Beneath by Ariel Sullivan

Welcome to Unit Seven, Cadet

Beneath is a stunning prequel that surpasses Conform in all the ways that matter most to me as a reader. Ariel Sullivan crafts something more intimate and emotionally complex here. I found myself even more invested in this story than the one that started it all. And to be clear, I loved Conform.

Sasha Cadell is not an easy character, and that feels intentional. She has lived through devastating loss and carries it with her. It could have made her hard to connect with, but she is written with so much depth that I was firmly in her corner from the start. The nicknames she earns from her unit quietly trace her arc. When the final one landed, I felt it in my chest.

Unit Seven and the Heart of the Story

Tristian Hayes falls first. He is drawn to Sasha from the moment they meet, and watching him pursue her with quiet persistence while she struggles to believe she is worthy of him is swoony and heartbreaking in equal measure. He reads as trustworthy immediately, but there are layers to him that left me eager to see where his arc goes next. Their slow burn is deeply satisfying—two people brought together by circumstances neither of them chose, learning to choose each other anyway.

The beating heart of this book is Unit Seven. Their motto, we go out as one, we come back as one, is simple and devastating, especially knowing what this world eventually becomes. Levi is an immediate standout and the found family dynamic is my favorite part of this book.

The secrets run deep and the cliffhanger left me desperate for what comes next. I cannot wait.

If this sounds like your kind of read, Beneath releases tomorrow — pre-order your copy HERE.

And if you want to learn more about Ariel Sullivan and this world, you can listen to our Author Spotlight interview, where we talked about Conform, set years after Beneath.