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enchantedscribblings · 2 years

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I recently finished reading Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria and let me tell you it was a ride

Spoilers and thoughts under the cut. My thoughts are very scattered and I apologize

For one my favorite character didn't die which is weird. Kudos to you, Newt. You made it. RIP to Cassa tho. It was hard being sad over her death because I was too in shock that it wasn't Newt

For context my favorite character always dies. Always. If anyone dies its gonna be my favorite one. This is probably the first time that rule was broken, ever. I have a post on my main blog talking about this for a show I watched recently.

Anyway so this book's concept of prophecies running your life is very good. I don't know why I referred to it as a concept. It's already a thing on real life. Just consider christianity and the contents of the book of revelation. They have cryptic stuff talking about a 7 headed dragon and the antichrist which have been used to jump to horrible conclusions. The concept of people in power hoarding those who have the capability to divine such futures is a fantastic display of the lengths that corrupt people will go to in order to remain in power.

I also kind of love that the heroes didn't get their full victory in the end. Sure, they managed to get rid of the council, but it wasn't in the badass rebellion way they were trying for. Instead they killed the last seer and got the council abolished in a legal way. Ansel Dane killed it with his little coup. They definitely completed their goal, but it wasn't in a way that I expected, and I really appreciate the deviation from the norm there.

I really enjoyed the characters. I've already said that my favorite is Newt, but I haven't talked about the rest of them. Usually when I like characters I can't really voice into words why I like them, but I'll try my best here.

First we have Evander. He's simultaneously confident and cautious. He's the most likely to follow Cassa's leadership, but he's not reckless with it. He follows because he believes in what they're doing. I truly believe if he didn't that he wouldn't be with them, even though people he cares about are doing the stupid things. I relate to his independence and his desire to help his friends and city.

Next we have Alys. She's clever and level headed even though she doesn't have a lot of faith in her abilities. She believes in her cause because, like her brother, she's seen first hand what the council will do to quell any and all rebellion. Every group needs the brains and she fills that role beautifully. I envy her wits. Additionally she's the ace representation that was the reason I initially considered reading this book, and she was so well written.

Third, we have Vesper. I love that she's not afraid to do what she thinks is right, even if it might hurt the people she loves the most. She cares so much that she is willing to walk alone to help her friends and the city she's called home since she was a child. Vesper wasn't portrayed as the smart person in the group but she's so incredibly intelligent. She managed to keep her powers secret while working for the council for fucks sake. If you don't think she's smart and unbelievably cool then you're wrong. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules. (Also she gave me vibes that she should have gotten with/had a past with Cassa, and I'm sad it didn't happen). Vesper is probably my second favorite from this story

Fourth is Chancellor Ansel Dane. His tragic backstory is part of what made me like him so much. He comes off as curt and uncaring, but then you get to see what his past looks like and you understand that he's putting on a front of sorts with the council. That he took his own bad experiences and let them open his eyes to problems around him. I genuinely believe he's a very caring person, who was hindered by the council. If he didn't have them (like what he set up at the end) then I believe he wouldn't have ordered the massacre of the rebellion and that he would've put a stop to Solan Tavish much sooner.

Fifth is Solan Tavish. He's an excellent example of what happens when you have someone with power with no one to answer to. Luckily for the characters he never got to unleash his power, but they knew what he would do if that happened.

Coming in sixth we have Newt. He's sweet, clever, and he has a desire to help the people of his city and free them from the council, even if it means going against his own father. He gave me blorbo vibes from the second he was introduced and his desire to be better for the rebellion and Eldra than his father was resonated with me. I also find his flexibility and ability to pop his joints out to be pretty cool.

Last but not least comes Cassa. Full disclosure here, I found her annoying in the beginning. I found her cockiness and 'im the leader' mindset kind of annoying at the beginning of the book. As the story progressed, she began to think a little more for herself rather than following her parents' ideals blindly. She began to actually believe in the prophecies and the power of those with the blood of the Slain God, even though she still didn't believe in the deity. By the end of the book Cassa became a character that I grew to like.

I really enjoyed the world building that went into the religion of Eldra and the background on why certain people had abilities. I loved the skepticism from some people on whether or not the Slain God was ever real. However, I wish that we got to know more about the world that Eldra was a part of. It was mentioned briefly a few times when we were told that Eldra was isolated from them, but I wish we knew some stuff about it. Where has the best drinks? What's the weather like everywhere else? What are the people like? Do they have their own religion now that they've turned their back on the religion of the Slain God? I have so many curiosities about the people out there.

If Destiny Soria ever wrote a sequel to the book, or even another book that takes place in the same world, I'd love to read it. Especially if it features the world outside of Eldra.

I'm rating this book 8/10. The world building and the characters were fantastic (I especially enjoyed the queer characters and the poc representation), but it wasn't as action packed in the climax as it could have been. Overall this was a fantastic book, and I'm adding Destiny Soria's other book, Iron Cast, to my reading list.

#beneath the citadel #beneath the citadel spoilers #enchanted book club #cassa valera #solan tavish #ansel dane #evander sera #alys sera #newt #i cant remember his last name for the life of me and i dont have the book with me to search it #or vespers last name #vesper #ig #lgbtq+ books #queer books #bookblr #beneath the citadel destiny soria #books #book review

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