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A review by bru_reads
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
1.0
1.0 stars - Read for the Acereadathon book choice for May/june. This took me so long to get through and it really didn't work for me.
The characters felt shallow and the diverse cast was lost in what felt like a meaningless story, the plot made little sense, starting by an uncomprehensible suicide mission that only happened because Cassa wanted to (she was such an annoying character, why would anyone follow someone like her?!) and ending without any explanation as to what they were going to do to take down the council, even if they did manage to get any proof of what was happening under the Citadel as their initial plan intended. The villain was also so underwhelming I could cry. All powerful, evil for the sake of evilness without real goals, past or anything that made him even slightly interesting.
Every relationship felt shallow and underdeveloped - no, I don't get invested after a super short chapter of 'how X met Y' when during the rest of the book the characters barely interact unless it's to a) the siblings play truth or lie b) Cassa being an obnoxious pig-headed leader who never takes responsibility or considers other people's opinion c) everyone disliking Cassa's plans/attitude but following along anyway even after all the consequences d) references to years of fierce friendship and loyalty that are never seen on page in a perfect example of why you should show, not tell
Also, Alys asexuality/aromantism annoyed the hell out of me. It felt like a simple "tick" on the diversity list as a simple reminder here and there that she's queer too. As an aro-ace person myself, my identity does affect me more than simply thinking about it once in a while and shrug it off as not important when something makes me realize that I do feel things differently than the majority of people, especially when I feel that difference when I'm with people I love. Doesn't mean that I wanted her to be angsty about it - I've dealt with that angst myself for years now, thank you very much - but her identity should influence her response about things. Heck, even a fun moment of banter between Alys and Evander about his crush or a conversation around his breakup could've been good opportunities where her own sexuality could shine through without having to be a 'something is wrong with me' thing.
The writing was good at times but generally it was just meh, probably because the plot itself didn't help, and although the author tried to make the entire story feel urgent and quick paced, I just felt bored and near DNFing it almost all the way through.
The characters felt shallow and the diverse cast was lost in what felt like a meaningless story, the plot made little sense, starting by an uncomprehensible suicide mission that only happened because Cassa wanted to (she was such an annoying character, why would anyone follow someone like her?!) and ending without any explanation as to what they were going to do to take down the council, even if they did manage to get any proof of what was happening under the Citadel as their initial plan intended. The villain was also so underwhelming I could cry. All powerful, evil for the sake of evilness without real goals, past or anything that made him even slightly interesting.
Every relationship felt shallow and underdeveloped - no, I don't get invested after a super short chapter of 'how X met Y' when during the rest of the book the characters barely interact unless it's to a) the siblings play truth or lie b) Cassa being an obnoxious pig-headed leader who never takes responsibility or considers other people's opinion c) everyone disliking Cassa's plans/attitude but following along anyway even after all the consequences d) references to years of fierce friendship and loyalty that are never seen on page in a perfect example of why you should show, not tell
Also, Alys asexuality/aromantism annoyed the hell out of me. It felt like a simple "tick" on the diversity list as a simple reminder here and there that she's queer too. As an aro-ace person myself, my identity does affect me more than simply thinking about it once in a while and shrug it off as not important when something makes me realize that I do feel things differently than the majority of people, especially when I feel that difference when I'm with people I love. Doesn't mean that I wanted her to be angsty about it - I've dealt with that angst myself for years now, thank you very much - but her identity should influence her response about things. Heck, even a fun moment of banter between Alys and Evander about his crush or a conversation around his breakup could've been good opportunities where her own sexuality could shine through without having to be a 'something is wrong with me' thing.
The writing was good at times but generally it was just meh, probably because the plot itself didn't help, and although the author tried to make the entire story feel urgent and quick paced, I just felt bored and near DNFing it almost all the way through.