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the_quail's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A therapist literally could have prevented everything that happened in this book.
Also they're supposed to be mid twenties why are they behaving like 16 year olds???
Also they're supposed to be mid twenties why are they behaving like 16 year olds???
bltk's review against another edition
3.25
Overall well done, but felt way too long for what was accomplished.
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
4.0
The vibes in this book are absolutely IMMACULATE. Truly spectacular, I am here for the goth metal fantasy about death gods and shadow gods and skeletons and spirits and a bisexual rogue who slowly descends into an absolute monster of a human and the monster hunter she is kind of falling for and the knives-to-throat-hair-grabbing relationship they have. Spectacular. It is like this book was made for me.
But the first 150-200 pages are so dense. The worldbuilding is so heavy, in that “I need to explicitly and directly tell the reader all these things about the world” way. It’s such a complex and dense set up, and thus the pacing is very slow and I agree with other reviewers that this could easily have been cut 100 pages and the pacing would have flowed a lot better.
In saying that, I say push the fuck through because the pay off is excellent, the characters and their relationships are wonderful and I support bisexual shadow dagger-wielding monster girls who want to tear the world apart and the boys they fancy.
Content warnings: blood and gore, murder, violence, dead bodies, cannibalism, self-harm, burns/burn injury, animal cruelty and torture, animal death, possession, sex, sex work
But the first 150-200 pages are so dense. The worldbuilding is so heavy, in that “I need to explicitly and directly tell the reader all these things about the world” way. It’s such a complex and dense set up, and thus the pacing is very slow and I agree with other reviewers that this could easily have been cut 100 pages and the pacing would have flowed a lot better.
In saying that, I say push the fuck through because the pay off is excellent, the characters and their relationships are wonderful and I support bisexual shadow dagger-wielding monster girls who want to tear the world apart and the boys they fancy.
Content warnings: blood and gore, murder, violence, dead bodies, cannibalism, self-harm, burns/burn injury, animal cruelty and torture, animal death, possession, sex, sex work
megsbookishtwins's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
The City of Dusk is a political & magical novel featuring 4 magical houses all grabbing for power. This novel features necromancy, shadow magic, elemental magic, & sun / paladin-esque magic. This definitely gave me dnd vibes & I was here for it. It features angry warring gods, demons, & conjuration & some politics with secrecy & betrayal. Some really great characters - there's multiple pov's. We have angelica, an angry & rage filled lesbian on a path to prove herself & fix her magic. We then have Taesia, a morally grey character with shadow magic who never wanted power & responsibility & will do everything to protect her family. We then have Risha, a necromancer who wants to protect people. Then Nikolas, who is trying to overcome his grief. And finally, Julian, who has a mysterious magic. The characters were the best part with some really great dynamics, motivations, & arcs.
I think some of the bad reviews are quite harsh, it is a good solid fantasy & definitely an adult novel (the characters are 21!), authors just tend to get shoved into the YA category when they've previously written it.
The City of Dusk is a political & magical novel featuring 4 magical houses all grabbing for power. This novel features necromancy, shadow magic, elemental magic, & sun / paladin-esque magic. This definitely gave me dnd vibes & I was here for it. It features angry warring gods, demons, & conjuration & some politics with secrecy & betrayal. Some really great characters - there's multiple pov's. We have angelica, an angry & rage filled lesbian on a path to prove herself & fix her magic. We then have Taesia, a morally grey character with shadow magic who never wanted power & responsibility & will do everything to protect her family. We then have Risha, a necromancer who wants to protect people. Then Nikolas, who is trying to overcome his grief. And finally, Julian, who has a mysterious magic. The characters were the best part with some really great dynamics, motivations, & arcs.
I think some of the bad reviews are quite harsh, it is a good solid fantasy & definitely an adult novel (the characters are 21!), authors just tend to get shoved into the YA category when they've previously written it.
alr16's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
World building is interesting and there's a bit of mystery which is mostly what kept me reading. However, across 550 pages, 6 weeks of time pass in book, and not much actually happens. There is some development and change among character relationships, but it feels like 550 pages of backstory to get us to the second book, rather than a self-contained story
annineamundsen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐ this book was so long and then the conflict wasn't even resolved?? I liked the characters but I wish they'd communicated better and made a real plan together. The magic was cool, casually queer characters
brinreadstowrite's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
logannium's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tashellreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0