting from this), abusive parent

mancella cliff yearns for a life without bloodshed. as the heir to the throne, though, this is not possible. to strengthen her power, her father forces her to kill animals with her bare hands.

silver is a thief struggling to survive in a world torn by mancella’s father’s reign. when he receives a chance to rob the castle, he sees it as an opportunity to have a real future and get his revenge. as the two work toward their own goals—silver with the heist, mancella with saving her realm—they must decide how much they’re willing to give.

this seemed like such an interesting book. i’ve never read a book featuring powers like mancella’s. (on that note, if you are highly sensitive to animal cruelty/death, i would avoid this book.) i also typically like when there’s a thief/rebel who ends up falling for the royal they were sent to take down. while i did end up enjoying these aspects of the book, unfortunately, the plot just did not do it for me. it was okay, but pretty basic, so it didn’t quite captivate me like i’d hoped it would. with that said, i can see the author’s potential. i’d be willing to give her another try should she write more books.

narration: there were two narrators, brenda scott wlazlo and jake chronister, to reflect the dual pov in the book. i thought the narrators did a good job of narrating this book!