When I started the book the prologue struck me as being very familiar. Normally if I've read a book upon re-reading the beginning the details come back; that was not the case with this book. The longer I read the more I remembered some things but it still never quite came back. Now that I have finished it a second time I still feel rather ambivalent about the story.

Charley, while decent, falls victim to many of the standard FMC tropes. The remaining cast and crew also fall into standard tropes based on their character type. While comforting I also enjoy a little shake up and spice to the characters. Take the basic mold and then make it your own, that's what really captures my attention as a reader and will keep me coming back for more.

The premise is top notch and what really kept me reading. Magic gets introduced into the world and through the intervention of a sect of people they keep it from spreading beyond Manchester. Those that stay have to navigate a world full of old enemies and new challenges and they only way they will succeed will be to band together.

I still have a lot of questions after reading this book. There seemed to be a few plot lines that started and just kind of died out so I am hoping they are picked back up in the second book with more explanation. Overall its a decent read but didn't leave any last impressions.

Happy Reading.

I didn't love this book but I think this author is one that I definitely want to read more from. I thought it was funny and enjoyable, just not really for me.

Charley is a cleaner by day and a professional gambler by night. She might be haunted by her tragic past but she's never thought of herself as anything or anyone special. Until, that is, things start to go terribly wrong all across the city of Manchester. Between plagues of rats, firestorms and the gleaming blue eyes of a sexy Scottish werewolf, she might just have landed herself in the middle of a magical apocalypse. She might also be the only person who has the ability to bring order to an utterly chaotic new world.
This was a new author for me and the plot of the story is one that I’m seeing pop up more and more, so I was curious. It was a quick and enjoyable read as I followed Charley on her journey into her new life. I can’t wait to read more from this author. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Wonderful book and another string to Harper's bow. This series isn't quite as good as her last one, set in the same world as this one with cross over characters, but is still a worthwhile read and Helen Harper gets a recommendation from me ever time as she hasn't let me down with her work to date!

This book had good potential but in the end, it just turned out all right for me...

Lots of unnecessary info-dumping, lots of self-sacrifical behaviour and self-righteousness from the main character(s), lots of eye-rolling moments.

But, it was an easy read and I did like the plot and the general idea.

I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review,

I requested this book because I love Hlen Harper earlier suff. This one not so much. I mean, maybe if I read The fractured Faery series, which is kind of a spin-off series for this or vice-versa I I woukld have enjoed it more but kind of doubt it.

Beware, this review ended up beaing a bit spilery and ranty!!

First of foremost the positives, I love the author writing. She write fluid and easy to read story with a touch of humor and quirkiness. Aaand in this case pretty much that is the positive aspect of things.

The most annoying thing about the whole book was how every exciting, improtatn event happened while our main characters were in the background. It really felt as if we went to the theater to watch a play and our tickets were for backstage. Here, i don't mean the side of the stgae, but way back in the dressing rooms behind a couple of closed doors. Why did the main character only arrived everywhere for the aftermath of things?? HMM??? Explain it to me please!
But this is not all, I also found the whole story and the reason behind the characters quite moronic. They practically created a post-apocaliptic scene for themselves. The played pretend walking dead, because the events and the damage only happened to on singe town. You only should have traveled half an hour to get out of the city and you are safe and comfortable. OHH, but no, they have to stay and fight thooth and nail for provisons and evade the local gangsters and such. Please, where is your self preservation??

After this I think sou can guess my opinion about the characters. Unfortunately they are not really fleshed out so I only could judge them by their actions which I just expressed how moronic it was.

I don't even know how I finished this book instead of just DNF-ing it after like 25%. I had the patience of a saint. This book was a pretty big dissapointment, especially since I'm a nig fan of the author.

Authors love to imagine the end of the world. I put that in italics because, if you've read any of those books, it's rarely really the end of the world. Zombie apocalypse, biblical apocalypse, environmental apocalypse... (You'd think as many times as I just typed apocalypse that I would spell it right once, but NO.) Sure, maybe the end of civilization as we know it, but the Earth imploding? We'll leave that for sci-fi.


Shrill Dusk has a premise not unheard of in urban fantasy: the magical apocalypse. (Nope, still got spellchecked in case you were wondering.) It's a normal day in Manchester when suddenly all things go to hell in a handbasket. Not literally of course, but close. There are hordes of rats, fire raining down, her roommate turns into a bunyip, plagues of insects, fairies and weres fighting in the street, and is that a...pink elephant?


Charley is a gambler with a heart of gold as the saying goes. She's actually a little hard to relate to. Even before the MA goes down, she's a little too nice for her own good. She takes on the debt of a fellow gambler and goes toe to toe against the local loan shark baddie for his sake, with no plan of how to get the money to pay him back. Throughout the whole book, she's running out with no thought to her own safety to rescue people and bring them back to her house like she's running a boarding house for lost and broken werewolves and vampires. She's quite naive and impulsive. You really quite want to smack her over the head with something in a few places, BUT... as she's a magical enchantress now and can hold her own, so that might not be the greatest of ideas.


From page one, Shrill Dusk is a non-stop magical throwdown of weird, absurd, and nonsensical situations and that was its redeeming quality. There are a ton of characters marching their way through the plot and most of them are interesting enough, while some are entirely goofy, but still fun. Apparently, if you've read Box of Frogs by the author, I understand that all these characters may seem less thrown in. There's even a hint of a love interest and romantic tension with the super macho werewolf. I feel like there were a lot of loose ends but I guess that's why it's a series. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to spend a weekend and if you like your UF on the silly side, Shrill Dusk is for you.

Shrill Dusk was actually not bad. I'm always iffy when it comes to urban fantasy because it can go two ways. It could be the best thing you've ever read or the worst. Shrill Dusk was good and I hope to read the second book soon.

Charley is an average woman living in Manchester working as a cleaner trying to pay off debts for a friend. This all changes when magic comes crashing onto the city. Werewolves, fairies and vampires start appearing while uncontrollable magic wrecks havoc onto the city. Charley gains magic herself but it is untested and unstable.

The beginning of the novel was slow but by the end the pacing was much better. The beginning was slow as it mainly focussed on character introduction and world building. I thought too much time was devoted to Max in the beginning as he makes a bigger appearance throughout the novel so all that initial time was unnecessary.

The plot and backstory were good. There was a ton of action and fighting throughout the middle to end of the novel, the beginning was lacking in both. I loved reading about Manchester as it was slowly destroyed by magic, it added a nice dystopian feel to the novel.

The characters were okay but they weren’t as well fleshed out as I was hoping. Max was the stereotypical bad guy who wants all the power. Charley was the soft, caring woman who just wants to help people. She makes some mistakes which helps her feel more complex and dynamic. The budding romance was cliché and unnecessary. It didn’t feel real and made the novel feel more young adultish.

In conclusion this was a good urban fantasy novel with a dystopian feel. I loved its setting, nice change from the typical American city. The characters were okay, the romance was cliché and the plot was good. I would suggest it to all young adult fantasy fans.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I thought this was a fun, easy read but I think it would play more to the YA crowd. It wasn't quite what I wanted from it, but it won't stop me from looking for this author in the future.

Great book. I enjoyed it!

Give it a go!

I reviewed as an Advance Reader Copy, I read it and I chose to review it.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an entertaining urban fantasy. Charley is a professional cleaner and gambler with a big heart. I liked her quirky, sarcastic personality. She keeps her cool when strange and dangerous occurances began to reshape the world she knows. Magic and shifters are introduced in a post apocalyptic world. Entertaining and fun.

Imagine leaving from work, only to realize that sh*ts going down in your city (in the book’s case, it’s Manchester).
Imagine the sky burning. Imagine your friend turning into a monster and back again. How would you react?
You’d probably freak out. Be scared. Confused. Panicked. Right? At least that’s how I would react, which leads me to the main issue I had with this book: there’s basically the apocalypse happening, and the protagonist of this book just... accepts it. It was unrealistic. Yes, it’s fantasy, but people would probably worry a bit more if it seemed like the world was ending. And Charley didn’t really do that.
The book also failed to make me feel anything. I didn’t care about the characters and I didn’t care about the story. Things just happened, and I started skimming the pages.

Overall, I’m sure many people will love this book, but I couldn’t connect with the writing style or the plot.

- I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. -

Helen Harper hits it out of the park once again with this gritty and realistic take on Urban Fantasy! An awesome beginning to a series that I look forward to reading more of!

Shrill Dusk, book one in an interesting beginning to a new fantasy series called City of Magic by Helen Harper. This series picks up from the end of the Fractured Faery series changing protagonists from Madrona to Charlie like handing off the baton or in this case a magical sphere.

Things have gone awry in the city of Manchester, for more background read the Fractured Faery series, hordes of rats. plagues of locusts, magical growing trees and rampaging pink elephants. Charlie just wants to sleep after working all night cleaning the police station and having a run in with Max, to whom she owes a debt. But what she wakes up to is a whole new way of life. Magic is real, her roomate is a newbie shifter and the lady she met last night hid a magic globe in Charlie's apron. Now the lady, Madrona is at her house along with an alpha male named Monroe. Weird stuff is happening on the news and Manchester is in trouble. Things do not get better and the military declares martial law and an evacuation of the city. Charlie refuses to abandon her home because weird things are happening elsewhere in the city her house for some reason seems immune to damage.

When a big blue explosion of light fills the sky, Charlie investigates and finds Monroe's friends are dead and he alone survives, the local soap star is a vampire and all the fae and Madrona have disappeared, leaving a mess to clean up. What better person to clean up a city than a professional, Charlie shall begin with Max.

Shrill Dusk is an entertaining urban fantasy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. After neatly skirting the apocalypse, Manchester has become infused with magic. Most flee the city, while others, discovering their unique heritage stay. Charley is a professional gambler with a heart of gold. She likes helping people and tends to think of others first, not always to her benefit. What she doesn’t realize is that she has the potential to be a leader, or the firepower to back it up.

Do people need strict laws? Or can they survive with openness and pure democracy? That’s the question at the end of Shrill Dusk, and one that will be important in future novels. Charley is an idealist and has the magic to protect her group. The werewolves have their own protection. Shrill Dusk’s purpose was to create the setting, demonstrate the type of person Charley is, and create a post-magical apocalypse society. It’s a training ground and in some ways a prequel more than a stand alone novel. It spins off of Helen Harper’s already established fractured faerie series.

4 / 5

I received a copy of Shrill Dusk from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

— Crittermom

There's only so much generosity and open door policy I can take before or starts grating on my nerves. Idiotically letting in every stray, dangerous or not, sharing all your supplies... That's not done in an apocalypse. No one that nice and naiive survives long.

Anyway, that part really got on my nerves. Beyond that, I felt it could do with some editing - specifically cutting some parts. Like the prologue, it was a really good captivating beginning, but other than providing some of the MC's history, it didn't connect with the rest of the book, and it only raised further questions, like how did her parents react, and will they ever reconnect. If not, why bring it up at all?

I didn't connect with the MC. The overall idea was interesting, and it was an OK read, but I definitely won't be continuing with this series.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would have rated the first half of this book 2-3 stars, but the second half was considerably better, more in 4 star territory, so I will leave it at the higher rating. For the first half of the book, I was pretty confused about what was going on and if I hadn't been reading this for review, I might very well have put it down and not picked it up again. It seemed like there was a story going on in the background regarding the potential apocalypse but that story wasn't being told, and instead we were following Charley, the heroine, who was only peripheral to the action. After taking a look at the author's earlier books, I realized that was because this book is a spin-off from her Fractured Faery series (which I obviously haven't read).

By about the halfway mark, the story moved on to the point where the earlier series events didn't matter so much. The plot takes off, becomes coherent, and much more enjoyable. Charley, having survived the almost apocalypse of Manchester, decides to stay in the ruined city instead of evacuating on government orders with most of the other residents. She sets about gathering supplies as well as allies and to start building a new community. She's also left with residual magical abilities but she's not sure where they came from or how strong they are.

I liked Charley as a main character, but she was often painfully naive, bordering on TSTL. Due to her personal history, she's inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, no matter how badly they act. She has a definite savior complex, so I imagine she will get herself into trouble many times in future books trying to protect people who don't need or deserve to be protected. In some ways, I found her to be very much like Ivy from Slouch Witch (a series I adored and which led me to try this new series). Charley is generous and kind as is Ivy, and always trying to help people. Also like Ivy, she's not the typical snarky, hard-shelled, kick-ass UF heroine. However, Ivy, right from the start, was intelligent and didn't let herself get taken advantage of. I'm waiting to see if the same will be true of Charley. I also hope that the secondary characters are better fleshed out in later books. There were quite a few new characters introduced, but at this point, they are merely sketches and definitely need more development.

I tried to like this book and just couldn’t get into it. It was supposed to be book 1 but I felt I was dropped into the middle of a series and I should already know the characters. After putting the book down I discover it’s a continuation of another series....I would suggest reading the other series first

To be noted:

I was given an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This book was free, and my review is not biased towards that fact in any way. These are my opinions only, (as everyone is entitled to them) and should only be taken as an idea for whether or not you would like to read the book yourself. In the end, no matter what review I give, props to the author for writing what they love, and actually publishing a book.


Shrill Dusk

3.7 stars rounded up**

After a brief prologue of the main characters troubled past, and an introduction to her gambling habits and a debt she's taken on for an acquaintance, a girl named Charley finds her self and her roommate Lizzy in a suddenly tumultuous state in Manchester. Strange events begin occurring, but at the same time Charley seems to be somewhat set apart from them and they do not harm her like they are harming others. This story trails these events and their conclusion of what happens to the city. This books is full of typical fantasy elements such as shape shifters, girls with rough pasts, vampires, and oddly enough a Bunyip. Who knew!

I'm not going to lie. I started this book with the intent to finish it within a couple of days. I did not meet that goal and here's why:

The beginning of the book is very interesting. I was caught up for the first chapter, and then it seemed like it just got more confusing from there. I struggled to keep up with everything that was going on. Maybe, if I had read the other books that coincide with the series I would have understood better; but I felt like it was just too much too fast without any explanation. I honestly felt as lost as the characters were being portrayed to feel. I would have liked a little more world building, and a little more character description to help. As a side note, it also frustrated me that the author used full names repeatedly in the prologue.

The plot itself has so much potential. It just needs more depth. Once I pushed past the reading anxiety I was getting of total confusion and trudged through to the 20 percent mark, I felt like I could breathe a little better and the story was more interesting.

There was a lot of typos and misplaced words/sentences. At one point the main characters friend Lizzy was spelled as Lilly. That made it difficult at some points, and I had to go back through and re-read the sentence to make sure I was seeing it right. The grammar issues weren't horrendous though, just really noticeable when I did come across them.

I do intend to look for the authors second book, as I would like to see how the relationship develops between Monroe and Charley. However, I just hope that the pacing of her second books is done a little better and the characters have more depth as I said before. The way this book is written, other than the language I feel should be marketed towards more of a preteen level than considered young adult.