abeautytoyourbeast's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
iffer's review against another edition
2.0
I read this without realizing that it takes place in the same setting as the author's Fractured Faery series. This book felt like nearly all set-up, and I didn't become attached to any of the characters. The situation in the book is a sci-fi one that we've seen, in which a city becomes a giant lawless ghetto, except that this book is supposed to be fluffy, so Charley just seems silly in her Pollyanna ways, and her werewolf foil ends up seeming callous in his more realistic/pessimistic views.
bookish_babe's review against another edition
4.0
A fun take on the Urban Fantasy genre.
Our heroine is a character well loved in previous books who is finally taking center stage. While a bit chaotic at times, the book reads fast paced and takes you one one hell of a ride.
Helen creates a truly unique world and relatable characters for the reader to connect with.
Fans of Darynda Jones or Linsey Hall would enjoy Shrill Dusk. It checks all the boxes for a kick butt heroine taking on the baddies.
One one negative would be that the middle gets a bit hectic and hard to follow but the ending provides a satisfying conclusion so its worth pushing through.
Our heroine is a character well loved in previous books who is finally taking center stage. While a bit chaotic at times, the book reads fast paced and takes you one one hell of a ride.
Helen creates a truly unique world and relatable characters for the reader to connect with.
Fans of Darynda Jones or Linsey Hall would enjoy Shrill Dusk. It checks all the boxes for a kick butt heroine taking on the baddies.
One one negative would be that the middle gets a bit hectic and hard to follow but the ending provides a satisfying conclusion so its worth pushing through.
bananatricky's review against another edition
4.0
Charley is a bit of a lost soul, haunted by a tragic event from her past she seems to be living a bit of a half-life, cleaner by day and moderately successful gambler by night. What happened in her past has probably given her a bit of a saviour complex which compels her to help others, even at risk to herself. Currently she is trying to repay a local villain £10,000 on behalf of a friend.
Then the city of Manchester is hit by a series of odd and cataclysmic events, plagues of rats, firestorms, weird blue lights and somehow Charley is stuck slap bang in the middle, courtesy of a chance encounter with a fae. Manchester is now a no-go zone, contaminated by high levels of magic, hunting ground for werewolves, vampires, dragons et al.
Now Charley and the remaining inhabitants of Manchester must reclaim their city from the fae, but also from the undesirable element who see this as an ideal opportunity to break into the big times.
I liked this, as with most urban fantasy novels, Charley soon turns out to be a special snowflake, the big difference is that she has very small ambitions, she just wants to protect her small area of Manchester and her friends. She's proud of being a cleaner and she cares about others, even those that might not deserve it.
There's humour, romance, drama and tension. I will definitely be reading more in this series.
Then the city of Manchester is hit by a series of odd and cataclysmic events, plagues of rats, firestorms, weird blue lights and somehow Charley is stuck slap bang in the middle, courtesy of a chance encounter with a fae. Manchester is now a no-go zone, contaminated by high levels of magic, hunting ground for werewolves, vampires, dragons et al.
Now Charley and the remaining inhabitants of Manchester must reclaim their city from the fae, but also from the undesirable element who see this as an ideal opportunity to break into the big times.
I liked this, as with most urban fantasy novels, Charley soon turns out to be a special snowflake, the big difference is that she has very small ambitions, she just wants to protect her small area of Manchester and her friends. She's proud of being a cleaner and she cares about others, even those that might not deserve it.
There's humour, romance, drama and tension. I will definitely be reading more in this series.
catsluvcoffee's review against another edition
3.0
Authors love to imagine the end of the world. I put that in italics because, if you've read any of those books, it's rarely really the end of the world. Zombie apocalypse, biblical apocalypse, environmental apocalypse... (You'd think as many times as I just typed apocalypse that I would spell it right once, but NO.) Sure, maybe the end of civilization as we know it, but the Earth imploding? We'll leave that for sci-fi.
Shrill Dusk has a premise not unheard of in urban fantasy: the magical apocalypse. (Nope, still got spellchecked in case you were wondering.) It's a normal day in Manchester when suddenly all things go to hell in a handbasket. Not literally of course, but close. There are hordes of rats, fire raining down, her roommate turns into a bunyip, plagues of insects, fairies and weres fighting in the street, and is that a...pink elephant?
Read more at Cats Luv Coffee
Shrill Dusk has a premise not unheard of in urban fantasy: the magical apocalypse. (Nope, still got spellchecked in case you were wondering.) It's a normal day in Manchester when suddenly all things go to hell in a handbasket. Not literally of course, but close. There are hordes of rats, fire raining down, her roommate turns into a bunyip, plagues of insects, fairies and weres fighting in the street, and is that a...pink elephant?
Read more at Cats Luv Coffee
efratmaor's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sappleton12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Violence
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Charley became an adult early in life when her brother died. Now, as an adult, she is a cleaner for the Pixie Dust Cleaning Service and works in the local police department. And she is a gambler, playing for the thrill of the game rather than the win.
It's a seemingly normal day when she's just doing her job as well as trying to figure out how to pay off $10,000 of debt she's taken on. That is, until the sky darkens and all the rats in the city seem to be running down the street. The police are stuck inside as much as everyone else. They can't even rescue a boy on a nearby lamppost. Charley decides to go to the rescue and the rats all avoid her. Then the sky starts raining fire. Again, Charley wades into it and rescues a little old lady. All of the oddness seems to be centered around Manchester.
And then... the almost apocalypse happens. Manchester is evacuated and Charley and her ragtag team of magical beings would rather stay than leave. Of course, there are others, including Max, the man who Charlie owes money to. Right now, everyone in town is behaving. Supplies are plenty. But so are the monsters. A large part of the middle of the book is Charley saving people.
There is a lot of world building in this book but not enough to put me off reading the other books in the series.
It's a seemingly normal day when she's just doing her job as well as trying to figure out how to pay off $10,000 of debt she's taken on. That is, until the sky darkens and all the rats in the city seem to be running down the street. The police are stuck inside as much as everyone else. They can't even rescue a boy on a nearby lamppost. Charley decides to go to the rescue and the rats all avoid her. Then the sky starts raining fire. Again, Charley wades into it and rescues a little old lady. All of the oddness seems to be centered around Manchester.
And then... the almost apocalypse happens. Manchester is evacuated and Charley and her ragtag team of magical beings would rather stay than leave. Of course, there are others, including Max, the man who Charlie owes money to. Right now, everyone in town is behaving. Supplies are plenty. But so are the monsters. A large part of the middle of the book is Charley saving people.
There is a lot of world building in this book but not enough to put me off reading the other books in the series.
puria's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, I liked the planning that went into preparing for the apocalypse and the world building. It was a quick read but fun.