Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - City of Nightmares

The writing was substantial, but not remarkable. It got the job done and didn’t get in the way of the storytelling, but it wasn’t the strongest part of my read. However, I do believe that the potential for stronger writing could be seen – little kernels of it, if you will – and so I look forward to future books by Schaeffer.

Characters: 3.75⭐️/5

I’m torn here because while the characters definitely pushed the story forward in areas, they also held it back in others. I wanted a bit more from the characters that wasn’t so focused on shock value. I mean, I love that the characters are vibrant and unique, but I wanted to know them deeper and more personally than that.

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5

Okay, so here’s why you should pick up this book: it’s a brilliant concept. I loved learning about the world and how unique the characters had to become in order to survive. I loved the worldbuilding, the substance of the story, and the driving force behind the characters. While certain moments were predictable, the world in which they were happening never was, which made old tropes feel gorgeous and fresh. I personally can’t wait for the next book, despite wanting more from this one. In a way, I think I may be grading it harder because I expect so much next time.

Who Should Read This Book?

Those looking for a unique fantasy read
Those who love unconventional worlds
Fans of enemies to lovers
Young adult readers who want a memorable world

Content Warnings?

Death, murder, violence, blood, grief, injury, fire, confinement, toxic relationships,

Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

Very fun. Will read the next one.

Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

lilifane's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

What a surprise read. I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was such a quick and fun read, and I caught myself looking forward to continuing reading all the time. Almost gave it 4 stars just because of this positive reading experience.

But objectively, there are some flaws. Mainly the writing, I guess, it's not the strongest. It's on the simple side with lots of repetitions, not only certain recurring scenes and thoughts (which can be explained with the protagonist's mental state) but also words and phrases (which is a little more annoying).

My favorite part of the book was probably the anxiety representation. The protagonist has an anxiety disorder, and I think the author does a good job of showing how this can affect so many aspects of your every day life. How part of your brain knows there is probably no danger, but your body is still in hide/flight mode, and you can't do anything about it. But then maybe, in this specific world, the anxiety is actually warranted? Because there are random monster attacks, gang shootouts, people turning into literal monsters without warning, corruption so bad that you can end up in jail just because you didn't have enough money to bribe a random police officer passing you by. But then again, everyone just accepting this as normal and going about their day worked for me. I was enjoying the humor and lightheartedness of the narrative, they just took away from the atmosphere of the setting.

There were also some dialogues that felt a little forced and out of place. Yes, I do think that discussions about how media romanticizes toxic relationships is important, I just don't think the way it's done here is ideal. I really liked most of the dialogues and bonding moments between the characters, though. Was really rooting for Cy's and Ness' friendship development. And the discussion about how lonely and isolated you can feel because of trauma, trust issues and anxiety hit a little too close to home.

Content Warnings

azrah786's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.5

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, gun violence, blood, injury, gore, body horror, murder, death, death of parent, child death, grief, police brutality, animal cruelty, kidnapping, panic attacks/disorders
--

Despite the promising initial concepts and the Gotham vibes of the setting I did not enjoy this one. I feel like this story had so much potential but for me the primary plotline just bored me to tears.

I think a lot of this comes down to the protagonist. Now there are times when books have leading protagonists who aren’t the “chosen one” or have anything special going on that have been written really well but I sadly didn’t find that to be the case here. Ness very much felt like a side character in her own story to me throughout the whole book, nothing about her journey ever stood out and just felt very minor in the whole scope of things especially when there are more interesting things occurring in the background.

I managed to push through because I wanted to see who was behind some of the more unknown elements of these background plot points but the story never fully followed these other elements.

Ness’s perspective just felt very repetitive and it got tedious fast and I also found literally every supporting character to be more interesting than her. The relationships that formed between the characters were well written but I don’t think they were given enough room to grow.

So it’s safe to say I won’t be picking up the sequel.
Final Rating – 2.5/5 Stars

Content Warnings