CITY OF DREAMS – by Don Winslow – Book Two Of The Danny Ryan Trilogy

‘Hollywood.’
‘The city where dreams are made.’
‘On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run. The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison.’
That was good, intense at times, an ending that leaves me wanting more, an excerpt of CITY OF RUINS that has me curious as to what note this trilogy will end on—a tantalizing eternal cliffhanger, a satisfying ending, or a gut-wrenching conclusion—I’m game no matter how it plays out!

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow (HarperCollins Publishing), for providing me with a hardback copy of CITY OF DREAMS at the request of an honest review.

CITY OF RUINS — Scheduled To Release On April 2, 2024, though subject to change.

First I want to thank #netgalley and #harpercollinscanada for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

City of Dreams by Don Winslow is the second in a trilogy and it did not disappoint. This book is fast paced with quick twists and turns as each character continues to evolve with the story.

This book is a story about the mob, Mexican Cartels, Hollywood, family dedication and its survival and how they all can intertwine. While certain parts of the story can go into some details that some may not like it added to the storyline.

If you want a faced paced book where you love and/or dislike characters, want a physiological crime thriller then this book by Don Winslow is for you.

I have to say that I didn't love this one as much as the first one but I still liked it. Don Winslows writing is cinematic and you can see the movie play out in your head as you're reading. I will for sure read the next in this series to see where its going but I think I just didnt care for the west coast setting as much as the east coast setting.

Wow. Another great book in this series. Can't wait for the next one. Great, well developed characters, great story, and pacing. Highly recommend. #CityofDreams #NetGalley

Don Winslow builds upon his City on Fire universe, as Danny and friends are back for another amazing middle edition of Winslow's trilogy. Winslow's writing continues to be one the most interesting, world-building available.

This is a tough review for me to write since I have adored Winslow's previous books and was looking forward to this title. Winslow is a master of moral ambiguity and making us care about the bad guys who we don't want to think are bad even when we know that they are. City of Dreams picks up immediately after Danny, his right hand man Jimmy, Ned, his dad's bodyguard, and the Altar Boys whisk his father Marty and son our of Rhode Island following the war with the Moretti's from City on Fire. Usually I love the worlds that Winslow builds and I did like the long drive and the scheme for getting out of their problems, but then the story floundered for me in Hollywood and I felt the setup for the third book, from Pat's family to Neto was rushed and unbelievable. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the early access in return for my honest opinion.

Don Winslow continues to blow me away.

A trilogy bridge/middle book, but very much tells its own story as it sets up the finale. Which is high on my anticipated reads list.....

A big thank you to the publisher for sending me a hardback copy of this title, which I will treasure and someday read again.

Filming the Fire

“City of Dreams” is Don Winslow’s follow-up to “City on Fire,” two books in his City trilogy following Danny Ryan of the Irish mob from Providence, Rhode Island. In this sequel we open with Danny fleeing the East Coast with his ailing father and his young son. His wife has just died, and he cannot even attend her funeral as he has enraged the Italian faction of the mob and is being hunted by the FBI, suspected of having murdered one of their (dirty) agents.

Danny smooths things over with the Feds, carrying out a mutually beneficial solid for them.
The pressure from the mob is easing up as well– as long as he keeps a low profile in his new Southern California home. Hollywood is the city of dreams and Danny is drawn to a financial investment in a movie property, shades of “Get Shorty.” He also finds himself emotionally tangled up with a troubled starlet, a passion landing him smack dab on the cover of every tabloid in the country. So much for the low profile– everybody is after Danny Ryan again.

“City on Fire” was a compelling book and this one only gets better. The characters are stronger– particularly the women– and readers are going to hunger to see the Vegas finale of this saga in the next one, “City in Ruins.”

As a side note, actor Austin Butler (“Elvis") has been cast as Ryan in an upcoming treatment of “City of Fire,” the “soon to be a major motion picture” thing.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #CityOfDreams #NetGalley

The story opens up on the East Coast with Danny actually dumping the drugs he has, but only one other guy knows that. Yet now he and his crew are on the run from the Italian mob who think he stole from them. Set in the eighties Danny and his right-hand guy make it out to the west coast. Danny is trying to do right with a son after his wife died so he is working at laying low. Yet two of his crew end up in Hollywood and then Danny is thrust back in when he begins to make waves with the food industry, not knowing that Chicago has their hands in it. I would have thought he would have known that but oh well. Here is where he is pulled back in now by the feds and by doing the job for them he can walk clean. Of course, I am putting it all simply which does not happen, but it is a good story with good characters.

I love Don Winslow's books! He has a way of pulling me into the story, while at the same time feeling ill at some of the violence and heartache he depicts. I think that's the mark of a great book, and of a great author. That being said, when I requested this book, I somehow neglected to notice it was the second book in his latest series. I began reading it and felt completely lost. I therefore am going to set it aside for now, order the first book from the library, and come back to this one after. I can't really offer a review then, but will base my rating for the time being on how I rated all his other books. Stay tuned!

Based on the first half of "The Aeneid," City of Dreams is an ambitious and powerful work, the tale of Danny Ryan's escape from his Rhode Island origins and his descent into Hollywood madness. Those who have read The Aeneid know where the story is headed, but that doesn't lessen the tragic impact. Winslow's knowledge of all matters organized crime and Hollywood helps strengthen this book into a worthy addition in the Mafia canon. Strong recommendation for an enjoyable book that will surely form the basis for a magnificent movie.

Don Winslow’s second book of this trilogy is a great quick read. Although I enjoyed the first storyline City in Fire more I missed the characters especially Danny Ryan.
The characters are wonderfully written and the antics that the altar boys get into keep you reading. Looking forward to the last novel in this trilogy and the news that the series is coming to the big screen is very exciting!
Thank you NetGalley and the talented Din Winslow fir the opportunity to read this book.

*Thank you to Harper Collins, Don Winslow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
“Strong men are not the ones you have to worry about, it’s weak men that you have to worry about, putting authority and power in the hands of weak people, because when people who never had anything throughout their life, now have power over you, boy do they abuse it.”

― Michael Franzese

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/cityofdreams

City of Dreams is my second book by the fabulous Don Winslow, and also the second book in the Danny Ryan trilogy, an Irish gangster from Rhode Island who is just sly enough to keep himself ahead of his enemies. This book begins a few hours after the events of City on Fire took place and Danny Ryan is on the run with his newborn son, having spent the last few hours at the hospital with his dying wife. After killing a dirty FBI officer and throwing millions in the ocean, he knows the feds and Italian mob will be right on his tail. Danny and his cohorts have lost the gang war and they are leaving Providence forever.

Interestingly, it’s the government that makes first contact with Danny, after he lives in San Diego, and then Las Vegas with his estranged mother. They make him an offer he can’t refuse with millions of dollars and his slate wiped clean. All he has to do is take down a dangerous Mexican cartel. It is hard to pass up because the contact suggests that his friends and family would be in jeopardy if he refuses the deal. Danny’s journey brings him from San Diego to Las Vegas to Hollywood and back. Along the way he loses friends, meets a beautiful woman, has a movie made about the gang wars of Providence and falls in love with a troubled movie actress.

As with the first book in this trilogy, there are so many characters that sometimes it is hard to keep them straight. Winslow still brings us up to date on those who stayed in Rhode Island while following everyone in California. But the focus is Danny and his crew “lying low”. There is less focus on the mob and more on their fresh start, though a lot of violence and crime, as with the first book. Despite the author being such a fabulous storyteller, there was a lot of bouncing around with all the unique characters and the side plots. Like Tony Soprano, Danny struggles with his conscience a lot and his ability to be a good father to baby Ian. This piece of City of Dreams is truly compelling. This novel is a saga of family, what is right and wrong but also survival and revenge. While it was not quite what I was expecting, it was interesting and addicting just the same. There are so many moving moments, but also vicious gory crime scenes. The reader knows Danny has a mark on his head so we are constantly waiting for the scene where they finally get him! I know that the third in this trilogy is Don Winslow’s last goodbye to literature and I can’t wait to see how it all ends!

The saga of the Providence Prodigal, Danny Ryan, continues in the second of Winslow’s planned trilogy. Like a middle child, the City of Dreams is overshadowed by its siblings, acting as a kind of bridge between the setup and the showdown. But hey this is Winslow so there’s action and forward momentum as Ryan goes west and finds that Hollywood is indeed the land of make/
Believe

'City of Dreams,' book 2 of 2: The City, by Don Winslow (William Morrow, 352 pages, April 18)

“City of Dreams” isn’t the Don Winslow novel we should be reading this year. The one that was scheduled pre-pandemic — in fact, the one that is finished, edited and just about ready to hit bookstores — is “City in Ruins,” the culminating story in the Danny Ryan mobster trilogy that is destined to earn a place (in front of) Mario Puzzo’s “The Godfather.” But for bad and good, the book we have this year is the middle of the wiseguy trio — and only bad because the author has announced his retirement from writing, meaning we have only a single Winslow novel left before us, ever; and good, because, well, damn, Winslow right now pretty much stands by himself atop the Mount McKinley of American crime fiction. “City of Dreams” picks up where Winslow left Ryan and the boys (and women) in “City on Fire,” the story that sparked a war between Rhode Island’s Irish and Italian crime families. Leading what’s left of the decimated and defeated Irish mob, Ryan takes the "family" on a cross-country trek, searching for a new place to set up (legitimate) business away from the Italian gang. But being tracked by that gang, in addition to the Rhode Island State Police, FBI agents and other unsavory characters means constantly looking over your shoulder, and it is this that wears on Ryan and those remaining loyal to him. Plus, as we see time and again, blood will tell, and earning a honest dollar is antithesis to some of those bucking Ryan’s place at the head of the table. Peppering all of this are the allusions and storylines (and even a credible deus ex machina) from Homer’s “The Illiad” and Virgil’s “Aeneid” with which Winslow has papered the walls of his epic. As a middle child, Winslow includes enough backstory to make “City of Dreams” a standalone, but don’t go there. The author builds textures and layers into his longer works that are worth the trip. Really, what’s the fun in flying to the summit when you’ve missed all the flora and fauna on the way up? For a review of “City on Fire,” visit https://shorturl.at/CFS57.

The second book in what I consider as the Danny Ryan series was a solid addition to the trilogy leaving me extremely interested and excited to get to the last book next year.

The audiobook version of this series is excellent and I would be shocked if the same narrator doesn’t finish up the series.

The characters really bring this story to life and the journey has been very interesting and unexpected at times.

The ending had a part that I wasn’t loving but the author pulled me in by the end in a big way. Definitely one of my favorite authors of all-time!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

Don Winslow absolutely crushed this second installment in this series! I for one cannot fathom that this is the second to last book he will ever produce. This book takes place right after the last one and the action does not stop. This book is amazing from start to finish and I found myself slowing down as I neared the end because I did not want to the reading experience to be over. I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see how this trilogy unfolds. Go get this book!

The City of Dreams is the second book of the trilogy. It can be read on its own, although some character development will be missing.
This is the story of mob families involved in drugs, theft and murders. How they try to hide, try to get out of the mob lifestyle, and how their past always has a way to creep up in their present.
I enjoyed how the main character, Danny Ryan, makes deals to have him and his group have a so called normal life, and tries to keep them in line. It is hard to make sure people do what you want them to do, even if it is for their own good.
The story did not engage me as much as I would have liked, but maybe that is because of the verb tense used throughout the book.

In this, the second volume in Winslow's last trilogy, our east coast mobsters head west to Hollywood, but they can never leave their pasts behind.

Danny Ryan is on the run with his newborn son and two of his friends from back home. Not exactly the best of situations for anyone. Danny, once again, figures his way out of some tense situations and lands himself and his buddies on the west coast, free and clear. What's he going to do now? They get into the movie business, of course! Will Danny and friends escape their pasts? Are their lives finally free of the mafia AND the feds? You'll have to read this to find out!

I didn't find this book to be quite as compelling as the first, but it was still good. Winslow creates characters with so much depth and feeling, you can't help but to care for them, especially with Danny. Even though he's slim and Irish, he still reminds me of Tony Soprano. Trying to balance difficult family matters while trying to do business can be frustrating, and Danny worries about being a good father. But he worries more about keeping everyone alive. The only thing Danny is missing is a good therapist!

The denouement here was exciting and it sets the stage for the third and last book of Don Winslow's very last trilogy. I can hardly wait!

*Thanks to William Morrow, NetGalley and the author for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

A Worthwhile Followup To Winslow’s Trilogy Beginning With City On Fire!

City Of Dreams is the second book in this trilogy that starts off essentially where City On Fire ended. I won’t describe the plot of Winslow’s latest book since this can be read about in the Amazon Book Description above. I’ll just say that it is a very well-written page-turner with very well developed characters and an above average amount of excitement. If you enjoy a book that offer a sweeping saga of family, love, revenge survival and provides the fierce reality behind “the dream”, then I’d strongly recommend you read City Of Dreams…but only after reading City On Fire. Also keep in mind that the ending of this book is not really the ending of the story featuring the main character, Danny Ryan. The real ending won’t be known until the trilogy is completed, which won’t be until sometime in 2024.

Despite my overall enjoyment of City Of Dreams, i deducted one star from my rating because I had some minor credibility issues with the relative ease with which Ryan succeeded in Hollywood as well as with the ending. Actually, if Amazon permitted, I’d give City Of Dreams a 4 1/2 rating.

#City Of Dreams #Net Galley