I received this ARC via Netgalley in return for an honest review. I enjoyed this book immensely and do recommend it for those interested in stories with good heroines and modern day when magic suddenly drops in to stay... Charlie works as a cleaner in the local police station. She has a big heart that often lands her in trouble as she tries to save her friends when they end up in bad situations. The book opens with a bit of backstory where Charlie's actions, inadvertently, result in the death of her younger brother. This influenced Charlie's future in numerous ways. A strange set of events occur in her home town of Manchester, England, and somehow, Charlie ends up right in the middle. The city ends up as a quarantined, walled city in an effort to contain the magic that is now rampant. Those few who remain after the city is ordered evacuated must now decide how they're going to survive when current rations will become scarce. There's the local small town hoodlum with ideas of grandeur, a sexy werewolf, vampires, elves and assorted humans, along with a few unusual magic species - bunyips, anyone? I really like this book and found it easy to read. I didn't have any problem keeping the characters clear, which can be a challenge if the book isn't well written. Good job by Ms. Harper. I look forward to the next in the series.

I was browsing NetGalley and the cover caught my eye.
The description was interesting enough, with the keyword werewolf, to seal the deal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very easy to get into the story, told in first person from the point of view of Charley. The story set itself up quickly and told us what we needed to know about her past and present situation. And then things just started to happen and kept happening.

This is not 'the best thing I have ever read!' I wont set you up like that. But it is funny and fun and the the characters have a lot of potential. Mr. Werewolf was great fun but this is just the beginning of the possible relationship. I want more =) It does mean that if I had the next book in my hands right now, I would jump right back in and find out what happens next.

The writing makes me feel that the next books are going to be even better. I look forward to it.
And best of all I am very tempted to draw the two main characters from this story. That means I liked it

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Years after a family tragedy, Charley now lives in Manchester working as a cleaning person, while also maintaining a career as a professional gambler. However, after a number of strange happenings occur, Charley, and the people of Manchester, soon find their lives changed forever. To make matters worse, Charley seems to have gained strange powers herself, and now, with the help of her friends and an annoyingly sexy werewolf, she finds herself fighting to stop a magical apocalypse and keep the peace among their magical wasteland of a city.

Helen Harper is one of my most-read and most-loved authors. Every single urban fantasy or paranormal romance I've read by her has an incredibly unique concept, while also containing the perfect amount of romance and humor. That being said, Shrill Dusk is easily one of my favorite books by Harper to date. While Charley could be a bit naive, she was still a compelling and relatable character, and I really loved reading her scenes with Monroe. I really enjoyed how this series tied in with Fractured Faery, and I thought the concept of a series about the repercussions of Madrona's actions in Skulk of Foxes to be incredibly smart.

Overall, anyone looking for a quick and humorous urban fantasy with an intriguing magic system will absolutely love Shrill Dusk. I'm so thankful for the quick release for book two, as I'm super eager to read the rest of this series!

4.5/5

Helen Harper has a knack for creating urban fantasy stories that are entertaining and quite often amusing. Shrill Dusk is the beginning of a new series for her that utilizes characters found in a previous series while introducing her readers to a whole new heroine. This book is a little darker in someways then previous stories but I still found it very readable and didn't put it down until I'd finished every last word.
Charley, a cleaner for the local Manchester police station and a professional gambler in her spare time, finds her world changing overnight as she discovers magic is all around and supernatural creatures are alive and well in her city. After being caught in the middle of a situation (which is a hangover from The Fractured Faery series - well worth a read) Charley finds magic is now very much a part of her and she is living in a Manchester that is playing by completely new rules.
This book moves at a brisk pace and sets up a series that I want to read more of as soon as possible. Charley, who has a few demons she is dealing with from her childhood, is an extremely likable character who collects a motley crew of misfits to call friends and allies. If you like a rollicking urban fantasy with a sprinkling of potential romance then this is a book to be added to your 2019 reading list.
Thank you, NetGalley and Helen Harper for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review - it was a great read.

In the prologue protagonist Charley experiences a profound loss and 11 years later we see her still dealing with the aftermath.

The book starts when strange events are talking place in Manchester, UK, where Charley lives. It looks like the Apocalypse is near and in a short period of time she is confronted with faeries, werewolves, her roommate shifting etc. And she takes it all in stride!

I have read books by this author before (especially liked the Slouch Witch series!) but somehow this did not grab me as much. It was confusing with all the characters Charley interacts with in a short time span and I just did not get Charley. Even the tragic loss she suffered doesn’t make it believable how big her savior complex is. It became annoying I must admit.

This reminded me a lot of the Fractured Faery. Not surprising since some of the characters are included in both stories, and the events are overlapping. To be honest, I didn't really like Fractured Faery, it got way too silly for me, and was some sort of an absurdist comedy. This was more to my liking, it was still ridiculously insane, but not quite as silly.

The pace of the story is fast with lots of action, and as always with Helen Harpers books, I enjoyed reading it. The pink elephant was an especially nice touch.

The main character Charlie though... Sigh... I wanted to strangle her again and again and again. She was so naive that it drove me insane. Please please please in the next book, slap some sense into her!

I received a free copy of SHRILL DUSK (City of Magic, Book 1) by Helen Harper in exchange for an honest review. Charley lives a quiet life and tries to stay under the radar; she works as a maid/cleaner, gets extra money by gambling, and tries to make up for her past by helping people whenever she can. When normal, everyday Manchester ceases to exist as magic flares into existence with plagues, rapid forest growth, and mythical creatures, the British government decides to quarantine the area. Charley decides to stay; it’s her city, and the people are going to need someone to look out for them, especially if that someone has accidentally obtained great magical powers. Charley has a vision of how the new Manchester should be, but does she have the will and the ability to make it happen? Can her vision prevail over the will of those who want to rule Manchester as warlords?

This was a fun book. I rather liked that Charley was stubborn enough to stand up for and keep to her principles even though she seemed to be an otherwise practical person. Although Charley was logical enough to both create and implement a plan to achieve her goals, she refused to fall into ruthless efficiency when dealing with the lives of other people. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

#ShrillDusk #NetGalle

Shrill Dusk would be a good book for a YA audience. It was a quick and easy read. It didn't cover much new Urban Fantasy ground, but that might change in the next book.

I thought this was a good first book in a series, it set the scene well for future books and introduced some very interesting characters,and an interesting scenario.I loved the main character she had plenty of attitude and also a heart of gold.There were plenty of other characters that will be worth getting to know as well.I think this will be a good series to read and a welcome addition to the urban fantasy genre.thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Helen Harper for this arc.

I thought this was a short and easy read... the pace was fast without being breathtaking. A good book for the young adult reader (even though it isn't being marketed as such... a couple of kisses only, reasonably clean language). Ambitious world building with some interesting paranormal elements. I thought the characters were the weakest part of the book. By the end of it, I was so irritated with Charley's naivety I was ready to slap some sense into her. That's okay, I'm not a young adult.

2.5 stars rounded up

Charley cleans the police station, and likes to gamble. She's pretty good at noticing people's "tells". While the description states she's a gambler, there is literally no gambling after the first pages to set up "the bad guy". This is a pretty good story of a magical awakening of the city of Manchester, England. A chance meeting, a magical artifact, Charley is thrown feet first in to the paranormal world, Charley and her roommate become the epicenter of the quarantine of the city to contain the magic. As people rush to leave the city, others rush to be engulfed in the magic of the city. New alliances are fraught with the lawlessness, and the magic has changed regular humans into something other. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.

I received this novel from net galley and the publisher. Thank you!
This novel involving the paranormal was a good read for the first novel in a new series by Ms. Harper.
In Manchester, England, strange things are happening. Many believe the world is coming to an end, but supernatural creatures such as the faeries and werewolves are trying to contain the power, in which many are sacrificed. Charley, a cleaner for the police department, a gambler, and one who helps others, all of a sudden has these magical abilities. Charley has a sad past and will always try to help others, which puts her at odds with Monroe, a Scottish werewolf who believes in survival of the fittest after this power destroyed his clan. Charley and Monroe disagree on many things, but are attracted to each other, but will not admit it. Charley learns there other supernatural creatures and wants people to stick together to survive with the government deciding to “quarantine” Manchester. They are letting people leave, but if one chooses to stay, there are no guarantees. Charley has another problem she has to handle as a result of helping out someone in need, which brings danger to those who reside with her.