Sunday Funday: ARC Mini Reviews - Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria & Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek by Anthony O'Neill

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today I'm sharing two ARC mini reviews with you: Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria (available October 9th, 2018) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek by Anthony O'Neil (available October 2nd, 2018).  Both of these ARCs were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Read on to see my thoughts on these two stories.

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria is the first novel I've read from the author and after this I'm certainly excited to read more of her work in the future. In regards to this new standalone YA fantasy, I have a feeling that you will like it if you are a fan of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The ensemble cast and alternating perspectives are fantastically written. Each of core cast member - Cassa, Evander, Alys, and Newt, along with Vesper - all have distinct voices and intriguing journeys. I couldn't help but love each of them for a variety of reasons - there's even plenty of good banter that helped cement my appreciation for Soria's style. Plus, the on page diversity representation here is great - gay, bi, ace, fat, dark skin, and anxiety - for our main characters. While the characters really made this story work for me, I also appreciated the world-building and the magic system. I have to admit, the citadel itself is practically a character in its own right. The idea that prophecies are political and that there are various other abilities were very intriguing to me to see them all worked into the story line. To be honest, my only real complaint is that the novel takes a little while to take off and hook you - not to mention that although this is a standalone I'd still like to spend more time with these characters. Overall, I highly recommend this new YA fantasy from Destiny Soria, especially if you're interested in getting to know a Kaz and company-esque gang.

I read this ARC from October 3 - 4, 2018 and my review is also available on Goodreads.

❋ ❋ ❋

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek: The Strange Case Continues by Anthony O'Neill has an outstanding premise. It acts as a sequel to the classic tale from Robert Louis Stevenson. O'Neil does a good job of recreating the tone and feel of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to the atmosphere and writing style. The last ten to fifteen percent of the story is luckily fantastic. Overall, though, this new sequel was just a tad underwhelming when it counts - the lead character, Mr. Utterson. Utterson is supposed to progressively spiral down into madness, but he practically just jumps off the deep end. Regardless of the minor issues I had with this new release, it's still worth trying especially if you enjoy Stevenson's original.

I read this ARC on October 4, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.


Have you read either of these novels, or are you interested in picking them up in the future?  As always, thanks very much for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below - and have a great rest of your weekend!