I need the next book in this series immediately!!! The characters were well done, and the worldbuilding was lush. I loved the focus on politics.

Look. I don’t mean to be pedantic. I try hard to suspend my disbelief, but I just couldn’t. What’s with the horticulture? Why is there so much paper? Why is the king just doing everything? Why are there so many nonsense similes?

The plot is also baffling. It doesn’t make sense that even though the realms were sealed half a millennia ago in this book the refugees are still being segregated like this - I’m not saying there wouldn’t still be xenophobia, but there would be more mixing. For that matter, why did it take five hundred years to notice negative impacts of the sealing? Why did the characters just assume that it was because of the sealing? If you asked me what I thought the root of our current problems are I would probably guess Ronald Reagan before colonialism (although a compelling argument can and should be made about colonialism, so maybe I should let this one go).

Alright everyone, this book is good. But I deducted a star because it took me a really long time to actually get into it.

It was heavy world building and character introducing for about the first 25% and by then, I usually know if I’m into the book or not. But with this one I pushed through because I loved @tarasimauthor books in the past and I had a feeling this one wouldn’t be any different.

And I’m so glad I kept reading! There was a lot of mystery and intrigue once things started picking up and we see how all of the characters are connected and see things play out in various perspectives. And I actually enjoyed that more than I thought I would.

The world building and character dynamics is very immersive and detailed and it brought the story deeper and more interesting to me. The magic and necromancy aspect of this book totally captivated me and from the very beginning I was interested to see how it was all going to play out.

This was a bit of a slow burn, definitely one of those novels I had to take my time with. Sim absolutely nails the dreary setting and dark atmosphere, which I absolutely loved. The magic system and the way it interacts with each of the characters is quite the experience, and I loved to learn more about it alongside the characters. While I really enjoyed the main group of characters, all of the perspectives were a little overwhelming. There's a lot of information to hold onto, and it is definitely one of those stories you need to absorb and spend some time thinking about the way the world functions. But, I really enjoyed this first installment and can't wait to see what happens next!

Thanks to Net Galley, I was given the opportunity to read this book in advance for a honest review. In my honest opinion, this book is alright. This book didn't draw me in and keep me hooked. In fact, I honestly had a difficult time finishing it, but that's on me. It's definitely not anything spectacular nor is it the best thing I've read in a while; however if a person is into young adult-esque fantasy, then this book is for you.

I couldn't get farther than about 15% into this book - the author was trying to do too much and juggle too many characters too early on, which would have been fine if the book had any sort of hook or anything original or interesting going on. Lacking that, it was just tedious.

“She wondered if they could whisper how old the earth truly was. If she stood in perfect darkness, perhaps she could feel the ground miles beneath her, cold and wet and ravenous. Perhaps she could sense the other side of the world when it was bathed in night. Cradled in shadow, she could be anywhere and everywhere. She could do anything.”

This book had me in a chokehold and didn’t let go until the last page. THE CITY OF DUSK is a smart, moody fantasy novel, the first in a series. It’s both sprawling and intimate, introducing us to a vast world of angry gods, disconnected realms, and centuries-old feuds, as well as the emotional lives and close relationships of each of the four main characters. Everyone is gay, or messy, or most of the time both; I found myself rooting for each of them, even when they were working against each other (though I have a definite soft spot for Taesia). There’s all kinds of magical powers: necromancy, elemental forces (sometimes channeled through music), control over shadows, light speed, the ability to speak to beasts and summon demons. I loved watching the characters grow with their powers - discovering them, deepening them, struggling to access them - and I’m very excited to see where they all go in future books. Scheming to overthrow the monarchy is always a fun treat, and I liked the taste we got of other realms through the refugees currently stranded in Nexus. The fight sequences are so well-crafted; a screen adaptation of this series would be amazing. It’s intricately plotted, with multiple threads woven throughout that culminate in the climax and several mysteries left to be explored in the rest of the series (though it did feel a little chaotic at times tracking what each of the characters knew about which bits). And the writing! It’s gorgeous and evocative and utterly engrossing. I found the sections that focus on grief or connecting to our monstrous side to be particularly good. The vibes are immaculate, absolutely recommend this, can’t wait to read the rest of the series when it’s out. Thanks to Orbit Books for the eARC!

Content warnings: violence, murder, a little light cannibalism, imprisonment, loss of a loved one/grief

The City of Dusk is a fantastic first installment in a brand new epic fantasy series. In this world there are four realms that each have a god, and each god has an heir. The gods long ago blocked the kingdom off from the other realms. Because of this all the realms are wasting away. When an opportunity comes to change things, all four heirs must come together to try and save their city.

The four heirs have always been pitted against each other as only one of them can be selected to rule. Each of the heirs have their own abilities. Angelica is an elementalist, Risha is a necromancer, Taesia is a shadow weirder, and Nikolas a soldier. Each have their own secrets and hang ups. Can they come together and do what needs to be done, or will they be their own downfall.

This is a great book for fans of multiple POV. I would recommend this for anyone who is a fan of Six of Crows or Game of Thrones. The world building is fantastic and richly detailed. Each character has their own unique voice. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

This book was really good. I enjoyed the difference in the realms. It gave me dark avatar the last airbender vibes, minus the chosen one trope. This story has four chosen ones who have to work together all while trying to betray their families and realms. I liked the magic system and the writing was very easy to follow. This book reads like a YA but has those new adult situations. I will definitely be continuing this series and already bought a copy to add to my shelves. Also the art work on the cover is amazing. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this book.

i'll be upfront and say that this was way too long. it could've been cut down and still hold the same content. i never really felt fully drawn in so reading felt like a chore almost. the setting however was so interesting and the vibes were incredible. i'm sad i didn't like it more but it was still a strong story!

This was a slowwwwwwww read for me. Content heavy with a ton of characters and sub plots. There is a LOT going on. I had to slowly chip away at this book. What would normally take me a week or two to complete, took me weeks. This is to not say that it's bad. It's a slow burn, It has a slow build. It has a build up to an EPIC battle at the end. Each heir is so unique and with so many layered tropes. Taesia, the morally gray character, wants to do by the people but is also willing to do some bad things to make that happen. Each heir is battling with their sense of duty: duty to their House, duty to their king, duty to their God. Each character is dealing with their own respective struggles in the game of politics their positions require.

This is a complex book with multiple sub-plots and really requires the reader to pay attention to everything, keep track of all the side plot points that are going on. This high fantasy is worth starting. I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

I am super grateful to Orbit Books for granting me an advanced reader's copy to the first epic book in The Dark Gods trilogy.

I unfortunately could not connect with this book, so I had to DNF. Which is lame because it seemed like something I would love, and the cover is amazing. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, and it was quite confusing. This major thing happened and there are ramifications of that major thing, but we find out it happened 500 years ago, and the world is just now suffering? I just wasn't enjoying myself.

The City of Dusk has four noble houses each with a different kind of magic. The heirs of each house form an alliance to bring the gods favor back to their kingdom before it is too late.

This is the first book in a dark fantasy trilogy. It delivered big time on the dark magic. This book with filled with necromancy and shadow magic. There were a lot of different characters that were hard to follow at times. However, the plot was deliciously dark with great action sequences and plenty of reveals that made this a very enjoyable read. I will say it was a bit on the long side so I would put aside a significant chunk of time to get through this one. The magic system, religion with the gods, and politics of this world were all great. I would recommend this book for fans of dark fantasy.

{3.5 stars}

The City of Dusk is set in a world that is dying. Abandoned long ago by the gods, the heirs to the great houses are hoping for a way to reconnect their realms and reestablish the power which fuels the world. 

This one starts off with wayyyy too many characters and the chapters jump from POV to POV. I usually love this tactic but it was a lot to take in along with all of the world building. I got there eventually but I wish there had been a slightly more easy path to get there. The characters are all rich and interesting and bada**. The threats are real but I wish we were given more clues along the way to be trying to solve the mystery of how to reunite the world and the gods along with the heirs. 

The end is bananas action and there are some jaw dropping reveals. I’m glad I didn’t DNF this one when I was overwhelmed, I was rewarded by powering through.

Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The City of Dusk follows five main characters, each is the heir to a noble family. Each heir has their own issues with being the heir and the goals of their parents. But things are unraveling and the four heirs may need to take things into their own hands. They may need to work together despite some of them not liking one another. But the more they learn about what they might need to do, the more muddled things seem.
I really enjoyed this book. The fantasy world is interesting and well explained so I felt like I could easily understand how things were set up, geographically and politically. The politics were the main part of the plot of this book. I thought the backstory about the four families and the gods/their belief system was engaging and kept me interested. But most of all, I was compelled by the characters.
I’m not going to go in-depth on each one because I think what I have to say could be giving some stuff away, but only if I specify which characters. This book really surprised me with how dark things turned. As these four heirs (and a mysterious fifth character that I really loved) work together to try and save their world, they explore their abilities, their relationships, and the things they’ll do to reach their goals. Some of these characters turned pretty dark as they found the depths of their powers and I actually really loved that. I think one of the four main characters may end up turning into a villain in the future and I’m honestly so here for that.
Overall, this was an engaging first installment of a fantasy trilogy. There was some good world-building, characters that I really got to know and care about, interesting magic, and an ending that left me excited for the next book.

My favorite part about this book was the diversity and representation. However, the plot was a bit redundant. Characters were likable and the writing was great.

Thanks to NetGalley & Orbit for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

City of Dusk follows four heirs to long family lines with magic in their blood. One family deals in necromancy, another in elements, one in light, and lastly, one family dealing with shadows. Everything starts to fall apart and the young adults must discover secrets that their families and the gods have kept under wraps for decades.

I almost DNF'ed this book a couple of times. The pacing is veeeerrryyyy slow, which is a shame, considering the magic system and characters are interesting in this book.

I really couldn't bring myself to care about half the characters, I think the only one I remotely cared about was Julian. Everyone else was pretty self-centered and rude which I tend to not like in a protagonist. Julian was mainly just trying to get medicine for his mom, everyone else was just like....Woe is Me! My Parents Are Disappointed In Me! Like, okay, can y'all do something nice for someone else for once? No? Okay.

One of my main issues with the characters is that they never actually TALKED to each other. A majority of the drama in the book is stupidity and refusal to talk to each other about the plots happening throughout the book.

I also didn't like how many POV chapters there were--but this is a me thing. I prefer 2-3 POVs at a time and there were...well, I should know the exact number but the POVs voices sounded the same half the time but I think there were at least 5 POV chapters. For my tiny brain unable to memorize names this was hell.

It's a shame I didn't like the book because the magic system was really cool and I liked the family politics--each family has its own magic system. The diversity was a huge plus--especially different sexualities present in the book. Alas! The writing was not my cup of tea.

I thought that this book was pretty good. Though, I do think that it shouldn't be considered or marketed as Adult when tonally and pacing-wise it is very, very YA. I don't think that's a negative thing--I love YA Sci-fi and Fantasy, I just think the marketing and shelf categorization for this is a bit misleading. I also think that this is a bit long for the first installment in this series. I think this could have stopped around the 75% mark and that last bit could have been incorporated into the next installments of the series. This book was incredibly engaging, though, and I felt really sucked in and immersed in the world and the characters. The world and characters are really well fleshed out, which helps keep up that really engaging narrative all the way through the story. I just wish it had been a bit shorted, or more concise, which is really rare for me to wish for! I am definitely thrilled for the next part of this story and, with a writing ability like this, I'm really interested in checking out more of Tara Sim's backlog. Overall, I recommend you pick this up and give it a shot: the good far outweighs the few complaints I had!

The City of Dusk is an intricate political fantasy where four warring aristocratic families try to curry favor with the king and leverage their unique god-given magic for power and influence. Our main characters are the heirs and spares of these illustrious families, born into a world that is fading at an accelerated rate, cut off from the other realms and their magic. With all four families eyeing the crown, the youngest generation has more on their minds. Separately and together, they have ideas for how to save their world. But there is much they don't know about magic, about each other, and about other powerful forces on the move, all who would use them as pawns in a terrifying, high-stakes game.

What I enjoyed most about this book were the twists and turns, the queer cast, and the reflections on power and privilege. While the relationships were a bit surface level and trope-y for my tastes (especially the romantic plots were predictable and rushed), the political power games were fascinating and kept many surprises until the very end. In terms of queer representation, there are both sapphic and mlm romances brewing among the main cast at the end of this first installment, and an important side character is a trans girl. There is also an established sapphic couple as one of the main character's mom and stepmom. It seems to be a queer-norm society. I appreciated how the characters struggle throughout the book to come to terms with their own power in a magical and political sense. They have to consider their duty, the future of their world, and what role they should play in it. They also have to consider what greater powers are meddling in their lives and those of everyone, powers that perhaps shouldn't be revered once viewed in a more honest light.

Beyond relationships that took a back seat to plot, the main deterrent keeping me from being fully immersed in this story was the drawn-out pacing. I lost motivation at several points throughout because I felt sluggish moving through the plot. I think it's always a risk having a book this long, and it takes a special connection between reader and book to keep interest up throughout. That didn't happen for me here, but I still found a lot to admire and enjoy.

This book was sooo long! There were so many unique characters. I mean 4 families with four different magic systems is no easy task. Props to the author for making it work!.
This is Tara Sim's first adult work and it definitely feels like it still steers a bit into the YA category. But my goodness this world and its lore was fascinating at had me turning pages.
I also so much great queer rep!