4 STARS

I went into CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT knowing nothing other than it was sapphic, it was sci-fi, and it had found family—all of which is the recipe for an amazing book. A captivating tale of adventure and action, CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT would appeal to lovers of fast-paced cyberpunk books.

CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT is a young adult science fiction novel.. It follows two points of view of our main characters—Asa and Riven. Asa is an heiress of a tech company who desperately strives for her father's apporval. Riven is a conwoman who is determined to prove herself and get to the top of society. When Asa's father uploads her sister's brain to an experimental piece of technology, Asa is set on rescuing her. However, in a turn of events, Asa crosses paths with Riven, and they are forced to work together.

The characters in this book were phenomenal. Not only were our main characters fleshed out well, but our side characters were also. I do wish that they had a bit more involvement, but I enjoyed the rag-tag team of characters and their banter. The worldbuilding was also excellent. I was a bit confused at some times, especially since I am new to the science fiction genre, but it was fairly easy to understand and the author made sure to remind us of different elements. The writing was beautifully done and helped capture the vivid imagery of the world. It made me just want to jump into the book and explore it myself (though, that would probably not be the best idea). I enjoyed the pacing of the book, but sometimes I felt like I needed a bit of a breather in between action sequences. Overall, CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT was a fantastic debut and I'll be sure to be on the lookout for more books by Claire Winn in the future.

5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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City of Shattered Light was fantastic! I loved everything about it, from the badass characters and the exciting, fast-paced plot all the way to the very end, where I gasped in outrage and shock before running to demand a sequel. The writing style was very thematic, with the different planets having their own “feel” to them and the dialogue flowing very nicely. A few aspects fell flat, such as the side characters (Diego, Samir, I’m looking at you) who didn’t get enough spotlight, but I still felt a connection with them. The focus of the story was definitely on the main characters, Riven and Asa, but it was much more action-based than romance-based. The book deals with each main character’s story and desires while maintaining relationships between the crew and their common goals. When the path to the goal gets sidetracked, it takes the crew on a wild ride and tests their bonds while pushing all of them to the limit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am making it 5 stars sheerly out of my desire to continue reading about this universe. There are so many unanswered questions and curiosities I’d love to have addressed!

Thank you to netgalley and North Star Editions/Flux for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

When I first started this book the writing style took me a little while to get used to, but once I got invested, I got INVESTED

This book was so FUN. The characters were easy to connect to (Riven was my favorite, love her) and the plot/plot twists had me speeding through to find out where everyone would end up

I also thought the heists were super fun to follow, it's always great to see how characters get out of a situation when their plans get all messed up.

I am a sucker for ragtag crew/found family as well so this book was right up my alley.

I have mixed feelings on the romance in the book, not because I thought it was bad, and not because there was a love triangle, but the pacing of them just kind of felt strange. This wasn't the case with every romantic scene, but there were a couple where I was like "Isn't there something else you should be focusing on right now?"

Overall though I loved this book, I do highly recommend it to anyone looking for sci fi with romance, found families, and crime (these are a few of my favorite things)

My tiktok about this book: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdpw5Shj/ (I have also linked it in the separate box, but it does not seem to be showing up for me when I check)

Claire Winn's writing was incredibly captivating. The world building was great. I really enjoyed the fast pace of this novel. There wasn't a moment when I wasn't kept interested. Even the imagery was very nice, painting vibrate pictures in my head. The characters dynamics and relationships with each other was definitely a highlight. The queer found family was so much lot of fun. I feel that the secondary characters needed more development. I'm hoping for more about them in the sequel. There was a surprise love triangle with a guy which I find a bit odd since it wasn't mentioned in the blurb at all. Love triangles aren't my favorite trope and this didn't change my mind about them.

Loved it! It was a sapphic, space, sci fi dream. The characters were so lovable and the plot was so interesting,

AGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! found family, enemies to lovers, sci fi, sapphic! could this book have been any better

after reading the synopsis for this book I need I had to get it ASAP. When my request was approved by net galley I was ecstatic. I was a little worried that it would drag since it is a long book but not once was I bored. this book balanced thoughtful character development and fast paced action perfectly.

the characters were all compelling in there own way and I fell in love with our heroes and my hatred grew and grew for the villains. every character had so many layers and the relationships, bonds and betrayals between them had so much depth it almost seemed real. I was broken after finishing this book because I was so sad that their adventure had ended.

While I love sci fi I admit it can sometimes be hard to get sucked into the world, but not with this book. by chapter three I was completely invented. the world building is so beautiful and the author did a great job of world building without just putting it all in an info dump. it was easy to understand and easy to get lost in.

this book is filled with so many of my favorite tropes and the plot was fantastic!!! A rag tag team of heroes forced to work together despite their grudges to save the world. You might be saying to yourself what sets this book apart from others similar? well this book is a classic sci fi book but yet it feels so new and different. the plot is so familiar but yet so creative and different which is my favorite!!

so long story short this book is amazing. PLEASE READ IT!!!

CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT is a high octane sci-fi wrapped around a heart of sisterhood and friendship. I loved Asa, wanted to be Riven, and fell completely into Winn’s vivid worldbuilding. Perfect for fans of Mass Effect or the Expanse!

City of Shattered Light is a fast paced sapphic Sci Fi/urban fantasy book about two girls from different worlds..literally

Riven is a gunslinging scavenger, originally from earth, currently residing in the neon soaked streets of Requiem, a haven for outlaws of all kinds. She and her ragtag found family are fighting for what they deserve and trying to take over the city. Dodging mercenaries, crime syndicates, and collecting bounties, they have their work cut out for them.

Asanna Almeida, or Asa, is an heiress to her fathers technological empire. Her father, Luca, is an evil genius who will do whatever he can to further the advancement of his research, no matter who it hurts. Unfortunately Asa’s sister Kaya is one of the main test subjects for Luca’s current project. In an attempt to break away, Kaya and Asa are separated. Asa has to betray her father and lose everything in order to save Kaya.

Asa and Riven meet after Asa crash lands on requiem and is kidnapped by a rival bounty hunter. Riven manages to help Asa escape but neither girl knows if they can trust each other.

We follow along as this group fights their way across requiem to save Kaya and attempt to defeat a mysterious tech virus known as Banshee.

If you love enemies to lovers or found family tropes, this book is for you. City of Shattered Light is mysterious, exciting, and emotional. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to North Star Editions for providing me an e-Arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a treat! The cyberpunk elements mixed with black mirror vibes made the story such a fun and immersive book.

The writing is beautifully done. The imagery was amazing. My head was full of glowing, electrified descriptions of the surroundings. It was such a fun ride.

In terms of the plot, I have to say that it was well developed and innovative in a way that makes the reader not want to stop reading. We get to explore the consequences of AI and the way it can affect it on a higher level. But we also get to explore the dynamics between the characters that threaten to break a fragile alliance.

Characters:

Ty: A first-year medical student with a distaste for violence. He is a pure sweetheart.

Riven: Gun-slinging smuggler. Riven is such a strong female lead. Ngl, she gave me Aelin vibes from tog. She was fierce and ready to protect her loved ones. A badass, take-no-bullshit kind of girl.

Asa: heiress to a powerful tech empire but naive to the atrocities that happen behind curtains. She was such an interesting character to read and her desire to save her sister was well developed.

Overall, this is a very good and electric sci-fi story. The writing is immersive, the pace is fast and the plot is engaging.

I actually really enjoyed this! I have been trying to get into sci-fi, and this definitely helped! I also am a sucker for a sapphic book so there’s that.

My favourite part of this book was the characters, which there were many good ones which was great, as I am a person who enjoys good and likeable characters. Asa was amazing. I related to her because she’s someone who gets looked down on, but she’s actually a strong girl who had amazing development! Riven is such a badass, she’s snarky and a bit impulsive, which I honestly enjoyed reading about.

My only issue was the world building, I got confused at times, but that might’ve just been my problems with comprehension and imagery, so it is definitely not the author’s fault!

I overall recommend this book and can’t wait to get a physical copy!

Read this book if you like:
↝Bi love triangle
↝Strong female leads
↝Multi-layered plots
↝Loveable found family

~4.5 Stars~

Writing and Plot: I was BLOWN AWAY by the way this book was written. The world-building was beautifully done and helped me imagine as someone who struggles with imagery. The plot was also well constructed. All the twists left me shook and on my toes for more.

Characters:
Asa: I absolutely love Asa!! She was your “I get looked down on because of my look and reputation but I’m actually a badass mechanic who’s head-strong” and I lived for it. Her character growth was so satisfying to see.

Riven: Riven is the “badass with a gun and impulsive choices who’s dealing with illness” She made questionable decisions but that simply made her more real and a vulnerable character. I loved how she held herself and others.

Diego, Ty, and Samir: I wished they had a bit more development but the side characters really added to the story. The little banters and communication really created a fabulous found family.

Romance:
I enjoyed the love triangle a lot for someone who usually hate them. It made sense and was not cliche like other typical YA books. I would’ve been happy if it went either way, but the ending choice was perfect.

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

5/5
sapphic heist story what more could i want?
city of shattered light was amazing overall, with interesting characters that feel incredibly real, a fast paced story and captivating writing.
while the beginning was a bit slow in my opinion, the rest made more than up for it. the action scenes were insanely well written and made me feel as if i was right there with the characters who you really grow to live during the course of the novel.
no words stunning

What a remarkable read!
Our main character Asanna is heiress to a tech empire and our other main character, Riven is a badass smuggler with her own crew and ship. I mean just that was enough for me to crave this book. The story starts as Asanna and Riven (+her crew) get together to fight a virus that is destroying their city, Asanna wanting to save her sister and Riven to get revenge while both want to save their city.
The world setting and building was outstanding, the tech, the ships, the AI and robots. I really enjoyed reading that but also the character dynamic was 10/10 and even though I would've a enjoyed a little more banter I still really enjoyed the connections between the characters and all the couples.
The ending was spectacular, just that cliffhanger had me. This book is releasing in October itself and I've already started waiting for the next one. Someone please help jsjsjs.
Also the writing was so we'll done, it sets such an amazing tone and is just really refreshing overall. An amazing futuristic sci-fi with badass characters and also an absolutely gorgeous cover, I would recommend it to everyone wanting an awesome story.

It is hard to put into words how little I cared about reading City of Shattered Light. I don’t know what it was, whether it was my mood, or something about the book itself, but I just didn’t care about the characters, or the plot, or anything at all. None of it interested me.

So, really, this review is probably not a good yardstick for working out if you want to read this book. It’s a perfectly decent book, I’m sure. It just came up against me as its reader.

But let me try to put into some words at least why I felt like this. If I can.

First and foremost, I think my problem was that there was a lot going on that had very little basis to it. For example, if you’re going to push a relationship on me, I have to see both characters wanting it, or if you’re going to have me believe one character sacrifices themselves for the sake of another (and thus clears the way for that side of the love triangle!), you have to have established that character’s personality and overarching motivations and reasons you might expect them to do that. As it was, I read that scene and was… taken aback to say the least.

And I think the same was true of the worldbuilding, because it felt very much like a lot of vibes and not much basis. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I know, and the plot didn’t rely too heavily on worldbuilding which wasn’t there, but it did, at times, feel lacking in that respect. It wasn’t a lot, so I think this one I can chalk up more to mood or tastes in general: I just want my science fiction to have a bit more depth to its world than this did. Mostly because I find that filling out the world contributes to the characters also feeling more rounded.

And then there’s the fact that the development of the f/f relationship, which I’m supposed to be rooting for, is part of a very lopsided love triangle. In the sense that the m/f relationship gets all the development, and the f/f basically none. Which wouldn’t be such a problem (it’s not a standalone after all), but for the fact that this is where the aforementioned sacrifice happens. Ty who has, not two chapters before, been kissing Asa, sacrifices himself, for no reason, and tells Asa and Riven that they “deserve each other” and to “look after one another”.

So, I come full circle into the most annoying part of this book: the lack of established motivations. There’s absolutely no emotional payoff for this scene, because there’s absolutely no set up to it. I don’t want to keep harping on about it (but I can tell I’m going to), but it makes no sense to have your final emotional beat be something you haven’t even set up for. You want this to be a big angsty ending, but I just don’t feel a thing. (Although, admittedly, here it may have helped if I’d cared about the characters in the first place…)

But in the end, what I’m left with, is yet another YA SFF novel that has let me down.

Excellent debut in a sci-fi setting with strong main characters and an interesting plot. Good lgbtq+ representation, nice action and world building. I thoroughly enjoyed the story about Asa, a tech entrepeneurs daughter and heir, and Riven with her ragtag crew consisting of Ty and Samir who cross paths and seeing as they have a similar goal they team up for a while. When trust becomes an issue both girls have tough decisions to make while everyone's life hangs in the balance as they are being chased by a dangerous lifeform.

My biggest critiques would probably be that a) the wlw romance felt a little rushed— not on-page but in the characters’ minds— and b) there was a definite overuse of em-dadhes. Which is a really weird thing to notice, but they were used so often that it actually stood out to me. Which. Uh. Says something. Mostly, I think that Winn’s novel is good, but simply could be better. Hopefully the editing process will clear some of that up, and by the time the novel is in hardcover, it’ll be purely enjoyable!

Thank you NetGalley, North Star Editions and Claire Winn for allowing me to read this eARC!
I've been living Sci-Fi and been wanting to read more of the genre and thank God this appeared in my life! Love the worldbuilding, the very different and very unique characters, the enemies/threats were also a really great addiction!
These last few chapters had me on edge of nervousness and THAT EPILOGUE.... Oh damn, this better have a sequel!
A 4.5 stars for me!!!

Thank you North Star Editions and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

The world building made me intrigued by this story; I liked the storyline very much. The writing style was another thing I liked. Besides that it was a fast paced adventure that was interesting. The main character however felt flat for me and couldn’t hold my attention much which made me decide to give it 3*

Wow. This book was amazing!

I love a good YA sci fi and this one truly did not disappoint. This book has everything you can want in a ya sci fi: great characters, great plot, and great diversity!
I loved seeing the love triangle. One of my favorite aspects of the book.
I really hope we get a sequel and soon!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flux for the eARC.

first things first: if this doesn't get a sequel I will eat a broom [shakes fist at publisher] because what is not to love about this book? Look at the cover, look at the summary - this checks so many of my boxes.

Tech prodigy and heiress Asa runs away from her manipulative father to save her sister (loving sibling relationships ✅). During her escape, she stumbles upon Raven and her crew of friendly thieves (morally grey characters ✅) who take her in, maybe not for quite the right reasons. This brings her in the awkward predicament to rethink everything her life used to be (great character growth ✅) and a bit of a love triangle (chaotic bisexual sapphics ✅). On the run from her father, a ruthless bounty hunter and a disturbingly smart tech virus, she might just find everything she never knew she wanted (found family ✅) . Bonus points: all this plays out in the distant future in a whole different galaxy where humanity has moved on from Earth to some degree. If any of this didn't tick your boxes yet, may I present a cyberpunk matriarchal colony on a moon?

I was a bit wary if my expectations weren't too high going in. Well, they weren't high enough it seems! There's hardly anything I didn't like about this book at this point which is why I'm chewing my nails hoping this turns into a series or at least a duology.

You have compelling main and side characters with their own motives and desires, an interesting world (that wasn't too complicated with all this high-tech even for someone with little interest and knowledge in these things, like me), and a plot that is far from over and just about to truly kick-off. Winn does such a great job of grabbing you and pulling you in, immersing you in the bright lights and smoke and danger of Requiem fully. And yet there is so much I still want to see: of Riven and her crew, of Diego and Samir's backstory and hey how is their dog doing btw?, of Asa and Kaya, of [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted] because well, spoilers. You get the idea though.

The only true downside I've had with this is the love triangle. Which... I get it... bisexuals. And I know the author is also bi so I'm not mad about it. Just personally tired of bi characters being torn between two love interests of different genders. (That being said though both pairings were God Tier so I'm mostly okay with this in the end).

Trigger warnings for: emotional and physical abuse by a parent and ex, terminal illness, sexual assault, generally much violence and gore, death (on page and mentioned), and pretty much everything you could think of on a lawless planet.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flux for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As heiress to a powerful tech empire, 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.

Sapphics, criminals and found family! What more do I need ? This book was amazing. It was so fun and engaging, I really look forward to reading the sequel, there has to be one after that cliffhanger ending.
The writing was very immersive and refreshing. The descriptions of the setting and the different technological devices were really interesting.

This book was really easy to get into, with loveable characters and witty dialogue. The queer found family was definitely the highlight of the book. There was a love triangle which I usually can't stand but I didn't mind this one that much. The secondary characters had potential but they lacked depth and development.

Overall, this was very good. It's fast paced and the plot is full of twists. The main characters are endearing and there's a romance sub plot among all the fighting. If you love sci-fi, found family, heists and gangs then you should read this.