What do you think?
Rate this book
Aura Wielders: Citadel
Not yet published
Expected 15 Sep 26Something answers.
Eli Walsh never asked to be saved. At eighteen, he's weeks from a two-year church mission he doesn't believe in, trapped between a faith he's been faking and a mother whose heart he can't bear to break.
His best friend Mary wasn't going to let him go quietly. Goth, furious, and desperate enough to try anything, she drags him to an ancient mound and calls to powers that should have stayed forgotten.
Now Eli is somewhere else entirely.
A world where magic flows through the elements. Where armies clash over territory he doesn't understand. Where a girl with Mary's face answers to a different name — and where his memories of home are dissolving like smoke.
He's not sure that's a bad thing.
Eli Walsh never asked to be saved. At eighteen, he's weeks from a two-year church mission he doesn't believe in, trapped between a faith he's been faking and a mother whose heart he can't bear to break.
His best friend Mary wasn't going to let him go quietly. Goth, furious, and desperate enough to try anything, she drags him to an ancient mound and calls to powers that should have stayed forgotten.
Now Eli is somewhere else entirely.
A world where magic flows through the elements. Where armies clash over territory he doesn't understand. Where a girl with Mary's face answers to a different name — and where his memories of home are dissolving like smoke.
He's not sure that's a bad thing.
- GenresFantasy
428 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 15, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 6, 2026
I really wanted to love this book, especially with its promise of portal fantasy, magical academics, and found family. ✨📚 While I enjoyed parts of it and could appreciate what it was trying to do, it never became the page-turner I hoped it would be.
The story followed Eli, an eighteen-year-old caught between a faith he no longer believed in and a future that didn’t feel like his own. Everything changed when his best friend, Mary, dragged him to an ancient mound in a desperate attempt to save him. Instead, Eli found himself transported to a world where elemental magic existed, kingdoms were at war, and a girl who looked exactly like Mary lived an entirely different life. As his memories of home slowly faded, he was forced to uncover the truth about his unusual abilities while deciding where he truly belonged. 🌍✨
One thing I appreciated was the emotional depth of the story. 💙 Rather than focusing solely on epic battles or world-ending stakes, the novel explored trauma, healing, identity, and belonging. Eli’s struggles felt authentic, and the themes surrounding childhood abuse, emotional neglect, and learning to trust others were handled with care. Some scenes carried a quiet emotional weight that stayed with me long after I finished them.
That said, I found myself wishing the story had focused more on moving the plot forward. 📖 There were long stretches where it felt like the emphasis remained on character interactions and emotional conversations without enough momentum to keep me fully invested. While character-driven stories can be incredibly rewarding, this book needed more action, discoveries, and higher stakes to balance the introspection.
The pacing also struggled for me. The portal fantasy setup was intriguing, but the middle section became quite stagnant, making it difficult to stay engaged. I also felt that Mirah’s storyline sometimes felt disconnected from the rest of the narrative, which made the overall story feel less cohesive. ⚔️
Despite my disappointment, I never felt like this was a bad book. It simply wasn’t the story I expected. Readers who enjoy slower, character-focused fantasy with a strong emphasis on emotional healing will likely connect with it far more than I did. ❤️
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
🌍 Portal fantasy
🏰 Magical academy setting
🔥 Elemental magic systems
🤝 Found family
🩹 Trauma healing & emotional growth
💙 High empathy characters
📚 Character-driven fantasy
🗝️ Identity & self-discovery
✨ Soft, introspective storytelling
Overall, Aura Wielders: Citadel had an interesting premise, an imaginative magic system, and meaningful themes, but the slow pacing and heavy focus on character moments kept me from becoming fully immersed. I liked it, but I never felt that irresistible urge to keep turning the pages, and I ultimately walked away wanting more from both the plot and the world. 🌙
Thank you so much to B. Dalton and RR Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
The story followed Eli, an eighteen-year-old caught between a faith he no longer believed in and a future that didn’t feel like his own. Everything changed when his best friend, Mary, dragged him to an ancient mound in a desperate attempt to save him. Instead, Eli found himself transported to a world where elemental magic existed, kingdoms were at war, and a girl who looked exactly like Mary lived an entirely different life. As his memories of home slowly faded, he was forced to uncover the truth about his unusual abilities while deciding where he truly belonged. 🌍✨
One thing I appreciated was the emotional depth of the story. 💙 Rather than focusing solely on epic battles or world-ending stakes, the novel explored trauma, healing, identity, and belonging. Eli’s struggles felt authentic, and the themes surrounding childhood abuse, emotional neglect, and learning to trust others were handled with care. Some scenes carried a quiet emotional weight that stayed with me long after I finished them.
That said, I found myself wishing the story had focused more on moving the plot forward. 📖 There were long stretches where it felt like the emphasis remained on character interactions and emotional conversations without enough momentum to keep me fully invested. While character-driven stories can be incredibly rewarding, this book needed more action, discoveries, and higher stakes to balance the introspection.
The pacing also struggled for me. The portal fantasy setup was intriguing, but the middle section became quite stagnant, making it difficult to stay engaged. I also felt that Mirah’s storyline sometimes felt disconnected from the rest of the narrative, which made the overall story feel less cohesive. ⚔️
Despite my disappointment, I never felt like this was a bad book. It simply wasn’t the story I expected. Readers who enjoy slower, character-focused fantasy with a strong emphasis on emotional healing will likely connect with it far more than I did. ❤️
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
🌍 Portal fantasy
🏰 Magical academy setting
🔥 Elemental magic systems
🤝 Found family
🩹 Trauma healing & emotional growth
💙 High empathy characters
📚 Character-driven fantasy
🗝️ Identity & self-discovery
✨ Soft, introspective storytelling
Overall, Aura Wielders: Citadel had an interesting premise, an imaginative magic system, and meaningful themes, but the slow pacing and heavy focus on character moments kept me from becoming fully immersed. I liked it, but I never felt that irresistible urge to keep turning the pages, and I ultimately walked away wanting more from both the plot and the world. 🌙
Thank you so much to B. Dalton and RR Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Author
THE REVIEW
This was an engaging and compelling adventure fantasy novel. The depth of world-building and character development leads to a solid foundation for this story to take hold. The detailed imagery in the author's writing style allowed the reader to immerse themselves in both worlds that this book occupied, both the one familiar to us and the one the Author created as a protagonist stepped into this epic fantasy universe.
The mythology and compelling, emotionally driven themes made this novel truly engaging. Since this was such a character-driven narrative, the mythos honed in on the protagonist, particularly as did the themes. The narrative explores what it means to deal with loss and survive childhood horrors, while also peeling back layers of the protagonist's character arc to dive into the journey of understanding one’s own identity. The conflict between the faith he grew up in and the world as he understands it is one many readers will understand completely, and the unique academic nature of studying auras and the magic associated with them adds a sense of adventure and entertainment that will keep readers invested in this narrative overall.
THE VERDICT
Memorable, entertaining, and heartfelt in its delivery, author B. Dalton’s “Aura Wielders: Citadel” is a must-read fantasy novel. The concept of finding magic and an adventure through alternate realities and portals felt like a great connection to both folklorist and metaphysical genre storytelling, while also allowing the deep emotional themes of the narrative to connect readers with the protagonist and keep them invested in every twist and turn the story takes, including the cliffhanger final chapter.
This was an engaging and compelling adventure fantasy novel. The depth of world-building and character development leads to a solid foundation for this story to take hold. The detailed imagery in the author's writing style allowed the reader to immerse themselves in both worlds that this book occupied, both the one familiar to us and the one the Author created as a protagonist stepped into this epic fantasy universe.
The mythology and compelling, emotionally driven themes made this novel truly engaging. Since this was such a character-driven narrative, the mythos honed in on the protagonist, particularly as did the themes. The narrative explores what it means to deal with loss and survive childhood horrors, while also peeling back layers of the protagonist's character arc to dive into the journey of understanding one’s own identity. The conflict between the faith he grew up in and the world as he understands it is one many readers will understand completely, and the unique academic nature of studying auras and the magic associated with them adds a sense of adventure and entertainment that will keep readers invested in this narrative overall.
THE VERDICT
Memorable, entertaining, and heartfelt in its delivery, author B. Dalton’s “Aura Wielders: Citadel” is a must-read fantasy novel. The concept of finding magic and an adventure through alternate realities and portals felt like a great connection to both folklorist and metaphysical genre storytelling, while also allowing the deep emotional themes of the narrative to connect readers with the protagonist and keep them invested in every twist and turn the story takes, including the cliffhanger final chapter.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A highly engaging portal fantasy novel that combines magic academics with trauma-healing and found-family dynamics. This one is not for the readers that only focus on core fantasy. Rather, it offers a ride to intricate magic-systems with relatable steps of emotional intelligence. Eli’s power is different, and that makes him unique with his magical resonance and load-bearing threads.
The zero-offence and high empathy further intensify with parallel backstories of childhood trauma of an abusive father, the “bad quiet” ambiance, and feeling the emotional temperature of a room. The elemental powers of Alia, Gregor, Tia, and Eli are worth exploring.
Dalton offers a suffocating dread-building with the flat voice, hiding under the table, and approaching boots. Mira’s desperation and Eli’s library research juxtaposed to remove the stagnant pacing of many academy novels.
However, the main antagonist being the snobby-bully reminds us of the same frustrating institutional structure. Also, high dependence on the portal fantasy model in the beginning created a slight stagnant middle part and sometimes isolated Mirah’s journey. But, trauma handling and earned relationships compensate for the said.
Highly recommended for readers looking for progressive character-building and magic-detailed fantasy.
The zero-offence and high empathy further intensify with parallel backstories of childhood trauma of an abusive father, the “bad quiet” ambiance, and feeling the emotional temperature of a room. The elemental powers of Alia, Gregor, Tia, and Eli are worth exploring.
Dalton offers a suffocating dread-building with the flat voice, hiding under the table, and approaching boots. Mira’s desperation and Eli’s library research juxtaposed to remove the stagnant pacing of many academy novels.
However, the main antagonist being the snobby-bully reminds us of the same frustrating institutional structure. Also, high dependence on the portal fantasy model in the beginning created a slight stagnant middle part and sometimes isolated Mirah’s journey. But, trauma handling and earned relationships compensate for the said.
Highly recommended for readers looking for progressive character-building and magic-detailed fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews