Well written but ultimately not the right story for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters at time but overall intriguing.

I requested this title back before my blogging break. I have ended up with a number of titles that are overwhelming to catch up on now I am back from my blogging break. I am regretfully not going to be reading and reviewing this title, but now I am back from my blogging break, I am looking forward to reading and reviewing some of your future titles. Thank you so much for the opportunity and apologies.

DNF

Liked the start, but after 150 pages, I didn't feel a connection to the characters or the plot. Heist fiction may not be for me as a general rule.

A decent read with a gripping storyline and characters that it’s almost impossible not to root for. It wasn’t my favourite read but would recommend to fans of the genre. And a stunning cover!

The formatting of this book didn’t work so I cannot review it unfortunately. I’ve given a neutral rating in this case.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book and so do not feel like I can write a full and proper review.

I am really torn about this book. It is a solid YA fantasy book with some interesting characters and unique world building and lore, but there were things missing that stopped it from being a great standalone story and a 4 or 5 star read. Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read and well worth picking up if it piques your interest. Beneath the Citadel is a YA Fantasy/Thriller (think Six of Crows) that follows five young rebels as they work to undermine and hopefully overthrow the Council that reigns over their city. The Council uses the powers of gifted people to maintain their stranglehold on Eldra; Seers who receive prophecies ; Diviners who can predict the near future; Setients who can read a persons thoughts; Rooks who can give and take memories; and people who are Bloodbound with the ability to control certain elements and materials. Alys, Newt and Evander sneak into the inner depths of the Citadel, lead by Cassa who is the daughter of former Rebels, to recover evidence that the Council are killing innocent people for their own purposes. What they find is that the Council are keeping an even bigger secret, their friend Vesper is not as innocent as she seems and that in world where the powerful can for all purposes 'divine' the future, they are little more then pawns in a bigger chess game. Overall the plot was enjoyable and not predictable and I appreciated the diversity in the characters but the overall world building and depth in the main five characters were what kept me from really being immersed in the book. This book is very much like Six of Crows and with such big shoes to fill, it is obvious when some bits miss the mark.

What I Liked
The break in/ heist aspect- Give me a movie (any of the Oceans movies and Now You See Me) or a book with a gang of misfits bought together to infiltrate a highly secure building to obtain evidence or a priceless object and I am in. You get just that in Beneath the Citadel. What kept me from loving this book was that I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about their plan to infiltrate the Citadel as we jump right into their plan working and never learn the full details on how the accomplished something thought to be near impossible. Likewise with their other schemes in the book, we only get part of the picture. These charcaters are portrayed to be smart and skillful and we do not get to see that emerge as that constantly beat the odds.

Diversity in characters- As always I appreciate seeing diverse characters in any book, and I have been noticing it more and more in the last few years which is amazing! In Beneath the Citadel we have representation of POC as well as gay, bisexual and even an asexual character.

Switching POV- In a quick paced novel with five major characters I always prefer when each chapter focuses on a different character each time as we get a broader overview of everything that is happening. This is also a standalone and therefore when compared to a series, it is important to make sure every character gets time in the spotlight as there is no book two, three or four.

Not afraid to 'go there' with the ending- I won't say much on this as it is definitely a spoiler, but many books think that everything needs to end with everyone living 'Happily Every After' and in reality that is not the case and especially in a YA Dystopian setting it should not be the case.

What I Didn't Like
Clunky Romance- I am not opposed to some romance and I am not opposed to a love triangle. However the romance between Cassa and Evander and then Evander and Newt just felt...clunky. As Cassa and Evander were involved previously and when the book takes place their relationship feels almost thrown in just because and we lack meaningful interactions between them throughout the book to let us know the importance of their relationship to their characters. It happens only at the end of the book but if it featured some scenes

Halfway there world building-It is especially important in a standalone book to be very tight and rigid in the world building and how much you can elaborate on within the confines of one book. I liked the idea behind Eldra but it was hard for me to be able to actually imagine what the city and the Citadel looked like. I couldn't pin down whether it had a medieval feel or if it had a more dark magic or dystopian. Some of the language used by the characters also came across as more modern then the setting felt, which again added to my confusion.

I really tried to read this book with an open mind and get through it, but try as I might, I was never able to fully immerse myself in the plot. I was so looking forward to reading this, so I was rather disappointed that it did not live up to my expectations. I'm sure some would really enjoy this book, but for me it just didn't cut it.

This was well written and parts I really enjoyed but overall there was just something missing for me and I didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped I would. But I will keep an eye out for more from this author as the writing style worked.

Honestly, I was drawn in to Beneath the Citadel initially by the cover. I mean, it's super stunning and super creepy so how could you not want to read it?! I really enjoyed the story and will absolutely be checking out more books by Destiny Soria in the future!

Beneath the Citadel was a suspenseful, immersive, and evocatively written fantasy novel. The worldbuilding and the magic were interesting and intricate with plenty of visual/sensory descriptions to aid the imagination. The multiple points of view were well developed and executed, and I liked the intermittent flashback chapters that added background and depth to the story. Each of the main characters was distinct and likable, flaws and all, and having a diverse cast where the story wasn't about their oppression and their existence was normalized was refreshing. The antagonists of the story had their own development as well, creating some moral complexity. There were several twists and surprises in the story that kept me guessing and wondering at how the team would achieve their goal and what the end of their journey would look like. The ending was bittersweet but hopeful and wrapped up important loose ends while still leaving some things to the imagination, which is probably my favorite kind of ending.

Beneath the Citadel could be described as a book all about escapes. There are a lot of escape scenes in this book, which can get quite repetitive. However, the group do find new ways to save their skin, but at the back of my mind there was limited risk of them not escaping because they were so good at it. On top of this, there were a few times where the pace slowed right down because they’d been captured, but there was limited action.

In Beneath the Citadel there are multiple magic systems in play. There are the Rooks and Sentients who are born with magic skills. But there are also blood bound people, who are bound to an element to give them magic skills. These systems had their own strengths which we saw through Evander and Vesper, however there’s not a hard line of which one is better or worse in this world. Which I thought was unique in a fantasy novel as often they are pitted against one another.

I really enjoyed how in-depth the characters were. It felt kind-of breakfast club-like at times with how different the characters were, but without them leaning too much into their stereotypes. The cast is diverse as they show POC, bi, gay and ace rep, anxiety and plus-sized characters. Cassa as our main character is your typical brash rebel. She can be both ego-centric and abrasive at times, and our other characters often call her out. Newt is someone I relate to heavily due to low self-esteem that plagues his actions and decisions. Contrasting against Evander who is notably brave and ready to protect the other characters because he loves them so.

Alys stands out as one of the best written characters. She has anxiety attacks during the action of the book, which is written so well but in a way that would make it understandable to those who haven’t experienced it themselves. Alys is also fat and ace, which is woven naturally into the book without it being her entire personality, but to just genuinely give depth to her character.

A good part of the book and its character was that Cassa’s relationships with each of the other 4 main characters differed per person. The different POVs allowed us to have a connection to each of these characters too, and better understand the differences around Cassa. However, each of the four do seem very centred around Cassa, but this is discussed in the book at some length about how it’s not healthy. I didn’t enjoy that the characters had limited experiences away from Cassa at times.

An issue with the book is that our main characters don’t really understand who the real villain is. They’re rebelling against authority in the city and then fall into the plot where they come across the main antagonist, and even then they’re completely unsure what is truly going on. And truly I kept second guessing myself whilst reading it too. This is both good and bad, as it kept me on my toes, but sometimes they felt ‘rebel without a cause’.

This book is a standalone book, but I’m excited to read more from Soria because of it. Whilst this book had its issues, I think the good parts such as the character depth, magic system and world building pulled it back up.

Positives
Magic System felt unique
Characters are written in-depth
World building was well done

Negatives
Slow pacing at times
Took time to understand antagonist

DNF @ 40%

While I loved the writing and the characters,, the pacing was just soo inconsistent for me. The constant back and forth between flashbacks and current day made the story feel jolted, and even the current day plot felt very stop-and-go. I may come back to this at a later date, but for now I have decided to put it down. If future Soria books have better pacing, I will definitely be picking it up because I loved the writing!

The magic is legit the best thing ever about this book. I've never read Destiny Soria before this, but I will again simply because the magic element of her world-building ROCKS.

I loved Destiny’s debut, IRON CAST, so I was really excited for her foray into otherworld fantasy. Unfortunately, BENEATH THE CITADEL and I just didn’t connect. It’s one of those cases where all the pieces are there, but somehow when they’re all put together, you’re staring at the final product wondering if you screwed something in wrong.



It follows four friends and one ex-friend as they contend with the powers of the Citadel, their city’s ruling body, who has long kept the public beneath its thumb using the prophecies of its Seers. Need some land? Oh, sorry, it was prophesized that we should have it. The political implications provide interesting texture to what would otherwise have been a basic mystery. But in the end, the story as a whole falls short of its potential.





Hands off my memories, witch!


The magic is honestly the coolest thing about this book. Magical powers are rare and feared, and come in all varieties related to the mind. Seers who see true futures. Diviners who catch snippets. Rooks who steal memories. Sentients who read your truths in your features. And more ordinary people with blood bonds to elements, who can manipulate silver, gold, iron.



As with IRON CAST, Destiny shines in inventing unique kinds of magic. And for the most part she’s successful in navigating the pitfalls that always come with prophecy, by adding some ambiguity: not-so-infallible prophecies, human error, liar prophets.



The characters are also pretty solid. I actually disliked Cassa quite a bit and I found myself dreading her chapters, but that could be a personal thing; she’s got that baseless self-assurance and cockiness, despite causing real damage to her friends, that tends to rub me the wrong way.



But I liked everyone else quite a lot, and overall the cast is diverse in terms of both race and sexual orientation. There’s a cute m/m romance that felt really organic. Alys is ace and has panic attacks, which were rendered with such wonderful sensitivity and feeling. And I like Vesper, because she’s painted as a traitor but actually has really complicated motivations.





I think we just went over that


The plot is where it fell apart for me. It’s somehow both too fast and too slow at once. It begins, BAM, right after the teen rebels have been caught in their first attempt to break in to the Citadel. We get an introduction to each of them as they are on trial before the Councilors. Normally I don’t mind being thrown in in the middle, but this time it just felt like I was missing half the story. People are losing their memories? There’s a huge mystery? Cool! … but it’s already happened before you got here. Then it immediately slows down so each POV can comment on the same information. Speed up again, they’re escaping their cells and finding their way (dun dun dun) beneath the Citadel, where a revelation kicks off the main plot.



A couple things didn’t work for me. First, we have five POVs and occasional flashbacks to how each of them met each other. There’s a lot of backtracking, and also a lot of repetition, because the POVs tend to go over the same segment of time more than once with little movement ocurring. There’s also a lot of “let’s have long conversations about things we all know,” which is one of my particular hot spots. And some pieces that didn’t make sense. So many flashbacks to Cassa and Evander’s former romance, which never became important.



Finally, we’re acquainted with the Big Bad very early, so there’s very little mystery and much more running around trying to figure out who to trust, what to do, how to do it. The emotional punches landed softly, because for the most part they were expected. The ending was actually a clever, unexpected twist, but by then I was just waiting for it to be over.



Just not meant to be


Sadly, we just weren’t meant for each other. I almost DNFed a number of times, but instead forced myself through. When I notice I’ve been skimming for pages, I know a book just isn’t working for me. Which is too bad, because some of Destiny’s writing is truly beautiful, full of quotable gems, stunning descriptions, and humor. It just struck me as a book that could have used another round on the chopping block, some tightening here and cutting there. But other people really loved it, including my co-blogger Whitley, so if the synopsis appeals to you, definitely give it a try!

I don't often abandon a book, but "Beneath the Citadel" was dropped somewhere around the midpoint - after a good, solid college try. I disliked it for the same reasons that others may enjoy it; the characters are always snappy and witty in a sort of Arrested Development kind of way, and the romance and emotions are so ON at all times that the reader is constantly getting slapped in the face with smouldering gazes, side glances, and rosy cheeks.

I personally didn't love it, but it smacks of exactly the kind of writing that a younger teen would enjoy - the entire book is a chip on a shoulder, and may appeal to some.

Beneath the Citadel starts with a great premise and I always love a heist type of story, and the audiobook narrator did a pretty good job in getting the reader into the story. The characters were interesting, unique voices and motivations which obviously made it easy to remember who's who when listening.

The downside is that once I paused the audiobook for a couple of days, I struggled to pick it up again, I literally had no motivation to want to know what will happen next, I wasn't really hooked in even if the characters and the writing were good. There was something about the plot that did not keep me keen. I am also not going to lie here... I kept on thinking of Six of crows and how it was just not like it; however, when saying that, I am not saying that they were the same, but the vibes were kinda there my brain couldn't switch that off. The fantasy elements were interesting and I liked to read about a book centred around the power of memory and the hunger for power.

Overall it was a good book, a solid 3 stars.

"If they own your future, then they own you."

For centuries, the people of the city of Eldra are ruled by the prophecies of the seers. However, ever since the elite families of the ruling class started using the prophecies to prosper and secure political power, the schism between the classes widened. This schism caused a growing unrest and widespread rebellions.

But who can fight against those who have the means to divine the future?

Now decades have passed and the last of the rebellion nearly wiped out, Cassa, a young orphan daughter of rebels and her allies make a last ditch attempt to uncover the secret of the Citadel of Eldra and find a way to overthrow the high counsel.

Beneath the Citadel is a story that is hard to enjoy at first, but quickly steps up the pace with lots of twist and turns. There are many interesting story elements such as the concept of infallible prophecies, the high council, the bloodbond, and the interesting system of seers, diviners, rooks and sentients. I think Beneath and Citadel is a very creative story. The characters represent a very diverse background - and have a lot of snark and attitude, if you happen to like that in your YA characters.

However, while the story itself is fun and fast pace, the execution of the story makes the reading experience somewhat frustrating. There are five POV characters (Cassa, Evander, Newt, Alys, Vesper) and each of them jump back and forth between the events of the present and the past - leaving the readers with the task of trying to put together five different narratives of who-met-who and who-betrayed-who. While this makes for a fun interactive reading experience, it does undermine the building tension of the current story.

I think the main problem I had with Beneath the Citadel is that I had many more unanswered questions after finishing the story. Also, because the POV was divided amongst five characters, I felt very dissatisfied with the depth I really connected with any one particular character.

Overall, I enjoyed Beneath the Citadel. It is an extremely fast and fun read, but I just think that the story could have been told in better way.

Rating
Story:  3* Stars - Like It
Writing: 2* Stars - Just ok but has elements that didn't work for me.Characters:  3* Stars - Like it
Enjoyability:  3* Stars - Like it

Notes: Many thanks to Netgalley and Amulet Books for providing a copy of this book.

I have attempted to read this book for over 3 months and while I absolutely adored Soria's previous book, IRON CAST, I can't get past the 40% mark of this book.

Despite an interesting cast, I never felt any real tension or danger. The purpose of the back and forth in and out of the Citadel was unclear and I didn't understand the motives of the characters. The fact that none of this was clear by nearly halfway through the book led me to put it down several times before finally giving up on the book entirely.

While I definitely intend to read further work by this author, and I may attempt to read this one again, I cannot continue to waste time on a book that I can't get through.

As I did not finish this book, I will not be posting a review online and will refrain from posting to Goodreads until the time if/when I decide to try it again.

I loved Destiny Soria’s Iron Cast and was greatly looking forward to this book, but after finishing it… Iron Cast was better by far.

I’ve had a hard time determining if Beneath the Citadel just isn’t for me, or if it isn’t for me right now. Would I have enjoyed it more if I was in a better mood for it, or would my thoughts still be the same? Unfortunately, I have absolutely no urge to reread it to find out, but who knows? Maybe I will someday.

The novel takes place in the fictional city of Eldra, where infallible prophecies determine events and the fate of the people. The High Council rules with an iron fist, taking advantage of the gifts of rooks, diviners, seers, and sentients to prevent threats to their power. As a result, the last rebellion was crushed underfoot, leaving only their children as bitter survivors. Cassa, the daughter of rebels, seeks to expose the council’s corruption and overthrow them, and the key to doing so lies beneath the Citadel—but she and her friends have to break in and get there alive first.

Before I get more into the plot, let’s talk about my reactions to the characters.


Cassa is normally a character I like, one on a revenge quest, but she doesn’t do much for me. She’s full of anger, hatred, and conviction but waffles once it’s game time. I’m just generally bored by her and unimpressed. We spend more time with her waxing on and on about how she’s trying to live up to her legendary rebel parents than about her. I get that she feels inadequate, but she never rises from this until the end, and it was just exhausting to read about continuously.

Alys is a decent character, but I don’t feel any great care or connection to her, either. I like that she is an overweight, ace character who experiences anxiety attacks. The attacks especially are depicted excellently in how they can creep up on you and take over your entire being and state of mind.

However, not much about her weight seems to affect her overmuch, and her sexuality isn’t mentioned beyond a brief nod, so I don’t feel like good representation comes through as much as it should. I like that she is a steadfast, no-nonsense person with a tough outer shell that hides her doubts and insecurities, but as a result, she tends to stay in the background outside of her POV chapters. I wish she stood out more throughout; she feels more like an afterthought.

Newt, meanwhile, is probably the character with the most interesting past and skillset. The son of a rebel who ultimately betrayed the rebellion in exchange for comfort, Newt’s trying to make a difference. His father is the source of his hatred and suffering. He literally attacked Newt as a child to teach him to be faster, to escape from anything. Newt is extremely double-jointed, so he can bend his body in ways the average person can’t, including popping his joints out of place, squeezing in impossible spaces, and so on.

His father harshly conditioned him to be able to do this, so in exchange, Newt has a lot of built-up trauma from his childhood that he does a swell job of hiding from the others. He bandages his joints both to brace them but also because he’s terrified that one day, he’ll end up breaking himself. Otherwise, he’s a generally kind, calming person. He’s also gay and crushing hard on Evander. I’d honestly read a book just about Newt.

Evander is also okay as far as characters are concerned. I liked him better than his sister Alys because he stood out on the page more. He has a joke or wise crack for every occasion, usually to break up tension or to hide his own insecurities. He underwent tremendous pain to be bloodbonded to silver, and since he survived, he’s able to control silver at will.

It’s hard for me not to compare him to Jesper from Six of Crows, because he, too, is black, bisexual, and the flippant, long-range attacker on the team. But when all’s said and done, they are slightly different characters, and it’s perfectly within the realm of reality to have two black male characters with a sense of humor who are bisexual. I think he and Jesper would be fast friends. I do enjoy his slowburn romance with Newt, which is described enough and with the best pacing a standalone book can offer. It’s very believable as a result.

Vesper is sort of part of this group. They are friends until she betrays Cassa and the others to the Citadel, ultimately for their own good. Vesper is one I’m going back and forth on. I understand her motivations and agree with them as the book goes on, but she’s not a particularly interesting character. Like Cassa, she’s kinda just there and since she’s separate from the main cast most of the time, I don’t believe their connection to her that much, convenient flashbacks aside. The most interesting thing about her is how she’s able to use her rook ability to combat a sentient’s ability and also protect other people’s memories from being stolen. There’s not much to her personality, though.

Solan is my favorite character behind Newt who is tragically underutilized. He needed so much more page time. Solan saved me from DNF’ing this book at around 50%, if I’m being honest. Newt and Evander alone weren’t enough to carry it. I can’t give too much detail about Solan without spoiling anything, but let’s just say, he is incredibly interesting and terrifying, and the ending was super anticlimactic. He deserved better.

The hardest thing to get into, though, is the story itself. For a heist-like book, it sure does like to meander. Because of the multiple POVs, we’re in character’s heads a lot, which normally, I don’t mind. Here, though, there’s far too much repetition of information, most of which served as exposition or did nothing to compel the plot forward.

The worst culprit of this was Cassa’s POV, but nearly every character also waxes on with her about her legendary parents, about the Citadel’s grip on society, about infallible prophecies and fate versus free will. This is great information to have, but why are we still repeating it even halfway through the story? This repetition made it much more difficult to slip into this world and enjoy most of these characters and what they were doing at any given time.

Another big problem keeping the plot from really taking off is how passive to the plot all the characters are. Maybe that was deliberate because it keeps the reader wondering: Do these characters have free will, or is everything they do predetermined and commanded by prophecy? These are important questions to ponder, to be sure, but it makes for an unexciting book. There’s only so many times I can watch Cassa get caught by Citadel guards in the middle of her plans before my eyes just glaze over and I wonder, “What’s the point?”

Ironic, because that’s a question that the characters ask themselves throughout the novel. What’s the point in all our struggling if our enemies know what we’re going to do before we even do it? What’s the point in trying to make a difference? Again, excellent questions. I just wish the novel let the characters address them a bit more actively. It’s almost like, in this case, instead of the main characters being overpowered, the Citadel is, to the point where the characters can barely do anything that’s impressive or meaningful. Time to nerf these bastards.

The ending did inspire some bittersweet feelings, but, overall I’m finding I’m dissatisfied with it and by the plot, where we went with it, and how things were resolved. I kind of feel like so much of what the main crew did was pointless given what actually happened, and I’m certain I’m not supposed to feel that way. The actual writing style was fine. I just didn’t care much for the story or most of the characters.