I’m used to fast-paced novels, and the first half of The Beasts We Bury was a little slower than I was used to. It likely felt slow because it took a while for me to warm up to Silver. Silver is loyal to his friends and willing to take risks to ensure their well-being along with his. Lies and thievery are his modus operandi and yet neither bothered me as much as his arrogance. He reminded me of Flynn from Tangled. He ultimately became more tolerable as I saw him through Mancella’s eyes, but it took a while.

Mancella, on the other hand, was someone I immediately liked. It’s hard for me not to root for tortured heroes, and she fits this archetype well. The most painful part of her story is that her father is the person continually inflicting the pain. How could I not feel for her when, despite her vast experience with her father's duplicity, she keeps hoping maybe this time, this task will finally be enough for him to love her? It's heart wrenching to watch him continually break her down.

Once I was able to manage my ill-feelings about Silver, it was easy enough to immerse myself in the novel. The book addresses so many important topics like toxic relationships, accepting/loving oneself, and the difficulties that may arise with disentangling the two when they become inextricably linked. The world is interesting, and the magic can be brutal. I almost could not put it down once things started to finally pick up. While Taylor takes a while to set everything up, getting to the end was worth it. I'm looking forward to the next book.

This was just meh for me. I feel like the plot was classic YA fantasy and the romance was the usual enemies to lovers but the actual story was super dark with the main magic for the main character fueled by animal death (which I hated). I think the magic also left a lot of room for plot holes later on and I probably wouldn’t read the sequel to this book.

I was also disturbed by the plot point of adopting children and sending them into the place that “can” provide magic but mostly kills people. Death in books can be part of the story but this seemed needlessly dark without driving the story.

Lastly, I was not a big fan of the narrator choice for Silver. He sounded much too old to be a teenager and that distracted from the story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mancella Cliff is probably one of the most tragic, beautiful characters in literature. She loves animals and yet the power forced upon her depends on her killing them with her bare hands. Her father, a paranoid king with delusional madness who sees everyone as a threat. He uses his children as weapons but Mancella is literally his one girl army because every creature she kills she can bring back as a controlled spirit. It doesn’t matter what she wants or needs because he’s determined to force her to do it, so she is repeatedly locked into death matches with innocent and increasingly dangerous animals, and now he’s ready to start human trials. Enter Silver. He and his two friends have barely survived as cunnnined thieves while their parents were sent away as as oilers to be slaughtered in an endless pointless war. But Silver has been promised by a mysterious benefactor that he will be able to live a life of ease and comfort with his friends if he steals a few things from the palace. All he has to do is trick the Princess. When Mancella and Silver meet, sparks fly in and instant love /hate connection that neither will admit to but both feel intensely. Will their romance be allowed to grow or will it all end in tragedy? Epic, enthralling from start to finish. I shed many a tear over this book, including wishing for more at the end. I hope this continues as a series or at least a trilogy because I really want more of this story.

A great romance fantasy! It's a dark ya fantasy. I would def recommend! Strong character growth and diverse characters. Plot and character development was mixed well. Well written!

I don’t think I was prepared for where this book would take me. I knew it was going to be dark, but some of it was a little darker than I thought it would be… In the best way.

our FMC was forced to do things she did not want to do while, still trying to maintain her decency and humanity. Her father was trying to do everything in his power to hold and keep power. However, this didn’t make her weak, but instead made her strong. Sometimes you have to go through traumatic things before you decide to fight back.

our MMC is an orphan who is abandoned by his kingdom. Forced into an abusive academy that is only there to train up soldiers. He and his band of friends came together to escape and try for a new life. Unfortunately, when everything is working against you you have to rise up against those that would put you down.

This book sometimes felt YA and sometimes felt dark fantasy adult. Mainly because the thought processes of the main characters felt more young adult while the themes and experiences they had was more adult, leaning either way I was not anticipating everything that they went through. The twists and turns truly took me by surprise. The magical system was completely foreign to me, but well explained. I chuckled, I cried, and at times I was utterly pissed off.

I cannot wait to see what happens in book 2, because that cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat.

I enjoyed THE BEASTS WE BURY quite a lot. In a sea of romantic fantasies with premises that often blend together, this one caught my eye and held me captive. At times, I felt the prose was a little bit rough for a debut. And I did wish that the worldbuilding was a little bit more in-depth, but at the same time, it felt miles ahead of some of the YA I've read. I did not vibe completely with the romance, however, that is a subjective take. If you're looking for high stakes, interesting characters, and a cool magic system, then I would completely recommend this book.

Thank you for the ARC!

A story of magic, family, and monsters, The Beasts We Bury is a romantic fantasy with a well crafted world and characters. I was pulled right in, and I found a nice balance in dramatic moments and light hearted moments which lends to a thoughtful but not too heavy read, which I love. I hope to read more from D.L. Taylor!

I loved this one! It was such a unique YA fantasy, and can we talk about this cover? STUNNING. This was a great adventure, and the stakes were high! I will say that if you are an animal lover, tread with caution. This was a great debut, a great cliffhanger, and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series goes.

RATING: 🥀🥀🥀/5 Enchanted Roses

ONE-WORD REVIEW: INTRIGUING

TAG LINE: Will he steal her heart... or her chance at the throne?

OPENING LINE: My father waits until halfway through breakfast to announce that I’ll be killing something again today.

REVIEW:

Thank you to Macmillan Publishers for providing me with an advanced reader copy!

The 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉𝓈 𝒲𝑒 𝐵𝓊𝓇𝓎 had one of the most intriguing premises I’ve come across in a while. From the first page, I was captivated by the eerie, immersive world—rich with tension, danger, and the creeping sense that nothing is as it seems. The story pulls you into a dark, almost haunting atmosphere that lingers long after you turn the last page.

The worldbuilding? Phenomenal. D.L. Taylor crafted a setting that felt alive—brimming with magic, secrets, and a weighty sense of history. I loved how the lore unfolded naturally, pulling me deeper into the story.

Now, here’s where things got a little tricky for me: the voice. While the story itself was gripping, the characters sometimes blurred together. Silver, our love interest and MMC, didn’t feel distinct from Mancella, the FMC—his dialogue and inner monologue read too similarly, which made it hard to fully connect with him as a separate entity. I wanted more of his unique perspective, more depth to set him apart.

Also, Mancella's father is a complete DICKHEAD--a selfish, self-serving, manipulative jerk.

That said, 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉𝓈 𝒲𝑒 𝐵𝓊𝓇𝓎 is still an engaging, atmospheric read that offers plenty of twists and a world I’d love to revisit—especially if future books refine character voice.

ELEMENTS:
✨ Dark, haunting atmosphere
✨ Unique and immersive worldbuilding
✨ Secrets & betrayals
✨ Monsters, both literal and metaphorical
✨ High-stakes intrigue

Final verdict? A mesmerizing world with a gripping premise, but the character voices needed a little more distinction to fully shine. Still, a solid read for dark fantasy lovers!

Happy Reading!
Ashley
www.TheTatteredPage.com

This book has it all deceit betrayl family trauma and a bunch of plot twists. Her father forces her to use her powers to kill an animal so it does have a little bit of a trigger warning for those who might not be into that. She is the heir to the throne but people don’t know that behind the scenes she is getting abused

While the magic system is unique and dark and unlike anything I've ever read, I think this needs more world building. I felt a little lost at times. Something about the main couple wasn't developing for me as well.

I received this book in a giveaway.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book wasn’t what I had in mind.
Definitely a darker plot, between the killing of the animals and the personality of the king. I did not love the premise, just wasn’t for me and the romance didn’t romance. Not a book I vibed with or would recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was fantastic, and I would highly recommend bookstore snag it up because it's a good book to recommend when teens come in looking for what's next after Powerless, Heartless Hunter, and have read most of the mainstream titles.

I don't know why but for some reason the name Silver just continuously took me out of the story.
I will say, though, that I did enjoy the darker themes present in this story. The main characters were pretty compelling, and I thought that they were pretty well fleshed out with motivations that made sense/were clear. However, the side characters really just felt like set-dressing in this story--I just wasn't really stressed out/worried about what was going to happen to them, so that also wasn't great. The ending also, for how dark the story presents as, just felt too....neat. I feel like this doesn't really need to be a series because we already sort of got the happily ever after, in a way.

This is a compelling dark YA romantasy about Mancella, who is heir to the throne, and whose magic allows her to summon animals, but only after she’s killed them with her bare hands. Her father is a monster and a tyrant, and in her bid to escape his control, she meets Silver, a charming, sarcastic, thief and liar. He’s grown up on the streets and will do whatever it takes to survive. They become unlikely allies as Mancella fights to save her kingdom, but all the while, Silver is manipulating her to get what he wants. However, they both end up falling for each other and have to face what that means for themselves and their ambitions. This book is filled with deception, betrayal, trauma, friendship, magic, banter, and just a hint of angsty romance. I had a great time with it, and I can’t wait for the next book! I was lucky enough to receive an ALC, and the audio is fantastic. It’s dual narration with Brenda Scott Wlazlo and Jake Chronister and they did such an amazing job with it. I highly recommend listening!
🐆
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️
🐆
Read if you like:
▫️a princess and a thief
▫️magic gifted by the Broken Citadel
▫️rebellion against a tyrant king
▫️reluctant allies
▫️dual POV
🐆
Thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan Children’s, Macmillan Audio, D. L. Taylor, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. I received advanced copies for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

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To be honest, I was quite craving a fantasy read so to jump into this one really hold my interest. While the world-building wasn't that present from the start, I still went with it and figured it would come later on. Sadly, after a while, I still felt like it was lacking. The story was fascinating, but I always had so many unanswered questions and I couldn't really quite figure out the overall situation. That being said, I was still interested enough in the story to enjoy it.

Tropes:
YA Romantasy
Secrets / betrayals
Trauma
High stakes
Special powers
Different class
Enemies to lovers

While this one is YA fantasy, it was a bit on the darker side for sure. The animal parts were hard on me, but the fact that they still were part of our main character definitely made it better. I did love our main characters as soon as they appeared on the page. Both had quite a backstory, and they were easy to understand for me. I could see their relationship evolve quite nicely as they started to open up, and the dynamic between them was interesting with the secrets and all.

One thing that was missing for me though was some kind of attachment to the side characters. I might be more picky with fantasy, but I enjoy the whole found family trope only if I truly feel it. I cannot say the side characters held my interest enough for me to be stressed about what would happen to them and all. So that was a bit of a bummer.

The magical world was like no other that is for sure and I really found interesting that not all characters had powers and that you had no idea what those could be! It opened up for so many possibilities! I did see some of the plot twists coming, but that is not something I find negative, it was well plotted, all happened in its own time, and I was always looking forward to continuing this read. The ending was too much of a happy ending for me to feel a need to continue the series. That final plot twist honestly just annoyed me and I can easily forget about it, and they lived happily ever after in my head.

Overall, this one had a super interesting plot and it's a very nice debut, I'm glad I read it!

Thanks to ColoredPagesBookTour, Fierce Reads and the author for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

This YA "Romantasy" was very intriguing. It was full of deception, family problems, and twists and turns. The fantasy world felt very unique. It started explaining the kind of magic that the FMC had, and it was dark, to say the least. If you are an animal lover (like me), Mancella's power and what she's being forced to do by her father can be tough to read.

Mancella is very innocent but strong in her beliefs. She doesn't know how far her father's evilness has spread, but she's willing to do something about it. Silver is the MMC, from a very different world than Mancella; he is trying to get back a little of what her father has been taking from the people of the realm.

The dynamic between the MCs was really exciting to read. Silver was determined to hate the Heir, but he soon found out that she was rather different from what he always thought.

The story was fast-paced; I couldn't put it down because I really needed to know what was going to happen next. The ending left me gasping for air, and I need to continue this series!

There’s a girl who has magic that allow her to collect animal souls she killed, as long as she kills them in a fair fight. those souls reside inside her and could be summoned whenever she wants. and there's an orphan boy who hates her family and plans to manipulate her.

It's a story stacked with betrayals, secrets, and dark past. The vibes was brutal & disturbing, reminded me of Gilded duology. It made me feel helpless but also eager to see where the story’s going, a combination of good writing and amazing narrators. The characterization was so good. The romance was okay but the random “there’s only one bed” felt out of place and unnecessary IMO. But other than that, I enjoyed it.

the ending indicates there could be a sequel? I mean this is good as a standalone but I will read the sequel if there will be one. What a captivating debut

Mancella lives in a world ruled by magic. The Primes of each kingdom flaunt their magical powers to incite war or promote peace. Mancella is the heir apparent to her brutal father, who puts his power before the safety or desires of his family. Schooled by his vicious ways of persuasion, she has been instructed to kill every animal her father brings to her. Her magic absorbs the spirit of each beast, but she can summon them back at will.

Silver, a homeless pickpocket and thief, is recruited by a stranger to steal something from the castle. He is given three specific tasks to accomplish and is promised a house and work papers to secure a job. It is everything he has ever dreamed of! Silver realizes he must acquire Mancella’s cooperation to accomplish the tasks he is required to do. They find common ground where neither expected it, as his job becomes more difficult and deadly than he could have imagined. At the same time, Marcella becomes more desperate than ever to escape her father’s cruel authority and manipulation.

Silver’s desire to acquire a decent life is palpable. Marcella’s abhorrence of the deeds she must accomplish for her father is heartrending. Both main characters are believable and draw the reader’s sympathies. Overall, a quick, exciting read!