I honestly can't even write a comprehensive review because all I'm thinking about is how excited I am for a sequel already. This book slaps so hard and in the best ways possible. Off the bat, the only downside is that there's one character who I felt needed more page time than he got to make his story feel more emotionally compelling, but aside from that I was absolutely in love. The magic isn't anything complicated or particularly new for fantasy but the way it's done felt fresh in it's own way and added so much depth to each character as their relationships to their powers and their respective Gods was so pivotal to the plot and who they are as characters. I also loved the LGBTQIA representation here, it was well done and it made me really happy to see some more lead fantasy characters that were queer and characters that were POC as well. They all had such distinct personalities and their relationships with one another was one of my favorite things to read about. They were all raised with the idea that they deserve power and glory and each of their interpretations of that fate were so vastly different and I loved watching that develop over the course of the book as more and more secrets were revealed to them.
The plot was great, it starts off pretty small and contained and then slowly unravels into a giant, beautiful world-ending mess that left me unable to put down the book until the very last page. Who do I recommend this book to? Absolutely everyone. I can already tell that this is going to be a new favorite of mine and I can't wait to see where Tara Sim takes the story. So if you want a story with dynamic characters that are descendents of Gods, set in a world that's slowly suffocating to death after being cut off from the magic that lets it breathe- this is a must read.

Timekeeper was one of my favorite reads of last year. It was unique in concept and style of writing. The City of Dusk is even better than Timekeeper was - you can really tell how Sim has grown as an author over the years with the complexity of this plot and the well developed characters.

This book is a wild ride. It really has everything, good worldbuilding and a compelling storyline. The young heirs to powerful families try to fix years of ruin. It does not go to plan. No spoilers but there are powers inherited, found, bound and betrayed. Gods have taken an interest and seized an opportunity. The heirs have to deal with alliances, betrayals, unexpected allies and enemies alike. There is a second book coming, I will definitely be reading.

For fans of SJM and Wild and Wicked things, this queer fantasy is everything I didn't realize I was missing in the fantasy genre. My only qualm with this book is that I read it at the beginning of the year, and so far all the rest have fallen just a tad short. The City of Dusk is such a phenomenally written and engaging book that I legitimately could NOT put it down.
Follow the Heirs and Spares of a once great world on the brink of losing everything they've ever known. With the Cosmic Scale out of balance, The City of Dusk may have one chance to right everything that was set into motion 500 years ago when the realms were cut off from one another. But if these rival heirs can't set aside their differences, will they be able to set things to right, or will they fail and see their world plunged into darkness?
Read The City of Dusk to find out, you won't be disappointed! I know I sure wasn't.

Four Realms, four Houses. Each have their own god and their own magical gift. Members of all four Realms live in the city of dusk together, but they have been sealed off from their individual Realms and abandoned by their gods, leaving the city to wither away and die. The House's young heirs are all in competition for the kingdom's throne. But when an unknown enemy begins to use illegal conjurations and causes havoc on the city, the young heirs decide to work together to figure out who is behind these conjurations and try to bring the city back to life.

Dark fantasy is one of my favorite aesthetics and City of Dusk delivers! There are multiple POVs with a complex story, rich world building and diverse representation. This adult fantasy at times reads more like YA and has fade to black romance, but otherwise hits some mature themes. If you like the Locked Tomb series or the collaboration of characters in Six of Crows this would be a good series to check out!

Thank you Orbit for providing me with an early copy!

I forgot that I hadn’t rated this yet.

I think for this book I’ll have to try it again at a later date. The concept was great. The world was amazing. I was just….bored.

Nothing really happened until the end? And I hate books like that where I’m literally working to get to the last 100 or so pages. Reminds me of The Way of Kings. But much shorter. I’ll try this again when I’m in the mood for it, because I don’t want to give up on it. I still liked the characters for sure, and that’s typically enough to bring me back.

I gave this book 3.75/5 stars. I definitely enjoyed the read and appreciate the opportunity to do so. I liked the dynamic cast of characters and I didn't get the frustration of reading one POV over another that I usually do in multiple-POV books. While I loved all of the characters, the relationships between some of them felt a bit rushed.

However, this book took me forever to read, not in a good or bad way, but in a very neutral way. While I understand why so much was included, at times it felt a little drawn out. It felt like this book had too much world-building yet not enough at the same time. I felt that I had a good grasp of the plot/world/magic system but I was also completely clueless. However, this did not necessarily take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This book felt like a blend of YA and adult. Some parts felt pretty juvenile and then it would jump to a particularly dark part.

When the rest of the books come out in this trilogy I will likely be reading them and I would recommend this book.

"Death was lovely and sad, and never quite an ending"

The City of Dusk is Tara Sim's first journey into adult fantasy and I was blown away. This book has a little something for everyone, god based magic and powers, rebels, multiple POV's, politics, familiars and corruption arcs. There are so many complex moments that it takes a bit of time to get everything understood, but it's well worth the time.

There are four gods, four realms and four houses. Each family possesses different powers and have a loose and shifting alliance with the king. With no heir for the king, the four houses (Life - Angelica, Death - Risha, Light- Nik and Darkness- Taseia) are fighting it out for the throne. But in the background, each God has been closed off in their own realm, with a type of barrier keeping the worlds apart and effectively slowing killing Nexus. Some of the heirs believe there is another way, to open the barriers and bring the world back into cosmic balance. But with shifting alliances, betrayals and secrets, these heirs need to work together in a time where it'll cost them dearly.

Now, this book has a LOT going on, and a massive cast to match. Besides just the heirs, we have their siblings, parents, the Gods and various other people that come into play. I personally am biased towards Risha due to the South Asian rep (she's described in various BEAUTIFUL traditional Desi outfits) but it's clear that Taesia is the true star. Her chapters stand out and her inner turmoil is beautiful. But the other characters do not play second fiddle, there are truly no small parts in this book.

Overall this is a beautiful start to a dark fantasy chock full of morally grey characters with a unique magic system. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

rep // wlw mc, bi mcs, Indian MC

cw// gore, violence, murder

I enjoyed scavenge the stars so I was excited for this book and it didn’t disappoint. I can see why some people find it to be YA, but I understand why it’s being sold as adult. The YA aspect is that you have essentially a band of chosen ones all vying to be chosen as heir to the kingdom. But the story itself is a lot more than that. The heirs all do have their own baggage and unique abilities. But the driving force of the plot is the mystery of why their kingdom seems to be weakening and whether they should commit treason to break down the barriers between the worlds. Of course it turns out what they’ve been told isn’t true and many secrets are uncovered. I am especially drawn to morally grey characters so Taesia was my favorite. I will definitely be picking up book 2.

Love the cover and the premise. However, I had trouble staying engaged with this story. I wished I could have pushed through to the end because the premise was very intriguing. The switch between POVs was very confusing. The magic system was what initially drew me in necromancy!! Sign me up :)

I will be trying once more and possibly borrowing from the local library.

Thank you Net Galley for the Arc :)

03/22/2022
The Plot Thickens: The City of Dusk
PORSHÈA PATTERSON-HURST THE PLOT THICKENS ADULT FANTASY, BOOK REVIEWS, MAGIC 0

Content warning: familial abuse, graphic violence, suicidal ideation

Sometimes the books reviewed on this blog live up to the title and are quite thick. Nowhere does this show up more than in fantasy epics like Tara Sim’s latest new adult release, The City of Dusk.

In The City of Dusk, we are introduced to seven point of view characters, with five main characters taking up most of the book, whose magic-filled lives are anything but magical. The four noble houses of Nexus—the titular city of dusk—have maintained their hold on the power structures of the land for hundreds of years. Each family bears the powers of the god who make up part of their heritage: House Mardova, the mastery of elements; House Cyr, the power to harness light and flight; House Lastrider, the power to harness darkness and shadow; and House Vakara, the mastery of necromancy. The houses have long jockied for power along with the ruling monarchy. The heirs of each house have become increasingly aware of their house’s stance of remaining removed from the others in order to gain patronage from the Holy King, who is presumed to be on the lookout for an heir to the throne as he has no heir of his own.

Angelica Mardova has taken her role as heir very seriously. She maintains distance from the nobles of other houses despite growing up with them, and works hard to please her ambitious mother—so much so that the stress from carrying all of her family’s expectations has ruined her relationship with magic. Constantly wary of the ways her peers and those she’d like to impress perceive her failures, Angelica is guarded in every interaction, especially with the heirs she considers as competition for the throne.

Nikolas Cyr has similar concerns as the remaining child of House Cyr. After the tragic death of his younger brother and protegé of their father years before the timing of The City of Dusk, Nikolas has wrestled with stepping into the shoes his brother left open and feels like a poor replacement. Trying hard to keep a stiff upper lip, he takes on the responsibility of investigating special cases—such as major landmarks in the city mysteriously disappearing—on behalf of the magical nobility. His inexperience with combat is one of the many things he avoids sharing with the heir he feels closest to, his erstwhile love interest, Taesia Lastrider.

A ‘spare’ of House Lastrider, Taesia has been happy to maintain a friendship (with benefits in Nikolas’ case) with the rest of the heirs. Which means much of her worldview falls apart when her older brother is imprisoned after being indicated as the culprit behind the cases Nikolas’ team investigates. Taesia becomes determined to vindicate her brother and return him to the primary role as heir at the price of anything else. This route leads her to dark favors from her closest friend, Risha Vakara.

Risha Vakara tries to be the most levelheaded person in the room at all times, a personality trait that one needs as a necromancer. Having served her House’s responsibilities for Nexus since her early teens, Risha is hyper aware of the growing discord among the unreleased souls who have been able to ascend the mystical barrier that the gods erected between Nexus and other realms hundreds of years ago. While seeking to break the barrier, she finds that working with the rest of the House heirs may suit many of their goals. As they grow closer to learning the truth behind the purpose of the barrier she finds that her power and inheritance has more to do with the structure than she ever would have imagined.

Not only does Sim do a good job of situating each of these characters’ needs and motivations along with an expansive plot, she also adds well-rounded secondary characters–—primarily the siblings and other relatives of these Houses. One notable secondary character is Julian, a commoner who works as a Hunter of magical beasts. When Nikolas gains his own charge for magical investigations, he also gains Julian as part of his team. Julian has a magical affinity that he has been forced to keep secret, as no one has ever been recorded as having it before and he needs to maintain a level of anonymity in order to care for his chronically-ill mother. Through the story Sim shows us how even those who seem to have small roles in a greater narrative are often the genesis of a major change. This is a key component of Julian’s storyline.

Clocking in at 542 pages as the first book in a trilogy, The City of Dusk is every bit a fantasy epic. I have longed to see necromancy set up in more interesting ways and I found the way that magic works in this series intriguing. In this world the gods have just as much to do with the way the humans move on a daily basis as any other worldly desire. Sexuality is fluid and relationships have major stakes in character development. Where there’s violence, there’s brutality, so a warning to those who don’t care for gruesome death scenes. I found the climax of the story logical as a natural progression of several events and look forward to catching the rest of the story after it’s curious cliffhanger.

I reviewed an eARC from the publisher via netgalley and books forward in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great first book in an upcoming series. There are 4 main characters that have their own unique voices. The main characters have to form an unlikely alliance to save their city. They also have very different reasons for doing so.

Strap yourself in because this book is a ride and a long one at that. It’s over 500 pages and takes a bit to get going. But, once the backstory and world building is established it gets going. And what a world is built. This book gets dark and you’re not going to love all of the characters but it’s still so good.

I would recommend this for anyone that likes epic fantasy stories, dark fantasy and new adult.

This was a hell of a first book, I was surprised by the sheer size of it. Regardless, I definitely enjoyed it. The world-building is expansive, one of those books I had to carry around a notebook while reading it, but very impressive. Something I would use the words "lush" and "atmospheric" to describe. The dynamics between the heirs, the houses, the tension, the jealousy. Delicious.

She was a bit dense and I feel like I'm still missing comprehension in some places, but in my opinion, it was worth the read, I just wish there was a corresponding map!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There was ALOT going on in this book. So much so that sometimes I felt a little left behind. Four different houses representing four gods/realms. A world deteriorating because it's been cut off from those realms. And now the heirs have to save the world they live in.
But there doesn't seem to be much evidence of that deterioration. Some of the magic is a little less? A couple of the heirs magic doesn't seem to work correctly? There's not a lot of explanation for why all of a sudden things have gone bad... unless I was just missing an explanation somewhere, people didn't seem to be starving and anything. There did seem to be a sudden upsurge in prejudice against magic users, which didn't seem to make complete sense to me, as the world is run by magic users? Or sort of run by magic users, as the heirs and their families didn't really seem to DO much of anything.

I really wanted to enjoy this one a lot more, but I never really connected with it as fully as I would have liked. The pov of the beast talker/soldier turned out to be one of my favorite characters.
Not sure if I will read the second installment in the series. I'm curious as to where the storyline is going, but there was just so much extra that seemed to drag the story down, I'm not not sure.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

There were things that I loved about this book. The mystery aspect was fantastic and I really loved the political tension that Sim created. However, I felt like the magic system was not completely explained and it was just trying to do a few too many things at once. There was elemental magic and necromancy and it didn't manage to feel new or exciting. I don't know why but I've been reading quite a few books lately with necromancy in the magic system and this just didn't hit or feel original.

Aside from the main plot point that happened at the beginning, there wasn't a lot going on plot-wise. Instead, it was heavy on worldbuilding. I hate to say it but it felt like a middle-of-the-road fantasy that wasn't executed very well. I didn't love it, definitely didn't hate it; rather it is the definition of meh. I may try to reread it later once necromancy isn't a regular part of books that I've been reading, but with three in the last couple of weeks, I need a break from it.

3.5 stars.
I haven’t taken this long to read a book in a while. Even during my university days, I don’t recall taking this long to read 😭 I got to 10/15% and decided to reread because I was so confused. This is the first book in a high-fantasy trilogy so there is ton of world and character building. And the world is dense, the magic is complicated and we are following 4 - 5 main protagonists, told in 3rd person and also seeing perspectives from an additional 2 characters (if I’m remembering correctly). It was a bit of a slog to go through but I was determined.
By the second half, I was enjoying it more. I had a better understanding of the world and the characters are more established, although I honestly still was not sure who was who outside of the 6 perspectives we follow. By the last 100-150 pages, I was enjoying it a bit more, it was the climax so I’m glad I was actually invested in it. I am interested in reading the next books in the series but I felt like this first book was a bit to info-dumpy with the world building.

Myth: 4/5

As the start to a new epic fantasy series, The City of Dusk has a lot of world building to lay out. It’s done through the perspectives of the heirs of four noble houses in the city. Some of the characters took a little bit to grow on me, but Taesia had me from the start. She was fierce, wild and unpredictable even with her noble born manners.

“She knew better than to trust the deferential bend of Taesia’s head, hiding the wild fury dancing in her eyes like a flame against the night.”

Angelica also leapt off the page at me with her eye on a goal that she’d been told she wanted since birth and doing everything possible to get it.

A few romantic subplots, but they were definitely subplots, the focus is on the political machinations, both of the mortals and the gods.

Magic: 4/5

The magic of the noble houses, seem to follow Life, Death, Light and Darkness, of course the powers of Death and Darkness are the coolest :). A little shadow magic here, some necromancy there, it’s definitely a party.

The story is centered around the magic of Conjuration, that is seemingly causing chaos in the city. The king wants it gone and the noble houses are there to do his bidding in their own bids for the thrown.

Overall: 4/5

Dark and beautiful world building brings The City of Dusk to life. The world building and plot are very well balanced, any time the story starts to slow down for a minute, there is either a new information reveal or Taesia jumps in and does something unexpected. I look forward to more!

Also, that cover tho ….. (insert black heart emojis)

There are 4 realms, all with different powers and Gods, The realms are all dying and it's up to the heirs to help save their city and their realms from destruction. This is an EPIC dark fantasy.

I stopped reading this arc at about 15% but not for the reasons most people usually do.
I stopped reading this book so that I could go buy the physical copy of this book so that I could annotate the crap out of it. I want to annotate this book with fresh eyes because I can already tell this is a story that I am going to devour and most definitely give 5 stars, I am on my way right now to pick up the physical copy.
The world-building, the characters, the humor, the intrigue, everything so far is what I have been looking for in a good fantasy for so long and I can't wait to read this book and the rest of the series when it is released!
I love all the different houses and their powers, there are shadow (animal?) familiars, there is necromancy, there is elemental magic, there are Gods, there are great friendships and LGBBTQIA+ representation, just pick it up, you won't be disappointed!

Tara Sim will be added to my favorite authors straight away.
thank you for the e-arc copy Tara Sim and publisher!

After reading one of Tara Sim’s YA books from a couple of years back, I was excited to explore her new adult fantasy, The City of Dusk. However, I am sad to say my experience with this story was not great. I found the story’s lack of world-building, the in-your-face storytelling, and the confusing chaotic plot tiresome. It was a marathon to get to the finish line, and I am utterly exhausted and disappointed.

King Ferdinand rules over Nexus and is served by four noble houses that contain incredible power. House Mardova are Elementalists mastering all the elements, House Cyr are Lumins wielding light, House Lastrider are Shades controlling the shadows, and House Vakara commune with the dead as Necromancers. Each house possesses the power of a god, but the gods have been increasingly absent since they sealed the barriers between the realms. Tensions are high as the realm begins to die and a group called the Conjurers appear, using illegal conjuration spells that wreak havoc on the city. Any one of the house heirs may inherit the throne, but they will find that their priorities shift as their realm erupts into chaos and evil forces work against them in the shadows.

The plot of The City of Dusk is all over the place. Throughout the entire book, it felt like there were several stories fighting for center stage. The heirs are vying for the throne or other personal pursuits, there are Conjurers that somehow possess magic and are using illegal means to do it, the gods are either suspiciously silent or toying with their heirs, a demon is being wielded by a mysterious someone, and the King has a fragile hold on his dying realm. There are also refugees from other realms who got stuck in Nexus after The Sealing that just end up being plot devices. None of these things come together nicely at the end, and I do not have confidence that the next book will rein in the competing storylines Unfortunately, the issues here affect other aspects of the story because Sim distorts the other elements to serve the plot, robbing us of intricate worldbuilding and characters with agency.

The premise of The City of Dusk sounds so intriguing. I was ready to dive into a rich world of competing heirs wielding their powers and navigating the political nightmare in their dying realm. Instead, I got a story that was trying to do ALL THE THINGS, and it did not work well. The end result was a story that tried to go too big, too fast and it skimmed the interesting world that was sitting beneath the surface. For instance, the depth and breadth of the house powers are a mystery to me. Information about these powers was doled out sparingly and only shared to aid the plot. There were a lot of these instances in the book. I was frustrated by the lack of background information that would inform the story, it didn not need to be seamlessly incorporated but it wasn’t given time to breathe before its use in the plot. The information was force-fed to me only when I needed to know it, so it could explain away an important moment. The City of Dusk also had a hard time keeping up with its characters. The story struggled to capture everyone’s experience in a meaningful way. This led to flimsy connections between the characters, and it was hard to understand their emotions and motivations.

There is nothing subtle about this story. Everything came off a little too forced. The observations from characters always gave away too much information, leading me to hone in on the one thing that should have remained inconsequential or mysterious. Several “seemingly” unimportant characters come back around and force their way into the story. Hints about the plot were shoved in my face, and it softened the blow of all the twists and reveals. This was a strange experience for me because I am notoriously bad at trying to predict stories. Yet here I was, seeing every reveal from pages away, and I was exasperated each time I proved myself right.

The City of Dusk had a lot of potential, but ultimately, it missed the mark for me. The story overall is fine I guess, but it is missing the seasoning that would make the meat worth sinking my teeth into. It felt like I had to salt and pepper each bite instead of enjoying a studiously prepared meal. Having had little enjoyment on this particular adventure, I would like to bow out now and let others carry on with the series.

Rating: The City of Dusk - 3.5/10

A book about gods, magic, and noble heirs forming an alliance to save a city?! Sign me up! This book was one that I was really excited about. There are some things that I didn’t love but by the end of the book, I was extremely pleased.

From the very beginning, this book hooked me into the magical, dark, and secretive world. There’s a very unique premise and the world-building was interesting and done well. The aspect of having four noble houses with their own magic and responsibilities was really great. We get all kinds of magic from shades, elementals, necromancers, and magic with the Light. Just a heads up that there are some really brutal and gory parts.

The heirs were such a diverse group of characters. They are all trying to work together yet trying to find out who they are and what their magic can do. Some of them were much darker and more evil than others. I enjoyed getting to know more about their magic and relationships. Taesia was definitely one of my favorites! She’s such a strong person but her character arc is intense and really good. Nik is kind of the puppy of the group. His Light magic really fits him because he’s such the peacekeeper. Risha is really cool and her powers were insanely awesome. Angelica was one that I didn’t love at first but by the end, I did. You get to know so much about these characters and their family dynamics. Tara Sim really did a great job writing these characters and fleshing out their characters really well.

This book was too long and the pacing was a bit rough. It just dragged so much before the plot actually took off. I understand there’s a ton of world-building and introductions to all the houses and politics but it was a lot. There were so many POVs that it took a while to get names and things down. Once we got past the halfway point this book exploded though. There was so much action and a lot of twists and turns. I had such a hard time stopping. The ending is full of action and chaos, it was entertaining!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very unique! This is a dark and brutal world with a lot of dark magic. At the same time, we have a diverse cast of characters, you can’t help but root for them. I hope that in book two the pacing is better.

*Many thanks to Orbit for providing me with a Netgalley arc for review. All thoughts/opinions are my own and in no way influenced.*