I haven’t been able to put “Beneath the Shatter” by TA Reilly down since I started it (and I can’t wait for #2).

The way Sebastien calls Cassandra “princess” is one of my favorite things, and I actually find both of them being “grumpy” characters to be a unique take on the “enemies to lovers” trope. Their budding relationship definitely walks that oh-so-fine (and sometimes quite blurry) line between love and hate.

The sister-ship between Cass and Kateya (and Kateya’s slightly rebellious and crazy side) is SUCH an accurate representation of a sister-relationship (said the younger sister here LOL). That doesn’t always happen in books and I found that so refreshing.

I did find a small handful of errors, but I almost wonder if that’s because of the French to English “translations” or sorts that happen during some of the dialogue, but nothing that took away from or took me out of the story.

I’ve honestly seen a lot of comments about Cassandra’s lack of knowledge about her own world being frustrating, but I found it very relatable – think Germany shortly after the holocaust, or terrorist group children, or how we’ll explain Covid to our grandchildren 50 years from now – when “bad” things happen, the governemnt has a way of rewriting the script a little of what our little ones learn. It’s really not that far-fetched. I think for a fantasy novel, this book has so many relatable qualities that made it a really fun read!

Keeping it WTH-worthy,
Kells