Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. The characters felt really underdeveloped/took too long to develop. At least for the first 25% I couldn’t connect anything. Characters were basically a name and not much else, which left me confused every time I read a chapter. Just when I was starting to follow along, the point of view would change. There were multiple and they skipped around randomly. It made it too hard for me to connect to anyone or the story itself.

Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, and I look for excuses to dive into the fantasy worlds. I have always admired Ms. Sims work, her characters and her story has always had a special in my heart and this book too didn’t disappoint. I really liked all the magic elements that were put into work, the intricate detailing to the plot, the word building was just fantastic, characters were exceptionally interesting and the story line just kept me hooked right from the beginning. So, in a nutshell, it’s a 4 star read.

*Thank you to the publishers on Netgalley for giving me this ARC to review*

Characters 4.5| Setting 5| Plot 5| Writing 4| Enjoyability 5

Overall rating: 4.7

This was one of my anticipated reads of this year and Sim did not disappoint. I have never read a Sim book before, but have always been super interested. And now I just want to eat all of their works up.

This book is full of a lot of intricate magic and politics. I guessed a big element and I don't really think it was a surprise as it was so dang obvious, Sim took another twist and I never once guessed that plot point, so I'm in for this.

I fell in love with these characters. I didn't really care for Nikolas, but I felt he didn't get as much perspective as the others so I'm super interested to see what Sim does for him later in the series.

None of these characters are the same person as they are at the beginning of the book they go through the plot and change into different people.

The pacing was done so dang well. There is a big event they kept hyping up and I felt we were getting there on a good time and I enjoyed all of it.

I had my reservations in the beginning because the first chapter from Taesia was kind of wonky writing, but the rest of the book wasn't like that so it may just be due to an ARC and not fully out yet.

This ending makes me want to devour the sequel right at this moment so I will be watching out for that sequel.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

Alright this one gets a 4.5.
The ending was unbelievable. If it wasn't for the small portions where it got a little clunky, it would have been a full 5.

This one took me awhile to get through. There is a lot going on. 4 heirs. Several spares, unknown players and Gods moving around their pieces, playing the long game until the board is ready.
I have to to say I liked all the heirs and spares. All of them are wonderfully defined as characters, each with their own screwups, and pressure and wishes for a world.
One will rule, but none of them really want the crown. Who will step up to let their family down first?

Risha Vakara and Taesia Lastrider were my two favorites. Risha is an heir trying her best to uphold her families expectations, but keeps finding herself drawn into everything she shouldn't be. Taesia is a spare. She's mischievous and tired of being the good daughter, uplifting her brother- the heir's position, but loves her people and city. Part of her just wants to be free, but in the end she realizes she might have to give up everything to save it.

Just want to say the gods might have picked the wrong generation of heirs with this batch. I hope they give back everything they've got in the next book.

The City of Dusk is from what I understand, Tara Sim's first attempt at Adult, though I have always found her to write thick, adult themed prose. As an author, I have found her high concept and a little "all over the place". Chaotic is the best way to put it. I think what I am realizing is this author is simply not for me. I love her ideas and find her to be genuinely creative, but she struggles with consistency in her writing and building up her epic storylines can be messy.

The City Of Dusk is a massive step up from her last work but still left me fairly disappointed

The best part of this book for me was the characters; on one hand I felt like I was so different from these characters and it was exciting to be able to live vicariously through them. On the other hand, by the end I felt like a little piece of each of them I could relate to in my own way. The world building was pretty great but also a bit dense for my brain at the moment, but that's a "me" problem. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read this and hope to see more in the future!!

honestly, I knew better then to request this. I have never connected with Tara Sim's writing, it always comes across as very shallow to me, but I wanted to give them another chance. It's fine! if you liked their other works you'll like this.

I can’t describe it but there was just something... off about this book. I think it’s a number of things giving me this feeling: an old, medieval world that has incorporated modern world things and language (such as describing garments of Earth cultures with Earth names, etc). Maybe it’s the horrendous amount of POVs. Maybe it’s the timeline of things, that 500 years after the Sealing that trouble is taking place doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t able to find anything super original about any of the ideas, cultures, or powers.

There were things that were good about this book, hence the 2-star, not 1. I think the characters were the biggest redeeming factor. I thought they were very diverse and I liked their wide array of personalities. I do see that the author put some effort into the world building.

But I think the piece, altogether, just doesn’t work. There’s something very... unremarkable about it.

The City of Dusk is a dark political fantasy, and I really enjoyed it.

The story follows four rival noble heirs descended from the four gods of the four realms (light, dark, life, and death), each with a different kind of magic, all vying for the throne. But when an ancient magic that’s both forbidden and dangerous spawns and causes destruction across Nexus, AKA the City of Dusk, the four heirs must bond together to put a stop to it before Godsnight, the most powerful day of the century, when all forms of magic will be at their most potent and the gods at their strongest.

Taesia and Dante Lastrider are shades, able to summon and control shadows. Taesia specializes in shadow manipulation and has a familiar named Umbra, while Dante, the heir, is able to form shadows into objects and has a familiar named Nox. They have a younger sister named Brailee, a dreamwalker, who has a familiar named Somnus. Their House worships Nyx, the god of Noctus (the dark realm).

Angelica Mardova is an elementalist, but she is best at air magic. She has a unique ability to be able to play instruments like the violin or the piccolo to call upon the air to increase her power. Her god is Deia, the god of Vitae (the realm of life).

Nikolas Cyr is a warrior with the ability to use light magic, such as being able to create wings or a shield made of light. He has a familiar named Lux. The king has tasked him to lead the special force responsible for removing conjuration, the illegal magic, from the city. His House worships Phos, the god of Solara (the light realm), although Nik is struggling with his faith.

Risha Vakara is a necromancer, but since her House strictly controls the use of necromancy, she can often be found performing seances instead. She worships Thana, the god of Mortri (the realm of death).

I really loved the cast of characters in this novel. They are diverse in personality and ferocity levels. While I enjoyed reading each of their POVs, I think Risha’s story was my favorite because of the introduction of a certain character named Jas, although you’ll have to read the book to discover why.

I especially enjoyed the friendship and banter between Taesia and Risha and the romantic relationship between Taesia and Nik. And then there’s Angelica, who hates all the other Houses and doesn’t want to work with them, but reluctantly agrees to join forces. It felt to me like Taesia was the primary protagonist even though the four main POVs are equally present throughout the novel. Taesia’s character arc is certainly the most surprising of all the characters though.

I think it’s really neat to see so many different kinds of magic present in one book, and we actually do get to see each of the characters use their magic quite a bit, including using their familiars to help them. We also get to see a fair amount of forbidden conjuration as well, which I personally thought was pretty cool. There are lots of good high-action scenes in The City of Dusk, and it’s cool to see one form of magic pitted against another form of magic.

The noble Houses believe that the king will announce the new heir of Nexus on Godsnight, so they are trying to work together to put a stop to the illegal use of conjuration by then so the city doesn’t get destroyed while also trying to prove themselves each the superior House so the king will choose them for the throne. So there’s this interesting dynamic of being both friends and enemies at the same time and I loved it.

The City of Dusk was a strong entry into the adult fantasy canon, and I’m so happy I read it. There was a portion of the book between about 70% and 90% that was a little slow for my taste, especially since we’ve been building up to this epic battle at the end and I was just ready to see how it turned out and the preparations beforehand were dragging on, in my opinion. So the book felt like it was longer than it needed to be. Other than that, though, I don’t have any complaints. It is easy to differentiate between the characters and their types of magic, and the plot was unique and fun. I can’t wait to read the sequels!

I had a hard time reading this book. When I first started it, I felt like I missed a whole book before it (in my head I was like “wait, is this a sequel and I missed the first book?!”). The concept of the book is great and I could tell the author put a lot into the book, but there was just so much going on with 4 POVs, different magic, and brief explanations. I also felt like it jumped around to a new scene right in the middle of the current one.. example: Angelica was walking with her mother after speaking with the king and then all of a sudden she was training with a professor. I had to re read that part around 4 times to see if I had missed the transition, but no it just went straight to a different scene.

My Review
The City of Dusk is my first book by Tara Sim, and I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I've even added a few of her other reads to my tbr list, and I am looking forward to reading them.
In The City of Dusk, the world-building is fantastic, the characters are all vastly different yet in-depth and relatable, and the world-building is immersive and creative. I especially love the use of Sim's fantasy version of religion and gods in this story, which shape the fantasy touches spectacularly.
On top of the story being great, the author is a skilled writer, and the book has very few noticeable grammatical errors and flows well.


The Good Things
1. The story is well-written and devoid of grammatical errors.
2. The fantasy world Sim creates is terrific, and I found myself entirely immersed in it.
3. The four noble houses are diverse and exciting.
4. Angelica and Taeisia are my favorite characters. They both came alive on the page. 

The Bad Things
1. The first 15% of the book was hard to push through, but once I got at around chapter VI, I found myself starting to get more and more interested.
2. This was a much more intense read than I thought it would be! Not necessarily a bad thing, but I was NOT prepared for it. Add it to your tbr list right now, and be prepared! :) 

My Final Rating:
☆☆☆☆ (Goodreads) - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4451010584
☆☆☆☆ (Amazon- will leave this review once the book is released)
☆☆☆☆ (Blog) - https://kayssecretlibrary.wixsite.com/bookreviews (down for maintenance - will be live within 24 hours)

My god is this book a serious shot of adrenaline.
There are so many things about this book that appealed to me. Firstly, the characters. The City of Dusk is centered around four(ish) main characters: Taesia, Risha, Angelica, and Nik. Each character has their own level of power, faults, strengths, personality, and motivations. They are entirely unique and undoubtedly likeable, as well as consistent. There is a serious progression of character development throughout this novel but it is never shifty or messy. Sim put a great deal of thought into each character, who they were, and what they wanted. Which is impressive considering how chaotic this book seemed to get at times.
Secondly, there is no lack of secrets, schemes, or mystery in almost every scene. Sim can successfully keep you guessing and you might manage to discover one or two things for yourself, but in reality you haven't even begun to scratch the surface. Largely, this plot is so intricate. In most books, one or two groundbreaking scenes keep you invested but The City of Dusk is action-packed from cover to cover. Now I understand that can always raise concern, but no worry, the delicacy with which each scene, character, and situation is created prevents readers from getting confused or overwhelmed.
Now for a personal rant: Taesia. Taesia is a character you see more often then others, especially in the beginning. I'd also add that she seemed to have the most gradual, but intense, character development throughout this book. I also may be in love with her. If you are a sucker for strong female characters, Sim has mastered that angle entirely. Additionally, romance is in there! If you're scared of all fight and no love, do not worry. But on the opposing side understand it is nowhere near being vital to the plotline, or does it come around all that often. This book is largely fantasy, not romance. Sim incorporated just enough sexual tension between the characters to make things a tad more exciting. Personally, I loved it.
For the last time, I know I've said this book is crazy with action time and time again but the last 100 pages! Entirely a finale at a firework show. You know when it's nearing the end and fireworks are exploding so consistently and loudly that you just watch with a glaze of, ecstasy and disbelief? That is how I felt before I finished the last page of this book. Just buckle up, dive in, and you'll be fine.
But seriously, The City of Dusk was wonderful.

Thank you Netgalley once again for this book!
I actually don't know what to say about this one, truthfully. I liked it, the characters were really good, so was the pacing, it had some twists I didn't see coming, and yet....I don't know. Maybe I'm reading to much fantasy lately or this was like to many other fantasy books. Maybe I'm just in the wrong mood for it? All I know is that I enjoyed reading it, but I know I won't remember it.

Thank you Net Galley and the Publisher for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Unfortunately I DNF this book. It was just too much information dumping for me while also leaving me in confusion as to what was going on at the same time. Also I found the world building to be very lackluster.
I will be giving this book another try come the release date however at this time I just was not able to get into it.

I really struggled with this book, which is such a shame because it was one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2022. It wasn't that this book was bad, necessarily, but rather that it lacked polish. It read as very YA to me, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, except that I personally wanted something that leaned more adult. I found the writing to be clunky and chopped, with some of the descriptions of the world not really working and/or actively distracting from the narrative. I also found that there wasn't a good balance between plot and character: it felt like the character "development" that we got was more just archetypal sketches of the characters rather than a really solid or substantial understanding of who they actually were. Mostly, I found that the plot overwhelmed the story, and the plot itself felt very sequential to me: the characters have to go do A, then they go do B, then they do C. I wanted a little more variety, or some quieter moments, but I didn't quite get that. Overall, I think this book might really appeal to you if you tend to enjoy YA fantasy books more. As it was, it wasn't quite the fantasy for me.

Thank you so much to Orbit for the e-review copy!

This is Tara Sim's first adult fantasy, and it met every one of my expectations. The City of Dusk is absolutely one of the more complicated fantasies I've read, with seven POV characters. Even the side characters have very significant roles to play. Combined with the world itself, made up of four different realms, multiple countries and cities, and very different magic systems, there was a lot to get used to. It did take me awhile before I felt like I knew what was going on, but once I did, I was completely engrossed.
I liked all the characters, especially Risha and Brailee (who I'm hoping will get her own POV in the next book). I'm also really interested in what's going on with Julian and where he will end up in the next book.
I'd highly recommend this to any fantasy reader. I loved this book and I think it has some of the best world-building and magic systems. 4.5/5 stars rounded to 5.

If you asked me at 20% of the book how I felt I'd have said "this is a no for me"
But! I kept on and ended up enjoying it. It's an extremely complicated story, with a lot of moving parts and world building that could have been a lot more expansive. I think the lack of the world building made some of the reveals and action fall slightly flat because I literally had to go back a few times to understand (and Im someone who can name each lineage and person in A Song of Ice and Fire and Grishaverse with no issues). However, once things started moving and characters stopped just having conversations, the book picked up and became a decent YA fantasy action novel. If you're ready to invest the time, this one is for you.

a lot, and i mean a LOT, of thought was put into the creation of this story and it is very evident in the way it is told. i personally really enjoyed it! the book overall is very much plot driven, but each main character or "heir" does have their own individual story that is developed pretty evenly from beginning to end. risha was my personal fav, and while creating unique powers is hard and certain abilities are often times reused throughout book genres, i found that her power of necromancy was very cool and i loved the way it was written. the amount of badass women in this book was awesome and there was also plenty of lgbtq rep!

while each heir did have detailed and unique individual stories, they don't really all come together for a long period of time until the very end. it was great that their own traumas and issues were being worked out in their own povs, but i wish they would've had more time together and i wish they would've actually been on the same page during the times they were together instead of the constant push and pull they were giving each other. that may just be a personal preference, but considering how long the story was i feel like that idea of the main character connections could have been written in more.

overall i still really loved reading this and WOW that ending!! can't wait for others to get their hands on this and i especially can't wait for the next book in the series.

The City of Dusk follows the story of four heirs to Houses obtained with magical powers, bestowed upon them by their Gods. Upon knowing their land is dying, the heirs end up delving into a risky task to save themselves, but more importantly, their people.

This took me FOREVER, but this isn’t strange of me to do so considering this is a high fantasy novel. Some of terminology is very confusing and I recommend a glossary in the final version. Besides that, let’s get into my actual review.

I found myself enjoying the setting of the world and the characters. Though as I’ve stated terminology was confusing, the world building I felt was pretty straightforward and I could follow along easily with what our characters were doing and their schemes.

Characters for me personally are a strong driving point, and I really liked the majority of them, even with their flaws. Dante is a character I wish I got to know more about, so I can’t wait to read about him in the sequel. Julian, another (hot) character, I might add is someone I found myself intrigued with. However his whole ordeal was really predictable, though I’m not sure if Sim had it set up that way on purpose.

I find it relishing to see another story where Gods are always selfish, which I actually quite enjoy in comparison to what I know. We worship Gods and people with abilities with the mindset they love us just as equally, but what if it’s the exact opposite? They want power for themselves and will do all it takes to get there? Are people inherently selfish? Do we learn to love and let go? The City of Dusk is a perfect read to find out what exactly occurs within these walls.

Something I found myself comparing back to reality was the wealth gap between the very rich and very poor, as Taesia herself stated. I didn’t fancy her character too much due to her rash choices, but in the end, I began to understand her character more and why she reacted the way she did. I think I found myself liking all of these characters, which is rare considering the fact there’s always one who gets under my skin, so I applaud Sim for that.

Despite the slow pacing of the book for me, I found myself enjoying it and will definitely be purchasing a copy when I can. Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Tara Sim for an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 4.5/5

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the e-arc!

This book was wonderful, though I do see a new common theme arising in books and that is characters either related to a god/goddess or bestowed powers by them. In my opinion this is a great thing, I love a good book that involves the world's religion.

The book does begin with some heavy handed plot laying that discusses how the City of Dusk and the four other realms are cut off from each other due to the Sealing. I felt like the author was a little too heavy handed in this aspect, as a reader you're constantly beat over the head with how the Sealing has cut everyone off and what that means in the long run. I know it was meant to build a sense of urgency, but to me it was just irritating.

We have our four main families (which I love the family breakdown at the beginning of the book) and each family is tied to a god/goddess. Each of the families is tied to that god/goddess by blood and has powers that reflect that god's realm. For example, Tae is related to the God Nyx and has powers related to shadows. As the book develops you learn more about the political standing of each family, even though the families are descended from literal Gods the land is ruled by a King. I loved that the book spoke freely of the refugees that the Sealing left behind and how the families either protected or abandoned those refugees. Each family felt quite selfish to me, each only operating within their realm of influence, unwilling to interfere or assist each other. The parents in particular felt so insular to me, not a single adult figure ever really encouraged working together to solve the realms issues.

As the book develops we have fourish main characters with a few other POVs sprinkled throughout the story. The book focuses on two main plots: breaking down the barriers and stopping conjuration. Conjuration is essentially witchcraft believed to be used to summon demons. As the book develops, conjuration and breaking the barrier are tied together with a true understanding of conjuration coming to light.

The descriptions Tara Sim has in this book are lovely, you can really imagine yourself immersed in this world and picture the characters so well. I honestly was hooked and the last half of the book had me staying up until midnight to finish it. I'm looking forward to further plot development in the next books and will definitely be purchasing the sequels!