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A review by chlslnbd10
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
3.0
Friends Cassa (the daughter of rebels), Newt (the son of a traitor), Alys, and Evander (children of herbalists) are betrayed by their friend Vesper on the night they had set a plan in motion to overtake the Council, a group of elders who run the Citadel with the help of ancient prophecies. The four are captured and sentenced to death. They manage to escape thanks to (what I can only assume was) some incredibly good luck and escape the only way they can: down below the Citadel. There, they meet a man who's secrets lead them on the quest of their lives.
I did enjoy this book, for the most part. It is tagged as an LGBTQ+ book here on Goodreads and I was expecting an meaningful relationship to either form or exist. What I got was two guys, one Bisexual and the other (I assume) Gay, who have feelings for each other and kiss once. Another character is identified as Asexual but the information comes at a time that I really don't think was necessary. I also shudder away from the fact that not only is she Asexual, but she is also the plus-sized character of the group. I appreciate that she's not your stereotypical skinny girl but I I'm not shitting on Soria but I almost feel like she added the LGBTQ+ aspect to the story so that it could, in a sense, "check off a box".
The story itself was good. The characters worked well together, even though it was difficult at times to distinguish who was who outside of the FIVE (more on this in a moment) main characters. This was a relatively short book and there was little room for character development other than a mild change from Cassa.
In regards to the five main characters: Cassa, Newt, Alys, Evander, and Vesper. It's a lot. I enjoy the bouncing back and forth of the POVs, but at the end of the book the individual characters become blurred and you're hearing about one person's thoughts while supposedly in the head of another. You don't have time to do a lot of character development. I wish this book had a sequel or a prequel because I want to learn more about these characters. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that this is a stand-alone series. That doesn't happen often. But I really want to know more about these characters. They seem like an incredible group of kids. But I know virtually nothing about them.
I did enjoy this book, for the most part. It is tagged as an LGBTQ+ book here on Goodreads and I was expecting an meaningful relationship to either form or exist. What I got was two guys, one Bisexual and the other (I assume) Gay, who have feelings for each other and kiss once. Another character is identified as Asexual but the information comes at a time that I really don't think was necessary. I also shudder away from the fact that not only is she Asexual, but she is also the plus-sized character of the group. I appreciate that she's not your stereotypical skinny girl but I I'm not shitting on Soria but I almost feel like she added the LGBTQ+ aspect to the story so that it could, in a sense, "check off a box".
The story itself was good. The characters worked well together, even though it was difficult at times to distinguish who was who outside of the FIVE (more on this in a moment) main characters. This was a relatively short book and there was little room for character development other than a mild change from Cassa.
In regards to the five main characters: Cassa, Newt, Alys, Evander, and Vesper. It's a lot. I enjoy the bouncing back and forth of the POVs, but at the end of the book the individual characters become blurred and you're hearing about one person's thoughts while supposedly in the head of another. You don't have time to do a lot of character development. I wish this book had a sequel or a prequel because I want to learn more about these characters. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that this is a stand-alone series. That doesn't happen often. But I really want to know more about these characters. They seem like an incredible group of kids. But I know virtually nothing about them.