City of Miracles is the third and final book in the Divine Cities trilogy. I received an advanced reader copy from the kind folks at NetGalley and, in exchange for that, this is my honest review.

I've enjoyed this series from start to finish and highly recommend it for fans of the more realistic flavors of speculative fiction. The story, which is set in an alternate world and includes divine powers, still feels very contemporary -- with autos and firearms and espionage. The characters (who you will come to adore by book three) undergo extreme trials that aren't always gracefully overcome. I actually shed a few tears, which speaks more to the author's ability to weave an engaging tale than my own lack of emotional fortitude. I swear.

I was so excited to receive a copy of City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett though Netgalley, so thank you, again for allowing me the chance to read this early!

The Divine Cities series, has been hands down my favorite series since I received a copy of City of Stairs from here on Goodreads. I love this series, I shout at just about anyone who asks, what my favorite book is every year that they need to read it. This did not disappoint.

When I had read the synopsis, it looks like I wasn't the only one who felt it was a punch in the stomach to hear that Shara Komayd was assassinated. And that Sigrud comes out of hiding to pick up the pieces, to find out where the life of his beloved friend Shara went and what exactly she had gotten herself into now. But we know Shara and the Divine are never really far from each other, and she's never caught off guard and never not planning something. She was a force to be reckoned with even in death. Her daughter Tatyana Komayd is missing. Her hotel blown to bits.
And old enemies are everywhere, as well as a few new ones.

The book opens with a violent death, certainly the first, but not the last by far. Old gods still lurk in hiding watching humanity tear it's self apart in circles. Miracles are still functioning, new and ancient worlds brush against each other competing for space. Old favorites make their appearances.
My favorite cranky, swearing one-armed spirit animal makes an appearance as well, good old Turyin Mulaghesh now Minister of the Minority Party, now known as "Mother Mulaghesh" which is the most hilarious nickname she could have been given, hasn't changed much. Albeit older and just as cranky.

I liked the way that Sigurd's character was treated, the journey he got though these 3 books, always an operative at heart like Shara. But by the end he has come full circle, as a person, and is in some ways healed, though the hard journey of his life.
There are so many twists and turns, when the Divine is involved. The old, the new, power like that is always evolving, adapting, changing, even the miracles take on a life of their own. I don't want to give too much away. "Operation Rebirth" is really going to give you one hell of a ride. I defiantly cried at the end.

I just want to say thank you, to the author, Robert Jackson Bennett for giving us this amazing world to root around in and these great characters that stick with us. We got pretty attached to them in these three books. It's one of the best examples of a creation of a new, rich world, you'll want to do a lot more than just sink your toes into.

A great addition to The Divine Cities series. Great plotting, world-building, and character development. Docking a star for:

a) obvious conclusions that characters take an unrealistically long time to cotton to

<spoiler>b) what seems to be a glaring mistake in the author's own lore. If Taty is one of the Divine orphans who never age and just keep getting adopted over and over
<blockquote>Then one day people started getting suspicious. They started wondering, when was this child going to grow up? When was this child going to become an adult? Why does this child stay adolescent? Why was this child still here? And when people started asking these questions and getting suspicious, then Jukov's miracle took care of you.</blockquote>then how did Sigrud see her as a young child in [book:City of Blades|23909755]?
<blockquote>Shara freezes and turns around just as a small, round face pokes through the curtains of the bed. It’s the face of a young Continental girl, perhaps no older than five, and she blinks sleepily at Shara and rubs her eyes. </blockquote></spoiler>