This book takes the hijinx and the found family from Guardians of the Galaxy, combines it with the cyberpunk-infused worlds of Altered Carbon and Battle Angel Alita, and weaves it all into a story that’s wholly unique and fun.

City of Shattered Light is an action-packed YA sci-fi adventure featuring two main female leads. Riven is a badass outlaw gunslinger while Asa is a tech-savvy heiress on the run. The two have to team up to try and stop an evil corporation, a bubblegum-chewing bounty hunter, and an out-of-control AI virus threatening to destroy Asa’s sister and Riven’s beloved outlaw city.

The cyberpunk-influenced world building really blew me away with the color and life. Riven is now one of my all-time favorite “tough” girls because while she’s a total badass, she’s still so much more than a cardboard, tough-girl heroine cutout. She’s flawed and funny and her constant head butting with her team members is so, so fun to read. All of the characters were so real; I found myself wanting to be a part of Riven’s crew and I loved seeing them through Asa’s eyes as she discovered more about them and the outlaw city of Requiem. The stakes keep getting higher and higher as the different parties out for Riven and her crew collide with darkness on Asa’s trail, leading to an explosive and emotional climax that blew me away.

Overall, City of Shattered Light is a great read. There’s a bit of romance and multiple queer characters that really shine. As every chapter pulls the reader deeper into the underbelly of the city, the deeper the reader goes into the story itself, making the book harder and harder to put down as the action and tension heat up. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved it!

This book is a trap, as soon as I started reading it I couldn't put it down.
.
It's a scifi, fantasy story with characters of different genres and a bit of romance.
.
The heir to an intergalactic technology emporium is willing to do anything to save her sister from her father's hands and experiments, including infiltrating and negotiating with her kidnappers and the bosses of Requiem's ​​worst criminal gangs.
.
Set in the alpha centaur stellar system, this closely related and lovable group of characters grapple with their personal stories as they try to get out alive and find something to be a part of.
.
Thank to North Star editions and Netgalley for give me this great book in exchange for my honest review, I really enjoyed it reading and I will looking forward to read more of this story

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I really enjoyed this book! At times, I found the characters a bit annoying but by the end I loved all of them. I didn’t really like the amount of miscommunication though. It was a very interesting story and kept my attention throughout the book. The action was exciting and the relationships between all the characters were special. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys sci-fi and is looking for queer representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flux Books for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Oh my god. I can’t get over this book. Riven, Asa, Kaya, Ty... it’s just all so good! It’s few and far between that I absolutely love a Sci-Fi book and this one checked all the boxes. I absolutely LOVED this! Winn has a way of weaving normal feelings with a sci-fi set of problems in a way in which this book flows with action while pulling at your heart strings.

Found family and enemies to lovers are pretty high up on my trope list. I throughly enjoy each of them for different reasons but combining the two is a winning combination. It’s done so effortlessly within the pages of City of Shattered Light. It’s hard to deny feeing for Asa, despite what her father has been doing. It’s also not hard to root for Riven after hearing her backstory. Her crew become easy to love and the journey they and Asa embark on fills the pages with mystery, intensity and keeps you flipping to find out what will happen next,

Also- THAT EPILOGUE?! Excuse me, please tell me there will be more because I can’t get enough! This was so good. Even if you aren’t a Sci-Fi lover, Winn will make you fall in love with this Galaxy, characters and Sci-Fi!

Asa is a coding genius and the heiress to a powerful tech company. Asa's sister tests out the new tech invented, including brain chips. Their father takes things too far and uploads her sister's mind to an experimental project which will eventually reprogram her mind. In an attempt to save her sister from being wiped out forever, Asa steals the project and runs away to find someone who can help but ends up in the hands of a dangerous thief for hire.

Riven is the leader of a smuggling crew and working her way up the outlaw hierarchy in Requiem. Riven believes the best way to do this is to steal the cargo from her biggest rival only to discover Asa is the cargo. Riven must decide to help Asa save her sister or use Asa to give herself a leg up in Requiem.

Meanwhile a virus has escaped the labs at Asa's tech company and has infected all of the tech throughout Requiem causing citywide blackouts, putting a halt to both of their plans

This was an action packed young adult sci-fi novel set in a futuristic world where humans live on other planets and tech is supreme. I couldn't put it down. The world building was fantastic. It was easy to understand and imagine everything.

There is some romance as a side storyline, although not the main focus, with a M/F/F love triangle. I was a little annoyed with Asa as she came off as indecisive when it came to her love life. With a big cliffhanger at the end I'm hoping for a 2nd book to find out how it resolves.

Thank you to Netgalley & North Star Editions/Flux books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a 3.5 star read. I loved the world the author has built and the idea behind the conflict. The characters were sympathetic and I rooted for them with all my heart. One of the drawbacks to the book was that it was too action packed. I personally prefer books driven by characters, but I am sure there are readers that prefer it this way!

In addition the book was advertised as sapphic romance, but there was a lack of it for me. The author portrayed a love triangle between M/F/F and the main focus was on the M/F side. We got some development in the later part of the book for the F/F, but I was expecting more. Nevertheless the relationships were cute.

Overall this was a really fun sci-fi read and I will definitely recommend it!

I was instantly drawn to this book when I saw the gorgeous cover. The story itself is even better. I'm a sucker for a misfit group of riffraff coming together to fight for a common goal and we definitely get that in City of Shattered Light. Runaway tech heiress Asa has to team up with gunslinging Riven and her crew of smugglers to save her sister and the city from a rogue A.I.
The action is non-stop and jam-packed with mechs, strange creatures, bullets, mercenaries and a range of fascinating sci-fi technology.
This was such a fun read. I loved the romance, queer found family trope, and the neon city setting. That epilogue though! I'm definitely hoping we get a sequel out of this one.

Thank you to Netgalley & North Star Editions/Flux books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review! 

This cover was love at first sight for me! I was really happy when the book turned out to be my cup of tea as well. The story is written from two POVs: Asa, "crown princess" of a rich and powerful IT company, who'd like to escape from his tyrant father's grasp and save her sister; Riven, the leader of a smuggler team, who'd like to gain more power in the underworld of Requiem. Their paths collide when Asa's ship gets stranded and Riven finds the bounty of her lifetime in Asa.

The story is fast paced and action packed. From a sci-fi angle we got artificial intelligence, combat robots, alien monsters, hacking, augmented humans. There is some romance in the book, but that didn't really feel real to me and I did not feel its absence. We don't really get much on the side characters, I hope there will be a sequel where we can learn more of them. After that epilogue, I need the sequel, like, right now! :)

I'd recommend the book to those who like YA sci-fi with fast paced action scenes. Expected publication date is October 19th 2021. #CityofShatteredLight #NetGalley

*4.5 stars

Super pleasantly surprised! The best way I can describe CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT is an interstellar adrenaline rush. I loved pretty much everything about this book, from the characters to the action-packed plot to the setting. The cover is gorgeous as well and is part of the reason I believe digitally drawn people on covers are truly superior.

The plot was fast-paced and engaging, with new twists always coming up so you don't get bored. The world-building was done really well, and I didn't find myself confused at all. I was always trying to anticipate what would happen next, and I was left completely shocked during some of the plot twists. Yes, I did cry. The epilogue also got me good - I demand a sequel immediately.

The book also played on many popular YA tropes, including enemies to lovers, love triangle, "the princess and the criminal", and found family. This love triangle I actually ended up enjoying; it was m/f and f/f, and though I definitely wish I saw more moments between the two MCs (aka the sapphic romance), the slow burn was worth it. Every member of the love triangle also genuinely liked one another, so it wasn't toxic.

Speaking of found family, I didn't expect to get as attached to the characters as I did. They're a found family that I love with all my heart. They all grew on me, especially Riven and Asa. I really liked seeing their character development and how they worked with the rest of the crew. I liked RIven's character development the most, and the way we slowly got to unravel the history behind Riven and her motives was very interesting. The side characters (Ty, Samir, and Diego) are all so lovely and have so much potential; I'd love to learn more about their backstories and see more development from them. Also, great representation! I loved seeing Riven and Asa being unapologetically bisexual and other characters being unapologetically queer.

Also, someone said Riven and Asa reminded them of Day and June from LEGEND and I just want to point out the immense amount of parallels that I saw between the characters of this novel and the characters from LEGEND. It was lovely.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT. One of my few critiques would be the plot - I think it got repetitive after a bit because although the issues the characters faced were different, pretty much every conflict was solved with a big brain lightbulb moment from Asa in one way or another. I love Asa, though, don't get me wrong.

I would definitely recommend everyone get their hands on CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT when it comes out! Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley & North Star Editions/Flux books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a YA sci-fi debut novel. It starts out with a clever heiress, Asa Alemdia. Riven Hawthrone is a girl trying to find a place for herself in their society even if that means stealing from or cheating others.

Claire Winn's writing was incredibly captivating. The world building was great. I really enjoyed the fast pace of this novel. There was 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 a lot of fun. Though the secondary characters felt as if they 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.

Overall this was a really fun read and I definitely recommend!

This was an amazing read! The worldbuilding and characters were truly fantastic and I cannot believe that this was a debut novel.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a review copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.


Action packed and adventurous story about two girls in a futuristic setting. Asa is trying to save her sister while Riven wants to be the at the top of the underground world. Besides them there is also an amazin crew that turns into a found family.

Fast paced and filled with awesome scenes i didnt want to put it down.
Only thing I didn't like was the way the love triangle was introduced but let's see how everything turns out.

<b>this has got to be one of my new favorite sci-fi books of all-time</b>
the cover definitely drew me in with the gorgeous <b>futuristic, neon "warcross" vibes</b> (and SAPPHICS), and there were a lot of aspects in here that reminded me of that book! it also gave major <i>aurora rising</i> vibes, with the <b>ragtag found family and intergalactic heists</b>, but it was SO much better. <b><i>city of shattered light</i> was everything i wanted, and more.</b>
the writing was absolutely perfect for this type of book- the author has this incredible way of sucking you in and keeps you on your toes with every sleek, vivid sentence. all the descriptions were so lush and instantly transported you, from the bright, pulsing core of requim to the brilliantly exhilarating action scenes, where i was literally screaming from both intense dread and excitement.
and now to my favorite part- the characters. <b>asa</b> was your average rich heiress-turned-rebel- <b>except she wasn't</b>. she was a lovably clever, kind, resourceful mechanic, and her determination to save her sister was admirable. <b>riven</b> was a fierce, snarky, gunslinging smuggler, desperate to make her place in the underworld. her bond with both sweet, gentle <b>tyler</b> and strong, honorable <b>samir</b> was lovely, and it was nice to see her soft side around them. the bisexual love triangle was PERFECT, and i loved every little bit of romance. even the villains were enigmatic and yes, very <b>villainous</b>, but they were fascinating. the witty banter and humor thrown in every couple of scenes was perfect, and they helped lighten up what could've been a dark, dull book.
overall, this was an action-packed, wonderfully queer, cyberpunk sci-fi ya book, filled with a thumping, neon cityscape, sharp humor, evil AIs, "bubblegum-smacking cyborgs", nightmarish monsters, and so much more. i absolutely loved it.

<i>thank you so much netgalley and flux for the arc!</I>

I was given an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, I don't know what to say about this book. It wasn't bad, but I didn't like it. I just could not connect with the characters or the plot. I'm not typically into sci-fi but this book sounded good so I gave it a try. Some parts were too fast while others were too slow. The characters had decent development but I just didn't feel a connection to any of them. The romance was hinted at and then completely rushed at the end. The plot built up well enough but it didn't draw me in. The one plus in this book was the world. Requiem was fun and interesting and then crime atmosphere did draw me in. The dynamic between Requiem and Cortellion was well done. The world building was the one thing that was not lacking- it saved the book for me. My main issues with the characters was that they were very cliché. Lots of YA books are very similar and YA readers tend tk have certain things they like or even expect so I get that it can be hard for authors to take the tropes and clichés and make it into someone original that stands out, but unfortunately I did not feel like the characters in this book stood out.
While I did not love this book it was still decent and I know there's are others who will enjoy the style and genre. It was an interesting concept and then world was fascinating.

so far i have really enjoyed this book it is everything i could want in a sci-fi book but at the same time my mind isnt into sci-fi now so im putting a pause on it but i will update when i have finished with all my thoughts.

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.

This books has some bumps, but seeing as it is a debut I can definitely overlook them. Personally the main characters feel more like they are in their 20's than 17/18 as they are supposed to be, but since their age isn't mentioned on every page, in my mind they were around 24.
The main choice I didn't agree with was the 'love triangle', Riven and Asa seem to have an attraction, but even while thinking about that attraction, Asa is kissing someone else who I feel should be more of a friend/brother-like person to her. In my opinion it's inconsistent throughout the book, the way I was reading the thoughts of Ty and Asa it seemed like they would gravitate towards a brother/sister relationship and the shipping of their romanec felt forced and out of place. Maybe she wanted to show Asa as bi too since we got a male ex from Riven as well? Wasn't really necessary if you ask me and it made this is a 4 star book instead of a 5 star for me.

I would have loved to see more of the backgrounds of Samir, Ty and Riven but since I am having my fingers crossed there will be a sequel based on the epilogue I'm hoping more will be addressed in a possible second book.

In short: great debut and hopefully a prelude to more good books by Claire Winn.

An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

Still in the process of reading this! I opened this review thinking it was another book! Will update this review once I have finished

I really enjoyed this one!

This is an action & adventure filled sci-fi focused on a chaotic crew that are practically family. (If you're thinking Six of Crows, this definitely has a similar vibe!) If any of that sounds like your cup of tea, keep an eye out for City of Shattered Light.

Asa is a runaway heiress determined to save her sister. Riven is a gun-slinger smuggler desperate to be at the top of Requiem’s criminal underworld. There's also a crew: Riven, Ty (a medic who's practically Riven's brother), Samir (a former military instructor), & Diego (a technology whiz who's trade is information). I loved the found family aspect of this novel & the crew's relationship.

The plot was also fun (& often dark). We have a rogue AI in the circuits threatening the planet and a sister in peril. I loved reading this and finding out what was going to happen next!

My only complaint is that I wasn't expecting this to be a love triangle. The blurb made it seem like this would be a straight forward Asa, the heiress, and Riven, the gunslinger smuggler, reluctantly come to trust each other and fall for each other. I wasn't expecting Asa to fall for someone else, too. (Also I felt like that unexpected ship got more page time, and felt like a strange add-in given the Sapphic-centric marketing?) But besides being unprepared for a love triangle, I enjoyed this!

Rep: we have two bi female leads, a gay main character (who's in a ship with another male main character - and they're cute)

Many thanks to NetGalley and North Star Editions/Flux for the e-ARC. I really appreciated the opportunity to read this before its October 19, 2021 release date!

P.S.- Fingers crossed that this gets a sequel. I need it. ESPECIALLY AFTER THAT EPILOGUE.

I feel like I read this book at the wrong time. I was not in a sci-fi mood, so I had a harder time getting into this book. I will hopefully reread this when I am in the mood for a sci-fi book. I really liked the characters and how they interacted with each other in a real way. I also loved the use of technology. I would recommend this book to others.

I received my very first eARC of City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn, provided by Fluxbooks via Netgalley to review. All opinions are my own.

City of Shattered Light is a futuristic sci-fi novel set in a technology based human settlement in Alpha Centauri which is our closest planatery system.

In this (currently) standalone story we follow two main protagonists. Asa, an experimental tech moguls heiress, and Riven, a sort of bounty hunter in a matriarchial crime syndicate, one lives on a planet and the other on its moon.

Certain events take place, and Asa is forced to go on the run, and we follow both characters as they go through a heist like scenario, with a diverse cast of supporting charcters that give the story a nice edge.

I ended up really enjoying this book, it was incredibly fast paced and very dense. The world was rich and easy to imagine. I particularly enjoyed the love triangle, which is the first bi sexual love triangle I have ever read about. I expected this to be a saphic romance, but personally to me it was more bi and should have probably be marketed more as a queer romance although the romance is a sub plot in a fantastic sci-fi debut.

This book also had found family, which is a favorite trope of many. I enjoyed how the author utilised the trope, it felt extremely natural since all the characters were quite well developed and their connections seemed genuine.

I think were this book could have done better is if it wasn’t YA. I kind of forgot the characters were just 17/18 since the story reads very 20-25 to me. If these characters were given the liberty of being older I think this story could really outshine a lot of the space operas on the market.

Overall a solid 4 star read, and I will be impatently waiting to know if there is ever going to be a 2nd book because there is potential to expand after a very intriguing cliff hanger.