This was my first read by this author. I loved the incorporation of so many aspects, politics, magic, cultural, diverse characters, and an enticing plot. it did start a bit slow, took me a while to get into it but I ended up enjoying it! I cant wait to give more books by this author a shot .

A gripping story that will have you in the edge of your seat. Twists and turns that will blindside you. Phenomenal character development and world building. With 4 main characters and plenty of great side characters there's not a dull moment to be found. The plot was tense and epic. The ending was a cliffhanger for sure. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

This book is an incredible journey of EPIC proportions. The world building, characters, and magic system was absolutely incredible! I can’t wait to see where this story goes!

I really enjoyed a lot of this book, but the writing is a bit uneven. I will always root for books with queer characters, dark fantasy, and a charismatic group of main characters- I just think maybe this book needed a stronger edit. I'll continue to follow!

ALSO- this cover is incredible so major kudos to the designer.

Thanks so much for the review copy!

This is a great book with great characters. It kept me guessing and I definitely couldn’t put it down during the last third of the book. The relationships and how all four main characters work together was the best part!

City of Dusk was such a lush, fresh fantasy that I completely devoured! I really enjoy reading about dark fantasies rooted in shadows and secrecy, and this book had plenty of that and then some!

It took me so long to finish this book that I truly can’t figure out what I feel about it. The world building seemed cool, I liked some of the characters, I appreciate that it has quite a few queer characters - but ultimately it was a bit too slow and I felt like not much happened for most of the book. I don’t know if I’ll continue this series but I’ll definitely pick up the author’s next new series.

I DNFed. It was unfortunately too slow for my liking. 30% in, it still feels like an unnecessary introduction to the world and characters that are hard to distinguish. I’m sad a bit because this was one of my most anticipated reads this year. Hopefully when I decide to come back to it, I would appreciate it more.

The City of Dusk has a very interesting premise with The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir. Well the gods are not nice and pulled away and now the city is dying. The four heirs are out to try and bring back the city. Unfortunately this is a DNF for me, I am always sad when I don't connect with a book and I feel bad as the authors always spend so much time and effort but sometimes the books just don't vibe and this one is one of those for me. I'm sure others out there will find it more to their liking.

A realm cut off from magic and the Gods who can gift it is the setting of this debut novel in a new fantasy series. Four houses descended from Gods of neighboring realms are faced with a choice when magic begins waining. Will they unseal the locks put in place by their ancestors to open the flow, or could a more sinister plot be hiding behind it all? When murders achieved by conjuring demons cause panic and finger pointing amoung the houses can the heirs come together or will everything, including their realm, fall apart?

I can't praise this book enough. It was LONG and at times predictable but so worth it. Tasia's arc in particular was so much fun to watch uncoil. She is so morally grey she flirts with being morally black. He relationship with all the other houses and their heirs took so many u turns and off road adventures that she just kept you on your toes. The Pantheon of Gods was beyond words. The realms and their rulers bestowing power upon these descendents was enjoyable, especially as the reveals begin to unravel. Every piece of this novel was important, causing it to exceed page counts I normally look for but I'm so thankful I was approved for this title. Bring on book 2!!!!

Whew! She is one CHONKY book! 5 stars and eager for book 2! Recommended for fans of the Ashlords duology or those who want a fresh take on a Pantheon of Gods. As far as an age range goes I would say 12+ as there is a little romance but nothing unstable for preteens or teens. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The City of Dusk! The world-building was extensive yet really well integrated and easy to understand. It also played a great balance of being both character driven in some ways and very plot driven in others. I absolutely loved all of the "heirs," there wasn't a single character that was written well.

For a decent part of the book I did find myself wondering how this would become a series, but the end certainly left me wanting the next book!

I loved the way so many different kinds of relationships were portrayed in this book, from romantic (with varying sexualities), friendships, family, and rivals. Nothing about the character building fell flat for me!

I enjoyed the diversity and representation in this book as well as the different POVs. The book did feel like a familiar fantasy, but it was done differently and done well. This was full of complex characters and amazing writing. I think this is Tara Sim's best book yet.

DNF @ 19%

I've tried so many times to continue this book, and it's just not working for me. I can't get into it. I'm hopeful that I'd enjoy it again at a later time, though. The world was incredibly interesting!

This book was soooo long and drawn out. I really am surprised that I made it through the whole thing. Characters were annoying and I really couldn't care less about their plight in the book. Didn't get much detail on the city/ world either. It just seems like an awful lot of pages for not feeling like much happened.

Tara Sim's The City of Dusk starts slowly, but once it does, watch out. I get the need for an intense amount of world-building. Most fantasies require it, after all, because the author needs to explain the world to readers. In the case of The City of Dusk, we also have to meet the characters and families and understand their powers and their histories. That part took just a bit too long for me, and I did consider not finishing it. I'm glad I didn't, especially given what we learn about one of the characters, but know that even I struggled with how slowly the story builds.

This book sounded like it would be great but unfortunately, it was just boring to me. I did enjoy the characters though.

I can't recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The City of Dusk was one of my most anticipated released of the year! I have enjoyed every book I have read by Tara Sim so when I saw the description of this book, I was beyond excited! I am happy to say that this book was definitely great and I am interested to see how the rest of the series goes from here.

The only problem I had with this book, which caused it to be 4 stars instead of 5 stars, was the beginning made it very hard to stay focused. There are many POVs in this book and at the beginning, you are jumping from character to character. As someone who reads adult fantasy often, this usually doesn't bother me but it felt jarring whenever one of the POVs changed. As the book went on, I got more used to it. It was just a rough beginning.

This book is full of wonderful Queer representation. It follows the heirs to four houses who each have their own unique powers gifted from the gods themselves. Betrayals, secret plots, and forbidden romance at just some of the things you can expect from this book. The end will have you begging for the next book.

Dark and rich, this epic fantasy has so much of what I love in fantasy. There are powers divined by the Gods granted to a complex set of characters in a world where the powers alone will not determine the next ruler. Everyone has their own motivations, but the goal is the same. To succeed, each character must use their wits, cunning, relationships, and even physical strength to get closer to the throne. I loved it and can’t wait to see what happens next!

The writing was good, and what I’ve come to expect from Tara, but I just wasn’t interested in the plot. I knew going in this probably wasn’t for me as I don’t usually like this type of fantasy, but I wanted to give it a chance because I'm a big fan of Tara’s other books.