I love everything Adrienne Young writes and The Fallen City was no exception. A romantasy with a good slow burn romance. Set in a crumbling empire with war and betrayal. The ending will have you flipping the pages! Cannot wait for book two!!

Fallen City swept me into the heart of Isara a crumbling, Greco Roman inspired city balanced between rebellion and divine intrigue. The pace isn’t breakneck, but that works: the alternating timelines (the “then” and “now”) and multiple points of view gave me time to feel the weight of the world, the characters, and their choices. There were moments when I had to pause and take it all in, but it made the story feel richer.

The writing style, Adrienne Young’s trademark lyrical and atmospheric prose, pulled me in with vivid imagery and emotional clarity. I felt the city’s decay, the gods’ whisper in every stone, and the tension crackling between Luca and Maris. Their love simmered with longing and stakes, impossible but drawn with such careful emotion that I couldn’t help but root for them, even as they were pulled apart by war and duty.

What really stayed with me was the political core of the story: rebellion, power struggles, religious authority, and how individuals become symbols. That drive to shape a better future, even when you’re on opposite sides, felt powerful and biting. I especially appreciated how the romance never overshadowed the rebellion or the mythology; it complemented it, grounding the epic in personal cost and hope.

If there's something I’d tweak, it’s the clarity in early chapters. The shifting timelines were compelling, but I occasionally had to slow down to keep my bearings. A bit more signposting early on might help readers settle in faster without losing atmosphere.

Adrienne Young never fails me.

However, I do have some criticism. I wasn't the biggest fan of how this was structured. The past and present in duel narration. It took a long time to get my bearings in how the story was being told. I don't think I finally felt the story until i was about %70 in and finally I was sucked in and couldn't put it down.

I actually really enjoyed being in Luca's point of view the most.

I would have liked this more if it was told in a liner fashion, but I still loved it. I'm rounding up my rating to a 5, but really a 4.5 is where I think it belongs.

I can't wait for the next book.

Like many of Adrienne Young’s books, I devoured this book! The book tells the story of Maris and Luca, imperfect characters with intertwined fate deciding how to maneuver in a society that is collapsing in real time. The story is told from two different timelines for both characters l, revealing the points that brought both to the decisions that changed their lives. While you can feel the suspense with each passing page, you cannot tear yourself from the book!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!!

4⭐️
"I didn't pray for the city or the soul of my uncle or even for the war. There was only one thing I asked for. The only thing I cared about protecting. And I could only hope that her faith in the gods was enough for both of us."
Thoroughly enjoyed this. A Roman-esque world in which a low-born legionnaire falls in love with a magistrates daughter, set against a rebellion and city under siege? Love it

The world building was great here- we're given enough information about this world, it's gods and magic system to not be confused, but enough space is left open for us to learn more in book two. And it avoided info dumps! The one thing I would say is that this book REALLY would have benefited from a map.

Loved Maris and Luca, the pull between them was palpable from the moment they met. All through the upheaval of the rebellion they were each other's touchstones. And here's hoping we get to see more of Theo in book two!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like alternate worlds that everyone in the
City fates is controlled by the Gods. The city is divided by a wall that has started a holy war. The higher powers have caused chaos's that has pitied
Family & friends against each other.. Luca and Maris are on opposite sides of the struggle but they are in love. Luca & Maris had a secrete alliance to bring peace; but they find out the Gods have been writing there story like pawns. You’ll have to read and find out if Luca and Maris find their way back together & bring peace..

If there is one thing Adrienne Young can do, it is transport your some place else. Her books are always so atmospheric and the settings are always described in a way that makes you feel like you can see and smell and touch the surroundings. Coupled with her ability to move you with beautiful prose, and she is an auto buy author for me.

Fallen City is her first adult fantasy if I’m not mistaken. I’ve not yet read her YA fantasies, but they are moving up the TBR. That being said…I love these two main characters. So much. Their chemistry damn near jumps off the page. And Luca is INTENSE. A good kind of intense. A “burn the world for her” intense.

The setting of this story is very reminiscent of Ancient Greece. And I think because it feels familiar in history, she kind of drops us straight into the story with no a ton of world building. I did feel like I was having a hard time the first 30% of the book keeping up, because the POVs and time line are changing every chapter. However, it became easier to establish where we are in the story the further you went along. I think was the only reason I gave it 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. I was really looking forward to it and was so surprised when I got the email!

I am a huuuuuge fan of Adrienne Youngs writing and Fallen City is no exception. Absolutely stunning! This is one of those books you just read and move on from...it consumes you...it is so gut wrenchingly and achingly beautiful

Wow, I was so pleasantly surprised by Fallen City! Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I really enjoy Adrienne Young's writing, but when I first read the description for Fallen City, I wasn't sure if it would be up my alley exactly. I ended up being blown away by the setting, the intrigue, and the romance. This is a book where I felt like I had to (and wanted to) pay attention to every word so that I wouldn't miss anything; everything felt purposeful and well paced. Political drama isn't usually my thing, but I was quickly invested here. I also feel like dual timelines are starting to become overdone, but I enjoyed it for this story, especially with the dual perspectives as well. The forbidden romance was delicious, but some of the non-romantic relationships were stand outs for me. The only downside is having to wait for the second book!

I find it really hard to keep up with what is going on with this story. We have a dual pov and dual timeline with this book, where we follow Maris and Luca in the past as lovers, and in the present as enemies on opposite ends of a war. I wish that the past and present POVs were seperated by past and present tense writing. We have past tense writing style throughout the entirety of the story, so it's difficult to determine what timeline we are in without going back to the beginning of the chapter to find out. Additionally, the POV changes are hard to distinguish as there really isn't a difference in voice between both characters. When I'm reading Luca's chapters, I can't tell his unique characteristics against Maris. I think this would have been fat better as a 3rd person perspective. All this made it very difficult for.me to connect with this story. Though I love the synopsis and yearning that we were given, I felt as if most of my time was spent trying to figure out who was talking and when, instead of enjoying the story. Thank you Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and Adrianne Young for the ARC!

To be totally fair, I did not finish the book. It’s not that I didn’t like it or didn’t find the storyline interesting. Its pace just moved too slow for me. It felt like a trudge to keep going forward. I read most of the book and still feel like there wasn’t much forward progression. It was mostly catch up on what went on before. I’m sure many will enjoy it, but I just couldn’t get sucked in and I really, really wanted to.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Fallen City was one of my anticipated releases this year, and while the story had potential, it fell a bit flat for me. I primarily enjoy books where I become emotionally invested in the characters and can connect with their motivations. Unfortunately, that did not happen for me with Fallen City. While the story contains a lot of elements that I enjoy, I felt there was a lack of depth to the characters' motivations and not enough on-page development of the romance.

The story is written in 1st person, with 2 POVs (Maris and Luca) and the story progresses by alternating between the "past" and "now." I think this structure contributed to pacing issues, as the tension would build in the present timeline and then we would switch back to the past and that tension and progress halted.

It took a while to unravel the dynamics of the relationship between Maris and Luca, partly due to the story structure (alternating between past and present), but also because a lot of the relationship development occurred off-page.

One of the main motivations for Maris and Luca is their desire to change a corrupt governing system. However, the way it was handled felt somewhat surface-level; I wish this would have been explored in more depth with more scenes to show the reader why this was so important to them. Luca's motivations were much easier to connect with and understand than Maris's. Other than for the purposes of the plot, her reasons for staying in Isara were somewhat unconvincing.

I think this story will still work for some readers, as it's not a bad book by any means. For me it just felt lacking in the elements that help me feel emotionally invested.

3.5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up! This Greco-Roman inspired fantasy was full of politics, war, and tragedy fitting with the influence. It follows Luca and Maris, star crossed lovers on opposing sides of a war, in both past and present timelines.

This story is predominantly spent recalling events that tie directly into what is happening in the present. Adrienne Young uses the past to demonstrate and provide context for actions and events occurring currently. There is a magic system, and religion, although not much of the world building is spent explaining the gods or religion. The religion and philosophy aspects of the plot were used in character development, and to help support the political unrest. I would have liked to see more about the actual gods and religion itself. Overall, I did enjoy the relationship between Luca and Maris but I did feel that there could have been more elaboration on their chemistry, besides just a connection or fate made match.

Fallen City releases on November 4, 2025.

Thank you Saturday Books/ St. Martin's Press (via Netgalley) for gifting me with an eARC, all thoughts expressed are my own.

What a ride! Adrienne Young has done it again!!
Fallen City swept me away from the very first page, and I didn’t come up for air until the end… where I was promptly left dangling from a cliffhanger. Maris is warm, clever, and far stronger than she appears. Luca is principled, steady, and carrying more than his share of burdens. Together, they’re the kind of pair you can’t help but root for❤️

The dual timelines and shifting POVs make this world pulse with life. It’s rebellion, heartbreak, hope, and magic all woven together and perfect for fans of Divine Rivals and Once Upon a Broken Heart.

Young’s trademark mix of magical realism and lush fantasy shines here. The world-building is rich, the stakes are high, and the story feels both timeless and urgent.

Releases November 4!! Don’t miss it!!

Ever since the Old War, the prosperous walled city of Isara has been ruled by the Consul and the Magistrates, 65 representatives of Isara's highborn families, and protected by the three Priestesses who possess godsblood, gifted magic from the gods stolen by Isara from the city of Valshad during the Old War. Now, 100 years later, a political secret and execution ignites a political rebellion led by two unlikely legionnaires: Vale Saturian, son of Consul Saturian, and Luca Matius, the lowborn nephew and heir of a powerful Magistrate. But Luca's fate was divinely altered months before when he met and fell in love with Maris Casperia, daughter to his uncle's Magistrate rival and novice to a Priestess, who dreamed of a different Isara ruled by fairer Magistrates. Upon the rebellion, Luca and Maris find themselves on opposites sides of a war and pawns in story of the gods' own making. As they try to find their way back to each other, they must contend with the cost of duty, the sacrifices love can withstand, and the fine line between fate and free will.

I remember first hearing about this story on Adrienne's newsletter years ago, but I was in no way prepared for how quickly it would consume me and for how much it would leave me yearning for its sequel. This the type of fantasy book that will sweep you away, that will have you turning its pages faster than you could imagine, that you can't stop thinking about. The worldbuilding of ancient Roman inspired Isara was expertly done, the political intrigue was flawlessly executed, and the forbidden love between Luca and Maris was heartachingly beautiful. The book is written in dual timelines and dual perspectives, which allows Adrienne to slowly reveal the major events and forces that led to the rebellion and how Luca and Maris's relationship grew and fractured. While I have so many questions left unanswered, I can see how Adrienne planted the seeds for the sequel and cannot wait to be immerse in Luca and Maris's story again (with the hope that it won't break my heart).

Overall it was a really interesting read, I typically love Greek/Roman influenced worlds so the military and political aspects of the story from that were fun to read. In the beginning the time jumps were a bit disorienting, but by the middle I was used to it and it made me read faster honestly bc I wanted to finish certain scenes from the other timeline. I do think that in finishing the book I still have questions about the MCs, I feel like both Maris and Luca are still unknown in a lot of ways and that there could've been more written about them particularly when it comes to any time before when they met. I would've liked to know about some of Luca's childhood, or maybe more about Maris growing up with her mother and uncle and what those influences looked like when she was younger. Theo is still a huge mystery and while I think that was mostly intentional so we can learn more about him in the second book, he comes across as almost a character that we are reluctantly trusting. I'm curious to see where Nej ran off to, what Valshad's next steps are, and how Maria and Luca handle being separated AGAIN. I think I can read the whole book and really enjoy it, but at the same time also feel like there are parts that are missing that could've made it easier to fall in the love with and empathize with the MCs more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for a review!

This book moved a little slow for me. I’m not sure if it’s because we pick up kind of in the middle of the story, since it’s told in Dual POV in “Before” and “After” segments, but it took a while for me to understand what was going on and the society and world that the characters lived in. I appreciated not having an exposition dump explaining everything in the beginning, but I do think I maybe needed a little bit more setup to fully invest in the story from the get go.

I do think the world is explained beautifully and very poetically. The author did great at setting up the scenery and giving a lot of detail on how the different aspects of society worked.

As for the characters, I feel like I didn’t connect with the main characters as much as I wanted. It felt like there was more description and explanation than scenes between characters and movements for their individual arcs. I think that’s what made it feel like not much happened throughout this book. I know there’s another book after this, but this one kind of just felt like all set up and not a lot of movement.

I feel like I didn’t really understand the FMC as a character, such as what her motivations were and what she truly wanted at the end of everything. I feel like that could’ve been clarified a little more, especially if she is willing to risk her life and her love for a cause. I also feel like we just didn’t get much from her that would make her complex and intriguing.

The MMC was more complex, but I still wish we got to see more development or movement in his storyline. I feel like he’s a character that changed a lot between the “before” and “after” storyline, but we still don’t get a really good sense of what he stands for and what he truly wants, either. There are moments when it seemed like he just wanted to be with Maris, and others where he put his job and duty first, and he couldn’t decide which was more important. Maybe that will have more development in the second book as well.

I do wish the main characters interacted a bit more. Even in their flashbacks I found myself wanting to see more of why they fell for each other and how they worked as a dynamic. We didn’t see too much of that development, and they barely have any interactions later, either. I’m assuming that will change in the sequel, but I found myself wishing we could see more of them, since the love story is meant to be an integral part of the overall story, and very important to their characters and their personal arcs as well.

I am still very intrigued by the ending and feel like the story will move quicker in the next one, possibly because we won’t be bouncing between past and present. I just didn’t connect as much with this story as I wanted to. I still thought it was beautifully written, though!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, NetGalley.

Unfortunately, I cannot say I liked this book. I was glad when it was over. Here are a few things that bothered me:
There were some editing errors. I hope it's just because this was an ARC, and someone will proofread this book before publishing. For example, on page 28, it is written "She didn't turn to greet me when she heard me coming, but she didn't turn to greet me". Wow, I wonder if she turned to greet Maris!
The story is quite simple and straightforward, but told in a way to make it more complex/interesting (dual POVs & timelines). But this is a dangerous strategy, as it assumes the reader will care about the characters and stakes from the start. And I did not care at all. In fact, I did not care who would live/die, win/lose. None of these people felt real at all. I did not get to know any character or get attached to anyone. There was almost no background, and intimate details were not given about the protagonists, so they felt like one-dimensional puppets.
The plot was uninteresting to me.
The book's relationship with sex made me uncomfortable. When sex is used as a political tool by a woman, it is vile; by a man, it's tradition; and the only "good" sex is between husband and wife. Ick.

Thank you net galley for this awesome ARC.
Genre: Fantasy, Romantasy (subtle slow burn)
Descriptors: World/Character building, Gods, War, Love, Rebellion
Point of View: Alternating Time Lines (Before/Now) 2 different characters.
Spice: a smidge
Standalone? No, thank goodness. This one hasn't been released yet and I already want to start Book 2.
Would I recommend? Yes.