Book: Beneath by Ariel Sullivan
Reviewed by plotdrunk
Rating: 5/5
This was such an easy five star read.
I have not read Conform yet, but my goodness I loved this book. I love dystopian books in general, and this book reminded me a lot of the Silo series. The world felt well thought out, immersive, and unsettling in all the ways that need to for a dystopian to work.
I loved the FMC Sasha, who is deeply affected by her traumas and is trying to figure out how to survive and form relationships with anyone else again. The MMC is broody and guarded (for good reason), and I love that he fell first and hard (even though Sasha spends basically the entire book pushing him away). The slow burn was incredibly slow but deliciously satisfying when it paid off.
The found family element was another big standout, especially watching Sasha try to resist forming bonds with them for so long. The twists at the end were really well executed as well - characters I assumed were one dimensional bad guys turned out not to be, and friends that I trusted betrayed the unit. I was genuinely shocked.
The pacing was strong, the writing was clean, and characters felt well developed. Beneath did a great job at setting up the world for Conform, and I started it immediately after finishing this book.