I loooveee Cyberpunk-esque things and this was right up there in my interests. I loved how fast paced and fun this was, I’m only marking it down for a few predictable things that happened.
I also found it a bit hard to distinguish a few characters, it was a pretty big cast quite early on and some characters were lost

4/5 definitely will be looking at getting a physical copy when this

This book surprised me in the best ways possible. I loved that the characters worked together, even though they all had their differences. The fact that most of them were either gay or a part of the LGBTQ+ community made is so much better than I was expecting. The level of acceptance and normalization of people loving whoever they want and given the proper pronouns made my heart so happy. The story was like anything I had ever read before. The adventure was so unique and having the crew fight something that was not a living thing made the story so cool.. The amount of character growth in this book was amazing, especially since the characters went through so much in such a short amount of time. The ending surprised me the most, it was something that I was not expecting at all. I know this book is going to be released in October, but I need the second book now.

City Of Shattered Light-Review

Author: @clairewinnauthor
Genre: Sci-Fi
Page Count:802 pages
Publication Date:19th of October 2021 (19/10/21)

Ah I miss Sci-Fi so much, great read!

Thank you to @netgalley / @clairewinnauthor for providing me with this e ARC before publication

Blurb;

AS DARKNESS CLOSES IN ON THE CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT, AN HEIRNESS AND AN OUTLAW MUST DECIDE WHETHER TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES OR FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER.

As heiress to a powerful tech empire, seventeen-year-old Asa Almeida strives to prove she's more than her manipulative father's shadow. But when he uploads her rebellious sister’s mind to an experimental brain, Asa will do anything to save her sister from reprogramming—including fleeing her predetermined future with her sister’s digitized mind in tow. With a bounty on her head and a rogue A.I. hunting her, Asa’s getaway ship crash-lands in the worst possible place: the neon-drenched outlaw paradise, Requiem.

Gun-slinging smuggler Riven Hawthorne is determined to claw her way up Requiem’s underworld hierarchy. A runaway rich girl is exactly the bounty Riven needs—until a nasty computer virus spreads in Asa’s wake, causing a citywide blackout and tech quarantine. To get the payout for Asa and save Requiem from the monster in its circuits, Riven must team up with her captive.

Riven breaks skulls the way Asa breaks circuits, but their opponent is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. The A.I. exploits the girls’ darkest memories and deepest secrets, threatening to shatter the fragile alliance they’re both depending on. As one of Requiem’s 154-hour nights grows darker, the girls must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other before Riven’s city and Asa’s sister are snuffed out forever.

Review;

This book honestly reminded me of how much I love sci-fi the world building really transports you into this futuristic sci-fi world.

I would say that this book is an amazing read for people who are thinking of trying sci-fi as it is a genre that a lot of people can find intimidating!

The story in the book was filled with action, heists and escapes which were very well written I just loved to see how anything unfolded.

In terms of pacing this book was a excellent pace for me I never felt like I really drifted away from the storyline and felt always engaged

This book also has Queer representation with both Asa and Riven, being Bisexual. There is also queer side characters and a casual non-binary rep which was great cause it didn’t feel force in your face or anything which I think is important.

Strong female characters

This book includes The found family trope one of my favs!

Honestly a great staring place for people wanting to try or revisit Sci-Fi and a lovely written book overall.

If you’re thinking of checking out this book, please do its available to pre-order right now and there if SWAG available for early purchases!

Rating;
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½ stars

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING
Strong Language
Gun violence
Death
Blood
Mild Gore
Emotional Abuse/Manipulation
Mild Body Horror (Cybernetics)
Reference To Suicide
Terminal Illness
Drug and Alcohol Reference

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the annotation of the book. Plus the cover was gorgeous and it easily caught my eye and it seemed the book would be exactly for me. I don´t usually read sci-fi, but I decided to give it a try.
First of all, I appreciate the worldbuilding, it seemed like the author worked hard on it. The world was full of technologies, colorful and I could imagine everything very clear.
The plot was as well written and the end of the was unpredictable.
I loved all the characters in the book which doesn't happen very often. Of course, the most favorite person was Asa. But Riven, Ty, Diego, Samir are right after Asa.
I always hate love triangles and here it wasn't any exception. But it doesn't change anything about that I want the next book.
4,5/ 5

Thank you to Books Forward Friends, Claire Winn, and North Star Editions for giving me an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

So, this is a solid 3.5 star book for me. I struggled getting into the story until about 50% of the way through. I almost didn't finish it because I was just struggling that bad. However, it did finally pick up and I really enjoyed the rest of the story!

There were some things that definitely came off super cheesy and made me roll my eyes. Yet, I really liked the idea behind some of the planets and people that were created.

This is definitely a sci-fi as its set in the future with cyborgs and robots (called mechs in this book). I did struggle with one word throughout the book, instead of using mechanic, the author used the word mechanist which irritated my grammar/spelling alarm constantly.

There was very little cursing and no sexual scenes, however some intense kissing did happen. The genre is YA Sci-fi LGBTQ.

I was very grateful to receive an e-ARC through Books Forward BFFs, in exchange for an honest review. I had been interested in this book ever since I saw the cover, despite the fact I wouldn't normally read much sci-fi. While it's not a perfect book, it has a lot going for it, and the anticipation (it's coming out in October) is entirely deserved.

In terms of writing style, Claire Winn does an excellent job of world building without too much exposition! I've read a few YA books recently that were very much exposition galore: information was not being introduced organically in the book, but more like a list of throwaway facts that were not relevant at that moment in time. Claire Winn does NOT do this, she filters in words and concepts and expects the reader to keep up, which I loved. Also, the terminology she makes up isn't cringey at all. She does, however, have a fondness for the word "lattice" which appeared more times than I could count! Not sure if I can blame her for that - we all have words we're obsessed with.

In terms of pace, the book started off slow and compared to my latest reads, it took me a little longer to get into the story, I think the turning point for me was around the 40% mark and after that, I have to say, I couldn't put it down. There was SO MUCH happening and these poor characters were stuck in so many different negotiations and double-crosses and risked their lives so many times, it was difficult to find a suitable break to put the book down.

There's some interesting side characters in this, and the representation is also excellent in that sexuality, attraction and gender are all treated very naturally and nobody gets too caught up in their head about it - they're just trying to survive! Incidentally, I guess it's maybe slightly odd to hear the words "If I was straight" from one of these characters, simply because this doesn't seem to be a world were sexuality labels exist at all.

As for the main characters, I did like them both and I enjoyed that they had distinct voices and personalities, but equally I felt quite dispassionate about them. I absolutely wanted them to succeed but didn't feel any strong emotions when it came to their ship, in fact I will align with others who also thought the M/F ship made a little bit more sense in terms of the characters' personalities and values. The F/F ship, while there was definitely a lot of mutual respect there, seemed to mostly rely on attraction based on looks and I didn't buy the "they were the same" narrative, I really felt like I was being told that, but didn't see it.

I wasn't keen on the epilogue chapter, but it does seem to hint at a follow-up book and if this does happen, then I will absolutely read it. It's not often that I stumble upon a story that genuinely feels fresh and original and unlike anything I've read before, and this was it.

Thank you NetGalley and North Star Editions/Flux for the e-arc!

3,5 stars
I was really excited to be able to read this book. Sapphic sci-fi is right up my alley and this could have been perfect. Unfortunately City of shattered light wasn’t able to hold my attention.

I forced my way through a lot of this book. It’s very plot heavy, however, the plot is very repetitive and mostly consists of heists and then the escapes. 75% of this just felt like them trying to escape and seemingly impossible situation. It’s almost pure action. It went from one action packed sequence to the next with barely any time to settle. Added to that, even with all the sci-fi elements at their disposal, it ended up being kind of repetitive.
The plot itself also was kind of predictable, which ended up taking a lot of the intensity and excitement away for me.

Even though love triangles are a trope I can’t stand, this had the potential to be a great one as all the characters involved were glorious. Unfortunately, through all the action we aren’t given a lot of character moments which also didn’t allow any of the relationships to breath. I felt sparks on every side and but sometimes they were just out of reach and not entirely developed, which ended up making them fall flat. It ended up lessening the tension between the final couple.
I loved Asa and Ty together. They work brilliantly. However, I would have enjoyed the relationships more if Ty remained a friend to Asa throughout the story, without the romantic and sexual tension. It complicated things too much and through all the action there just wasn’t the time to make it work. Either that or take away the tension between Riven and Asa for a while. It all just lacked a little time.

The world has a lot of potential but it isn’t fleshed out enough. I just know the basics of this world, and aspects like its culture are severely lacking. If this was your first sci-fi story, you would have been very lost. The world is beautifully described and I know exactly what it looks like, but everything else is on the surface level. Maybe the next book would fix that, but for just this one it isn’t quite enough.

I want to end this with the best aspect of the book: the characters. All of the main crew were so lovable! I think there will be something for everyone. They all compliment each other brilliantly and in the few character moments we have we see their dynamics bounce off each other in many fun ways.
Ty is my absolute favorite. But who am I kidding, I love them all. Asa, Riven, Diego and Samir were all glorious! It was fun following them along and I absorbed every piece of their character that we got.

This was kind of a harsh review, but I want to make clear that this wasn’t a bad book either. It just wasn’t anything special and didn’t give me anything. It was just fine.

This review has also been shared on my goodreads, storygraph and tiktok!

This was such a fun, fast paced sci-fi novel. Sometimes I can get a little intimidated by sci-fi world building but I found this to be very accessible. Maybe because so many of the tropes were familiar from other genres I love. I was a little surprised at how heavily the love triangle is featured in this book. It's not my favorite kind of romance but the A+ longing won me over.

I read "City of Shattered Light" by Claire Winn a couple of days ago and I have mixed feelings about it. You can swipe to see the book's gorgeous cover.

It's written in 3rd POV, which I usually love, but so many characters were already introduced at the very beginning and the POV choice made it kind of hard to keep track of all the main and side characters.

It's a fast paced novel which worked really well for me. There's a lot of action, fighting, twists and found family dynamics. The writing style was easy and enjoyable as well.

There is queer representation, but I didn't really enjoy it (or parts of it) as much as I thought I would from reading the description. In the book there's a love triangle which is not mentioned in the premise. I really can't stand love triangles, especially if all characters have only known each other for a short amount of time.

I felt like the sapphic romance was rushed even though (judging from the description) it should have been the focus.

Plus, if you're not a fan of open endings, this won't be for you. As of now, we don't know whether there's going to be a sequel.

I would still recommend it for a quick and easy queer sci-fi read.


I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion. Release date: October 19th 2021.

content warnings: murder, (gun) violence, blood, emotional abuse, references to suicide

I liked this book a lot! I could tell that Claire had fun writing this queer sci-fi story! think there were a few parts in the middle that were a little slow, but overall I REALLY enjoyed City of Shattered Light

First of all, wow!
This is, no doubt, one of my favourite sci-fi books of all time. I enjoyed every single page of this book.

The characters are so well written and I genuinely connected with the whole main crew - they’re all incredibly special & I’m kind of in love with Ty tbh. The story was fast paced, gripping, very enjoyable. I’m definitely a sucker for the found family trope, so I really enjoyed it in this book as well. I usually don’t like love triangles at all, but I really didn’t mind it this time.

If there’s a sequel, I will definitely read it!

Thank you Netgalley and North Star Editions/Flux books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! it was such a fun, adventurous read, and I loved the characters. The characters don't fall into the overused YA sci-fi stereotypes, and while the plot was predictable, the characters made all the difference. I think this book should be an automatic buy if you like sci-fi, sapphics, books like Six of Crows, or adventures.

I was really excited to read this book, because from the pitch it seems like exactly the kind of story I love. But the reality of it was... not what I hoped. The characters felt flat and uninteresting, and so did the world building. It felt very familiar, like a sci-fi city from a dozen different movies/books with nothing really new or fresh to pull me in. I DNF'd this one, though I really tried to read it all.

Even though I am mad that it finished in a cliffhanger I am so happy that I got accepted to read this because it was so much fun book,I could not put it down. All I knew about this is that there was sapphic activates so i don't investigate further(Also the cover is perfection) I was incredibly surprised when I stared reading how incredibly badass the characters are I love that fact that Asa the main protagonist is a super geeky about technology and that she know her strength and weaknesses. I really hope the author pays more attention to Riven because she is such a breath of fresh air she a girl that likes guns, takes no crap from no one and is protective of her friends. I was incredibly surprised of how the author presented the technology and overall world it didn't take me out of the story what so ever. I don't know how long we are gonna have to wait for the second seeing as this a debut so please go support the author and read the book.

Thank you netgally and the publisher for giving me a free copy of City of Shattered Light for an honest review.

City of Shattered Light is the sapphic sci-fi story of my dreams! I utterly adored this book, it's amazingly fun, full of adventure, and so swoon-worthy. Claire Winn is officially an auto-buy author for the rest of my life!

Claire Winn is a genius!! This book is so fun, so adventurous, and unique that I had a hard time putting it down. Definitely recommend!

The City of Shattered Light is a young adult sci-fi novel by debut author Claire Winn. The novel follows Asa Almeida's journey as she tries to break out of her father's shadow of a manipulative owner of a tech company. Asa ventures into Requiem, a land filled with outlaws, after her father uploads her sister's mind onto an experimental brain. This book tells the story of Asa and the crew that she finds, while also tackling the themes of the future of technology and the blurred lines of human vs. machine.

What I liked:
- Themes: The themes of technology going too far and being used for evil are amazing in this book. I loved seeing a girl in tech (SUPER EXCITING) and thought that seeing peoples' attachment to A.I. was really interesting. It also tackles ideas of what makes a human vs. a machine which I thought was really intriguing. The themes were also incorporated into the book in such a way that it wasn't confusing and didn't seem like a dump of information, but instead, they were woven into the story seamlessly.
- Setting: This setting was absolutely GORGEOUS. Requiem was unique and vibrant and I loved the neon colorful feel to it. It was perfect for a sci-fi book and was described so well. I honestly would read this book just because of the amazing setting. With the characters as well this book was just so so cool.
- Pacing and plot: The book was so fast-paced! I love books that just keep moving and I feel like there were not any lulls in this novel. Everything was constantly moving forward which is honestly so refreshing to see. I was always kept on the edge of my seat with the heist plot (!!) that became a part of the story.
What wasn't my favorite:
- Ending: The ending wasn't bad, but I felt that it lacked the suspense the rest of the book had. I guessed the ending at the very beginning of the book and personally, I like to be a bit more surprised at the end. I think that what happened to the technology at the end seemed a bit unsurprising and overused and the plot twists weren't exactly twists. The ending was still fitting though, so I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker at all.
- Love Triangle: This is a completely personal opinion, but I just don't like love triangles and I'm not sure if I ever will. I liked this it was a bi-love triangle and had a wlw main relationship, but love triangles just overall aren't for me.
- Supporting Characters: I felt that the supporting characters needed a bit more development. Asa and Riven both had amazing backstories and development that the rest of the crew seemed to be lacking. Ty had such an interesting story and he made so many huge plot-shifting decisions, but I had no idea what his motivation was behind them or what his thought process was besides his love for the crew. Especially with the ending, I think that Ty deserved a bit more backstory/fleshing out.

As a girl who loves computer science much like Asa, I felt the only fitting way to end this review would be with code...

System.out.println("Do you like cool sapphic main characters with vibrant rich settings and a book that will make you adore sci-fi?");
System.out.println("Enter Y or N");
String answer=sc.nextLine();
if (answer.equalsIgnoreCase("Y"))
System.out.println("What are you doing, go preorder this book ASAP!!");
else
System.out.println("Still make sure to preorder this book and support the author because it's a fun fast-paced read that you won't regret picking up!");

Asa had never expected to finish the day as a hired criminal.

tw // blood, gore, death, murder, bullets, abusive parents

rep // bi mcs, biracial Japanese-Portuguese mc, gay side characters, nonbinary side character

City of Shattered Lights follows Asa who after finding out that her tech leader father is willing to use Kaya, her sister as his latest test subject as a host for an Enti brain, escapes to Requillum, a gang lead, wild world. After hearing that her father's friend Josiah has her sister's body, she escapes with her brain hoping to reunite with him on Earth.

On Requillum however she runs into a bounty hunter and then joins up with Riven and her crew under a false name to try to get the brain to earth. But they're not the only ones after the brain! An AI virus is hacking into the entire city following Asa to try to get to it, putting the entire city into lockdown. With a shaky alliance with Riven's crew, she attempts to escape and find a ship to Earth and save her sister!

While I wanted to love this, I found it to overall be rather boring. The plot at the beginning seemed interesting and fresh, but every step along the way seems a rather cookie cutter version of every sci-fi book i've read before. I found all the plot twists (and betrayals) to be expected, and very formulaic. I did appreciate the wlw moments, but it wasn't enough to keep be excited for the book.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH, I honestly had requested it only for the cover and because it said it was a sapphic novel, and it was SO worth it. Everyone should read it, the narration was so good and the characters so interesting.
I hate cliffhangers because I can't wait for the next one, in the same way with this, can't wait to see what's next from Claire Winn

This is an exciting, flashy, and colorful sci fi. I really loved the premise, and I was hoping that I'd like it a little more than I did. Overall, it works. I think it'd be an excellent graphic novel, and I especially enjoyed the setting that this story was in. The pacing felt a little off to me and the plot points felt a bit predictable, but other than that-- this was a quick and easy read. Thank you so much Netgalley and Flux/North Star Editions for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!