gardensnail's review
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.5
Beautiful work. I'm continually impressed at how the author manages to write from 6+ viewpoints (in what is a relatively short book) all while keeping the plot going. The large cast of characters are easy to learn and all individually fascinating. Lots of queer representation here. The setting is pretty basic (big city, geographically divided socioeconomic hierarchy, oligarchy) but the main focus is the characters.
There's a lot of found family here: a lot to say about welcoming individuals, and how we all carry individual scars from our pasts. It was a really refreshing read, though I personally feel it could've benefited from just a little more spice. But I don't think that's what the book is about or who the 'intended' audience is.
There's a lot of found family here: a lot to say about welcoming individuals, and how we all carry individual scars from our pasts. It was a really refreshing read, though I personally feel it could've benefited from just a little more spice. But I don't think that's what the book is about or who the 'intended' audience is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Minor: Violence and Classism
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
5.0
Thank you to Kraken Collective for an ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I had so much fun with this book!! I need more queer epic fantasy like this one!
City of Strife centers around Arathiel's return to Isandor. He has been gone for over a hundred years and he doesn't know what to expect. Rather than returning to his family, he hides in the Lower City and meets Larryn, Hasryan and Cal. The four quickly kindle a strong friendship and when Hasryan is accused of a crime he didn't commit, Arathiel and his friends will have to figure out what lengths they'll go to save him.
Besides that storyline, the Myrian Empire is trying to get a hold in Isandor and they've sent one of their worst commanders to do it. The Noble Houses are attempting to prevent the Myrians from gaining a foot hold, but they spend more time fighting between houses to present a strong front. However, there are people on each side that want to get out of the conflict. Nevian, an abused apprentice, just wants to learn enough magic. Branwen, a spy for House Daithrii, is trying to stay alive. And Varden, an Isbari priest of the Myrians, is entangled in a traitorous web that's one string from falling apart.
I freaking loved this story so much. All of the characters were well rounded dynamic characters. I constantly wanted to know more about them all. I loved the friendships that formed in this book. The way platonic relationships were given the most importance was chef's kisses. I seriously loved seeing all of these characters lives entangle and see these relationship progress from strangers or enemies to friends.
Then there's the magic and the politics! The stakes always felt high and the tension that surrounded the whole book kept me engaged and flipping pages as fast as possible. I hated having to put this down at night! I loved all the magic in this book. There are so many different types and then Arathiel's strange inability to feel pain, cold, heat or taste. I really hope we find out more about the well that did that to him.
The main cast is so queer. Even though there was a line about the world being generally queerphobic/queermisic, everyone was basically like fuck that shit I'm gay as fuck. There was also amazing trans and nonbinary inclusion, including a character with they/them pronouns and several side characters and a deity that use neopronouns! I just loved it all so much.
I can't wait to get back to the world of Isandor and see what happens next!!
Rep: Brown cis male MC who can't feel pain, cold, heat or taste, Black demiromantic cis male MC (Dark elf), white aroace cis male MC, Brown gay cis male MC, white sapphic female MC, fat aromantic halfing cis male MC, bisexual cis female side character, lesbian cis female side character, trans female side character, white nonbinary side character, MLM side pairing, female side characters with chronic illness (brief mention).
CWs: Torture, child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, xenophobia, violence, blood, racism. Moderate: murder, death, looming execution, police corruption, generalized queerphobia/queermisia.
I had so much fun with this book!! I need more queer epic fantasy like this one!
City of Strife centers around Arathiel's return to Isandor. He has been gone for over a hundred years and he doesn't know what to expect. Rather than returning to his family, he hides in the Lower City and meets Larryn, Hasryan and Cal. The four quickly kindle a strong friendship and when Hasryan is accused of a crime he didn't commit, Arathiel and his friends will have to figure out what lengths they'll go to save him.
Besides that storyline, the Myrian Empire is trying to get a hold in Isandor and they've sent one of their worst commanders to do it. The Noble Houses are attempting to prevent the Myrians from gaining a foot hold, but they spend more time fighting between houses to present a strong front. However, there are people on each side that want to get out of the conflict. Nevian, an abused apprentice, just wants to learn enough magic. Branwen, a spy for House Daithrii, is trying to stay alive. And Varden, an Isbari priest of the Myrians, is entangled in a traitorous web that's one string from falling apart.
I freaking loved this story so much. All of the characters were well rounded dynamic characters. I constantly wanted to know more about them all. I loved the friendships that formed in this book. The way platonic relationships were given the most importance was chef's kisses. I seriously loved seeing all of these characters lives entangle and see these relationship progress from strangers or enemies to friends.
Then there's the magic and the politics! The stakes always felt high and the tension that surrounded the whole book kept me engaged and flipping pages as fast as possible. I hated having to put this down at night! I loved all the magic in this book. There are so many different types and then Arathiel's strange inability to feel pain, cold, heat or taste. I really hope we find out more about the well that did that to him.
The main cast is so queer. Even though there was a line about the world being generally queerphobic/queermisic, everyone was basically like fuck that shit I'm gay as fuck. There was also amazing trans and nonbinary inclusion, including a character with they/them pronouns and several side characters and a deity that use neopronouns! I just loved it all so much.
I can't wait to get back to the world of Isandor and see what happens next!!
Rep: Brown cis male MC who can't feel pain, cold, heat or taste, Black demiromantic cis male MC (Dark elf), white aroace cis male MC, Brown gay cis male MC, white sapphic female MC, fat aromantic halfing cis male MC, bisexual cis female side character, lesbian cis female side character, trans female side character, white nonbinary side character, MLM side pairing, female side characters with chronic illness (brief mention).
CWs: Torture, child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, xenophobia, violence, blood, racism. Moderate: murder, death, looming execution, police corruption, generalized queerphobia/queermisia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Murder and Death
kati_illes's review
I really wanted to like this book, and made myself read one more chapter, but I think I'm giving up. It's not a bad book, but I also didn't find it good. It's hard to pin point why I didn't enjoy the book, but I will try write some of my thoughts.
I think I found this book when looking for fantasy with queer characters and it does have that. The books have a lot of characters with diverse identities, which is one of the good things about the novel. However, sometimes the way the represenation / identity is introduced is really clunky.
My first issue with the book was that is has too many POV characters. The four characters from the Shelter are very good and fun to read about, the book could have focused only on them and not introduce two more big plotlines. And even though there are at least 12 POV characters, there are only few women with rare and short chapters. It's weird from a book which strongest point is representation.
What I disliked the most is the villain. He's almost comically bad, and that made it really difficult to understand why people don't leave, try make (legal) steps against him or just simply murder him. Why did Nevian stay for 2-3 years when he was not learning anything but tortured regularly? It didn't make any sense for me.
And then we have Hasryan who is supposed to be an experienced assassin, but the mistake he made is just so stupid. Why would he use the same, very easily recognizeable knife for 10 years? Why is he killing all his marks with knife?
I love slow books but here the plot barely existed because we were jumping between so many characters. And I couldn't really care about the plot because of the above reason. Oh, and Diel sometimes felt like a hypocrite, being all for social justice but it didn't seemed like he is actually doing somethin with his immense power and influence. And Branwen as a spymaster is laughable, because everyone in town knew she is the spymaster.
The book had some good ideas, but I think it wanted to squish too many ideas into the story. I would have gladly read the story only of the Shelter, that seemed like the heart of the book.
I think I found this book when looking for fantasy with queer characters and it does have that. The books have a lot of characters with diverse identities, which is one of the good things about the novel. However, sometimes the way the represenation / identity is introduced is really clunky.
My first issue with the book was that is has too many POV characters. The four characters from the Shelter are very good and fun to read about, the book could have focused only on them and not introduce two more big plotlines. And even though there are at least 12 POV characters, there are only few women with rare and short chapters. It's weird from a book which strongest point is representation.
What I disliked the most is the villain. He's almost comically bad, and that made it really difficult to understand why people don't leave, try make (legal) steps against him or just simply murder him. Why did Nevian stay for 2-3 years when he was not learning anything but tortured regularly? It didn't make any sense for me.
And then we have Hasryan who is supposed to be an experienced assassin, but the mistake he made is just so stupid. Why would he use the same, very easily recognizeable knife for 10 years? Why is he killing all his marks with knife?
I love slow books but here the plot barely existed because we were jumping between so many characters. And I couldn't really care about the plot because of the above reason. Oh, and Diel sometimes felt like a hypocrite, being all for social justice but it didn't seemed like he is actually doing somethin with his immense power and influence. And Branwen as a spymaster is laughable, because everyone in town knew she is the spymaster.
The book had some good ideas, but I think it wanted to squish too many ideas into the story. I would have gladly read the story only of the Shelter, that seemed like the heart of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
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