This is the story of Sam and Ari, two young people who find themselves tied to competing underground magical syndicates but still inexorably drawn to each other. We first see Sam as a young girl whose mother was doing her best to provide for her and her daughter. Her mother had immigrated from China when Sam was just an infant hoping for a better life. When an accident at her job makes getting a new job impossible, Sam takes matters into her own hands. Ari was discovered on the streets of his hometown in India as a young child and brought to America to be taught. This education, while ensuring both his and his family's wealth, comes at a steep price. The two meet at school, but drift apart after graduation. This book looks very hard at the sacrifices we make for love, family, and to satisfy a driving need for more. I don't think there was a single character in this book who didn't have some serious flaws either in character or judgement, but I adored them. I adored loving them and hating them in equal measure. The worldbuilding was superb. I already feel a loss missing the next in this series!

I love warring magical syndicates and this was a surprise! The worldbuilding was good but the pacing was a bit too slow for me.

John Wick meets Full Metal Alchemist in this high-octane thriller by Marie Lu, RED CITY is the gangster novel you never knew you needed.

Lyrical and lush, stirring and sweeping, with tightly woven world building and the exact correct amount of ennui dripped, like paint, into the pail of dystopian desperation. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Marie Lu, and Tor Publishing Group for my digital ARC of this novel.

You know those books that are really good but also just really heavy? Red City is a perfect example. I was able to read this title ahead of its October publication date, and overall it was a positive experience that left me just a titch devastated, but in the best way.

Red City is set in an alternate version of modern Los Angeles in which magical crime syndicates battle for control of the city using a kind of underground magic called alchemy - the ability to transmute one substance or material into another. This magic is more or less limitless - you can create a gun from a concrete wall, for instance, if you know the proper formula - but you can't turn inorganic matter into live matter or bring people back from the dead. In the 80s, the creation of a magic-enhancing drug, Sand, completely altered the landscape of both magic and the world, and criminal organizations now battle for control of the drug and all the money, power, and magic that it yields.

Sam and Ari are two young people caught up in opposing sides of this conflict and this is very much a story of decent people sucked into a world where violence and killing becoming routine, where power is everything. They have to decide how far they are willing to go and just how much money and control are worth the price of their souls.

This is one of those books that I had a hard time putting down and looked forward to picking up whenever possible. It's a quick read and the characters and story are extremely compelling. I enjoyed the unique magic system and feel like the world-building was extremely well done and immersive. The novel does have a good deal of gore, language, and explicit scenes, so if you're sensitive to any of the above this might not be the book for you.

Overall, I enjoyed Red City and did feel it was very well-written. I would be interested in reading other works by this author and give this book a very solid 4/5 stars.

Marie Lu is back!!! She is now here with an adult debut and I will let you know now it won't disappoint. This ride, this story is incredible and you will not be bored one second of it. It has multiple povs including Sam and Ari's pov, but it includes a couple of other characters and those bring such incredible insight to the world and the characters. I love the twists and turns this takes us, we witness betrayals, first loves, crime lords, powers, assassins and everything in between!
You meet Sam and Ari from a very young age and will see how their background and childhood struggles influence them as they grow up. Sam and Ari are such opposites, Sam is invisible to those around her always craving attention (will serve her well in the future), all while Ari has a magnetic energy to him that just attracts others to him, but plot twist he is very shy and gets anxious because of all that attention. They become friends as kids, but keep each other at a distance although that doesn't stop them from loving each other. Sadly that does not stop destiny from pining them into enemies as Sam is part of the Grand Central syndicate and Ari with Lumine. It is made very clear that it’s a death sentence to be friendly with another syndicate or to be friends even with those outside their syndicates so they are separated. When they meet again it's as Shakespeare and a Mozart, gone are Sam and Ari. They belong to others now. A bioalchemist and a polemist forced to be key pawns in a war that is in full force. Sam and Ari may not have a choice in what they do next.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc!

Red City took me a long time to get into.

It's going to take me a longer time to get out.

Though this story follows two characters specifically, the entire world that Marie Lu has built feels so alive - as if there are countless stories that could be told in other parts of the world - or even in Angel City - without even coming close to touching the characters we meet. That seems like part of the beauty of it - it's big and important and life changing for Sam and Ari and yet in the long run, with everything going on with each syndicate, will anything even change?

As a reader who experienced a few of this author's YA entries, years ago, I honestly did not expect to be so engaged with her first adult novel. I am very happy to be proven wrong.

Thanks to author/publisher/NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

"Red City" is a fantasy novel by Marie Lu. Magical transformation is real, but hidden from everybody except for the alchemists running the large, lucrative, and dangerous rival syndicates. The story starts out with two students who are learning about alchemy and are very good at what they do. Both lose track of each other after ending up in rival syndicates, but when their groups end up in a power struggle, they are forced to confront each other.
A violent and fast-paced drama, this is a must-buy for fiction collections.

This was such an interesting spin on crime syndicates by way of alchemy. The magic system was so freaking cool, and the worldbuilding was excellent. I was so deeply invested in Ari and Sam on their respective journeys. Can't wait to see what comes next!

*Thank you Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

I have loved every book I have read by Marie Lu and this one is no different. The pacing was great, the characters were well developed, and I loved the magic system created for this book. I am usually pretty good at figuring out what is going to happen in a book, but this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a world where reality is slowly becoming more and more dystopian, you would think I would shy away from the genre, but instead my answer is to jump fully into it and embrace it for what it is -- a reminder of what we could easily be headed towards ourselves without the proper checks in place.

So where does that lead with Red City? It's a modern dystopian story about two kids coming from very different worlds trying to make something of themselves while also looking out for their family's welfare. While immersed in studies both regular and non-regular, they find in each other a small solace and recognize a glint of themselves in each other, which blossoms into something more.

This is a love story through and through. A romantic love story, between the two childhood friends but also a deep love for family that has no bounds. The question is, just how far would one go for either love? How far would one go until there is nothing more left to give?

This story took a little bit to get started but soon I found myself gripped by the edge of my seat. It's unpredictable, emotional, dark, violent and tense as you try to figure out the mysteries of each secret society and how far their roots spread. The vibes very much gave me magical mafia.

And damn was it DARK and very… creative with its violence. Do not read this if you have a weak stomach for any particular *creative* torture.

I did enjoy the main character, Samantha aka Sam as well as a few other characters but I felt like we could have gone just a bit deeper with character building of the important side characters as well. It's something I always personally enjoy immensely as having those character connections really makes the emotional feel so much more impactful. It's like using a sharpened blade instead of a rubber one. You can feel both but the sharpened blade cuts much deeper with more expertise. It's something to explore for the next book, likely.

Overall I would give this a 4.5/5 or a 4.75/5. I think most people are going to enjoy this!

4 stars!

I'm living for all of the YA authors publishing adult books for the first time recently, and Ms. Marie Lu DID NOT HOLD BACK.

Ari and Sam are just kids when they become fast friends, somehow incredibly close and yet keeping secrets from one another until time forces them apart. Year later, each is entangled with one of Angel City's two rival syndicates of Alchemists, and rising tension between the two groups brings Ari and Sam back together, him drawing everyone's eyes and her forever invisible.

I haven't read a ton of Marie Lu's YA books (just the Wildcard Duology) but this book has the ease of reading of a YA book with the heat and violence of an Adult book, and I think it works great. The details of the magic system aren't touched on a whole lot but you get the general idea pretty quick and I think delving into the nitty-gritty will serve for some good twists in later books. Ari and Sam are both excellent characters with opposing appeals to their syndicates that both make sense and also create a nice contrast. Their differing experiences surrounding their families and immigration were a really strong foundation and motivation for their actions, both when they each got involved with the Alchemists and later as the story progresses. As mentioned, there is some heat (not sure I'd go as far as to say spice), pretty intense fight scenes, and background mentions of mental illness and drug use that make this story feel more adult.

I don't have any big criticisms, this just didn't really knock my socks off or anything. It's very entertaining and as mentioned convincingly adult (which I can't say for a lot of the books I've read of recent) but it's still not as dark as I'd like it to be. I like to have something to really chew on, and so far I don't really feel conflicted about who I'm supposed to root for. This book feels pretty black-and-white in regards to good and evil, and I think a little grey could go a long way.

Still, I'm looking forward to the next book! I think longtime fans and total newcomers to Marie Lu will both really enjoy this!

Thank you to Marie Lu and Tor Books for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

This was an electric start to a new adult fantasy series! The story was dark and sensual, which I wasn’t necessarily anticipating (but certainly wasn’t mad about)! I didn’t know exactly what to expect from her adult debut, but I think Marie Lu pulled it off well. This was a decadent tale of sex and violence, exploring power and what we will do in the pursuit of perfection. I was hooked from the start by the clever magic system, and I thoroughly enjoyed Lu’s writing. Highly recommend this book! I only wish the rest of the series was ready to binge…

Thank you to Tor Publishing for providing this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the best book I've read so far this year (though that's not surprising at all). I grew up loving Marie Lu's YA work and was so excited to hear about her adult novel debut.

Sam and Ari both grow up in poor families and eventually meet and connect in school. They become quick friends. Years later, they find out that they have been recruited to opposing gangs that make and sell a drug called sand. These two groups have been on the brink of a war for years, and things are just getting more tense. Sam and Ari have to determine where their loyalties lie.

This book is absolutely heartbreaking. The characters are introduced and developed beautifully. As the reader, you grow so attached to them. Every time they hurt, you hurt too.

Power, money, identity, self-discovery, love, betrayal, grief, vulnerability, the struggle of immigrating and starting over. This is truly a beautiful and magical story that touches on so many important themes.

Thank you so much, Marie Lu, Tor Books, and NetGalley, for this experience. I am so incredibly grateful to have read this book early.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Sam and Ari are both poor kids who meet and connect in school. Years later they reconnect discovering they are both alchemists working to make and support competing crime syndicates that make the drug sand which makes you MORE. I loved the world building. Could have done without Sam's unhealthy relationship. Can't wait for book two.

This ATE! It was all around such a solid book - good characters, an interesting magic system, and great pacing and plot. I really liked the idea of alchemy and the way that a person sacrifices a tiny piece of their soul for it. It set up really interesting themes that could be explored in the rest of the series. If you are looking for a friends to enemies to lovers to... whatever they are now relationship with great world building and plot, pick this book up!

SAM, GET BEHIND ME 🤺🤺🤺

This adult debut shines. I’m not always a fan of a linear timeline that follows characters as they grow up, finding it often times slows the pacing of the novel. And here, it is a bit slow to build up. But I will say, the way the characters are introduced to the reader and developed is highly effective. By the half way point, I was so invested in Sam and Ari and where the story was headed.

I also really enjoyed the landscape of the world built within this book. It feels so much like our world, adjacent, wholly realistic if we somehow managed to unlock alchemy as a twisted form of magic. It’s dark, gritty, yet glamorized. Perfectly done, in my opinion.

Not to mention .., THE YEARNING? Insane, heart wrenching, amazing, torturous.

This is truly a story about what we sacrifice for power, money and the ability to be seen. It is a bit slow to start, but worth it, I promise!

Thank you so much Tor and NetGalley for the ARC!!!!

4.5-5 stars ⭐️

Marie Lu!!!!! Her debut in adult fantasy had me staying up late to dive into the world of Sam + Ari (and I have a newborn so voluntarily losing sleep is saying a lot lol).

I went into this book blind and I'm so glad I did. The world building in this book is phenomenonal, I really appreciated the time spent in part I building Ari + Sams background. This is part character driven and part plot driven. Sometimes that split (in other books) can cause pacing issues, but I felt like Lu got the pacing right throughout all 3 parts of this story.

This book touches on the definition (and attainability) of perfection, the immigrant story (and the lie that is the "American dream"), love, betrayal, and self discovery.

The character development and plot picks up in the final act. The magic/alchemy system is completely unique and made for a very entertaining read.

The different POVs allowed for sympathy for certain characters that I don't think I would have had if the POV was restricted to just Sam + Ari. Overall I think that added depth to the book (although I really wish we had a chapter from Will in the II and III part).

Surprisingly, there was some spice in this book 👀 romance is not the main focus of this book but very much a strong undercurrent.

Overall, this was a great debut novel, and a strong start to a series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another strong crossover into adult, as Marie Lu’s Red City crafts a magical tale of alchemy and crime, with somewhat of a Romeo and Juliet romance at the center.

As a longtime fan of Marie Lu’s YA work, I was really curious to see how her voice would translate to an adult debut. Red City delivers. It’s sharp, stylish, and ambitious, blending the sleek danger of The Godfather with the magical intensity of The Magicians, all set in a glittering, corrupted alternate Los Angeles.

This world runs on sand, an alchemical drug that transforms people into the “best” versions of themselves—for a price. The rival syndicates who control it, Grand Central and Lumines, feel equal parts corporate and criminal. Watching Sam and Ari, childhood friends turned enemies, get pulled deeper into those worlds was both heartbreaking and addictive.

Lu explores power, identity, immigrant ambition, and the cost of striving toward perfection with an emotional weight I appreciated. Sam in particular is a standout, with a ruthless vulnerability that grounds the book even as the stakes escalate into betrayal and magic-fueled violence.

I wavered between four and five stars because while the setup is excellent, a few sections in the middle dragged, and I occasionally wanted more from the side characters. Still, the ending lands. It’s satisfying on its own, even if there’s more to come.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.