Fallen City by Adrienne Young

Fallen City by Adrienne Young completely swept me away with its raw, intense storytelling and richly crafted world. Young’s writing is immersive and haunting, painting a vivid picture of a city on the brink—filled with danger, secrets, and the lingering weight of loss.

What really resonated with me was the protagonist’s fierce resilience and vulnerability. Her journey through the crumbling streets felt both brutal and deeply human, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. The story’s tension and emotional depth made it impossible to put down.

Young masterfully blends action, suspense, and heartfelt moments, creating a novel that’s as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. Fallen City is perfect for readers who crave gritty, character-driven stories with a touch of darkness and hope.

This book left a lasting impression on me — powerful, haunting, and utterly unforgettable.

this is my first by adrienne young, and i have a feeling it won't be the last. i loved dipping my toes into this new world, falling in love with characters that are a little complicated, a little unlikable. it makes me excited for what's to come!! thank you so much for the arc net galley, i read this blind and HIGHLY recommend doing that!

Easily one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year. This was my first book from Adrienne Young, but it certainly won’t be the last because this had me hooked from the start.

<i><b>Fallen City</b></i> is a dual POV with past/present narratives that follows the stories of Maris and Luca; a young Magistrate and legionnaire with a forbidden love in the midst of political turmoil.
I mentioned it in one of my updates, but I’ll reiterate it here as well: if you enjoyed the Dark of the West trilogy by Joanna Hathaway, you will enjoy this book. The stories are <i>very</i>similar, just a different political climate. You get political warfare, tension, forbidden romance, and a dual POV that wraps it up in a nice little bow. There is romance, but nothing explicit, for those wondering.
My only quip is that certain storylines weren’t explained well enough for me to understand their importance to the plot. Aside from simply being told that certain people were imperative to the story, not enough information was given to make me understand why. I’m hoping/assuming more backstory will be given in the sequel. Did it hinder the story? Not really, it was just a little nag in the back of my mind. I will absolutely be purchasing a physical copy of this to keep on the shelf.

The last 25-30% of the book had me flipping through the digital pages so fast I thought my phone was going to catch fire, and the ending had me all but chucking my phone across the room in the best possible way. 😅 So needless to say, I am gunning for a 2026 release for the sequel, and it will undoubtedly be one of my most anticipated books to read.

Huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read the advanced digital copy.

The second this hit my hands I couldn't resist the chance to not sit and DEVOUR it! I love everything that Adrienne writes and I was so eager for this book. Just all the stars and I am sad it is already over.

I savored every word of “Fallen City.” This story begins with a city at war. A rebellion trying to overthrow a corrupt government system, and two lovers cast an opposite sides of the divide. This story also beings at an earlier time prior to the war when Luca and Maris meet. I was swept into their romance, ample with longing and angst. The mythology and world-building of this story was beautifully immersive and understandable. I want to constantly be reading this story and I cannot wait for the sequel.

For those who love;
🏛️ Greco-Roman Fantasy World
🏛️ Lovers & Enemies
🏛️ Rebellion
🏛️ Political Intrigue
🏛️ Fates & Prophecies
🏛️ Chosen by the gods

I am so grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

First things first—I am obsessed with June Farrow, and I love fantasy. So I went into this book with sky-high hopes.

The book is comprised of two timelines with two POV’s happening in each, which caused some confusion for me in the beginning of the book. I kept having to check whose POV I was in, but things clicked for me around the 30% mark.

Once I was fully into the story, I couldn’t put it down. There’s love, scheming, deception, war, magic, religion—so many interesting themes. Like Adrienne’s other books, there’s a love story tying it all together, but the book is so much bigger than that.

I loved the Greco-Roman setting and the Romeo and Juliet vibes. I am very interested to see how this concludes in book two!

4 ⭐️ Very low 🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance digital reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

I tried getting into this world but became confused pretty early on by all the switching points of view from one person to the next when also mixed with different points in time. There wasn’t a lot to hold on to.

I devoured this!This book cast a spell on me—truly. A Spell for Drowning is the kind of story that wraps around you like mist: mysterious, atmospheric, and quietly haunting. I’m still sitting with the way it made me feel.

Rebecca Ferrier’s writing is just stunning—lush and lyrical without ever being too much. The world she’s created feels like it exists just slightly out of reach, like something half-remembered from a dream. I was completely swept away.

The story has this deep, slow-burn magic, and I loved how it explored grief, longing, and what it means to belong. There’s a quiet tension throughout, and moments that genuinely gave me chills. The characters felt so real and human, even when surrounded by the strange and surreal.

This isn’t a loud book—it’s gentle and eerie and beautiful. One of those reads that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy.

I do not like having to write this review. Adrienne Young has been one of my favourite authours for a long time. Ever since she first published Sky in the Deep. I have been a lover of her work, and I never thought I would see the day that I struggled to get through one of her books. I made it 25% of the way through, and I am DNFing it (at least for now).

First, I found the writing to be mediocre for Young's writing. Her descriptions are usually so vivid and every word serves a purpose. That is not the case with Fallen City. Her beautiful descriptions pop up here and there, but they do not span the entire book. If I read this book not knowing who wrote it, I would never suspect it was written by Young. While I have read other books by her with different points of view and time frames, I struggled to keep up with who was telling the story in any given chapter and if it was past or present. The people, places, and ideas all blended together that made one big mess in my brain. It is hard to enjoy the story and figure out where it is going when you cannot even get situated. I can see where this story has so much possibility, but it fell short for me. I feel the details she has given are lost on me and when I need to recall them later in the story I will fail to.

As I said, I find it odd that I am having such a difficult time with one of Young's books. Maybe I will return to it in the future, and it will be a better fit then or edits will have been done.

I received an eARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I really wanted to love this, as I feel as though Adrienne does this style/genre SO well, but it fell short for me. This is really 3.5 stars, but I'll mark it as 4.

The Pros:
- The scene and setting were ethereal and descriptive: I felt as though I were transported to Roman-Grecco times through every page.
- The storyline/plot were interesting enough to hold attention
- The main characters were gripping and had decent internality

The Cons:
- Some of the storyline and backstory was confusing, and I wasn't totally sure how the Gods played into the plot, even by the end. It also felt as is they just "gave out" their gifts vs. it being a rare occurrence.
- The side characters (especially Theo) didn't really do much for me until the very end. I wasn't really rooting for any of them.
- The whole book read very YA for me, even though it's adult
- I could have done without all of the flashbacks by the last 25% of the book. It kept jarring me out of the tension and story and made the pacing feel slower when all the action started happening.

3.75⭐️ This was a fascinating Roman-inspired story combined with a romance that gave Romeo and Juliet vibes! I loved the writing and thought the plot was super interesting. However, the dual timeline format did not work well for me. It initially made it hard to get into the story and also made it difficult to buy into the romance, as much of it was told rather than shown in the first half. Overall, I flew through it once I got into it and I’m invested enough to continue with the rest of the duology!

Thank you so much to Saturday Books for providing a digital Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review!

As a big fan of Adrienne Young’s writing I have been so excited to read this book. By 20% I knew I wanted to DNF but kept pushing to 40% and still couldn’t get into it. We’re thrown directly into the story which contained none of Young’s atmospheric, descriptive writing. Sad this book did not work out for me especially when I was lucky to get an early ARC. I’m sure this will be wonderful for some readers and I may give it another shot in the future but for now I’m putting it down.

I absolutely LOVED "Spells for Forgetting," "The Unmaking of June Farrow," and "A Sea of Unspoken Things." As a big fan of the fantasy genre, I expected to really enjoy "Fallen City," but I just couldn’t get into it. It felt more like reading a history textbook than a novel because there was so much going on. I read for escapism, and unfortunately, I didn’t find it in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adrienne Young’s Fallen City has a compelling premise. A holy war brews beneath political rebellion, and two lovers find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. There’s no question she can write. The prose is often beautiful and immersive, and the atmosphere of Isara feels weighty and ancient in a way that suits the story.

But the execution didn’t fully land for me. The constant point-of-view shifts were confusing and made it hard to stay grounded. I often had to flip back just to figure out who was speaking or where we were in the timeline. That lack of clarity made it difficult to stay emotionally invested. The story itself also felt vague in places, like I was always one step behind what the book wanted me to feel.

Still, I think some readers will enjoy the lyrical style and themes of fate, legacy, and revolution. It wasn’t a personal favorite, but there’s something to appreciate in how Young explores the collapse of power and the pull of destiny.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Love this book and anythign that Adrienne Young produces! I was hooked from the beginning to end and the plot is absolute genius!

I was grateful to receive an ARC of this book. I went into this not knowing what the story was about, and while the elements of the story are there, it fell a bit flat for me. I struggled to stay focused on the story, often having to re-read paragraphs to remember what was going on. I really enjoyed the main characters and their stories and how they intertwine, but the supporting characters felt forced and often I didn't remember who they were. The writing was lovely, very flowy and made me feel like I could see what they were describing, but the story was a bit too slow and not fleshed out for me to want to continue with the series.

𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚

★★★★★

Wow, wow, wow! This book is everything I wanted it to be, maybe even more than I expected!

I loved how the plot didn’t falter for a second! The action was so well written there wasn’t a moment that I was confused as to what was happening. The political intrigue was everything it needed to be. It left me frustrated, invested, and rooting for Luca and Maris in every situation. The world and character building was so well executed. It was easy to follow as long as you could keep up with the politics and action.

Overall I loved this book and the characters that I now have a deep emotional attachment to.


Thank you NetGalley and Saturday Books for the eArc in exchange for my honest review!

Fallen City was a tough read for me. I went in excited—Adrienne Young usually delivers vivid worlds and strong characters—but this one just didn’t work for me.

Her other works are amazing-This one didn't hit.

Wow. You are in for a ride with this one! I love the dual timelines and the forbidden love aspect of the story. The tension between the characters were so delicious, I could not get enough! There is some political intrigue in the plot which makes for an interesting plot and captivating story.

Fallen City was a tough read for me. I went in excited—Adrienne Young usually delivers vivid worlds and strong characters—but this one just didn’t work for me.

The constant POV shifts were really disorienting. I found myself flipping back trying to figure out who was talking and what was happening, and that confusion pulled me out of the story more than once. The writing style also felt really vague in a way that made it hard to stay grounded or emotionally connected. I kept waiting for things to click, but they never really did.

It might just be a case of this one not being a fit for me personally. I know others might enjoy the atmospheric style and layered narrative, but I just couldn’t get into it.