Once again, so impressed with Ariel Sullivan. Love the extra world building we get in Beneath, to expand on the Conform universe. The character development was engaging and well paced.

A gritty, character-driven dystopian romance with bite.

Beneath delivers a gripping blend of military-style action and slow-burn romance, set against a brutal dystopian backdrop where survival hinges on your usefulness. Even medical care is a privilege reserved for the strong. The story dives deep into ethically murky territory, testing the limits of loyalty, teamwork, and what it means to be human when sickness makes you expendable.

The romance simmers quietly beneath the surface, unfolding with patience and emotional weight. When the spice finally arrives, it feels both earned and tender. While the worldbuilding is more functional than expansive, the plot thrives on its intricate character dynamics and moral complexity.

This is marketed as romantasy, but in my opinion, there isn’t quite enough fantasy to fit that label. Still, it’s a great fit for fans of Leave Me Behind or The Hunger Games who enjoy high-stakes tension with emotional payoff.

This book had me deeply emotionally invested from very early on. I loved the core cast of characters, whose grief, hope, and determination felt so vivid and genuine. The found-family dynamic was especially well done. Watching the group take Sasha under their wing and gently help her learn to trust, care, and open up again was really moving, and I teared up at a few points.

Tristian and Sasha's relationship was another highlight. Their romance developed at a believable, satisfying pace, built on shaky foundations that they had to actively work to strengthen. Watching them build trust and learn emotional honesty with each other made their connection feel earned.

The story tackles some heavy themes - grief, trauma, and betrayal in particular - and I thought these were handled with real care and sensitivity, adding emotional weight without feeling manipulative.

I did struggle to follow the story at times, particularly in more dialogue-heavy sections, but this didn't overshadow my overall experience. Several characters are referred to by multiple names (first name, surname, and call sign), which occasionally pulled me out of the story while I puzzled out who was who. I also found the timeline a little hard to follow in places as scenes jumped around a fair bit.

Overall, the emotional core of this book is strong, and the character work really stood out to me - I ended up loving it even more than Conform because of this in particular. If you enjoy character-driven dystopian stories with found family, slow-building relationships, and thoughtful exploration of difficult themes, this one is well worth picking up.

Getting this as an advanced review read was a surprise that I took with both hands and inhaled.

I couldn't put this down. Honestly, a prequel as the next book in a series was brilliant. Conform started a story and Beneath gives it the filling to expand the whole world.

I loved the small moments that we have in this book that we saw in Conform (familiar living quarters), and the suspense that is laid out in its story. I really wasn't sure if we'd get a completed story here or if we're going to have to invest in the long term to find everything out - we're absolutely in a long game here!

I really felt some of the topics covered here. This author isn't afraid of big subjects and covers big things like grief and depression in this book, as well as self-sabotage (anyone else get annoyed with the 'I can't be happy in case I get sad again' characters? Yeah... That!) throughout the book.

Overall, this was hugely enjoyable and I cannot thank NetGally and PanMacmillan for the chance to read this.

So it’s official. Ariel Sullivan is now an auto buy author for me. I LOVED conform so I was genuinely thrilled to get the eARC of Beneath. I wasn’t sure what a prequel would look like but I was so pleasantly surprised. Dare I say, I think I’m even more excited to continue with this world than the conform one? Okay, no. I want both. I need both. I genuinely can’t wait to see where both series go!

I’ve seen discourse saying that romance in dystopian novels just doesn’t work. Ariel proves that wrong in spades. What else is there to fight for if not love when all hope for yourself is lost?

I’m all in for dystopian books right now for reasons…. *looks around and gestures vaguely at everything* And Ariel is right at the top of the pack for me. Both Conform and Beneath will absolutely be my most gifted books for friends and family next year, I think.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan MacMillan and Ariel Sullivan for gifting me this eARC. My opinions are wholly my own.