The Beasts We Bury / D.L. Taylor / Book Review

THE BEASTS WE BURY

Mancella Cliff may have a bloody reputation, but she longs for a life without bloodshed. A life she can't ever have. Not since she emerged from the Broken Citadel as a child with the power to summon an army of animals... if and only if she's killed them with her bare hands. Wielded as a crown jewel for her kingdom, her magic lends strength to her father's rule. And for hers, should she be named his heir.

Silver, on the other hand, has only ever lived in the shadows of the Cliff family's bloody rule. A runaway from an academy designed to sculpt poor children into the perfect soldiers for the crown, Silver can't legally hold a job or a own house or have any sort of stability. Luckily, he's a pretty decent thief... who has just been tasked to steal something from the Cliff family's palace.

And if there's one thing Silver knows, it's that the best way into a rich family's home is through the weakest link's heart...

THOUGHTS

This... was a book. And I guess there will be some people who like it. It just wasn't for me. It didn't stand out, in a market flooded with "edgy" fantasy. The bloody nature of this plot felt more for shock value than, you know, actual plot structure or character development, so it all fell a little flat for me. It was... fine.

PROS

Magic System	You know what I'm a sucker for? A really interesting magic system. And this book definitely has that. Magic doesn't look the same in any two individuals, and it acts as something of a "gift" from the Broken Citadel... if you survive your trip there. I really enjoyed each new type of magic introduced, because they were each so twisted and so unique.
Brutal Upbringing	I also appreciated that Mancella's childhood hasn't been soft and sweet, even though she might technically be some kind of "princess." There's a certain brutality inherent in sending your children into the Broken Citadel, and that brutality didn't end when Mancella and her sister came back out again. They're girls crafted by a power-hungry father, and that's brutal.
Potential	This book does a really good job of wrapping up its key plot points. It resolves really well enough to leave readers satisfied (especially if you end up liking it more than me). And it also nicely sets up where we can go from here, so if anybody's looking to invest in a new series, this first installment might just have you hooked...

CONS

So Mancella's got all these animals, right? That's a big part of the plot. She has to kill them with her hands, and then she can summon them... to do something? Except she can't really do anything with them. She's never shown doing anything with them. There are a few times in this plot where she tells people what she can do, but there's absolutely no scene where she actually, actively uses these animals to any sort of benefit. So... what's the point? I don't get it.	Useless Menagerie
I know it's fantasy. I know we're not supposed to treat it like reality. But there's absolutely no world where a human being is killing a jaguar with their bare hands. Just no way. I don't care how long you train. We're not designed for that. And boy does Mancella have a lot of animals from incredibly different ecosystems and biome types on hand to kill... with her bare hands. I guess they're meant to be imported from all over this fantasy world, but I have absolutely no sense of how this fantasy world works in any regard, so... Yeah, I don't know. I don't get it.	Reality Check
I really do need good characters, I think, to get hooked into a story, and this book... doesn't provide. The main cast isn't that well-developed, but they seem positively three-dimensional compared to the side characters (and, honestly, I would consider everyone but Mancella and Silver to be the side characters here). Silver's friends Vie and Rooftop are especially underwhelming, which is a real shame considering there's at least one plot point that relies on readers actively caring about them. This story isn't really plot-driven. It's a character arc more than anything else, so it is such a shame to have the characters be so flat when the characters are meant to be the stars.	Dimensionless

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/10

Fans of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me will like this new, deadly magic wielder. Those who enjoyed Alexandra Christo's Princess of Souls will like this realm of dark and twisted destinies.

Details Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Date: February 4, 2025 Series: Broken Citadel Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.