Flowing with gorgeous prose and filled with achingly beautiful imagery, this mythological treatment of an ancient city is ultimate a shallow narrative that doesn’t even fill the novella length. The pace still remains incredibly slow and the development between the angel and demon is diluted by the confusing cast of side characters. A great idea that wasn’t fully realized.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

A demon, Vitrine, curses an angel after the angel destroys her beloved city Azril. Vitrine begins rebuilding the city after processing her immense grief and the angel joins her as he can no longer return home. What follows is a beautiful study of love, starting over and what it means to change.

This book was absolutely stunning and refreshingly unique. I deeply love stories that are morally complex and 'The City in Glass' is definitely that. Are Vitrine, the angel or the humans good or are they bad? A binary answer would be boring and the book recognizes that. Instead we get a moving character study of a demon who manages to be human and inhuman at the same time in a way that makes perfect sense. This is not so much a love story between an angel and demon but instead a love story between an angel, a demon, a city and its inhabitants. We get to see love in all of its forms and how that love can change over time. Believe me when I say that this book will sit with you for a long time in a good way.

My only minor complaint is that the pacing was a tad too slow.

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Storygraph and Fable on 10/2 and on Tiktok on 10/4.

Almost everything has a life cycle, including cities.

Vitrine, a rather modest demon that just wants a place to call their own, has watched the city of Azril grow from the rubble and ruin of a city long-gone to a masterpiece. It’s her city, full of her people, and she loves it so.

But, as we all know. Rome fell in less than a day. Azril did too, when angels came for it. The only thing keeping Vitrine from burying herself under a mountain and going into an eternal slumber is that she has someone she can punish for this violation: an angel she somehow marked before he could make it back behind the gates. He can’t return home unless she takes back what she’s done to him, but so long as he’s marked he belongs to her; and oh, how she likes the idea of the angel belonging to her when he’s one of those that took everything from her.

It’s been said before by many people, but I’ll join in with the chorus: This book is unbelievably good. Nghi Vo is one of my auto-buy authors for a reason: Her standalone novel writing is incomparable, always straddling a fine line between fantasy and magical realism with the style, construction, and depth of meaning that comes from literary fiction. Vo has a magical and prodigious talent for using fantasy to examine the human condition, never flinching from pointing out the worst in us. It’s painful but beautiful, sad but soothing.

There are passages in this book that wound my heart up into a tangled ball of emotion and others that wrapped tight around it in grief. It’s a must-read book for 2024. 5 Stars.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Dark Fantasy/Literary Fiction/Supernatural Fantasy

I LOVED this book. A beautiful ode to a city that had me falling in love with the city as much as Vitrine did.

Nghi Vo truly gives us a wonderful character (but city) study on the city of Azril. I laughed and cried, was happy and sad, as change always can evoke such strong emotions but in the context of this novel was absolutely captivating.

This will absolutely be a book I recommend to those loving lyrical prose, the vibes of This is How You Lose the Time War, enemies to lovers, angels and demons and the beauty of change over time.

As always this is the type of story where Nghi Vo absolutely shines and proves why she has probably my favorite writing in modern Literature. The characters, the dynamics, the whimsy and loose-ness of the story - literally everything was perfect!

Nghi Vo’s, The Singing Hills Cycle, is one of my favorite series, so I was interested in checking out her latest story, The City in Glass. Essentially, this is a tale about a ruined city that might rise again from its ashes, a demon, an angel, and the strange tumultuous sort-of fascination/love story between the two.

The City in Glass was engaging from the very first page. It begins with a revelry, the fall of the city, and the demon, Vitrine’s effort to rebuild what she lost. Despite the book’s short length, the actual timespan of the story was hundreds of years with sporadic time skips, which sometimes spanned as long as decades. The book was written incredibly well and with enough detail to give the characters—particularly Vitrine—and Azril a rich history.

A large part of the book was dedicated to—and lingered on—Vitrine’s grief as well as her memories of the people and the place she’d lost. During these flashbacks, it was clear how much she’d loved the city of Azril, following generations of families, shaping the place into what it was before everything ended, like a gardener. Her grief was, for lack of better terms, consuming, and The City in Glass allowed Vitrine to go through these stages. It was messy—she was prone to giving into her rage, lashed out, and wanted to be left alone with memories and ghosts—but it drove home the devastation. The way she wanted to linger in the past reminded me of a short story I read earlier this year (Something Small Enough to Ask For by Anamaria Curtis), and the lesson for that main character was ultimately a similar one. Stay in the past or finally move forward? As character arcs go, Vitrine’s was a good one.

One avenue that I was pretty undecided on (and still am), was how the relationship landed, whether it worked as well as some of the other aspects of The City in Glass or not—especially with the way the story ended. On one hand, I understand Vitrine had to work through her grief and come to terms with the angel’s role in it. While on the other hand, some of the angel and Vitrine’s best moments were when they communicated, when there was this push-and-pull albeit with a sense of burgeoning closeness and understanding (even frustration and anger) with each other. However, I wish there had been more of it, or at least a little more of the angel’s perspective on the situation, particularly before the end.

Despite how conflicted I was about the aforementioned, it wasn’t bad actually. In fact, The City in Glass was thoroughly engaging and enjoyable, and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (TorDotCom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

The City in Glass will be published October 1. Thank you Tor and Tordotcom for the ARC in exchange for an honest review because I love love love Nghi Vo’s writing. Siren Queen and What The Dead Know were two of my favorite reads last year. The City in Glass followed their lead and confirmed that I will read anything written by Vo.

City in Glass follows Vitrine, a demon whose essence takes the form of a glass cabinet with a book inside. Exiled from her first city, Vitrine finds herself in Azril, a city that she spends hundreds of years crafting and influencing and pouring herself into to make it almost exactly as she wanted. For each human who impacts Vitrine, she writes a little bit of them into her book.

But, all good things must come to an end. Angels descend on Azril and destroy the city. As the angels leave, Vitrine curses one of them, flinging part of herself into his heart, and he falls in love. She hates him. Like, what? I love it.

What follows is the aftermath - does Vitrine continue on, what’s the point of recreating what’s been lost? Time passes differently for demons, and I really enjoyed the non-linear aspect of the book. Vitrine’s relationship with the nameless angel was also one I came to appreciate. His love for her is painful, all-encompassing, and sacrificial. She has literally cursed him and hates him. How their feelings soften over the centuries is a nice progression.

And that ending! I don’t want to give anything away, but I was surprised but then ultimately not surprised. On reflection, I really loved The City in Glass. Fans of This Is How You Lose the Time War, Alix E. Harrow, and obviously Vo herself will really enjoy this book.

The City in Glass is a gorgeous piece of writing. Nghi Vo is able to wind together words so stunningly, creating and implementing turns of phrases that are so poetic and impactful. I adore this prose.

The story itself is also gorgeous. We follow Vitrine, a demon struck by grief following the opening events of the story. She is a study in multi-layered character work and crafting a character that you can love and hate in equal measure. Grief, history, and destruction are all major themes of the book and you are held within the world of Vitrine as she comes to terms with her new reality—as well as a new partner from whom she cannot escape (and vice versa). I enjoyed their relationship dynamic, the way that it flowed and the way that it ended, I especially appreciate that ending and Vo's choice to not overtly push something that may not fit the narrative.

Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for Oct 3
Blog post goes live Oct 8th
Amazon Review submitted (pending system approval)
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube review/wrapup

TL;DR: This one is sneaky, it’s a slow read and deeply rooted in the psyche of our characters but it has a fascinating arc.
Source: Netgalley, Thank you to the publisher!!

Plot: A demon loves a city till a host of angels destroy it. She grieves her city as she grapples with the angel that stayed, seemingly cursed to her side.
Characters: Vitrine is our primary character. She is lost in grief for most the novel and she is a fascinating take on the ‘demon’ character. I really enjoyed her.
Setting: The ruins of a once great city. It was both sad and beautiful in turns.
Fantasy: As far as magic and the ‘fantasy’ of it I don’t think that was the focus so it’s overly strong. I’d consider this low magic, very much not of our world.

Thoughts:

I was half way through this book and though ‘I don’t know if I like this’. Then, as I finished and sat on it a while and it came together in my mind I realized that wow, that’s going to stick to me. The City in Glass is fascinating study of a woman trapped in grief for the city she lost. Vitrine is an immortal demon, one who has lived and grown her beloved Azril. Then it’s destroyed by a host of angels and she spirals into grief and anger.

We are limited to Vitrine, the entire story follows the grief maddened woman around the ruins of her city as she calls up ghosts and reflects on the lives and times lost. We also meet an angel who Vitrine cursed, and who finds himself trapped on the earth and with her in a way. The two have a fascinating, a tie that bonds them over the course of the novel till the bittersweet ending.

This is entirely a story of grief. Of loss, and memory and how we stumble and fall and struggle to rebuild after such devastation. The last half of the story begins to grow in hope and honestly by the end I was enthralled by this demon who I at times hated and other times loved. I reread that last chapter at least three times. It was a slow but beautiful burn. If you enjoy that type of a story this is a big recommendation - but it definitely won’t be for everyone!

This was such a beautiful story in fact it’s giving me almost Piranesi vibes in the way that it's written. It follows a demon who has fallen in love with this city, which she nurtured and built. The city and all of its people are destroyed by angels who come down from heaven and she is devastated but vows to rebuild it but throughout the years one of the angels keeps visiting her. It was emotional and lyrical. Plus it's a novella so a short digestible read.

“What a shame that would be, to fall in love and be made to stay.”
“I love her,” Vitrine continued, still watching the empty horizon. “Her name is in my book.”
“And you let her go.”
“There are many ways to love someone.”

A demon, an angel, and a city. This book was…vey dream like and strange. But in a good way, if you enjoy the vibes of This Is How You Lose the Time War, Piranesi and The Night Circus. This short standalone spans many years, seeing to a city’s loss and recreation. I think at its core, this story is about the nurturing of something precious, the loss of identity and country, the perseverance of generations, and more. There’s an ethereal and poetic quality to the writing that makes it beautiful.

I don’t think this one will be for anybody looking for plot or a clear storyline- it will probably feel boring to some. I enjoyed the experience, but I would approach this more like poetry rather than a traditional story. Definitely a quiet, dreamy read, if you’re in the mood for it.

3.75 - For essentially what was a sci-fi novel in the format of a short story/novella, I was really impressed by the world and plot the author managed to build in such a short time. Especially with this being a standalone, I really felt like the author managed to create an intricate romance, world, and history between these characters.

The City in Glass is a standalone fantasy/scifi, with an elaborate history and romance between an angel and demon. The demon loves the magical city Azril and has spent generations being the guardian and mother of its people and the city. When the angels arrive, the city falls, and the demon does everything in her power to destroy the angel and all the destruction he has brought. The demon and angel must come together and decide whether to fight as one to protect the city from an upcoming war and further destruction.

This is a love story, really, set in a fantasy world and magical city. The emotional depth between the demon and angel is strong and destructive. The imagery in this story was next level, and I really felt like I was watching the demon and angel battle each other and the world. The writing in this one was so beautiful and left me emotionally reeling at times, it felt very lyrical. In such a short story, you could really feel the pain and love between these characters, and for the city.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for sending me this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!!

<i>Thank you to Tordotcom / Tor Publishing Group for a chance to read an arc this book! 🖤 </i>

<i>3⭐️</i> I enjoyed the ride but didn't really understand it. tropes: lyrical prose, angels and demons, queernormativity | no steam | digital

<i> “The piece of you in me burns. I cannot remove it no matter what I cut, and my brothers will not allow me to return while I have it.” “Good.” </i>

<i> characters </i>
🩶 Vitrine is a demon who has spent hundreds of years fostering Azril into a grand city. It was her everything, especially the humans she spent generations walking among.
🩶 The angel is at first cold and impatient without any understanding. He then slowly changed into a new kind of devotion to Vitrine and humans

<i> "...she could see, truly see, the city that would become Azril, and fatally and at once, like an angel would three hundred years later, she fell in love." </i>

<i> favorite bits </i>
🖤 Vitrine's grief was so poignant throughout the story. She loved her city and its people and to see it decimated in an instant was heartbreaking. Seeing stories from the people she met throughout the years and the effect they had on her was amazing.
🖤 The relationship between Vitrine and the angel was complex and interesting. To go from snarling and biting to sharing a love of a place to call home.
🖤 This authors ability to weave stories into stories always astounds me. I love the long breaks for lore and connecting the current and the past. We learn all the ways Azril became Azril and learn to love the city as much as Vitrine works on rebuilding.

<i> issues </i>
❌ I didn't really understand why the angel loved Vitrine. We don't get enough of the angel to know him in any real way to understand why he loved her, especially the first time he says it. And also why Vitrine loved him as well. I wanted to know more about the angels and why the city was destroyed. There was so much here I wanted explored that wasn't. I think people who don't need to know the why's and how's will enjoy this though.

<i> final thoughts: </i>
The writing and story was beautiful but I need more to really rate this book higher. I'm a person who needs to understand characters to enjoy their romance and I couldn't do that here. Overall, I did love the world and the story!

Check out my socials <a href="https://linktr.ee/buffyreads here</a> for more reviews!

Thanks to Tordotcom for the ARC.

The story itself was very unique, if not a little reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman stories. While I did enjoy the read, I didn't feel like there was a lot more to it than what was already stated in the synopsis.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo offers a lush, lyrical exploration of a demon’s obsession with a fallen city and the angel who helped destroy it. Vitrine, the immortal demon at the heart of the story, once mothered, ruled, and reveled in the dazzling city of Azril before it was reduced to ruins. Bound by her curse, an angel now haunts the remains of the city he burned, as both characters wrestle with their intertwined fates. Together, they explore the past of the lost city and navigate its uncertain future, with the ever-looming threat of war hanging over them.

Vo’s signature style shines through in the evocative prose, painting a vivid portrait of a city that feels alive with memories, joy, and grief. The premise is incredibly intriguing, especially with Vitrine as the powerful, complex protagonist. Her love for Azril, her mourning for its lost glory, and her anger towards the angel who destroyed it give the novella an emotional depth that pulls you in. However, while the story's setup is strong, it falters in execution. Despite the novella's brevity, there are long stretches of introspection and flashbacks that drag the pacing, making the story feel longer than it is.

Although marketed as a fantasy with romantic undertones, The City in Glass isn't a traditional love story. It feels more like a love letter to the city of Azril itself, with Vitrine’s passion and sorrow for the city taking center stage. The angel, unfortunately, doesn't quite live up to his potential. Though he’s key to the story, his character comes across as flat and lacks the same depth and complexity as Vitrine, making their dynamic less engaging than it could have been.

Overall, The City in Glass is a beautifully written, introspective novella that will likely appeal to fans of Vo’s work. While it didn't fully captivate me, the world-building and Vitrine’s journey were compelling enough to recommend to readers who appreciate lyrical, character-driven fantasy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo is my third novel by Nghi Vo , though I have read her novella the empress of salt and fortune. I was so impressed by this book’s incredible writing. Nghi Vo has a unique new voice that just pulls me into her characters.
It was so well-executed and so, well, magical, that I was left satisfied.

Thank You NetGalley and Tordotcom for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The City in Glass is a story of a city, a demon who loves it, and an angel who loves the demon. It’s set in an imaginary world close enough of ours to be recognisable in some parts, though not immediately identifiable as a particular culture or specific time. A distant past, maybe.

Vitrine is a demon, an immortal being of high emotions and capricious nature, but not evil. She’s arrived to Azril centuries ago when it was still a shanty-town of pirates. With love to its people and the town itself, she helps it to grow to a bright jewel, watching its fortunes ebb and flow through time. And then, out of the blue, four angels arrive and destroy the place and the people.

Only ruins, ghosts, and Vitrine’s rage remain. In her anger, she curses one of the angels, planting a part of her essence in his heart. Unable to return to his own plane of existence with other angels, he stays in Azril, watching as she begins to clear the destruction to make way for the town to reborn again.

The two don’t like or understand each other. Her anger doesn’t ease, but he offers no explanations to the angels’ actions. Years and decades go by as Vitrine clings to her grief, reminiscing the people she’s known. The two barely interact, but they are each other’s only company. Until she drives him away. She would want it to be forever, but in the end, she sets a limit of fifty years.

When the angel returns, he wants to bring refugees of a war to Azril to repopulate it. She demands a huge sacrifice of him to let them come. He agrees, and so the city comes alive again, and the cycle of watching it grow starts anew. It’s not the Azril she’s known before, but it’s her city and her people and she loves them. But it’s now his city too, much to her upset.

This was such a wonderful read. It doesn’t really have a plot that would advance from point to point. Instead, we walk the streets of Azril remembering the past with Vitrine, so named because of a glass cabinet in her heart where she holds a book with names of all the people of Azril—and the angel’s sacrifice. Years, decades and then centuries flow past, and the city grows under Vitrine’s supervision. Not that humans really know she’s there.

The angel comes and goes. He doesn’t speak much, but the reader sees him change from a cold vessel of judgement and destruction to a person who cares about the people of Azril as much as Vitrine does. Her anger eases eventually, and his love for her grows, though we have no indication of it other than that he keeps returning to her. He’s never named, and even at the end she refuses to ask his name or add it to her book. Instead, as a show of her love, she gives him her city—or gives him to the city.

Even without a traditional plot, this was a compelling read. The tone is pensive, but the pace is good, the language is rich, and Vitrine is ever changing like her city. The ending was a bit of a surprise, and while it made an impact, it’s sort of disappointing in the way it was handled. (MINOR SPOILER AHEAD)

I would’ve liked for her to set him free, like she did to everyone she loved, something he struggled with. She does ask if he wants it, but he doesn’t want her to ask. For me, it meant he wanted her to give it voluntarily as an act of love, but she takes it to mean he doesn’t want it. And although he goes to his fate voluntarily, I would’ve found it more meaningful if he’d done it free of the curse too. It’s a small mar though and doesn’t in anyway lessen my enjoyment of the story.

4.5⭐️

I absolutely loved this book so much. The writing is beautiful and covers many topics regarding grief, morally gray decisions, community and different forms of love.

I can see this book having polarizing reviews. Where it works really well for some and the complete opposite for others. This book really has no plot or true world building, but it's getting a slice of life from a demon and angel. You'll feel many different range of emotions thru out this book.

The only thing that wasn't perfect for me was the romance. I think it would have been honestly better with out as it just didn't feel quite right.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this advanced read copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

3 ⭐️

This book was just so aggressively not for me. I think if you’re someone who likes short thought r experiments coupled with pretty prose, then this is for you. If you want a cohesive plot, deep magic or world building, or traditional character work…then this probably isn’t for you. This was my first experience with Nghi Vo but if she is always this all vibes to the extreme it might be only one. I will say the writing was pretty and some of the metaphors and symbolism were interesting. This isn’t 3 ⭐️ because anything was bad, it’s just not for me but I’m sure it’s great for the right kind of reader.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The City in Glass is a book I really appreciated and know I'll get even more out of on a second read. The conceit of the city-as-a-character is one that I enjoy reading in any iteration. The City in Glass is a blend between philosophical and contemplative narrative with subtle plot and clever character development. It reminded me of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (apparently Tordotcom agrees with me on this) and This is How You Lose the Time War, but with Nghi Vo's signature style prose. It's on the more speculative end of the fantasy genre, which I appreciate, with gorgeous atmospheric [literal] worldbuilding.

This is perfect for those who like to think about their SFF books without the prose feeling overly lofty or pretentious. At 215 pages, the prose is tight and the word choice judicious.