I still need time to process everything that happened because this book was LONG. Did I completely understand the politics and worldbuilding of this book? No. Did a lot of the tropes and plot twists feel very familiar? Yes. Did I still enjoy it? Yes. I think the biggest thing that stood out to me in this novel was definitely our 4 MCs and the couple of side characters whose POVs we also got throughout the book. While there is a balance between the plot and characters in this book, it definitely felt like a more character-driven story to me. Seeing Taesia, Risha, Nik, and Angelica's dynamics and relationships with one another as they juggle their own motivations and duties as heirs to their respective houses was super interesting. There have been many instances in previous Adult Fantasy novels with multi-POV storytelling where I've been super confused about which character is who and how they're related to one another, but Tara Sim did a really good job at distinguishing all of our characters--I was never confused in that regard. I also really loved the MC's dynamics with the side characters as well, such as Risha and Jas, Taesia and Julian, Nik and Fin, etc. The sibling relationships were also so wholesome--I love a good sibling relationship in fantasy and Taesia's scenes with Dante and Brailee, as well as Risha's scenes with Saya did not disappoint.

Moving to the rep in this book, I love the casual queerness among our cast of characters and Risha's background as a desi necromancer. Overall, I definitely adored the desi rep in this book (the self-insertion as Risha was a little too real lol) and I can't wait to see where her character arc goes next in Book 2--she easily my favorite character.

I really enjoyed this book! The first half was somewhat slow as the scene was being set and the world and magic system explained the second half had me completely hooked. I was dismayed when I realized it would be a part of a series and would have to wait for the next book to come out. I loved that the characters are all so flawed and the dynamic between them is incredible. The twists kept coming until the very end and like I said I will anxiously be waiting for the next installment.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to keep this review brief because I'm going to post a more detailed review on my my YouTube channel. This book follows the heirs of the Four Realms: Life, Death, Light and Darkness. These heirs all have the power of their god in their veins, which gives them powers. However, a long time ago, the gods cut this city off, and their city is dying because of it. These 4 heirs must work together to save everyone living here.

I really enjoyed this book. I will say, one thing that really confused me is why these people's parents weren't who this story followed. But that's neither here nor there. I thought the characters were all incredibly thought out. We have 4 very different personalities with very different motivations, but all ultimately wanting the same thing. I loved that some of the characters did bad things and made the hard decisions. I really felt like the stakes were high in this book. The plot was fast paced, if not a little confusing at times, but by the end I felt like I was fully in the loop and understanding.

I will get more in depth in my YouTube review! I would definitely recommend fantasy readers preorder this book, though.

TW: abusive relationship, alcohol, animal abuse, attempted murder, blood, bones, bullying, death, demons, emotional abuse, famine, fire, gore, hospitalization, murder, occult, racism (fantasy), skeletons, snakes, spiders, cannibalism, terminal illness, violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 58%.

I really, really, really wanted to like this book. In a lot of ways, I actually DID really like this book. After over a week of reading this just to barely pass the halfway point, I’ve hit the point where I just can’t power through anymore.

First, let’s start with what I loved: most notably, the characters. The four heirs were fascinating, all both foils and compliments to each other. I loved how the author portrays how differently they deal with the weight of their duty and I love how well rounded they are. Risha is just so wonderful, and I would’ve happily read a book just on her. Nik is so endearing, a contrast in vulnerability and quiet warrior strength. Angelica may have been the most complex out of the big four, though I wish she’d been tied a bit more to the other three who already had such strong bonds. Taesia, though—Taesia stole the show for me. Even without finishing the book, I’m obsessed with her. Her arc is so, so interesting—the sudden responsibility thrust upon her, the grief, the corruption arc. I could write a glowing review on her alone.

On the other hand, the romances are a bit less strong, though I really did appreciate how they aren’t the main focus. The initial established relationship is so sweet and endearing. But it ends a little too easily, and one of them moves on way too quickly with someone she’s met twice. Now, I didn’t read far enough to know for sure they’re going to get together, but it absolutely seemed that way.

The plot, despite everything, actually is really strong too. I really did try to power through because I want to know so badly how everything goes, how everything ends. The world is fascinating and the different magic systems are each uniquely cool as hell and intriguing. Taken at a high level, this book has so much potential and really didn’t fail on execution, all things considered.

In a word, this book is just too over ambitious. The amount of POVs is my broadest issue. Had it just been the four heirs, it would’ve been manageable, but having 7 just felt like too many, especially when two of them were from the same House. Once the POV switches within chapters started, it just got even worse. It was hard to follow to begin with, and really I couldn’t have cared less about the characters outside the main four. There’s no reason to give them POVs. Clearly, a fifth is going to be a major player either at the end of this book or for the rest of the series—but this book didn’t need his POV to prove that. The POV switches within chapters starting in Part 2 turned a hard to follow story into a frustratingly hard to follow one, and made her chapter headers pointless. Shorter chapters? Fine. POV switches between the seven POV characters within the chapters? Unnecessary.

On top of the seven point of views making this overly complicated, there are five separate and unique magic (and corresponding religious) systems too. Taken on their own, each magic system is really interesting and ultimately well crafted, but it’s just too much for one book, especially when there’s no overlap between any of them. It’s such a cool concept, it’s just way too much for one book. This isn’t helped by how incredibly long this book is, either.

I think the timeline has some major issues too, but I don’t want to get into that too much as it’s likely just personal opinion. The immediacy of the realm’s problems just didn’t match up with how many CENTURIES ago the Sealing occurred, nor did the characters’ reactions to the Sealing and its effects.

Overall, as much as I wanted to love this book, I just couldn’t do it. For all intents and purposes, it’s not a bad book, and it rests on very solid characters and a very strong premise. In my opinion, where this failed for me is just in that the book attempts too much and couldn’t possibly accomplish it all clearly or effectively.

This is the first book in a trilogy and sets the stage for an epic fantasy. I read and loved Sim’s Scavenge the Stars duology and was eagerly awaiting this book since it was announced. Since the world is so big in this series, you have a lot of characters and things to remember. It did occasionally feel like I should be taking notes. I loved learning about the four heirs and the four realms. The magic in this is really cool and the world building is great. I didn’t give a full five stars because the pacing was a little slow for my taste but it’s still worth the read. I know the author has stated this is not YA but a crossover however it read more YA to me. I had hoped it would be more adult but perhaps the other books in the series will be.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. I will update Netgalley once I read & review a physical copy.

My review will be based on the physical ARC I read.

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

The City of Dusk was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and I hate to say it was a letdown, but it was.

I won't bother recapping the plot because the summary does a pretty good job but boy do I have some opinions. Since I can't think of a better way to structure this *extremely scattered* review, I'm just going to list them below.

- This was probably specific to the ARC, but including a map would've been a huge help in understanding the geographical and cosmological structure of the world. Sim has really created something interesting in the way the mortal realm (for lack of a better term) connects with divine realms but it was super hard to conceptualize without a visual aid. I'm sure this will be fixed in the published edition though.

-Before the story even starts there is an overview of the different houses, a poem inspired by the events preceding the book, and a prologue. That is a lot of shit to get through before the story even begins and is kind of a red flag that the rest of the text will be far more extra than it needs to be.

- Similarly....the length. GOOD GOD, WHY WAS THIS SO LONG? THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH GOING ON TO JUSTIFY THIS PAGE COUNT.

- The City of Dusk is, ostensibly, an adult novel, though the main characters are all young adults. I have no problem with this except two of the characters (*coughTaesiaandAngelicacough*) are basically your standard YA Fantasy MCs. Risha and Nik both read as slightly more adult, but I will say this book could've easily been categorized as YA or NA.

- Some of the MCs, I won't say who because spoilers, are okay with using a type of magic that is almost universally maligned in the society and culture they've lived in their whole lives. This makes no sense to me. Like, wouldn't they at least have some trepidation about exploring a type of magic that is universally taboo in their world? I know that no thinking person subscribes to cultural norms 100%, but it does seem like these characters have culturally anomalous beliefs for no other reason than advancing the plot.

-Speaking of the worldbuilding, it was unique and cool but also felt very YA to me. The best part of the world is in the multi-cultural nature of the city, and I particularly liked the aesthetic of House Vakara. Unfortunately, the magic system felt straight out of any YA novel to me and lacked the complexity I was craving from a magic system so closely tied to religious beliefs.

-Risha was literally the only character I cared about. She was smart and stable and reacted to things in an understandable way. She was also the character who felt in line with an adult fantasy MC, IMHO.

- One strength of this novel is that the different MC's POV sections do have their own vibe. Risha, for example, read very differently from Taesia, etc.

- Soooooooo many info dumps.

- IF THE SEALING WAS SUCH A BIG DEAL AND HAD SUCH A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE CITY OF NEXUS WHY ARE ONLY 4 TWENTY-SOMETHINGS TRYING TO FIX IT?!?!

- This book was very inclusive, which is nice, but the information wasn't provided to the reader organically, and it kind of felt like the author was going down a checklist. Queer characters, check. Trans character, check. Every skin color, check. I prefer inclusivity that blends in so seamlessly it's barely noticeable, which is not the case here. That could be a personal preference though, so others may have a totally different view on this.

- This is largely a pet peeve, but the first four chapters are broken up between the four POV characters. So, as the reader, my brain went "The POV changes with each chapter, cool." NO. Starting in Chapter 5, there are POV changes in the same chapter, indicated only by a blank line in the text. It was kind of jarring after the earlier structure of the POV changes.

-For me, Sim's writing shone the brightest in Risha's sections. "The path was not smooth, nor was it straight. It ran in gentle serpentine curves, paved with jagged stone and glittering fragments of peridot and onyx." See? Beautiful.

- Some of the scene transitions were awkward, but this might be smoothed out in the published version.

- I seem to be very much in the minority here but I loathed Taesia. I think she was meant to be snarky and fun but I just found her to be a petulant child who doesn't give a single thought to the consequences of her actions. I think her sections are a big part of why this novel didn't feel very adult to me.

Oh well, some books work for you and some don't. On to the next.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The City of Dusk is the first in a dark queer fantasy series by Tara Sim. While it does have its flaws, as a first book in a first adult series, there’s a lot to enjoy and a lot of potential for growth and development.
The setup is really cool, what with it being about these four characters who are all heirs to godly Houses and them making their way in this complex world, being abandoned by their gods. I will say the world building does feel a bit too vague at times, as the sense of place isn’t super well defined. But other aspects make up for it, particularly in how Sim’s writing builds up the aesthetics, especially in how culture is used to differentiate between Houses.
The characters are all interesting (albeit to varying degrees), especially given each comes from a noble House with its own complex family dynamics. While the book is divided more or less evenly among the perspectives, Taesia is no doubt the star of the show. She’s fierce and headstrong, a bit morally gray, and protective of those she loves.
Risha is very sweet, and a sort of dependable, family-focused, surrogate-parent/older-sister figure. She could easily have been boring to follow, but she isn’t, as she still has room to grow.
Nikolas carries a lot of grief and baggage due to his home life, not to mention the expectations placed upon him due to society. While this is a very “typical” archetype for young heroes in positions like his in fiction across genres, I liked Sim’s take on it and what she did with him.
Angelica has a lot of potential, dealing with both her mother’s ambition and her own self-doubt. She doesn’t have as fleshed-out of an emotional arc as the others, and I feel she was the character who suffered a bit from the favoritism of Taesia.
Overall, I liked this book, in spite of the small caveats, and am curious to see what Sim does with the story going forward. If you’re a primarily YA reader looking for an adult fantasy, this might be a great crossover book to start with.

Ooooh boy. I want to start by saying that early on, about 10-15% into the book, I really wanted to rate this more highly. I was really enjoying the worldbuilding and the characters. I had just read Atlas Six, and I was finding this faster paced and more engrossing, but similar in the edgy cast of characters and hidden mysteries.

And then…what happened. I became so so bored with this story. And yes it picked up again, and there were still really interesting elements with the worldbuilding. The characters are likable and unique enough…but I swear absolutely nothing significant was happening for a good half of the book, between the first initial big plot moment and then the final rush to the end.

I just think there were too many characters in the cast, with not enough planned plot. It felt more like the characters simply were the plot, as everything built to this one moment that was endlessly foreshadowed. I kept waiting for other significant plot developments…and none came.

I am giving 3 stars for potential because the elements are there. The writing potential is there. The fun potential is there. But was it in this book? No.

This book was a solid read. It gave very classic fantasy vibes. It has some dark themes and the world-building, though little on the heavy side, I felt was needed as it is in most first novels in a series. A lot of interesting twists. I would defiantly read this to a fantasy reader.

This book has everything I love: forbidden magic, necromancy, a diverse cast of characters, and things going horribly wrong. I truly adore everything Tara writes!

Instant reaction:
** Holy moly ALL THE TWISTS!!! Should have seen that coming, why didn't I see.....wait......wait.....WHAAAAAAT!??!
** Boy, this was just fun to read!
** Nik and Fin are my ship, they must be together and this is the hill I will die on.....

The City of Dusk is a wonderful, complex fantasy world that I thoroughly enjoyed getting swept up in. Everything about the world from the different types of magic wielded by each of the houses, to the political battles and characters that I really wanted to spend time with. Throw in shadow and light companions, twists that honestly did surprise the heck out of me, and I am in!!
In the city of Nexus, there are four noble houses each descended from a god and possessing divine powers that exist in a loose alliance with the king. The houses represent Life, Death, Light and Darkness and each heir is trained and prepared to battle the others for supremacy. But Angelica, Risha, Nikolas, and Taesia have another option,: work together to save their kingdom from destruction and set it on a new, more equitable path for all. The world building for each house and their type of magic was fantastic and all of the secrets, rituals and changing relationships keeps the story humming along. Can't wait to get book 2 and see where this tale goes from here!!

4.5 stars/5. Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

I have a lot of feelings about The City of Dusk, not all of them great, but not all of them bad either! COD was definitely way too long IMO, and also even though it is supposed to be Sim's foray into adult fiction, it still definitely felt YA, and can also definitely be read by YA readers as the singular sex scene doesn't get graphic at all. I think a lot of time could be better spent developing the characters, because when your story's structure is the character's involved, but you spend all the time in the plot, you're not going to care about the plot. It took me until the last 30% of the book to actually be invested in what was happened, because twisty turns started happening. This felt like two books packed into one, and again, I think it was because the characters felt half baked. Overall it was written really well, and I love Tara Sim's worlds! But it left me a bit emotionally disconnected, which kinda sucks because Scavenge the Stars had really enticing characters.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Plot: The beginning is slow, with not a whole lot happening. I needed something at the start to really to engage my attention. I wanted more stakes in the game and a sense of urgency. But I’m so glad I stuck with it because once the book started to take off (around chapter six for me) it hooked me in and didn’t let go. The building tension and rising discord is skillfully designed. There’s mystery I was invested in solving. The plot is multi-layered and the many facets of sub-plots are deftly woven together into the story as a whole. I love that some things we are able to discover on our own and yet some things are tactfully remained hidden. There are so many truly-unexpected twists and turns, like one bombshell after another. A delightfully complex tale, The City of Dusk is riveting and I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Characters: One of my favorite parts of this book is the characters, and there are many. Each is unique in their personality and motivations, and with the multiple points of view we get extensive insight. There are many groups and relationships that both form and end throughout the story. Having all the conflicting emotions and desires gives the story more depth and makes the characters more relatable. The side-characters’ involvement in the plot is intricate. There are even a few slow-blooming intimate relationships that I would love to see come to fruition in the future installments in this series. One thing that really bothers me is that I still can’t get a grasp on the characters’ ages. I don’t know if they are intentionally left vague, but I think knowing this would’ve helped me feel more connected to them and understand them better. This story has so much potential between all its players and I hope to see more of their interactions developing. I feel like we have just brushed the surface of this story and I can’t wait to see how much more it has to offer!

⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing: The writing is flowy and gripping. There are shining moments when a few sentences of backstory and exposition show so much about the characters. And there are moments of brilliance where the descriptive language is gorgeous. Only a few times did I feel like I was being told things just for the sake of it. At first, some of the dialogue feels bland and forced. But once the story gets into a rhythm, I find the banter between characters is fun, engaging, and starts to flow naturally. And who doesn’t love the punchy one-liners?

⭐⭐⭐Pacing: The first few chapters are a bit wobbly for me, but then the story seems to get into a flow and really take off. There are some scenes throughout that I feel don’t really serve to further the plot or character development that could’ve been cut to make the pacing a little stronger in places. By chapter six, the stakes are upped and I was super invested. The ending didn’t quite pack the punch I was hoping for, especially considering how much tension is built up by that point, but it’s still action-packed and sets up really well for the next book in the series. Typically, I find that the middle is where a book tends to drag, but in this one I think the middle (parts two and three) is my favorite part.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐POV: I enjoy seeing this story unfold from so many different perspectives. You’d think with so many that it may get confusing, but actually, each character’s voice is strong and unique and I never second-guessed whose perspective I was reading from. Props to the writer for accomplishing this so well. I also love how we as the readers are able to get different pieces of information from all the characters and start putting them together to solve the puzzles even before they do.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐World-building: The richness in lore and complexity of the magic system is fascinating and immersive. I love how mythology and science-fiction are woven together to create such a masterpiece of magical fantasy. I do wish some things had been explained a little more clearly up front, because it took me a little while to really wrap my head around the story world. It felt a little convoluted at the beginning trying to grasp the names, rules, and places. I know there’s a fine balance to strike so you aren’t simply info-dumping at the beginning, but I needed just a little more background as a knowledge basis for what was happening. The captivating story world is one of my favorite parts about this book. Overall, it is an expertly crafted atmosphere that I would love to visit again and again.

Provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book seemed really interesting to me. I love the idea of Gods turning their backs on their creations and seeing how people will react. I also liked the magic themes in this book, such as shadow magic, conjuration, and necromancy. I feel that there are not enough books out there that focus on darker magics like this, so I was really excited to have the chance to read this book early.

However, I did not enjoy this book very much for several reasons. The first issue I had was that each of the main characters, 3 girls and one boy, were introduced very quickly in the story without a lot of character building. I got the girls easily confused as their personalities, voice, and the writing style for each of their POVs were too similar. It was hard for me to remember who was who and what each magic system, God, and faction they belonged to.

I think the initial world set-up needed to be more defined as well. I am of the opinion that each epic fantasy like this needs an info dump at the beginning of the story to help explain the set up to the reader. I know a lot of people do not like this, but I seem to struggle understanding the setting, hierarchy of power, government, Gods and significant events that are referenced in dialogue without an info dump.

The last thing that I really did not like about this book was that there were a lot of references to modern political and social issues that we experience in real life. This is just my opinion, but I really hate when fantasy books do this. I like to read to escape, so seeing references to real-life issues or events really turns me off from the story and pulls me out of the fantasy experience. I know a lot of people do enjoy this in stories though, so if you do, this book might be for you.

I think Tara Sim does have a great writing style. If you are usually a YA fantasy reader and you are looking to get into adult fantasy, this would be a great place to start. The writing is accessible and easy to follow and understand. I think the reasons I did not like this book were just personal preference, so if this concept sounds interesting to you, I would still encourage you to pick up this book when it releases on March 22nd, 2022.

i loved sim’s TIMEKEEPER trilogy and was very excited to hear about her adult fantasy debut THE CITY OF DUSK. sim’s new series features a diverse cast of characters and a world of plotting gods, demons and dark magic, murder, political conspiracy, fast paced action, understated slow burn romance(s), and 20-something heirs of competitive families vying for the throne trying to save their dying world.

unfortunately i wouldn’t call this an adult novel. this is a ya author's adult debut and you can tell. this was a pretty standard gothicy epic fantasy that had the characters been in their teens instead of early 20s, would have been marketed as a ya/na. it doesn’t do a whole lot of new or interesting things with the chosen tropes and character archetypes, but this was still a fun read. the world building and range in the cast are the strengths, even if the execution was a bit clunky.

i’m not usually a fan of multi-pov novels, but i actually enjoyed the different povs, even of the character i didn’t care much for. my favorite character was julian, followed by nik and tae. angelica was my least but i didn’t dislike her, she was just the most stock character and less interesting with her predictability than the others.

on the whole, i enjoy this. it might not be super unique but it's a well-executed fantasy novel that is fun and engaging and i’m definitely interested in the next book.

cw:
from sim’s website: blood, death, violence, detailed descriptions of dead bodies, grief, self harm, parental abuse, murder, suicidal ideation, cannibalism, addiction, drinking
+ graphic scene of police brutality

WARNING: This book is DARK. There is more than one straight-up murder committed by a main character. Cannibalism is seen/done by a POV character. There is no shortage of violent gore, either.

Not going to lie to you, it took me about thirty percent of the way into this book to really start vibing with how things were going. At first, everything is just deeply confusing — there’s so much going on and very little explanation of everything. There’s four main characters, plus two others who have POV chapters as the book goes on. That’s a LOT of characters to keep track of in a first book of a series. Thankfully, it does get easier to follow.

The City of Dusk takes place in world that USED to be four worlds layered on top of each other. Travel between the worlds used to flow freely, but then the gods fought amongst each other, and the worlds were sealed off from one another. I’m simplifying this for the review because there’s a helluva lot more going on. Since the world was sealed off, power and life has slowly been leeching away. The world is dying, and it’s left to the heirs of the four houses to figure out how to bring the world back to life. Again, that’s an extremely simplified version of events. I don’t want to spoil everything, especially the ending of the book which is SO WELL DONE.

The four houses have four different powers, because they all are derived from four different gods. House Lastrider has power over shadows. House Mardova has elemental powers. House Vakara has necromancy. House Cyr has light powers. The descriptions of the powers, and the way the characters use their powers throughout the book is just so cool. One of my favorite parts of this book, really.

Another review I saw of this book describes the worldbuilding as a hot mess, and yeah, unfortunately, I agree. There’s a hodgepodge of familiar fantasy tropes, and real world cultures all thrown on top of one another with very little explanation of how things work or are expected to work. If there had been a little more book-specific culture building, I think it would have read easier. This does not really detract from my enjoyment of the book too much, however. Just something to note.

Overall, The City of Dusk is an enjoyable first book in a fantasy series. I look forward to reading the rest when they come out!

The City of Dusk by Tara Sims follows the four noble houses. Angelica Mardova an elementalist, Nikolas Cyr a light-wielder, Risha Vakara a necromancer and Taesia Lastrider a shadow-wielder. The City of Dusk, also know as Vitae is where the four realms meet and connect to each other. Vitae has lost its favor with the gods and has been sealed from the four realms and is slowly dying. The four noble houses have been raised with duty to the Holy King Ferdinand in mind and not to interact with each other. They must come together in a reluctant alliance to save their realm.
This book builds a beautiful world of magic, politics and mystery. The author does an amazing job at weaving each character's story and blending each of the character's stories together. Some of what might have been meant to be twists were obvious to me, however I did not get everything I thought correct, which is a big deal for me. I also, loved how the gods are not ones that a typically in books, at least the ones I have read.
Taesia Lastrider was my favorite character. She was the one I related to the most. Her power to wield the shadows with how powerful she is overall makes her terrifying yet exciting. She clearly wants to do the right thing, but she definitely has a temper and does not see herself as a good person. She wants freedom from her duties and struggles with if she wants to save Vitae because she wants the freedom or because she actually wants to save her people.
For me this book was fantastic. It was the perfect blend of world-building and entertainment. The magic is written in detail and gives the reader a beautiful picture. If you read as if you are a character in the book then you may have a hard time as this has many characters to follow. Unless you can pick one to be. If you read as if you are watching a movie then this is perfect. The detail allows you to be immersed in the city completely with all the senses. The author makes great use of the five main senses.
Again, for me this book is five stars and what I look for in a fantasy world-building book. It is very rare for me to not correctly guess everything that will happen in a book. So, the fact that I could not get everything correct is what put this book over the edge for me to make it five stars. I will be waiting for the release date of the next book.

NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It comes out on March 22, and I’m going to need everyone to pre-order it so we can get a second one because I NEED IT.

Taesia Lastrider. My badass morally gray queen, I may die for you. When she wasn’t on page, I was sad. She was by far my very favorite character of the entire book. Most of the characters are morally gray and if they weren’t, I wasn’t as interested in their storyline. The story is broken up into four parts and has something like seven POVs. There were surprises everywhere and I did not see them coming.

I think what I loved most is the quick pace. Sometimes fantasy can take a while to build because of world building. Not the case with this one. It started out strong and stayed there for 500+ pages. Sure there were slower times but the writing was so good that I didn’t mind at all. Honestly, I was grateful for the chance to breathe because there is A LOT to keep track of.

The magic system was fascinating and complex but easy to comprehend. I’m pretty sure almost every character is queer so combine that with the are they good, are they evil aspect and you’ve got one hell of a ride. I will say there’s a cliffhanger ending but of course there is! And for once, I’m not mad about it. I knew I wanted more from very early on in the story.

I really enjoyed this book, it was fun, heartbreaking and kept me guessing the entire time. The City of Dusk comes out March 22, 2022 and you definitely want to pre-order this one.

3.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed this! It was my first work from Tara Sims and it won't be my last. This did feel a little closer to YA to me but towards the end it was starting to become more adult. The ending was fantastic and it's definitely made me curious to pick up the second book. Hopefully there's some more worldbuilding in the next book.