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.

\\\\\ 3.5 \\\\\

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!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
The Beasts We Bury by D.L. Taylor is a medium to high fantasy romance about Mancella Cliff the tortured royal and Silver the charming thief and the struggles about the truth and justice in a kingdom where Mancella’s father rules with an iron fist.
Mancella has a really interesting power with that being said the extent in which the animals deaths are described leaves me feeling a little disturbed to the point where I would even say a warning prior to the book would be appreciated. The way that she feels after using her powers is SO well written as the reader I could feel her emotions as well.
The romance in this book was really palpable and the tension that was created with Silver and Mancella was absolutely stunning. The conflicting feelings that Silver has towards her and the mission that he was given are some of the best uncertainty tropes I have ever read. The side characters were well written and offered their own tone to the novel.
The ending wasn’t my favorite. I would have liked it to go a different way but I understand why it has the ending that it does. The writing and world-building was really good. The only issue I had was the graphic magic but I’m very excited to see where the story goes.

3.5 - Unfortunately this was not a huge hit for me :( I was really excited for this one because I LOVE YA fantasy and romantasy!! The parts I did really like were the concept of magic here...a young girl who can take the power of animals into her body and become one, becoming a beast. I thought the villain was complex and fun to follow along with. The writing was really good and brought me into the magic and made me connect with the main character.

Mance is a powerful female main character, a heir to the throne, who has been forced into her position by her father. She has faced so many horrors in her life and is forced to live with the power to summon animals after murdering them with her bare hands.

The parts that fell flat for me honestly was the world building. I didn't feel really drawn into the story, despite there being a lot of discussion of the politics. I just didnt think that there was enough worldbuilding for this series to be a duology. I also didn't love the pov of the male main character, so when we switched from Mance's POV to Silver's it lost me a bit. I made it to 60% and I did see that there was a cliffhanger and crazy ending, so it may be worth sticking with, but it just wasn't keeping my attention enough.

Thank you to Macmillan Young Readers for the free book!!

Unique magic
Constant Actions
Enemies to lovers

I enjoyed the connection between Mancella and Silver and how they both want to improve the country. Silver is in the castle to steal form Mancella only to feel a connection to her. The twists and turns were unexpected and wonderful.

The only thing I struggled a little with was the graphic descriptions of animal deaths. These deaths are the way that Mancella gains in strength. She does struggle with this.

This was ok. I felt like it had a lot of the right elements, but ultimately they just didn’t land for me.

I thought the magic distribution system and the type of magic people had, especially Mancella, were super interesting and unlike anything I have read before. I actually really loved it despite how dark it was at times for the characters.

I wasn’t a big fan of Mancella. While she displayed tendencies of being strong, overall, I saw her as a weak FMC. I felt like she did strong things passively, if that makes sense. Instead of being truly full of grit, she seemed to reluctantly do the hard things. I don’t want to say too much more than that because I don’t want to give anything away, but I think her character was a big reason the book didn’t land super well for me.

Silver was ok. He was supposed to be a charming ruffian, and I guess he was to a degree, but he was a very vanilla ruffian.

Ultimately, I wanted more out of this. I felt a lot of character traits and events were given just enough detail to make the page count but not enough to have me invested in the characters or the events. However, I will say it was well written and would probably be a great intro book for those just dipping their toes into fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), and D. L. Taylor for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

A great fantasy with a unique twist-our main character can take on the abilities and powers of animals she kills. It can be a bit graphic, so fair warning for sensitive readers.

-Full review for Booklist

“‘And that, just like he can never stomp the flowers out fully, I won’t let that spark of goodness in me die completely either. No matter how many beasts we bury in my heart.’”

I LOVED this romantic fantasy.

My favorite part was the magic system. The abilities that characters had were so unique, and introduced really interesting dilemmas and consequences. The main character absorbs the spirit of any animal she kills with her bare hands, leading her father to want to use her as a weapon even though she tries to fight against him. I really felt for her, her struggle was so heart wrenching.

There was a big theme of pushing back against corrupt leaders, and the methods they use to impose control on their people. In this day and age I think these things are important to think about.

I liked the romance as well. From the MMC’s POV it was filled with angst, as he was lying to her from the jump, while the FMC thinks she has the first person to ever truly see her.

I enjoyed the magic, heists, twists, and romance, and can’t wait to see what comes next!

Thanks to the author and publisher for the copy.