I really enjoyed the Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic Series and I was really eager to read another book by Helen Harper.

Altogether, it was a fun take on the Urban Fantasy genre, an enjoyable story with a truly unique world. This book is really fast paced and will take you one one hell of a ride. But sadly, I found it hectic and hard to follow at times (especially the middle of the book) and had trouble to get back into the story. It won't stop me to read other Helen Harper's books, though.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the first in a series. I found the book to be ok, but not my thing. I give it 3 stars. I am sure many fantasy readers would enjoy.

A fun take on the Urban Fantasy genre.
Our heroine is a character well loved in previous books who is finally taking center stage. While a bit chaotic at times, the book reads fast paced and takes you one one hell of a ride.
Helen creates a truly unique world and relatable characters for the reader to connect with.
Fans of Darynda Jones or Linsey Hall would enjoy Shrill Dusk. It checks all the boxes for a kick butt heroine taking on the baddies.
One one negative would be that the middle gets a bit hectic and hard to follow but the ending provides a satisfying conclusion so its worth pushing through.

There were so many things wrong with this book I don't even know where to start. The book started of with a sophisticated, almost dark aura which quickly disintegrated into complete amateur middle grade writing.

The protagonist Charley's personality was so choppy I didn't understand why she was doing what she was doing half the time. In one scene she's so cynical and in the next she's the first one to try and comfort a random person. She's one of those completely righteous characters that have to save everyone, that lives for other people. But that trait does not fit in with the rest of her personality. It felt like the author just picked out what traits she wants for her character but didn't check if they harmonised with each other.

Secondly, the story did not go with the writing. I would have expected a more descriptive and advanced writing style for a book that relied heavily on the politics between the different creature types. That's another thing I wanted to talk about; did the author just have a list of different types of creatures to tick off? There were Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries, Shapeshifters, Magic users etc. It just seemed like a bit much especially when they all didn't have a role.

All in all, I did not like this book, nor would I recommend it to anyone. The only thing that held me back from giving it one star was the first two chapters of the book.

Magic and Mayhem and Monsters in Manchester, oh my! Once again, Helen Harper has produced a fun, light read that I zipped through in one sitting. Charley is a heroine both easy to and worth rooting for and I have become as fond of her as I was of Integrity Taylor from Helen's 'Highland Magic' series [which I also highly recommend].

This story had good pacing and plotting and believable suspension of disbelief. The villain was beautifully mundane in such a magical world, but more than that I won't say, so I don't spoil the story too much.

*I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This started out so steinf but couldn't keep the pace.

It was a solid read though just not what I thought it would be.

Strange things are happening in the City of Manchester, and Charley, Monroe, Lizzy and the gang are caught in the middle of it!

With all the unusual activities, the government evacuates and locks down the city, Max Strong (aka bad guy) steps in to rule over all who remain. When Lizzy (Charley’s best friend) is captured by Max, Charley and team devise a plan to rescue her.

Great book for the average fantasy enthusiast. I did find it quiet a dark book. However it was an enjoyable and a relatively easy read. Note there is some use of strong language.

** I received a copy of the Shrill Dusk by Helen Harper via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had had a good time with another of the author’s novels and I was really curious to discover something else about her. I must say that the synopsis and the cover really made me want to discover it!

Charley is haunted by a tragic event of her youth, but today she is a housekeeper and poker addict, and she lives a little on the margins of society. Yet a magical apocalypse will change all that and she will find herself dealing with things she thought were impossible.

As I said, I was curious to discover this novel but I must say that I am disappointed. After trying several times to get back into the story, I preferred to stop at 40%. It’s not that it’s bad in itself, because the author’s style and some ideas are nice, but the story of the apocalypse is a bit absurd for me in relation to what’s going on and I admit that I was a little doubtful about the pink elephant. There are a lot of characters and unfortunately I didn’t really care about them, and I found the heroine a little too easy and naïve actually.

So no, it’s not bad, but it wasn’t for me either.

I don't know why, but the first half of this book reads like Charley is the side character and there's some other book going on where the main characters are fighting to stop the apocalypse, and then here's this side character going on about her side character/NPC business while the main characters do their apocalypse-stopping main character thing. Is there another series that runs parallel to this? Like there are some weird crossover episodes when the TV shows Buffy and Angel were running concurrently? Because I feel like that would have made sense.

It got much better in the second half, where it felt like Charley was actually (finally!) the main character of her own story. I liked Charley for the most part, and while I like that she retains her positivity and faith in the essential goodness of man, I also think she is incredibly naive for a character who is also at times extremely jaded. Still, she's bad ass, so I'll go with it. The world building is fun and the story is fast-paced, but there's not always a lot of there, and the world-building and plot don't feel fully fleshed-out and cohesive... Which is probably why I was left feeling so much like this was the story of a side-character and that there much be a "main book" about the "main characters" (and thus some world building and plot lines that are better fleshed out and that explain more) out there in the universe somewhere.

Still, Charley isn't sure what the heck is happening most of the time, she's just forced to roll with it, so I suppose it's just an immersive experience for the reader to also need to roll with it? It was still an enjoyable read with some really creative elements, I just wish it had been a little more cohesive.

There is a dense quality to the storytelling in Shrill Dusk that creates a 'messy middle'. While aspects of the storytelling were intriguing, I had to make myself slog through. That said, the author has some unique ideas and I will read more of her books.

I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Charley is a professional gambler and cleaner living in Manchester, England. She has promised to pay off the gambling debts that a friend owes to a gangster. While she is cleaning the local police precinct, she has an unusual encounter with a woman. Not soon after that, strange things begin happening all over Manchester. Vermin invasion, raining fire, a surge in plant growth and a locust infestation manifest into a war between supernaturals. The government decides to evacuate the city but not everyone goes. Everything in Charley's life has changed, including herself, and she must try to adapt to the new world. Her need to help others sometimes gets her into trouble but luckily she has gathered a group of friends and supernaturals that have become her family and they work together to survive this new world. When I first started reading this, I thought the story line was a little silly. I liked it but it could use a little more fleshing out. The dialogue and the character development could use some polish to make the relationships between the characters a little more believable. I did like the story but I think it could use some more touching up. Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Title: Shrill Dusk (City of Magic Book One)

Publisher/Author: Helen Harper

Pages: 254pp

Price: $10.99/$3.99

The apocalypse has come. Well, okay, it's not a total apocalypse. Bad faeries want to destroy the world, good faeries want to save it, and their final confrontation flattens a good portion of Manchester. It also leaves the city so contaminated by magic that the mortal residents are forced to evacuate. Well, almost all of them. A few people decide to stick it out. Like Charley, a one-time cleaner who has suddenly developed ridiculous magical abilities. And her Australian roommate Lizzie, who can now transform into a bunyip. Not to mention the magic-starved werewolves and vampires who are running towards Manchester. And then there's the crime lord who has seized the opportunity to create his own personal fiefdom, and he isn't going to let anyone stand in his way ... not even Charley ....

I adored Harper's series, The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic, so I was very happy to see Shrill Dusk pop up on netgalley. While technically a sequel to her Fractured Faery series, it is not necessary to have read that series to understand what is going on in Shrill Dusk (I didn't, and I followed along just fine).

Shrill Dusk is a heck of a lot of fun. The characters' reactions to having their entire understanding of the world turned upside down were realistic, ranging from terrified to confused to thrilled. The post-magic changes to Manchester were also interesting to see: monstrous trees, strange creatures, and the battle over dwindling supplies, to name just a few.

Charley is a great character: a skilled gambler, she has a head full of random facts and is excellent at reading people and situations. She is also traumatized by the death of her baby brother in a house fire that she blames herself for starting; she couldn't save him, so she keeps trying to save everyone else. When the apocalypse hits and the government cuts Manchester off from the rest of the world, Charley is determined to build a self-sustaining community where everyone is welcome and people support one another.

Others are not so certain. Monroe, for example, is an alpha who lost his entire werewolf pack during the short but devastating faerie war. For him, it's survival of the fittest. He is convinced that Charley is going to get herself killed if she keeps taking in every stray she comes across. And then there's Max the crime lord: a greedy, smarmy sociopath who sees only opportunity in the chaos. Charley knows better than anyone that he is not to be under-estimated.

Shrill Dusk has it all: an intelligent and compassionate heroine, a tough but vulnerable love interest, best friends standing strong, magic, monsters, and a villain in need of a good comeuppance. Highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy, as well as fans of Ilona Andrews, Annie Bellet, T. Thorn Coyle, Jolene Dawe, and Lisa Shearin.

This was my first book by Ms. Helen Harper and while I didn't exactly love it I didn't hate it either. It simply didn't wow me. It had a very interesting beginning, a messy, very messy middle and an ok ending. That messy middle kept losing my interest and I had to force myself to keep reding it instead of the book pulling me in. If the book was a little longer I'd probably give up and not finish it. There were also so many secondary characters popping up and deciding to live in Charley’s house I sometimes lost track who is who. Most seemed interesting but with so many we never get a real chance to learn more about them.
It pains me to give a book with so much potential this rating, but I didn’t really enjoy it. I didn’t necessarily hate it, but I also had to push myself to finish it. It became more of a chore than an entertainment, which is frankly quite disappointing. Let's leave it at that.

I first came across this author with her Blood Destiny series. That was a few years ago, when I came across this title on Netgalley the cover caught my attention first, then I noticed who wrote it. I was more than eager to reacquaint myself with this author.
Shrill Dusk falls into that grey area of not quite YA but not your typical NA either. Or should I just say it’s a cleaner NA than most on the market. Shrill Dusk is on the sweeter side of things than the steamy. No real content or language warnings that raised flags for me, it’s not a completely innocent Twilight, but it’s not Laurel K Hamilton either!! 
Shrill Dusk is a very enjoyable story with an interesting world. This author remains true to form by developing interesting characters and creating a twist on ‘normal’ civilisation. The story is fast paced and a lot happens in a relatively short amount of time so you definitely don’t get bored!
The first in a series, Shrill Dusk has the potential to turn into an interesting exploration of this world and its characters. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

I’ve read this author before and really enjoyed her. When I came across an opportunity to read this series starter by her, I jumped at the chance. As I found her other books to be, this one had great writing, interesting characters, and a fun plot. There were some crossover characters from another series, but as someone who hadn’t read the other series, I was in no way confused. In fact, I now want to read the other series to see what lead us to this point. This is the type of book I find to be an easy, fun, mostly light-hearted, and quick read; it’s something to spend an afternoon enjoying. Yes, I do admit Charley’s attitude got to me a little, but I hope she learns better soon. I’m anxious to see what’s coming next for Charley, Monroe, Lizzie, etc. I really do highly recommend this book! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.

I had a wild dream last night after finishing this book. You could say it was a nightmare or just splashes of events. Just exactly as this book (not the nightmare part though)... Someone could ask me what this book was about and I wouldn't be able to answer that question. What was it about? What was its main topic? Survival? Magic apocalypse? Beginning of the end of the world? I really don't know.

It was a fast paced story with many characters in it, various events and a lot of action but... Yes- I have 'the but'- I didn't seemed to be able to find the main thing that author wanted to show us- the purpose of this book. I felt this story was more like an introduction, a very interesting one but still an introduction.

Does it mean that I will reach for the second one? I will because you know that feeling when you started your dinner with an appetizer and you're still hungry for the main course? This is how I feel with this book- I think there is more to come. I don't know if Helen Harper did it on purpose, to force me to get her second book, however if that was her goal she succeeded. She's a great author that knows how to make her readers want to come back and see more. She knows how to write to make it all interesting.

This is one of the shorter review as I feel that I cannot objectively judge this work of art without seeing the whole picture. I might even reach for other series to see a different perspective to this chain of events and maybe then I will be able to see the finale point of this trilogy - other one that my own entertainment.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shrill Dusk by Helen Harper, a good start to a hopeful series. Charley is a cleaner/gambler and things rarely go her way, but when weird and violent things start to happen to the city around her but not actually touch her does she realize she might be "lucky".

Charley was your average human until an unusual encounter in the ladies’ room that will transform her life forever. Charley finds herself magically enhanced and her home in Manchester has become a magically infused post-apocalyptic town that is cut off from the rest of the world.

Choosing to stay in Manchester, Charley finds herself teaming up with a reluctant werewolf, an actress vampire and some everyday humans who have decided to stay in “their city”.

Fun, fast and intriguing, Harper world building and characters will have the reader coming back for more.

I received this ARC copy of Shrill Dusk from Helen Harper. This is my honest and voluntary view. Shrill Dusk is set for publication Jan. 4, 2019.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Helen Harper
Series: City of Magic
Sequence in Series: 1
Print Length: 254 pages
Publication Date: January 4, 2019
ASIN: B07LH65ZCK
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shrill-Dusk-Ci...

Want more check us out on Tome Tender Book Blog or on Facebook

12 likes

Almost DNF numerous times. This is the first book I've read by this author, and apparently it's a spinoff, so maybe reading the other series would have changed my opinion. I found Charlie so infuriating of a character that I could not have cared less what happened to her. The world was cool and the magic was fun, but she was so,unlikeable for me that I wasn't at all invested in the outcome. I won't be reading the next of the series.

I liked Shrill Dusk very each. It's a different story than most urban fantasy and I can't wait to see what happens next. #ShrillDusk #NetGalley